What lease to own actually is
The builder or a leasing company retains title to the truck while you operate it, and each payment moves you toward ownership. At the end you exercise a buyout and the title transfers.
It exists because a food truck is a rolling kitchen worth 75,000 to 175,000 that a first time operator often cannot finance conventionally. The structure trades a higher total cost for access.
The buyout defines the deal
Two identical monthly payments can end in very different places.
- /Dollar buyout: the whole cost is in the payments, and the truck is yours at the end for a nominal amount.
- /Fair market value buyout: a lower payment, followed by a real purchase price on a truck that may still be worth 40 to 60 percent of original cost.
- /Rental with a purchase option: no equity accrues unless the contract credits payments toward the price. Read this clause carefully.
What it costs against financing
A 120,000 built out truck financed over 60 months carries a predictable fixed payment and full ownership from day one, with the truck itself securing the loan.
The same truck on lease to own commonly runs 15 to 30 percent more in total dollars across the term, because the lessor is carrying title risk on a mobile asset.
Run both. If equipment financing approves, it is almost always the cheaper route.
What to verify before signing
Confirm who holds the title and what happens if you miss a payment. Repossession terms on a rolling asset are faster than most operators expect.
Confirm whether maintenance, generator service, and wrap replacement are yours. On a used unit these are meaningful annual costs.
Confirm the truck passes health department and fire suppression inspection in your county before money moves. A truck that cannot be permitted is not an asset.
Financing the rest of the operation
The truck is one line item. Festival and event fees are paid weeks ahead of revenue, commissary rent is monthly, and opening inventory lands before the first service.
A small line of credit alongside the truck payment covers that timing without touching the truck financing.
Calculator
Equipment payment and total cost
Enter the quote, the rate you were offered, and the term. The payment is the standard amortizing payment, and the total cost is what leaves the business above the amount financed.
Programs commonly cover 80 to 100 percent. Leave at 0 if none is required.
Use the rate on the written offer, not an estimate.
Your numbers are ready
Tell us about the operation and the results open up.
The math above runs on your inputs. Send the request and the figures unlock on this page, a specialist reviews what you entered, and you get written options to compare. No credit application, no hard pull.
We email you a copy of these figures. They are estimates for planning, not an offer, a quote, or a preapproval of any kind.
The arithmetic
payment = P x i / (1 - (1 + i)^-n), where P is the amount financed, i is the annual rate divided by 12, and n is the number of monthly payments. Total cost = (payment x n) - P.
Sources
- 1Amortizing payment formula: P x i / (1 - (1 + i)^-n)Standard time value of money identity. The same closed form used by the PMT function, with i as the monthly rate and n as the number of monthly payments.
- 2Bank prime loan rate, the base most business term financing is priced againstFederal Reserve, H.15 Selected Interest Rates. Published daily by the Federal Reserve. Enter the current prime rate when pricing a variable rate offer.
- 3Annual percentage rate definition, 12 CFR 1026.22Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Regulation Z. APR is the nominal annual rate that discounts a payment stream back to the amount advanced. We solve it numerically from the payment schedule and multiply the periodic rate by the number of periods per year.
Estimates, not offers: Amounts, terms, and funding times are estimates based on programs commonly available in food service. Actual terms vary by program, lender underwriting, time in business, revenue, and credit profile. Nothing here is an offer of credit or a guarantee of approval.