Anybody lease their vehicle?

Been weighing the pros and cons. I'm really thinking about it (although either way...my credit is NOT good...thank you hubby for taking me to the cleaners without my knowledge), as the idea of driving a new car with lower car payments is appealing, and at the end of 3 years, turning it in for another. With the way cars depreciate these days, I could hardly care if I call the darn thing "mine" anyway, you know? And, with the mileage limits on the lease cars, we'd be fine...we really don't go anywhere but to work, and to the grocery store, etc. I just don't know...

I know a lot of people on here will probably not recommend it...it just seems like it may work out for our situation.

I had a prof. in college that told us about her leasing a car once... you really have to be careful with them, especially with mileage, and even damage on the car. Sometimes they will charge you extra for ANY sort of damage done to the car (rock chips, dings, dents, anything!) she ended up having to pay about an extra $3,000 just for little things she wasn't told and wasn't aware of when she leased it.

My Aunt & Uncle leased their truck, and had no problems- you just have to be really careful and be sure you understand everything on the contract!

I'm considering leasing for the same reasons you described. You get a better monthly rate if you do it for 4 years. However, sometimes the warranty changes after 3. This is something I need to check out.
I'm wary of the damage thing, as I have to park my car on the street.

Ah, haha, if you work for a car company, leasing is defo the way to go and is actually encouraged (more test drivers, more problems found early, higher quality).

For the average person though, there are two ways to go about it. Leasing a car you ultimately pay more for the car, however, you pay less on maintenance. You also get to enjoy getting a new car basically every three years and all the perks of owning a new car (new car smell, pristine interior and engine, you get to rip open all the packages that come with the car, warranty, etc). Also, efficiency is increasing every year. More horsepower, higher fuel efficiency, more technology is put into the car with every model change, so you save on gas, get better performance, more technology, etc.

Buying a new car is cheaper in the long run. But as time goes by, the warranty will expire, and you'll have to start paying higher and higher maintenance bills. The older the car gets, the higher the maintenance bills become. The car is also stuck in time, it's not getting any more gas efficient, nor is the horsepower growing (unless you do performance mods which cost money). So diminishing returns comes into play.

For people who have settled in, have a stable job, etc, if you really like a certain car, you're likely to take care of it and keep it till it falls apart, so buy it. If you don't really know what car you like out there, then lease until you find one you truly love. For those constantly on the move, changing jobs, travel a lot, I suggest a newish used car (let someone else take the hit of buying a new car or leasing, and take their losses as your gain).

No way i'd ever lease a car- it's a debt trap.

Originally Posted by StarryEyedTiGeR

No way i'd ever lease a car- it's a debt trap.

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That isn't necessarily true, you don't own anything at the end, but you also get a new car every 3 or so years and plenty of studies show that if you were to buy outright, the interest paid and the depreciated value of the car after 3 years means that is basically costs the same to lease or buy if you were to trade in the old car for new at the same time frame as a lease.

Buying is only cheaper if you intend to keep the vehicle for a lot longer than a lease runs.
The boyout cost on a lease tends to be quite high though if you decide to keep it, but then it is cheaper than new lease payments also and they issue a new extended warranty with some of them.

We lease because it is easier on business taxes, I hate working out the depreciated value for every tax statement we have to send.

As people said, you have to be careful with milage, you can buy an extended warranty and a small extra cost (I think it is about $5 a month on our truck) allows you to have one small dent or scratch per panel etc when you return it that they will not charge for.

It is also easier to get a lease with bad credit, as technically they still own the vehicle and can come and take it if you don't make the payments.

If you decide to lease, go through Costco (get a membership even if you don't have one). I think Sam's Club has something similar.

The $45 membership pays very well for leases.

I.e. Before joining Costco, I had to put down $2500 towards a new Chevy Malibu -this was back in 2002?- anyhoo, that's roughly how much you need with a down payment...then my payments were $265/mo.

After joining Costco, I only placed $350 down and am paying $230/mo (Honda Civic). I got that in 2005.

The downside with Leasing is that you're limited to the miles you're allowed to drive in 2-3 years (mine in 45,000 miles in 36 months). So if you do a lot of driving, just buy.

Also, they can get you if there is damage, but normally they'll waive it if you release or buy from the same dealership you turn it in to. Most places, like Honda, will waive up to $1500 in damages. Heck, even my Malibu had a slightly dented bumper and I didn't get charged for that!

Really though now is the best time to buy or lease. If you buy, definitely go with a 2 year old model and get an extended warranty. By then all the kinks are pretty much worked out and the cost is a lot less than buying brand new.

I worked for one of the largest auto financing companies for 20 years. I know leasing forwards and backwards as I trained alot of dealer personnel.
Personally I would never lease a vehicle.

What is most important to you having a new car more often, payment???
Full insurance must be kept on the vehicle the entire lease it not than can be cause to repo'ing the vehicle.
Determine how many miles you drive a year-plan no getting a new job, moving?? make sure you figure that out. There are low and high mile lease plans available plus sometimes you can buy additional miles. If you don't "use" them you will get $$ back. If you underestimate miles you can pay big time. I have seen lots of cases where people had to park the cars and not drive them as they were so over miles. This has to be paid at the end of the lease.
Wear and tear damage. Finance companies have gotten real picky on this-any burns, paints chips, glass damage has to be fixed before returning vehicle.
Leasing is a big profit center for dealers, etc... Find out what the Capitalized cost of the vehicle is-that is what they are basing the payments on and many times its much more than what you can buy the vehicle for.
You can apply rebates to lower the capitalized cost and hence the payments but if you plan on putting down any of your own cash-remember you do not own the vehicle.
You can buy the vehicle at the end of the lease but usually the payments will be higher than your original lease payments.
Do not lease any longer than 36 months. The closer you come to a 48 month lease ( NEVER A 60 MONTH LEASE) its cheaper to buy. Just remember you do not own this vehicle.
If you want to terminate the lease early all the payments will have to be made through the end of the lease, damages etc. This is not a way to go.
Any other questions please feel free to pm me!

How about saving up money to buy a car you can afford and paying cash? Then it's paid for, it's yours, and you don't have to keep up "false pretenses" about your real wealth?

I used to work closely with the auto industry and I, too, would NEVER lease a vehicle.

I saved up, paid $2,500 for a used truck at auction (less than half the book value) and I own it outright, can drive it into the ground if need be.

Don't you think that if folks who have worked in the auto industry are telling you that it isn't a good idea, that maybe leasing REALLY isn't a good idea?

You may as well start flushing your dollar bills now. You'll wind up with the same thing to show for it if you lease. JMO.

We are in a position to do that-we only borrowed a small amount and paid off our new car in 9 months. The truck has paid for yrs ago. When we get a new one between the trade in value,rebates there won't be alot to finance again.Sure we could buy a more expensive vehicle but why?? I would rather have that money in investments working for me instead of depreciating in my garage!! There are lots of people driving vehicles that they cannot pay for!!

I own my car. I don't think I'd ever lease. I like what I have to be mine. I don't want anyone else telling me what I can and cannot do to my car.

I have always leased it works for me, other then not having your name on the pink slip as owner I don't see any difference at all,
I just leased a 2007 Camry LE not a nickel out of pocket and the payments are reasonable so very often you can't afford the down payment to purchase so I love the fact that I can get a new car every 4 years. The payments are less on a lease then they are on a purchase, My Son-In-Law has worked for Toyota for 12 years and he said at the rate for values on cars are anymore it's the best way to go. I have leased the last 3 cars I have owned and thats the only way to go as far as I am concerned unless you have a ton of money to put down. The limit on miles for me works also because I don't drive a lot. I was about 10,000 under what they allow you so it was fine.

The above is how I feel. If I waited to save $18000 for new car, I'd be an old lady. I have so many other expenses, saving a big chunk o' change is a bit of a deal.
I'm planning on asking at the bank, what rates I could get for a loan. Wondering if borrowing the money to purchase new or almost new car may work out better.
For me, as i need a car somewhat soon, leasing is appearing to be the most economical option so far.

Originally Posted by pee-cleaner

How about saving up money to buy a car you can afford and paying cash? Then it's paid for, it's yours, and you don't have to keep up "false pretenses" about your real wealth?

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This was a rather assumptive statement. I wouldn't be keeping any "false pretenses" about my real wealth, as everyone who knows me knows that my family and I have suffered from a lot of financial detriment due to my husband's drug addiction. He stole and lied to us for 2 years non-stop, and betrayed our trust so far into the gutter, you would not believe it. He literally took me to the cleaners, stole my credit cards, and maxed them to the limit, and pawned off virtually everything we had so that we could either eat, or so he could feed his horrible habit. Our house (which we do own), is a major fixer-upper, and we can barely afford to do any of the repairs or re-modeling necessary to make it decent-looking. DH is not a bad or evil person, he is sick, and has been in and out of treatment for a year now...currently, he's doing well, and we love him despite his disease. I currently have a '99 Chevy Malibu that I've owned (it's bought and paid for), and I'm starting to worry a bit about it...we've paid some rather large repair bills on the car as of late, and it now has 95,000 miles on it. It's not going to last us forever, and I have to start looking at a good car. I've had fairly okay luck with used cars, but DETEST repairs costs, and we typically don't have that type of money just laying around.

So rather than thinking of this from a look-at-me-I-have-a-new-car standpoint, WE NEED a good car, and one we can depend on with lower monthly payments, and not a lot of repair costs. I just know our credit is not good enough for a loan...there's just no way.

It's something we have to consider, and I've done some research about leasing at this point. I do understand the pro's and con's, and we're just pondering it at the moment. There is no way we can save up enough cash to just buy a vehicle outright...I don't know a lot of folks that can do this themselves.

Originally Posted by wookie130

I currently have a '99 Chevy Malibu that I've owned (it's bought and paid for), and I'm starting to worry a bit about it...we've paid some rather large repair bills on the car as of late, and it now has 95,000 miles on it. It's not going to last us forever, and I have to start looking at a good car. I've had fairly okay luck with used cars, but DETEST repairs costs, and we typically don't have that type of money just laying around.

So rather than thinking of this from a look-at-me-I-have-a-new-car standpoint, WE NEED a good car, and one we can depend on with lower monthly payments, and not a lot of repair costs. I just know our credit is not good enough for a loan...there's just no way.

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Rather than buying a new car, or leasing, have you thought about older used cars? Find an old (10 or more years old), Honda or Toyota with preferably under 100k miles. They can be had for around $4k-8k, depending on the year, model, and condition. Although they will be out of warranty, they still have great gas mileage, lowish insurance costs, excellent reliability (if taken care of), and have good resale value. It's extremely common to see Honda cars with over 200k miles on them still running strong. Toyota cars I'm not very familiar with but I've seen many old 80's and early 90's era Toyota's still puttering about. Problem is finding one in good or excellent condition, they're pretty common in Ohio (Columbus, Dayton, Cincinnati area), but outside of those areas they're a little more rare.

like others have said. I had a friend she lived 10 miles from her job. she never went out of town, or long drives etc. SO she leased a car thinking it was a great deal. flash forward 6 months new job that hard her driving all over Ohio and PA. she used up all the miles in under 10 months. She had to sit the car and get beater just to keep working.

If you plan on buying a used vehicle-go to a branded dealer (vs a used car dealer only) and buy a "Certified" pre-owned vehicle. These vehicle have a more detailed inspection process and a different type of extended warranty. The only thing is a good chunk of these certified pre-owned vehicles were rentals and you might have heard stories how people treat rental cars.
Used vehicles can be leased but it doesn't work out to be a very good deal.
The low APR rates at the dealership are usually the best deal finance wise.
If you have to finance do it for the shortest term possible. If you finance a vehicle for 60 months with little or no down payment it takes 37 months to have equity in the vehicle. Most people will come in to dealers for a new vehicle about at 33 months so you could end up owing more than what the vehicle is worth. A 72 month loan takes 48 months (4 yrs!!) before one has equity in the vehicle. So the payment my be lower initially but its going to get you in the end. Also the adds at a dealership-credit life/disability.warranty etc.... can add up to ALOT more to finance.