car leases

You asked that question so I am going to answer you . The deal was probably too good to be true. As a buyer you need to be informed in all aspects of the deal. Accords have good resale value - what was the year and what would have been your buyout if you decided to purchase at end of lease. Chances are that book value is well above buyout value in which case dealer would in effect buy car back from leasing company and resell at a profit.

On new lease monthly payment is immaterial to negotiating good lease. You need to know how it was calculated.

There are 4 key numbers to know -

MSRP of car

Price they will sell car to you for

Factor- basically the finance rate.

Residual value ( cost of buyout at end of lease)

The lease rate is based on difference between sell price of car and residual value x the factor.

Obviously if your negotiate a lower sell price difference will be lower and monthly will be lower.

The way to get good lease price is to first tell dealer you want to buy car . then when you get best price tell them you decided to lease instead. They are then stuck calculating lease rate at discounted rate instead of MSRP.


Dealers try to get uninformed buyers focused on monthly payment instead of total cost.

 

OK, here's one:

My lease is up next summer. I will be well over the mileage limit (as I'm sure other SJ's who have leased can imagine).

Should I, right now, go to any mall parking lot in America and buy a POS for $1,500? I can rest the Honda till I need to turn it in and not put any more miles on it, pay the 15 cents a mile off monthly for a while (fully knowing that I'll be the first person in American leasing history to actually pay off the miles, post return) and drive the POS till it falls apart.

That way, I figure in theory, I'll have my miles paid off and have no car payment for a few months to a few years. When the time comes, hopefully I'll have saved enough $ to BUY instead of getting roped into a lease again.

The downside: I have to drive a piece of donkey dick, but I don't have to impress any chicks anymore.

Thoughts?

 

whats the insurace policy on the car?

 

I think I pay something like $500 a year.

 

Nothing beats the 5-7 years of no payments I get with my cars.

 

How many miles do you project you will put on car above your total mileage limit?


" dexter leasing soemtimes can turn out to be cheaper than buying car if Auto company wants to move cars. They will put strong incentives on the leases.

Key is to do the math first.

 

My last car payment was made in March 2001.

If my current car lasts until the mortgage is paid off (May 2011) --- or if Tribune stock will ever &%#$&^% go up --- I may never make another car payment.

 

no car payments are certainly sweet.

but so is always driving in an up-to-date, sweet smelling auto. to each his own.

 

I've never seen the point in leasing, at least for working people who have some semblance of a drive every day. My mother-in-law leases, but that makes sense. She's retired and doesn't drive much.

For me, buying makes the most sense even though cars are not investments. We had a 1994 Cherokee. Paid that sucker off in four years. Drove it for another seven. It had 235,000 miles when we got rid of it. It wasn't the lap of luxury, but it went from A to B in highly reliable fashion. Seven years with just one car payment makes for a nifty way to put money away. If you take care of your car with regular maintenance, buying is the best way to go.

Unless, as shockey mentioned, you like having a new car every now and then. Me, I just need it to go places. Bells and whistles mean nothing, and I put close to 30,000 miles on cars every year.

 

Agreed, though I could imagine Shockey's POV.

 

If I had to guess, I'd say 25K over (over four years).

 

Is it still true that leasing makes the most sense when you own your business and use the vehicle for business purposes.