fuckleberry

:ibsomebodywins:

rpmgatech

This is the math taking into account the edmunds.com depreciation values of the car; and I also acquired the finance and lease payments from edmunds.com for a $5000 downpayment.

This is for a 2005 TSX with NAVI:

Lease:
Assuming a 4 year lease followed by another with the same monthly payment
Total cost @ 5 years = $5000 + 48 month lease + $5000 + 12 month of new lease = $5000 + 48*$481.52 + $5000 + 12*$481.52
Leasing cost = $38,891.80

Finance:
Asuuming a 5 year finance
Total cost @ 5 years = $5000 + 60 month finance = $5000 + 60*$649.72
Financing Cost = $43,983.20

***BUT****
The value of selling the car at 5 years is:
Initial price(minus destination) - depreciation = ~$29,890 - $15,254 (from edmunds)

Car value = $14,636

Therefore, @ 5 years, the monetary benefit of financing is:

Leasing cost - (Finance cost - Car value)
$38,891.80 - ($43,983.20 - $14,636.00) = $9544.60

In conclusion, if you finance you "make" $9544.60 when compared to leasing

Brandon24pdx

Most people get rid of a new car in less than 4 years anyway, leasing just allows you to pay lower monthly payments within that time frame. If you're one of those rare people that keeps a car a LONG time (like 7+) years, financing the car from the get-go is always the better option.

They say smart automotive consumers (admittedly an oxymoron right off the bat) would never exercise the end-of-lease purchase option, but this I think is crap. Sure, you might pay a little more to "buy" the car at the end of your lease, as opposed to going out into the used car market to replace it with an identical model, but your monthly payments will still be a hell of alot lower than the lease payments were, and of course you're driving YOUR car, not some other piece of shit that someone else has beat the crap out of for the last 3-4 years. The payment is what sells you anyway, and at the end of your lease, it may not be a "bad" option for you to purchase the rest of the car.

Obviously you could write a book on lease vs. finance, and im sure its been done. High resale value (ie: not american) is also a key ingredient in making the lease option attractive. Thats part of the reason Honda can offer $289/mo on a new $26k accord.

kyotousa

These are getting too long too read....can i get a summary here?

If you are gurantee to get rid of your car and trade it in for a nicer one
which would save you money?
buy and trade in or lease?

rpmgatech

Read my post (#81) and you will see that financing is the way to go even if you are going to sell the car immediately following the financing period. Also, if you lease, you are required to have a certain level of insurance. So insurance costs may be higher for you if you lease because you may be required to get full coverage; I have a few friends who first-hand told me they are mad they leaseed because they had to get the top of the line insurance coverage.

In an answer to the original question. Just get a used car because I personally know that, at college, people don't respect other people's cars. You will have dings galore and other cosmetic flaws when you leave college with the car you came in with. Also you will have something to sell for a downpayment on a finance when you get out of college.

Brandon24pdx

true about the insurance. (I found that out right at the wrong time) You do have to carry higher coverage on a lease. I would almost be certain you would still come out ahead on a strictly month to month basis if you leased instead of financed.

Brandon24pdx

well duh...obviously you're spending less money if you finance ONE car over five years instead of leasing TWO cars over the same period (and putting $5k down on each lease...a dumb move anyway.)

Compare apples to apples to see the beauty of leasing: a 4-year lease vs a 4 year financing plan, same money down. The payments will be MUCH different. Sure, you own the car at the end of the 4-year finance plan. Shit, there better be an incentive for paying possibly hundreds more per month for the same car.