car lease advice needed

my advice...

DO NOT LEASE A CAR!!!

 

You are correct, sir.

What exactly is the benefit of fleecing a car? I can't think of a single one.

 

My parents leased once. All I remember about it was how pissed my dad was when he got some tax bill at the end of the year. I don't know what it was for, but it was like $500.

 

Why would you want to pay a monthly payment for the duration of the time that you own the car and not own it at some point, or at least be able to use the value to trade in/sell for another car?

 

I lease my car and the reason for that is that I always get the itch to get a new car within a few years, and at that point I usually have very little equity or are more likely upside down. Leasing a car gets you lower monthly payments, so it makes sense if you like to switch cars often.

I realize that I'm sinking money into something I'm not going to get a return on, but that is usually the case anyways since I don't keep cars more than a couple years. For example, the last car I bought was a Nissan Altima 3.5 SE, which I had purchased new. After 2 years when i went to trade it in I was over 4k upside down.

 

Actually there are quite a few circumstances when leasing is better than buying, but most people are better off buying. One being if you drive a lot less miles than you are alloted, when your lease is up, there is a great chance that the value of your car is a lot higher than the negotiated buyback price. In the case of my one and only lease, my car was worth $8k more than the buyback price, so I bought it.

As far as what to know, OP, you need to read a lot about it. Negotiate the price of the car first before telling them you will lease, then you negotiate next on the buyback price and then the terms.

Go to carbuyingtips.com and check out their info on leasing. You will get screwed if you go into this blindly or only look at the monthly payments.

My advice to anyone leasing...do not lease if you are only doing it to get a nicer car than you can afford. If you can afford $400 per month on a car payment, only lease a car that would normally be $400 per month if you buy it. Say the lease ends up being for $250. Put the extra $150 you save each month into an account so you have money saved up for a down payment of your next vehicle. People scew up when they still blow the entire $400 on a much nicer car to lease and don't have any money saved up for the next car or lease (SEE: entire city of Dallas)

 

I'll tell you why: if you are driving a Volkswagen.

NEVER buy a Volkswagen. They are too unreliable and shoddily built. If you BU it, it will COST you a lot more than just the price of the car.

However, lease one for 3 years, by which time it will be showing signs of getting ready to fall apart, and then give it back to them, it will be their problem, not yours.

We are on our 4th Volkswagen now, my wife loves the Beetle convertible, and it's a great fun little car, but in December I am handing it back to them so it will be their little ball of failure.

Sometimes, leasing DOES make sense. Especially if you are they type to be wanting to drive a newer vehicle every 3 or 4 years.

 

And to the OP, check out this site: http://www.swapalease.com/

I've never used the site but my neighbor told me about it and swears by it. He's gotten several cars on there and been very happy with the process. Basically it's a site where people post their vehicles hoping to get people to take over the remaining time on their lease. A lot of times it is people desperate to get out of their lease so they will offer incentives.

 

Keep in mind that a car is the largest investment people make that almost 100% of the time will go down in value. If you always want a car payment for the rest of your life, then okay, thats your loss in money. We haven't had a car payment in about 4-5 years and have sending that money to savings, investments, etc. We also don't spend but maybe 1K a year in car repairs vs. 4K for car payments in a year. The most fiscally responsible choice is usually buying a 2yr old car. Leasing rarely makes fiscal sense in the long run.

 

QFT!

I leased a car once, never again...worst financial decision in my life...

you're "renting"/paying for a car you don't own and get no residual value at the end...plus if you drive over the alloted mileage, you're focked!

I only buy pre-owned and even then, I'll do s-t financing...If you can't afford it, don't buy it...

 

Bad idea leasing a car. Unless you're a multimillionaire.

 

It's a bad idea if:
-You drive more than 12 or 15 thousand miles a year (depending on the lease)
-You usually keep your car for more than 4 or 5 years
-You use it to get a nicer car than you could afford to finance
-You drive your car after you have paid it off

If you do any of those things, you probably shouldn't lease.

 

I like the thought of eventually not making a monthly payment on a car once it's paid off, and still driving the car for a while. If you lease, that doesn't happen ... even though the monthly payment is lower, you're stuck with the payment for as long as you lease ... you don't have the freedom of not having a car payment AND still having a car once the term is up.

 

IMHO, when you perpetually lease a car, you're paying someone else for something you'll never own and you'll continue to have a car payment..and forget about changing your mind in the middle of the term, b/c you're focked...I get having the opportunity to change cars every few years, but to do this, you put a down pmt, pay monthly payments only for the satisfaction of "hey, look at me, I'm driving the new model xyz"...that's just a waste of $$ to me, but to each there own...you still have to maintain and buy tires for something you don't own...

If you don't want to own something and continue to have a car payment, more power to you...I think some of us like having a tangilble asset and once you pay it off, god willing you don't wreck it () and its reliable, you'll never have a car payment again...that's money you could invest or do other things with...

I wish you luck brother...

 

ha! now I'm quoting you for truth.

The average Millionaire buys a 2yr old car and keeps it until well after its paid for. They realize that they'll spend less money on upkeep and repairs than they will on a car payment and they'll come out financially ahead that way. Imagine, not having that $400 car payment for a few years...what could you do with that money? 12 months is almost $5,000 saved..for kids college, emergency fund (you SHOULD have 3-6 months worth of expenses in a savings or money market account you can get to for a new roof, big medical bills, etc), or for retirement, etc.

Of course, I know many people like the status of driving a nice new car..but I really don't car what the guy at the stoplight thinks about my car...or that jerk from High School that has nice things now, but will be dead broke in 20yrs.

whatever you decide, think about the long-term results from todays decision..and by that, I mean more than 2-3yrs down the road. Like RRJ said..good luck to ya.