Cars: buying vs. leasing

[Arthur Dent]

So, I've been thinking of trading in my three year old car for something new with a lower monthly payment.

So, here's the question: Do you think it's better to lease or to buy outright? (I bought my car outright. Still paying it off.)

[JIMMYSNUKA]

simple answer

if you lease you are a donkey.

[OAS]

If you drive a lot of miles, leasing is not an option. Plus if you like throwing money out the window, drive up and down the Parkway all day. Or like Snuk said, hee haw.

[JIMMYSNUKA]

make payment month after month for however long you want to lease.

not to mention the down payment....not to mention if you go over the mileage.

not to mention your either stuck with that car or have to start all over again when the lease is up.
in the end what do you have to show for it....NOTHING ZILCH.
DONKEY DONKEY DONKEY HEEE FUCKING HAAAAAAAAAWWWW

dont lease bro

[Spitfire]

I'm a big fat ass then!

But I was in a bad situation at the time and had no down payment so I had no choice to lease.

Don't lease if you like to drive...I'm almost on my 2nd year and approximately 10,000 miles over right now
plus, I don't know how much they're going to deduct now that the car has been through a major accident...I'm so fucked!

[kindred]

Leasing seems to only work for people that like to get a new car every couple years. If you are the type of person that keeps your car, then do not lease. I'm am looking forward to the day of no car payments!!!

[Arthur Dent]

Yeah, I prefer buying outright. Just that leasing is 1/2 the monthly payment of buying. So tempting in the short-term, short-sighted sense.

And all because I want to go from 4 cylinders to 6. :burnfucker:

[Kid Afrika]

If you buy a car these days, then you truly are hopeless. The only way you'll make out is if you put more than 50% down. Leasing is great, if you can live with the terms.

To those who say you wind up with nothing at the end of a lease, what do you have at the end of your 5 or 6 year loan? Easy, a car that's worth about 1/2 what you paid for it, if you're lucky.

Cars today are just not built like they used to be. Sure, the engines don't need a tune-up until 100K miles, but the rest of the car will surely fall apart by then. Besides, we put a lot more miles on our cars today than we once did.

I leased my Escape on a 2-year lease, that has about 6 months left. I'm well within my alotted miles, and at the end of my lease, I get to wash my hands of the thing. Plus, Ford gives $1000 to returning lessees, automatically.

So, yes, for someone like me whose(I never know when to use who's or whose, but I think that's right.) milage isn't astronomical, and who likes to get a new car pretty frequently, leasing is the perfect option.

Buying a car is great, if you can afford to take a hit like that. But, realistically you'll end up paying the same payment for easily twice as long, and still be stuck with a shit car at the end. Plus, the buyouts on leased cars are a lot lower now than they were in the past.

If you can get over the false notion that you end up with nothing, leasing is great.

[Ken'sPen]

Kid my Toyota's have a boatload of miles on them and they are still sound as hell,
The Camry I bought over 9 years ago still looks good, still drives tight, and hasn't had much more than routine service required,
so I think I more than got my money out of it.

[Galt]

I never know when to use who's or whose, but I think that's right

whose is possessive. Who's is who is. So you got it right.

Next lesson: effect vs. affect

[Kid Afrika]

The Camry I bought over 9 years ago

Pen,

You kept a car for 9 years. What is that car worth now? What was it worth before you drove it off of the lot? What was it worth after you made 4,5, or 6 years of payments on it? What did you end up paying for said car, including interest?

Let's estimate here, and I'm really estimating. I could get exact figures, but let's remember I am black.

'93 Toyota Camry LE - $17,000
Down Payment - $2,000
Financed Amount - $15,000
Length of Loan - $ years
APR - 7%
(Now, I'll readily admit that I don't remember shit from the accounting classes I took, so this part will most likely be wrong, but humor me.)
Interest Paid - $4760
Probable Value of a '93 Camry in '97 - $5999 - $7999

So, in essence, you paid $21,760 for a $17,000 car. And, after your 4 years of payments, you were left with a car worth no more than $8000. And this is a sound investment because?

Where as with a lease, I make payments for 2 or 3 years, and move on to another car.

I can understand people wanting to own something, but if you want to purchase a vehicle, for god's sake, don't buy new, and make the biggest down payment you can to lessen the loan amount, your payment, and the amount of interest you'll be paying.

Thank you, and g'day.

[Goatweed]

I'm not a fan of leasing - you're basically renting it. When you finance, you're paying to own (like a mortgage). Sure, if you do a 5 year plan or something the chances of the car being worth what you paid for it at the end of the line are nill - but that's unavoidable with any car you buy. The best thing to do is look into cars which maintain a high resale-value (most are imports, like Toyota's, Honda's, Nissan's. etc.) and try to buy one that's a year old with low mileage. You'll pay a hell of a lo less, and if the mileage is low enough, it's essentially "new" - just make sure it's not a leased car that was traded-in, or a rental car that was sold to the lot (because people, myself included, always abuse rentals).

I bought my 1989 Honda Accord in 1997 and it had 45k on it - right now I'm pushing 112k. Sure, it's not that pretty anymore and it needs some engine work, but I don't plan on doing anything with it - I'm gonna drive it 'till it dies. I would buy a new car, but right now Mrs. Goat and myself are looking to buy a house (and she's got a 1999 Altima that we use most of the time anyway).

[Maynard]

Kid, they really have you fooled into the whole leasing thing. But, whatever works for you.

Here's my take. I lease by the way.

Leasing - You don't need a down payment. Your monthly payments won't be too bad. You get alot more car for the moeny you pay. If you like to drive, leasing is NOT an option though. I love to drive, and I really have to watch it because my milage is through the roof. Leasing my first car was the right thing to do. Leasing the second was foolish. At the end, you're left with a car that you either turn in (and you're left with nothing) or you buy it out for about 1/4 more than you should be paying.

Financing - You are paying to OWN something. Yes, it depreciates in value, but what doesn't? And in a few years, you have a car that is YOURS! However, if you're a person that likes new cars, or doesn't drive alot of miles, then you may wish to choose leasing. Remember....you get to KEEP the car at the end of financing.


For you k1d, you fit into the leasing catagory. You don't drive alot, you like having new cars. But for someone like me, I don't care about always getting a new car, and I like to drive too much. So basically, yeah, I made a mistake leasing the second car.

Oh well, live and learn.



BTW, I pay in the low $300's for my car. A 2001 VW Jetta GLS. Fully loaded, sunroof, 15,000 miles a year, 3 year lease, no money down. The only thing my car doesn't have is the bigger engine. The 6 cylinder or Turbo. Which works for me, because with a bigger engine, I would get into too much trouble with the speeds I like to drive.

[Kid Afrika]

They haven't fooled me into shit. One of my best friends is a car salesman, and I worked around car dealerships for a long time. I know how they get you, and I was not gotten.

At the time when I leased my current vehicle, my credit was shit and I didn't have a lot for a down payment. But, they got me approved, so I took it. Hower, I wasn't heartbroken that the lease was easier and cheaper for me to get. I love the fact that my truck has 16K miles on it and hasn't had an oil/filter change. I love the fact that I can just drive it and not care. Overall, I just draw great pleasure from the fact that I can "rent" a car, beat the piss out of it, and give it back.

Plus, I don't have to sell my car, hoping to get enough money for it to buy another.

I typically drive cars for 1 to 2 years before I move on to something else. If I buy a car outright or through loans, it's gonna be a collector or at least a classic. Being an ex-lowrider, I love the idea of getting a '72 Glasshouse and juicing it. A car like that is valuable in other ways than monetarily.

A 2002 car is shit from the start, and will only get worse. Cars today are built of the cheapest, easiest materials. Which often translates to plastic parts. I fancy a steel car. A sturdy car that can take a minor collision without $750 worth of damage.

[Keyser Soze]

I've got a Silver 99 Pathfinder LE. Fully loaded, leather, premium 6 speaker BOSE CD/Tape combo system, heated seats, running boards, immaculately clean and garage kept, etc... etc... I love my truck, I had a great time with it. If anyones actually interested in buying it let me know.

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Edited By Keyser Soze on June 22 2002 at 02:41

[Sloatsburgh]

Well, think of it this way: Transportation.

I paid my truck off in 4 years. I paid an extra year for this one vehicle as opposed to leasing, but guess what? I have not made any payments for 30 months. And guess what else... I don't give a damn about my vehicle's present value. It's future value will be $0 when I have run it into the ground. So at 7.99% which I paid, starting in March 1996 (Paid off in January 2000) and rounding it to $400, an equivalent lease payment of $270. That is if my truck died today, which it won't. If it last another 2 1/2 years (My brother has the same truck, 4 years older and it still runs), then paying $400 a month for those 4 years would be equivalent to paying $215 every month from the beginning in 1996.

But I'm expecting my truck to last longer than 10 years. I believe that I am ahead of the game.

[Kid Afrika]

You can rationalize it any way you want to. But, the bottom line is you still got hosed.
:moonie:

[Metalfan]

I love the fact that my truck has 16K miles on it and hasn't had an oil/filter change.

Kid, you do realize that if your engine seizes as a result of your negligence, you will be responsible for all repairs, right?

[Sloatsburgh]

You just have to pay for your ego and have a new ride. I am comfortable buying a vehicle and sticking with it. Plus, I figure my nephew, who is 5, will get my truck when he turns 16. If you want, I can quickly and easily run some numbers.

I would assume any car after 4 years is worth 20% of its original value and let say it only last 7 years..... at 8.00% discount, with no money down (or equivalent money down), a lease payment of 75% of the loan amount would be about the same (again assuming no additional money down to get the second car). If you plan on keeping the bought car for 9 years, 65% of the loan amount would be equivalent.

But also remember, newer cars have higher insurance rates.

And remind me not to touch anything that you have used... 16K and not an oil change? I will never buy a used car again because I know some asshole got the thing on lease and did not care for it (not just you K1d). No wonder you don't expect a car to last 10 years.....

But Dent, if it's been 3 years and you're already bored with your car and need to get a new one,
1) you should lease because you are just going to get bored with this one.
2) reevaluate your financial situation and base beliefs.

[Kid Afrika]

I'm friends with the sales manager of my dealership, I will have no problems returning this vehicle. Trust me.

I'll get the oil changed eventually, but some preventative maintenance is just superfluous on a car that you'll only have for 2 years.

As for the person that gets the car after me, fuck 'em where they eat. I don't give a shit.

When I first got my license I was living in Wisconsin with my father who is a used car dealer. I drove a different car every week. Now in adulthood, I tend to get bored with vehicles relatively quickly. I can't imagine being such a boring person as to drive the same fucking car for 10 years.