Jiffy Lube scam - caught on tape

Actually, I saw an ad in the paper for a convertible Volkswagon Beetle. I believe it was $300 a month with nothing down for four years. I'm not sure about the other charges, but I know that there are some hidden costs that end up biting you in the butt.

You'd pay $14,400 on the lease if you returned it on the lease end date and didn't get charged another dime. For about $3,000 more, you could buy one. Your payments would be more, and you'd have a car worth about $3,000-$5,000 to trade in when you were done. Obviously, there are advantages to buying. But I'd rather save myself $50 a month over four years on the payment and just give it away when it gets that age where shit starts to go wrong. Just a preference.

And I should note that my Cavalier required $1,000 in repairs about three months after the lease expired, which was during the first year. Something related to the air conditioning went kaput. I'll certainly never buy used again. You never know what the things went through. I found a car rental receipt under the passenger seat. It was from Tampa, so there's a chance that the car was a hurricane victim. The Florida Attorney General alerted folks toward the end of 2005 that dealers might be trying to push Hurricane Katrina cars onto people. Just something to consider when dealing with used cars.

 

The mileage restrictions are what keeps me from leasing. Driving as much as I do (and as much as many people in this business do), it's too easy to go over the limit and end up owing a lot more money.

 

A four-year-old Beetle convertible is worth a hell of a lot more than $3,000-$5,000.