As I get older I realize that I want a new car that I don't have to worry about and am considering leasing. I've always enjoyed old german cars, and will continue to have them, but want at least one car that looks decent enough and I don't have to constantly be fixing something. I see all these commercials for various leases around $200/month with something down and a deal like that sounds great. I haven't gotten into the details yet about mileage allowance, and that may prove to be the deal breaker, but what other things am I looking at?

I understand that at the end of it I wouldn't own anything, but I don't really have enough cash to buy anything nice outright and don't really want to finance anything as expensive as a new car (i'd rather have the money for other things).

I'm still just brainstorming, but has anyone had good or bad experiences with leasing?

2/24/2011 11:34:52 AM

A lease is worth considering if you want to always have a newish car to drive. You'll likely be paying more in lease payments than you would lose in depreciation. So you'll be spending more money, but you'll have a new car every 3 years. It works out better if you keep leasing, and don't switch back to buying cars.

2/24/2011 12:22:06 PM

yeah garage guys like to buy cars off leases because the big hit of depreciation is done but still pretty much a factory maintained car.

If you want a brand new car every short while.... a lease is definitely for you.

2/24/2011 12:51:10 PM

you also are required to have really expensive insurance with a lease

2/24/2011 12:51:13 PM

i had actually never considered the fact that i would probably hav eto pay for full coverage on the nicer car

2/24/2011 1:13:03 PM

^^ no more expensive than if the bank actually owned your car right?


you have to pay full coverage on any vehicle you're making payments on if i'm not mistaken.



[Edited on February 24, 2011 at 1:14 PM. Reason : .]

2/24/2011 1:13:52 PM

yeah, but since i'm leasing instead of buying i am in a more expensive class of cars than what i would normally buy so the insurance is going to be a lot more.

2/24/2011 1:15:55 PM

i worry about overpaying for things more than i worry about my 13 year old truck breaking down

2/24/2011 1:28:10 PM

Quote :

"I don't really have enough cash to buy anything nice outright and don't really want to finance anything as expensive as a new car (i'd rather have the money for other things). "

Sort of confused by this. At the beginning I am assuming you are saying that you don't have the cash to just pay off a car on the spot correct? That's fine, I wouldn't recommend that anyway unless you can't get a good rate on the loan.

Anyway, the part I don't get is where you are saying you don't want to finance anything as expensive as a car.

But you say:

Quote :

"I see all these commercials for various leases around $200/month with something down and a deal like that sounds great."

With a little money down, there are lots of new or very slightly used cars that you can own for between $200-$300/month. So I'm confused by the fact that leasing situation looks so good to you but buying doesn't. If it is purely a financial thing and wanting to have a new(er) car, I don't see what the problem is with getting a new(er) car.

In fact, my buddy just picked up a Honda Civic with ~30,000 miles in great condition for $13k. Traded in his old car for $2k, got 1.9% financing and I think he is paying <$200 a month.

But, yes if you continuously want a car that is only 3-5 years old then I guess I would tell you to lease.

[Edited on February 24, 2011 at 1:38 PM. Reason : .]

2/24/2011 1:35:07 PM

it depends on the car. some cars bigger depreciation hits than others once driven off the lot. just look at E9x BMW's. you can get a 2008 or 2009 CPO that was originally in the 60's for under 30k

2/24/2011 1:37:22 PM

Definitely depends on the car. But, if the OP is just looking for a car that "looks decent enough and [he doesn't] have to constantly be fixing" I would seriously consider some slightly-used cars.

2/24/2011 1:44:33 PM

no pros
all cons

2/24/2011 2:24:11 PM

Quote :

"Sort of confused by this. At the beginning I am assuming you are saying that you don't have the cash to just pay off a car on the spot correct? That's fine, I wouldn't recommend that anyway unless you can't get a good rate on the loan. Anyway, the part I don't get is where you are saying you don't want to finance anything as expensive as a car. "

i don't have $30k in cash. I could afford to finance at least that, but would rather not because it would cut into the money I use to have fun with. I can easily buy a used car cash, and I do, but I am getting tired of fixing things or having things fixed. I will still keep the car I have now and am looking at another used car, but I'd really like to have something new that I don't need to worry about. The aversion to repairs is more about the headache than the cost.

Quote :

"With a little money down, there are lots of new or very slightly used cars that you can own for between $200-$300/month."

well yeah, and I have owned them, but I want something newer and nicer.

2/24/2011 4:20:22 PM

Quote :

"You need enough liquid cash to cover your term and put that into a high interest account that is > than the interest of your lease. You need to carefully select a car that will lose the least value over the course of those three years and at the end make your decision to buy or trade in hoping that the residual value they chose for you is less than the car is truly worth. Add the interest you made from the account vs leasing terms and blam-o. Impossible to find a 0% Audi/BMW leasing special to couple with a 5% account allowing you to pull from monthly. This is extremely oversimplified and perhaps somewhat plain wrong, but it's one of the only situations where leasing could work. It just sounds to me like you want to live above your means and looking to TWW for justification."

This was my response to mambagirl when it was trolling a while back.

2/24/2011 5:13:10 PM