It depends on the hours and on ownership. A Lincoln County, NE contractor who will run a skid steer for years and wants to own it can compare an equipment loan with a $1 buyout lease, since both end with the machine paid for. A fair market value (FMV) lease lowers the payment but ends with a buyout price or a return. The totals on this page use invented figures; real terms come from a funding partner's offer.
A loan and a $1 buyout lease both end in ownership; an FMV lease lowers the payment and leaves a buyout or a return. Renting wins for short jobs. Every total here uses invented figures.
$1 Buyout Lease vs. Loan: Which Fits a North Platte, NE Contractor?
A $1 buyout lease is close to a purchase in a lease's clothing: the contractor makes the lease payments, pays one dollar at the end and owns the machine. An equipment loan gets to the same place by a different road, with a down payment at signing and the machine titled to the contractor from the start, with the funding partner holding a lien.
Illustration only, invented figures: a contractor prices a $72,000 skid steer two ways. The loan puts $7,200 down and finances the rest over 60 months at an annual rate of 9.5%; the lease runs 60 payments of $1,495 and a $1 buyout.
| Option | Due at signing | Monthly payment | Total paid, ownership at the end |
|---|---|---|---|
| Equipment loan, 60 months, 9.5% | $7,200 | $1,360.92 | $88,855.20 |
| $1 buyout lease, 60 payments | $0 | $1,495 | $89,701 |
In these numbers the lease costs $845.80 more over five years and asks for nothing at signing. A contractor short on cash this month may take that trade; one with the down payment in the bank keeps the difference by borrowing instead. A different offer can flip the result, which is why both totals have to be worked out from the real quotes.
FMV Lease or $1 Buy Out When a Lincoln County, NE Contractor Needs Work Trucks?
A fair market value lease charges for the use of the machine and leaves the end open: the contractor can hand it back, keep leasing or buy it at what it is worth when the term ends. The payment is lower because the contractor is not paying for the whole machine during the term.
Illustration only, invented figures: the same skid steer on an FMV lease at $1,190 a month for 48 months, $57,120 in all. Handing it back ends the cost there. Buying it at an invented end value of $27,500 brings the total to $84,620, which is $4,235.20 less than the loan column in the first table, but the end value is only a guess until the lease ends and the machine is appraised.
The same reasoning carries over to a work truck. A truck that will see hard use and get traded on a schedule leans toward the FMV route; one the crew plans to run until it quits leans toward ownership. Small crews fit the pattern in the specialty trades here: Lincoln County, NE had 14 establishments under Other Specialty Trade Contractors (NAICS 2389) in 2023, and 11 of them had fewer than five employees (County Business Patterns). See equipment financing for how a machine can secure its own payments.
Equipment Lease vs. Rental for Crew Payroll: A North Platte, NE Contractor Example
Renting is the right answer for jobs that need a machine for weeks rather than months. A rental keeps the payment off the books between jobs, which leaves cash for the crew's payroll.
Illustration only, invented figures: renting at $1,150 a week for a 9-week job costs $10,350. A year of $1 buyout lease payments from the first table is $17,940. Under 16 weeks of use in a year, renting costs less than twelve lease payments; at 16 weeks or more, the lease comes out ahead and the contractor is building ownership too.
Residential work gives a sense of the pipeline: building permits in Lincoln County, NE covered 235 new privately-owned housing units during 2025, by the Census Building Permits Survey count. A crew that can see its own share of that work in signed contracts can count the weeks it will need the machine.
When the gap is payroll rather than the machine, a line of credit can cover the weeks between paying the crew and getting paid by the customer; in the examples on this site, interest runs only on the amount drawn.
Choosing Between Equipment Lease and Finance at a North Platte, NE Contractor
A short list settles these choices before any quote arrives:
- Hours: how many a year the machine will run, from the crew's own job records.
- Ownership: whether the contractor wants the machine in five years or a newer one.
- Cash at signing: a down payment for a loan, sometimes nothing for a lease.
- Upkeep: who pays for repairs under each offer, read from the lease itself.
- Books and taxes: how each option is treated is a question for the contractor's accountant or tax preparer.
Finishing crews are small here as well. Lincoln County, NE had 16 establishments under Building Finishing Contractors (NAICS 2383) in 2023, 14 of them with fewer than five employees (County Business Patterns). Separately, Nonemployer Statistics counted 58 building finishing businesses with no paid employees in the county in 2024 (NAICS 2383).
A term loan is the other route when the purchase is a mix of machine and attachments. The construction page covers crew purchases, and the North Platte, NE page has the county figures.
By Pineline Credit · Updated
