A reader wrote into Bankrate and asked what he should do with his truck now that the lease was up. Should he buy it for the residual price, or simply lease a new truck?

What most people do is turn in their leased vehicle, get a new one and then continue with payments. As the dealer said, you can also buy your truck for the “residual price” you agreed to when it was new. The problem with that last choice is that if you take out a loan to cover the residual price, you’ll likely end up essentially having a seven- or eight-year loan — the term of the lease plus the term of the subsequent loan.

You will wind up having paid an enormous amount in interest over the life of the two transactions and, since vehicles usually need more repairs after the fifth year, you could be faced with both car payments and significant maintenance bills.

Bankrate concluded that the best thing would be to turn in the old truck and lease a new one. They also mentioned some options such as Swapalease.com and LeaseTrading.com.—MEGHANN MARCO

What to do when truck lease is up [Bankrate]

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