High lease cost?

Ok, so the truck I have now is killing me. $1850/month payment, which is NOT the problem. The issue is the AVERAGE of $5500 per MONTH in maintenance/repair costs. Add in downtime of 5 to 10 days a month, and my bank has been ripped raw and bloody.

Im sitting here with a deal on the table to lease a brand new truck for $3800/month. At the end of the 3 year lease, I can choose to get my down payment returned, or keep the truck. (this is comming from a major Volvo dealer, not a trucking company, or fly by night dealer)

Running the numbers over and over, Im 99% sure i can do this, as $3800 is still way less than the $6k to $7k my old truck is/was costing me. The high payment comes from my horrid credit rating, and not having owned a truck for as long as they would like to see.

My question is this. How high of a lease payment is realistic? I would like to get some input from others who have taken on high lease payments and lived to tell about it.

Thanks

 

ok, this is NOT a lease through the company I run with. I will NOT be "stuck" working for anyone. It is more of a loan than lease. Its actually better for my taxes this way. My last truck was written the same way.

And no, I would not sign up for a lease/purchase through any trucking company. This is a BANK lease...

 

Costs wise, this 3 year lease works out to be LESS than a 4 or 5 year loan. No one will talk to me about a 4 or 5 year loan anyway, due to my bad credit. and believe me, my available down payment is WAY more than $10k..

and yeah, i could get a "newer" truck, but im aiming for "new", complete with all the fancy warranties and such..