Leasing a Vehicle

[clarkshel]

The lease on our Honda van is coming up in a couple months, we will just buy out the lease. I leased my 07 Jeep and bought that out last year. I am looking forward to no vehicle payments in a couple months. We usually always lease out vehicles. If we don't like it or it is a POS, then we can just give it back to them and walk away. That is what we did with our 05 Grand Caravan. We also buy the extended warranties on our leased vehicles. That way we are never without a warranty while we are leasing.

[jlewisinsyr]

I'd strongly discourage anyone from buying out a lease, you're only extending your payments on 3 - 4 year vehicle further down the line; it makes zero sense. Not many people would consider taking a 6 or 7 year loan on a car, buying out a lease, especially financing it is very similar.

[tvguy]

Originally Posted by jlewisinsyr

Agreed, a lot of people keep there cars beyond the initial loan, but there is also a lot that do not, that cycle through them.

I don't pay for any maintenance on my car, it's all included.

As for reconditioning, these would be deductions on a trade-in as well, if you poorly maintain your vehicle (ie. fail to keep it clean, spill stuff and don't get it cleaned, don't the scuffed rim fixed from running up on a curb, etc.) then yes, you will be charged or you will need to pay for it to be fixed at turn-in.

You are renting the vehicle, just long term compared to say from a rental company. You are paying for the use and normal wear and tear; normal wear and tear doesn't include coffee stains, large scratches (these are documented in the lease materials of what qualifies), cracked glass, etc.

Well, when you keep your cars forever, there are no deductions for reconditoning because they are pretty much used up when you get rid of them. Which is why I never consider the resale history of a particular car when buying a new one, I plan to use up all the cars value before getting rid of it.

Slightly off topic, but I tried to donate a 27 year old car to charity. Around here, I found out all the charities contract their car donation operations to the same private company. Kept getting turned down by different charities, finally the company called me and told me what was going on. They were looking for 7 year old cars or newer, less than 100,000 miles, with a current smog check, ready to be sold without any reconditioning. Gee, if I had that kind of car, I wouldn't be donating it!

[clarkshel]

Originally Posted by jlewisinsyr

I'd strongly discourage anyone from buying out a lease, you're only extending your payments on 3 - 4 year vehicle further down the line; it makes zero sense. Not many people would consider taking a 6 or 7 year loan on a car, buying out a lease, especially financing it is very similar.

In our case we paid cash for the remaining balance, so we didn't have an extra loan to pay off. We will put the Honda on our line of credit when we pay that out. We will pay that off completely in about a year. When my current jeep dies, I will lease my next vehicle.

[joedplumber]

Originally Posted by tvguy

Well, with 78% of people keeping their cars 10 years, that would be a pretty good measure of cost of car ownership. And as another posted, YOU are responsible for non-warranty upkeep and repairs, on a vehicle you will not be keeping. A co-worker also ran into hundreds in reconditioning fees at the end of her lease to deep clean her coffee spills out of the carpet, chips in the paint and windshield....all things she thought were normal wear and tear.


http://content.usatoday.com/communit...uy-a-new-car/1

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.

[SaraJayne]

We drive way too much to ever consider leasing.

[southernjoy]

Hey ya'll

I have been leasing for I don't know how long. I think I'm on my 8th vehicle now and love it!

And I just got a early Christmas Gift from the dealership I lease with.

True Story:

Leased a 2011 Pilot in February 2011. Got a call in November 2012 from the dealership. Would you be interested in turning in your 2011 Pilot for an identical brand new 2013 pilot. It would be a new 3 year lease and we will bump your monthly mileage allowance from 12K to 15k. Same payment and no money down.

I jumped at it!!!

Well I found out why they did it. The dealer bought out my 2011 lease for $28k and were selling similar used Pilots on their lot for $33k-$35k.

It was a win win for everyone!

I Love Leasing!!!

[tvguy]

Originally Posted by joedplumber

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.

Yeah, this was BMW.

Doesn't surprise me about the sales tax, California always wants the tax money up front. You even have to pay sales tax on the amount of any rebate in California.

[Squirlz]

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.

[joedplumber]

Originally Posted by Squirlz

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.

Could not agree more! I always do internet shopping and research. Than fax a deal sheet to about 6 local dealers that say here is exactly want I want and here is what I will pay (never not found a dealer work with me). Then we can work out the financing afterwards. Works every time and make the whole experience much more enjoyable.

[joviroxx]

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.

One of the easiest freebies to negotiate into a lease is free maintenance.My current and past leases both did. I didn't pay for oil changes or tune-ups.

Ive also had the experience that with market fluctuation the lease vehicle actually had equity. The dealer buys the vehicle and then had extra money to put into my next lease.

Leases aren't for everyone, but I will never buy a vehicle again.

[BlovesC]

I see a vehicle as an expense not an asset to own.

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.

Also, I simply can't handle car trouble. It's too stressful to me, and I have a bit of an issue with mechanics because the last time I took a car in for servicing, it wound up bursting into flames the day after I picked it up. By the time the fire department extinguished it fully, there was no way to tell what had caused it, so I never found out what they did, but it certainly wasn't a "normal" problem.

I seem to have a three or four year limit with cars before I turn to something newer, so leasing just seems to make the most sense for me. It's funny how many in this thread have mentioned their dads...I know my dad will be SO disappointed in me for leasing and I'll probably try to avoid mentioning that over the phone for quite awhile. But I'm going to give it a try!

[BeachLove]

I lease one of my cars and its great. Love having a warranty and a constant new car for travel/work. I plan on getting another lease after this one, its not because I can't afford to buy. Free maintenance is a great bonus! Don't really care if I always have a payment. I do have cars that I own outright and once those are run into the ground I will also purchase again in addition to leasing.

My parents on the other hand are outraged that I lease one car. Yet, not outraged enough since they keep asking if they can buy it out after the lease.

[njcarita]

well i dont know...... i ran the numbers for my car leased than buying out...........vs financing out right and it was CHEAPER to lease????..............and my car comes with free tires for life and free oil changes for the first yr....................

[antmaril]

Originally Posted by joviroxx

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.

This is exactly how I feel. I haven't owned a car in over 20 years. I've only paid for excess wear and tear once and that was only $260. It was not unreasonable. Leasing works for me and I most likely will never own again.