Leasing a car...thoughts?

[Nomar06]

Just want to see what are peoples opinions/experiences on leasing a new car. A friend of mine is thinking about leasing a car and it got me thinking but don't know much about it.

Would you recommend leasing a new car or buying a used car? say 06-08 sedan with 40k or more miles.

 

[webby]

http://www.leaseguide.com/lease03.htm
decent writeup on comparing lease/buy options.

http://www.investopedia.com/articles/pf/05/042105.asp#axzz1eMXjCgKd
benefits/downfalls of each option.

The big thing is a lower payment, and for some that's the deciding factor. If you have good credit, leasing will give you a lower payment. You just need to take care of the car, and keep your miles to a minimum so you aren't hit with extra fees when you turn the lease in. Some people like leasing because they don't have to stress over selling their car down the road, or deal with trading it in at a dealership.

http://www.edmunds.com/car-leasing/compare-the-costs-buying-vs-leasing-vs-buying-a-used-car.html

 

[9000 RPM]

ONLY lease if you can personally get a better then advertised lease rate.

example if it's advertised at $299/mo with $2k down then strive for $299/mo with $0. You also never want to put down on a lease, at most pay the tax upfront. You can get wrecked pulling out of the dealership and your down payment won't be paid to you by insurance. With a finance it is.

 

[Nomar06]

I will relay the info. to my friend. He is looking into a new X3. Rough numbers for for a new one with the bells and whistles it would be $42k with a lease payment of slightly over $300 with him putting $10k down(trade in of a Mazda 3 and covering all upfront costs). Financing it would of been like $500 or more.

His commute is 5 miles to work and back and he takes care of his cars(I detail them ) and the BMW dealership is 8 miles away? Would be doing the maint at BMW since it's free. Prob a good deal for him....
The $300 would be better than the ad lease but he is putting down alot more than what is needed.

 

[spdandpwr]

I've been to three honda dealers, they aren't ones for giving discounts and the like. Especially with the Si!

 

[spdandpwr]

I will relay the info. to my friend. He is looking into a new X3. Rough numbers for for a new one with the bells and whistles it would be $42k with a lease payment of slightly over $300 with him putting $10k down(trade in of a Mazda 3 and covering all upfront costs). Financing it would of been like $500 or more.

His commute is 5 miles to work and back and he takes care of his cars(I detail them ) and the BMW dealership is 8 miles away? Would be doing the maint at BMW since it's free. Prob a good deal for him....
The $300 would be better than the ad lease but he is putting down alot more than what is needed.

I didn't see this when I posted, yea lease might be better for payment reasons. But, for a lease, 10k is a lot. You are also losing because you go from owning a car to not having anything but car that you'll have to give up in 3 year.

 

[webby]

standard x3 lease around here

$449*/month for 36 months $455 Option Credit Available. $500 Credit available.
• $449 First months payment
• $2,750 Down payment
• $0 Security Deposit
• $725 Acquisition fee
• $3,924 Cash due at signing

 

[Nomar06]

If my friend traded in his mazda 3 would he have to put all that money down? or just what is needed to start the lease? I guess that might depend on the dealership....

 

[Nomar06]

Estimate Payment

Estimated Trade-in Value - $10,000​

2012 X3 xDrive35i
Model MSRP: $42,400

Option 1

Lease Finance​

Down Payment - $0
Term - 36
Annual Mileage - 15,000​

Please check out our Special BMW Lease Offers.​

Estimated Monthly Payment* $354​

From the BMWUSA site.....which im sure the numbers are going to be way different at the dealership.

 

[spdandpwr]

0 down on a 42k car does not equal $354...For a 30k car, it's a stretch, but for 42....impossible. Even in Tier 0 / Tier 1, Honda won't lease a si for 340 a month w/o navi -- and that's a 23k car.

 

[webby]

If my friend traded in his mazda 3 would he have to put all that money down? or just what is needed to start the lease? I guess that might depend on the dealership....

you can trade the car in, and put any amount down. They'd cut you a check for the remainder you didn't put towards the purchase/lease.

 

[Nomar06]

0 down on a 42k car does not equal $354...For a 30k car, it's a stretch, but for 42....impossible. Even in Tier 0 / Tier 1, Honda won't lease a si for 340 a month w/o navi -- and that's a 23k car.

I put the $0 since the $10,000 trade in would be the down payment.

 

[Nix]

So with the standard lease webby posted.... $449/mo with almost 4k due and other stuff.... you end up at about 24k paid and no car at the end.

I just saw an 09' x3 with 37k miles go for 26,500. That's pretty new with low miles for close to lease cost. And you would own a vehicle you could sell at the end if you wanted.

08's are doing about 20k... 10's are 30k. It looks to be about a 5k per year creep at the auctions.... If you find an 08-09 used that's close to 30k you could definitely get the price down pretty close to what you might end up paying for the lease in total. Plus you could use the trade in to knock the price down quite a bit.

Id say buy don't lease.

 

[spdandpwr]

You have equity at then end of the lease. When you buy the car at the end of the lease, you buy it at the buyout price, which is ALWAYS less than fair market value. What I used to do was trade-in a lease and make money from the lease and roll it into the downpayment.

 

[dentrecords]

It's a rental car for an extended period of time. After spending all that money for all those months in a row, you don't own it unless you buy it. Unless you're writing it off as a business expense, I don't see why unless you can't afford it.. in which case.. why not buy something you'll own at the end of the day for the same money instead?

 

[spdandpwr]

Credit wise, it's easier to lease a 30k car than it is to finance 30k. On the credit report, it looks better -- nobody wants to give a mortgage to a guy with a 35k loan versus a guy with a 17k lease (lease shows up as a smaller "loan" on the credit report). Unless your credit is f'd, you typically get better value, paying a premium based on residuals that, at the end of the lease, pay towards the value of the car versus a financing rate, which goes nowhere. If you don't keep your financed car for more than 2.5 years, you lose don't really own anything because the value of the car is usually worth the buyout amount, so trading it in won't net you any gains, much like a lease.

 

[spdandpwr]

I'm not saying leasing is better, but there is inherent value if you like to change cars frequently.

 

[dentrecords]

6 years on my civic so far and it'll make a great winter beater/second car for years to come

 

[spdandpwr]

^nice!

 

[Nomar06]

Thanks for all the input fellas....I will def pass on the info to my friend.

I myself would like to jump into this if possible......http://charlotte.craigslist.org/cto/2705158716.html
Dude has sent me a bunch of pics and has service records and it is CPO'd. Looks super clean and has low miles and nice price. It is his second/third car and is looking at getting into an Infiniti.

I am supposed to meet with a person tonight or tomorrow to check out my car. Hopefully things go good and I can use that money and get a small loan from the bank to be able to get the TL-S. *fingercrossed*

I did think about leasing a new TSX SE but not 100% sold on leasing yet.