To make a long story short. I test drove the TL-S and am thinkin about upgrading from my 06. However I dont want my payments to go up and I could get them down to possibly $100 cheaper if I leased. One good point that the dealer had was that when you buy a car, you truely dont own it until you are completely done with the financing, but you do own the depreciation. Where you could get a lease for less money a mth for a shorter time frame and not have to worry about the depreciation or servicing. So what makes more sense? I will have some drastic changes in the near future as I'm considering goin back to school, and for a car fanatic like me (and probably everyone else here) being able to change cars every 3yrs doesnt sound that bad, as technology changes every day.

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

B.

 

I lease, but do so only because I can write off part of the cost due to business usage. Otherwise, leasing would make no financial sense-- you would spend much more to lease a car than to buy it and then sell it when trading for another car.

See the following threads on lease issues:
https://acurazine.com/forums/showthr...hlight=leasing
https://acurazine.com/forums/showthr...hlight=leasing
https://acurazine.com/forums/showthr...hlight=leasing

 

Some things to think about when you lease, you can't do anything the vehicle that you can't return to stock after your lease is up as well as how by the book your dealer is about any mods and service done on time while you lease it. Mileage, could you drive over the mileage in the contract? A good thing is that at the end of the lease you will know how much it will be worth to buy or turn it in and walk away into another vehicle.

 

That is the $1million dollar question. Everyone is different when it comes to lease or buy. When you look at the history of the TL and the resale values you have to say it is better to own and reap the rewards on resale. Then with Honda offering very low interest and high residuial values on this car you can get a pretty low monthly payment on a 36 month lease. I think I can make more money by purchasing this car and selling it in 3 years if I am so inclined to do so. I have leased many American cars because of Factory incentives that made it more attractive and the history of very low resale values on them.

 

I am finishing up my first lease ever at 2004 tl. I never thought I would lease but seeing how i had the car for 40,000 miles and I paid for 3 oil changes and 1 set of tires wasnt bad. A big advantage of a lease is basically no maintanence costs and your car is always under warranty. There are many disadvantages also though.

 

Are they going to beat you up on the over miles? I just got my wife an 07 Nissan Armada LE and they included all service for 5yrs/60 mnths. We'll only have to pay for tires when that time comes.

 

I went through the exact same decision. At first I was thinking of leasing so that I could trade in the car and get a new one every few years.

However I have always financed my cars and it was always nice to be able to have something to trade in as a down payment on my next car.

I didn't like trading in my old car as a down payment on a lease for a new car as I would eventually just lose it all in the end.

I say finance... and if any major changes come up, you can easily sell it later on and get most of your money back.

 

And what exactly do you think the lease payment is covering?

 

The question here is not lease vs buying, but why would you trade in an 06 for an 07? No matter what you do your losing money. Seems like your forcing the issue in order to get the car and your going to have to compromise. Why not wait till you done with school and in a better situation?
I agree with knockz, the resale value on an Acura is high so it is a better investment than most other cars but if you lease at the end of the lease you walk away with nothing. Look at it this way, if it cost less there is a reason for it and it won't be to your advantage.

 

This is true provided that the car being traded in doesn't depreciate quickly.

 

You have the option to purchase the car at the end of the lease so it works out to be more or less the same. Plus you can usually negotiate the buy back when it is 6 mo before your lease is up and they will pretty much give it to you for the same price you would've had it if you outright bought it to begin with.

If you dont like it, you give it back and start over. Financial benefits of buying only emerge if you hold on to the car for a very long time. If you decide to trade you car in for another in 4 years, you are in the same position as a person who leased.

 

We can give you our opinions which in the bigger picture means nothing. If you are considering this you need to look at what your present vehicle is costing you now and say 3 years down the road. Then take all the lease numbers and compare them now and three years down the road.
There are too many variables to definitively say one is better than the other in your particular case. So look at the numbers, end of lease value. What is your present car's loan value in 3 years (if a 3 year lease) in comparison to the end of lease value? Do some research, see site below and look at other impartial sites.

http://www.edmunds.com/advice/buying...9/article.html

 

For individuals driving limited miles per year, the low money factor, high residual leases currently offered by American Honda on the TL are very attractive. While leases can be riddled with excess charges, a good lease can protect a buyer from unexpected financial exposures such as unanticipated depreciation or loss of value from an accident. Furthermore, if you are a cash buyer, a low money factor lease can allow you to invest and leverage the funds that would have been used to buy the car; hopefully generating positive arbitrage, further reducing the cost of the lease.

My wife drives a 2004 Honda Odyssey EX/DVD which we leased for $1,500 down plus $259 per month (a 24 month lease that we extended to 42 months). The money factor is equivalent to 1.5%. The money we would have used to purchase the vehicle has been invested for the last 30 months and has earned about 8% per year. The way I figure things, we'll end up about $3,000 ahead because we took advantage of this lease, plus there is no risk of loss of value from an accident. Good luck with your decision.

 

I leased a car once and it was an okay decision money-wise, but there were two psychological things that caught me by surprise. One was that it kind of destroyed any bonding with the car - I didn't own it, I couldn't modify it, and in a couple years it wasn't going to be mine any more. Call me corny, but I love my cars and trucks. Secondly, after trading for maybe ten new cars before that, it was a shock to reach the end of the lease, shop for cars at $30,000+, and have no trade-in to help.