bgosnell151

Which is best? I am thinking about leasing. Reason being, I have never owned a truck before and not 100% sure that it is the long term decision that is best. I want to keep my payments as limited as possible, but still need a reliable vehicle. I have always purchased new vehicles and my wife has been leasing for quite sometime. I am always concerned that buying a used vehicle I will get someone else's problems... especially with a truck. Why get rid of a truck if it isn't broke?
Thinking about the STX Super cab with ecoboost.

Thanks in advance for any thoughts and/or insights.

nyxltregcab

Remember these are opinions. First off, everyone's situation is different and depends on mileage and what it will be used for.
In my opinion, if it is a daily driver and is only going to be driven 10000 or so per year, at least in NY the lease deals on F150's are great.
As for buying, that would probably be my second option, there are some really good deals with rebates or 0% financing. Searching for a leftover 2012 might also be an option.
Buying used in my opinion would be the last option. Prices on '09-'12 used F150's are high and in some instances are very close to a new price. Also, interest rates on used vehicles are USUALLY higher and have to be factored in. Buying someone else's headache is understandable, but with the technology and warranties as they are, it may not be as risky as it used to be. There are probably a good number of lease turn-ins out there that have been well taken care of.
Hope this helps, but in the end it comes down to personal opinion and affordability. Good Luck and enjoy whatever you get, however you get it!

DMAC66

Hmmm. You ask "which is best?" among the three choices but really only you can answer that based upon your own situation. I personally would not lease a vehicle. I like to own things so I don't rent things that I use repeatedly. That's just me. YMMV. I do drive my vehicles for 5-6 years. I bought my last 3 trucks used. I have no regrets on any of them and I still own 2 of those 3. I think there are plenty of buyers with cash who buy new every two to three years. Those trades can be had for reasonable prices and they are sometimes barely broken in. For me, it comes down to finding a truck that has its best years ahead of it and saves me $10-12,000 off buying new. After all, the truck is only new on the first day and then it's used. I'd rather someone else pay the premium of driving a new truck off the lot. As for avoiding buying someone else's problem it comes down to careful shopping and a pinch of luck for good measure.

JBR74

I prefer to buy barely used. 1000-7500 miles

That way you don't take the "drive off the lot" hit, but essentially get that new vehicle feel.

They are harder to find for sure, since not a ton of people buy a vehicle and turn it back in after only months with a few thousand miles, but it does happen.

Probably even more so now days with the crappy economy.

(Thanks to CarFax)
I was able to see my truck originally purchased in Aug 2012, by a corporate customer, then it shows it being at an auction in March (right before I bought it) bought by the dealer I purchased it from.

Anyway, my truck had 5,500 miles on it when i got it, and I paid $12,000 less than the original window sticker.

The truck was immaculate, not so much as a pin sized nick in the interior or exterior. If you would of not looked at the odometer it could of passed for brand new.

I am guessing the truck was bought and then the business went bankrupt in the proceeding months. I don't really care, I essentially got a new truck at one hell of a price.

bgosnell151

Thanks guys... appreciate the feedback.

JBR, that is awesome. I was looking at one that was used, with 48,000 miles and was about $13,000 under current sticker price and this was a 2010. I was really having a hard time being OK with that considering the spray in liner is in really bad shape on the tailgate, as well as having a dent in the back corner (very small dent, but a dent none the less) as well as some scratches on the driver side door. The used trucks I have seen, really don't seem to give you much of a discount after rebates and such. Good feedback though as maybe I will go back to them and ask for a couple more thousand off.

JBR74

I just used an online search, think was cars.com, not sure it was one of the bigger ones. And I really expanded my search area. I think i picked 250 mile radius. ( I was willing to drive for the perfect deal.)

Honestly there was only a handful of trucks out of like 1000+ in the area, that met my criteria.

But I was able to get the exact truck with options I wanted and my in color I wanted, and it only ended up being about 25 miles away.

If you aren't use an online tool, don't just take what the dealer you went too 1st has in stock for your choice. You can find the exact truck you want, just gotta dig around a bit. (and maybe drive)


Edit:
Ya 13k under sticker with 48k miles, keep shopping. you can do way better. 13k under I wouldn't buy it unless it had around 12k miles max.

User-One

The only problem with buying a used vehicle at such low miles is it may have been in a undisclosed accident. Also roll-backs aren't out of the question even if it was leased.

Even buying from the dealer won't grantee a good truck, they may not know their own leased vehicle/ trade-in was rolled back, or just turn a blind eye and not care.

Here in Toronto I've seen someone trying to sell a 1.5 year old f150 with 1500km.

Also a mechanic on youtube posted a video about a superduty someone bought, the owner thought he was getting a lariat diesel with 80k miles from the dealer. Then when something went wrong and the mechanic looked at the truck he said the truck had something like 250k miles. Apparently whoever owned the vehicle swapped the interior.