It’s not being hyperbolic to say the 2020 Jeep Gladiator is one of the most-anticipated new vehicles of the year. Combing the capable off-road abilities and classic style of a Wrangler with the cargo-carrying capability of a midsize pickup truck, the all-new Gladiator seems tailor-made to appeal to American buyers of all ages and interests, from farmer to overlanders to city slickers concerned with finding the perfect vehicular accessory to go with their Best Made axes.
Considering the slavering demand for Jeep’s new pickup, you might think the corporate overlords at Fiat Chrysler Automobiles would be trying to squeeze every dollar possible out of the model, denying special offers or deals. While the carmaker hasn’t slapped any cash on the hood yet, you can still take one home super-cheap: Right now, you can lease a new Jeep Gladiator for as low as $192 per month.
Buying that same Gladiator, in contrast, would cost $588 per month—and you’d be paying that for 60 months, as opposed to 36 with the lease. (Granted, you’d own the Jeep at the end of those five years, but the pros and cons of leasing vs. buying are a story for a different time.)
How, you might wonder, can Jeep offer a truck with a base price of $35,050 for a monthly lease payment that seems more along what you’d expect on a $20K Hyundai? Simple: Jeep expects the Gladiator to hold its value remarkably well. The company expects the truck to still be worth about 90 percent of its original value two years down the road, all things considered.
A lease, remember, is basically a way for the dealership to get a purchaser to hold onto the car for a period of time before they can sell it as a used car down the road. All other things being equal, the more the actuarial tables suggest the vehicle will be worth at the end of the time with the car, the lower your monthly payment. (Or, to put it in extremely simplistic math terms, (value when new – value at the end of lease) / months of lease term = lease payment.)
There are a couple caveats, though. That super-low lease requires a 10 percent down payment of roughly $3,500 plunked down at the time of signing, which may not sit well with anyone who hates the idea of putting money down on a car they won’t wind up owning. And the marquee deal of $192/mo is only available on the base model Gladiator Sport, which does without such niceties as power door locks or power windows. Should you want those or other features you likely expect on a new car in 2019, you’d be best served going for the next-level-up Gladiator Sport S, which is currently leasing under the same terms for a still-reasonable $259/mo.
If this deal strikes your fancy, though, act fast. On Saturday, Jeep’s website said the Gladiator could be yours for $143/mo for a two-year lease; as of this writing Monday morning, the price had jumped up to the aforementioned $192/mo, as the two-year term was no longer being offered.
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