Lease-Purchase Trap Calculator
The brutal real-money math on any trucking lease-purchase — including what you'd make as a company driver at the same fleet.
Use left and right arrow keys to adjust by 50 mi. Page Up and Page Down for larger steps. Home for 500, End for 4500. Or type a value into the number field above.
Use left and right arrow keys to adjust by 0.01 /mi. Page Up and Page Down for larger steps. Home for 0.3, End for 1.2. Or type a value into the number field above.
Use left and right arrow keys to adjust by 5. Page Up and Page Down for larger steps. Home for 0, End for 1500. Or type a value into the number field above.
Use left and right arrow keys to adjust by 5. Page Up and Page Down for larger steps. Home for 0, End for 500. Or type a value into the number field above.
Use left and right arrow keys to adjust by 5. Page Up and Page Down for larger steps. Home for 0, End for 600. Or type a value into the number field above.
Use left and right arrow keys to adjust by 5. Page Up and Page Down for larger steps. Home for 0, End for 400. Or type a value into the number field above.
Use left and right arrow keys to adjust by 10. Page Up and Page Down for larger steps. Home for 0, End for 2000. Or type a value into the number field above.
Set to 0 if the lease bills fuel separately.
Use left and right arrow keys to adjust by 5. Page Up and Page Down for larger steps. Home for 0, End for 400. Or type a value into the number field above.
ELD, qualcomm, plates, IFTA prep, etc.
Use left and right arrow keys to adjust by 1 hr. Page Up and Page Down for larger steps. Home for 30, End for 70. Or type a value into the number field above.
Use left and right arrow keys to adjust by 1 wk. Page Up and Page Down for larger steps. Home for 26, End for 260. Or type a value into the number field above.
Use left and right arrow keys to adjust by 100. Page Up and Page Down for larger steps. Home for 0, End for 40000. Or type a value into the number field above.
$1 buyout is best. If 'never-never' lease — set to truck market value.
Use left and right arrow keys to adjust by 0.01 /mi. Page Up and Page Down for larger steps. Home for 0.3, End for 1.2. Or type a value into the number field above.
Their W-2 driver job with no deductions.
You make materially less than a company driver at the same fleet, and your effective hourly is below $18. Almost no upside.
| Metric | Lease | Company |
|---|---|---|
| Gross / wk | $1,375 | $1,625 |
| Net / wk | $395 | $1,625 |
| Net / year | $19,750 | $81,250 |
| $ / hour | $5.64 | $23.21 |
If the truck's market value at term-end is less than this number, the lease is a wealth transfer to the carrier — not ownership.