Leasing is the best way to go in most situations where there is business dollars and cash flow involved. Leases do not appear on the balance sheet, and you pay for hte value of hte equipmet as you use it. Slow season leases often have a higher intrest rate to offset the lack of payments in the off season.
Look at a lease with a high residual payment. Like the one of the previous posts mentioned, you can buy out the residual value at under market values and keep your payments low if you look at 20% residuals. Those are on the oppisite end of the lease spectrum from skip payments as far as value goes. The higher the residual, the better the dollar value. Lower residuals, such as skip pays and $ 1 dollar buyouts, are a poorer value unless you are going to wera out the equipment in the lease term. We bought our 97 F 250 with 36,000 miles off the lease company for the
$ 7,000 residual value after 36 months of lease payments. That was a good deal.