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Please, please, please read any proposed lease very carefully. Equipment lessors make used car salemen look like saints. Most equipment leases are tremendously skewed in favor of the lessor, have all sorts of almost unconscionable provisions.
Pay special attention to the "end of term" provisions. Those are the provisions that deal with how and when the lease ends, and what happens when the lease ends. That's where they normally really stick it to you. These provisions are often intentionally vague and confusing.
Also, do not rely on ANY oral promises. They will flat out lie to you, and the lease will have an "integration clause" saying that only the written provisions govern, and there has been no reliance on any oral promises.
Leasing companies can really stick it to you. I've seen competitors of my businesses end up making $200K in lease payments for equipment worth maybe $20K. One poor lady leased a credit card processing machine (the thingy that you slide the credit card through) for something like $7500 for 3 years, and I was told you could buy the silly machine outright, brand new, for a few hundred dollars.
Carefully read, and fully understand, ALL provisions of any lease you sign. Really understand how the end of term options work.
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