Fububoyee

Well after doing some careful researching and reading I've decided to just go ahead and get a brand new CL-S instead. Now I am getting a

2003 Silver Acura Cl-S 6 / speed and the dealer is also offering me any options that I want at cost.

My rate is as follows
$1300 down (which includes 1st payment, bank fees, etc) and $389 a month for 39 month lease @ 12,000 miles a year. I live in Florida so that works out to $414.96 a month after taxes. I was wondering if anybody got a better deal then that? I think the dealer is selling me the car at $29,000. thanks!

hughesne

0 down and 675 a month and i own mine after 48 payments, 45 left.

Smitty

But you need to figure out if you really want to buy it or lease it...the buy will probably be 100 more... but if you own a business and you can use the lease as a wrote-off then lease away... but I don't recommend leasing unless you own your own business.. You have nothing to show for at the end of a lease... unless you get really lucky like me and buy your car out of the lease and sell it for more than the buy out...LOL.... Only about 2% of people can actually do that..

The only way to beat the car market is to go the dealership with cash and lay it out on the table and watch them drool



Smitty

JasonT

Well you do have better credit, & credit scores after the lease.

Mines leased. In FL, I pay $420 w/tax & I have 15K miles/year, same down paymant.

Smitty

Better credit can be obtain from a Best BUY card or Sears credit card... Just pay off the balance ever month... no need to spend 400-450 a month just to get better credit... He can buy a pack of gum do the same thing.. bad example, but you get the point


Smitty

Slimey

I would never lease a vehicle.

IMHO, a lease is a bad financial arrangement. For a few dollars more you get OWNERSHIP and EQUITY. With a lease you are just purchasing the depreciation of the property without getting any benefits of OWNING the property.

Enjoy your (I mean the bank's) six speed.

jts1207

unless you have the title at your house ...........even when your buying your cars belongs to the bank

Slimey

Excellent points. The benefit of tax write off is still minimal and you still may have done better to depreciate your vehicle on your taxes instead. Many business owners still purchase their car instead of leasing.

A lease is a way for someone to DRIVE a better car then they can AFFORD. In the end you have nothing. Think of a lease as an extended car rental. A purchase allows you to not only drive the vehicle, but OWN it as well.

If you change cars each year then a lease may be reasonable, but still you're just doing extended rentals and not participating in the joy that is car ownership.

Klamalama

Not always true as was pointed out to me by a Nissan salesman. A cash deal knocks them out of a chance to make money on the financing kickback.

jts1207

that is so true.............in some cases a dealer will actually sell a car cheaper if they know you are financing with them

Slimey

Fun thread .

Yes and no. If you purchased the car and received a loan from the bank then the bank holds the title as collateral for the LOAN. You still have ownership, they just have a significant lien to the ownership. It's your equity that you are building with every payment.

If you lease then you never have ownership unless you purchase the car. No equity is gained with lease payments.

I have to agree with the Klam as well - an outright cash deal is not always the best thing either. You may miss out on factory incentives and, more importantly, you take a significant chunk of your money out of investment.

If you pay 4% on a loan and make 7% on your money (interest/stock/mutual fund) then you are making 3%. If you outright purchase the vehicle then you cannot use that money to work for you. There are many formulas for this and I think that the common wisdom shows that taking out a 3 or 4 year loan at a low rate is good economics.

Of course in the current market the above example is a moot point :'( .

jts1207

most times the first 1 to 2 years of payments go to nothing but interest when buying a car..........no equity being gained there .............call your bank for a payoff after a year of payments and see if its not real close or more than the purchase price .......................i bought my car because i want to keep it but if i had decided i wanted a new car every 2 or 3 years i would have leased

Slimey

You are correct. The early payments in most consumer loans go predominantly towards interest. The amount of principle paid per payment is dependent on the term of the loan (ie: a two year versus six year loan).

If you only keep the car for one year a purchase might not be the right choice...but I already said that above :P .

jts1207

it still works out the same even after like 3 or 4 years ...................the equity you will have built by purchasing will equal or be less than the amount you save per payment by leasing..............depending on loan terms of course:P

95LegendCoupe

I usually try to pay cash cause I want my money to go just for the car and not toward the cost of credit and interest. The dealers do not prefer cash at all for the stated reasons. They make less on a cash sale.
The cost of car buying is basically about acquiring an expensive asset that is going down in value everyday you own it, especially the first year. For me, paying the new car price is not worth the loss taken the first year or 2. I plan to buy a used 03 CLS coupe in a year for $20-24k or so. It's not worth $29k - $32k to me now to get a new one. I know most readers here seem to buy new cars but I can live with an extra $10,000 or so and a well built used car. That's how I got my used Legend Coupe. Paid $19,000 cash for a car that retailed for $42,000. plus I had a year warranty to get anything fixed for free. I know there is a money cost for spending cash instead of investing but I hate car payments. One payment is ok though. I can probably get into a used 03 CLS 6speed for $11-13k after selling my Legend for $10-12k. The dealer has a 95 coupe like mine with same mileage and is asking $15k now. I'd just rather spend money on other things.

Red Rider

So finance it with them, get the lower price and then pay off the bank immediately.

Fububoyee

Considering that I swap vehicles on the average of once every 3 years it does not make sense for me to purchase the car. I mean , I'm not even intending on keeping this vehicle for more than 3 years since I would like to have a bmw m5 by that time. second, I do own a business and I can use the lease as a write off. third, I am still financing my 2000 ford expedition eddie bauer so I do not want to be financing 2 vehicles at the same time.