I really think it also depends are the car company as well. Friend of mine leased an Audi and got nickled and dimed at the end of the lease.
My inlaw on the other hand leased a Honda for 3 years stayed under the mileage allowance 30k and did routine oil changes and tire rotations and never paid another dime and hopped into another 3 year lease when it was done.
On another note. In CT you do not pay sales tax on the full lease amount. Sales tax is added to each monthly payment (confirmed with dealership and leasing owners). If you choose to buyout the vehicle at the end of the lease you will owe sales tax on the residual value.
You ever think about why all the ads talk about lease prices? It certainly isn't because the dealers are trying to do you a favor. A customer shopping "payments" is a salesman's dream.
I see a vehicle as an expense not an asset to own.
I see a vehicle as an expense not an asset to own. I will always figure a car payment into my budget. I have leased vehicles for the past 16 years. In all that time, Ive only had 1 disagreement with a leasing company about wear and tear. I love leasing. I have a new car, under warranty all the time. Ive never had to have any kind of major car repair expense.
Leases aren't for everyone, but I will never buy a vehicle again.
I'm definitely starting to feel that way too. My last two cars I purchased new, but I'm already looking into a lease for next time. The car I'm driving now I paid for in cash when I bought it, which was a huge mistake for many reasons, but mostly because I wound up hating it. It's only a few years old but barely worth half what I paid for it. I really have no desire to throw money away like that again. If I had leased the car, I could have gone right back and negotiated into a different model.
This kind of is what I don't get about leasing. With a lease you are paying owner for the depreciation on the car, the interest on loan that whoever is leasing the car to you is paying, and profit to the leasing company. And generally there is an early termination fee. There is no free lunch. At least if I buy the car, at the end of the payments I have something, and with modern cars, you likely will be able to go 10 years without major repairs.
Sounds like a lot of people are falling for the hype. Math is good.
Yes, what he said!
I leased ONCE and would never do it again. I did it because I couldn't afford the car I wanted (and I was young and I really, really wanted it). I was a SAHM when I leased it and had a decent payment. Then I got a job that required me to drive so I had to put more miles on it than I expected. To get out of my lease would have cost me a fortune (the sum of the remaining payments + buyout value at end-of-lease) so I drove the car and figured I'd just have to deal with it at the end of lease (3 years). The car had lots of problems and I had to put money into it and there was no way I was going to buy it at the end of 3 years. When I went to turn it in, I paid $2,800 for extra miles (I had 15,000 allocated annually) and then they hit me with additional fees because the car had mechanical issues (and I had already paid a fortune for those problems).
I am pretty sure I stopped breathing for a minute when they gave me those figures.
Yes, what he said!
Oh! But if you do lease, don't drive it off the lot without GAP insurance. If you total your leased vehicle, your insurance company will pay only for the (depreciated from the second you drove it away) value of the car. But you'll still owe the remaining payments and the buyout value. I know a guy who totaled his car the day he leased it and made payments on it for 5 years because he didn't get GAP insurance to make up the difference.
WIth a lease if market value of your car at the end of the lease is high you can purchase it. If the market value is lousy you can dump it and the lease company takes the hit.
THAT DEPENDS WHETHER TO PURCHASE GAP INSURANCE, OTHERWISE YOU ARE ON THE HOOK FOR THE DIFFERENCE AT THE END OF THE LEASE.
When you purchase you pay sales tax on the full purchase price. With a lease you only pay taxes for the years you own it.
MUST VARY FROM STATE TO STATE, HERE, YOU HAVE TO PAY THE FULL SALES TAX ON THE PURCHASE PRICE OF THE VEHICLE, WHICH CAN BE DIVIDED OVER THE TERM OF THE LEASE
With a lease you are usually under warrenty for the entire time you have the car.
If you look at Edmonds the maintaince/repair costs double after 3 years and go up every year.
Leases rarely require a down payment... you take that $5000 down payment and invest it you will earn more then you are paying in lease charges.
MOST OF THE LEASE "SPECIALS" IN NEWSPAPER HERE REQUIRE SEVERAL THOUSAND DOLLARS DOWN FOR WHAT THEY CALL "DRIVE OFF". SOME OF THE ADS SAY SALES TAX AND LICENSE FEE REQUIRED AS THE DRIVEOFF PAYMENT
Financing a car is typically done by banks not owned by the car manufacturer. That want to make a profit on the financing and dealers will offer financing through banks that give the dealers the best deal... not the buyer. Most car manufacturers now do the lease financing themselves and advertise sweetheart lease deals that the dealers really can't get around.
.
When you purchase you pay sales tax on the full purchase price. With a lease you only pay taxes for the years you own it.
Paying a premium upfront to purchase an asset that will depreciate 60% in 5 years doesn't make sense... especially since that 'asset' will be technically out of date after those 5 years.
I buy my car, keep it as long as it will go, then replace it.
My DH leases - getting a new car every 3 years. It's a great idea for a husband & wife.
THAT DEPENDS WHETHER TO PURCHASE GAP INSURANCE, OTHERWISE YOU ARE ON THE HOOK FOR THE DIFFERENCE AT THE END OF THE LEASE.
I agree with this. In 2008 when the lease on our Grand Caravan minivan was up, we where going to buy out the lease, but the buyout was about $4000 more than what the van was actually selling for. We tried to negotiate a lower buyout, but Chrysler would not budge on the price. So we let the lease go back. No extra charges.jlewisinsyr said:This is completely wrong! All general consumer leases are closed-end, meaning the inal value is set and regardless of market value, there is no further obligation. It is possible to get an open-ended lease, but they are VERY rare and gap insurance would mean nothing in this case as that's not what gap insurance is.