I used to be against leasing, but now I am thinking about doing a lease instead of a buy if I can get payments where I want them of course.

I like to change cars every 2 years or so. I know you can buy the car @ the end of the lease, but I probably would not just cuz I like to switch it up and get bored easily. So I'm still not sure that leasing is right for me.


Anyone care to shed some light on this?

Talk me into or out of doing a lease. I'm open to all info you may have.

 

For me, I would stay away from leasing a car b/c of amount of driving I do. As far as I know, most you can get a year is 15,000 on a leasing vehicle. If that's not a problem to you then it wouldn't be such a bad idea to lease it since you like to change it very often.

 

I can never understand the advantage of leasing, except for the fact that you with a lease, you can drive more 'car' for the money. Drop the expensive taste a little or find a barely used one and buy. Whenever I hear someone tell me they lease, I just think the person is driving a car they really could not afford to buy ...

just my 2 cents..

 

Leasing isn't bad if you know and accept that you'll have a car payment in your budget at all times. Being that you're a car guy, you probably will and you have to accept that you'll always blow some of your money on your passion for cars. I'm like you in that regard. I've spend way too much on cars in my life, but hey, it's my hobby sort of.

Now, if you want financial nuts & bolts, buying a new car is a bad move, period. You should buy used and hold onto it as long as you can. Financially speaking, a lease is a bad move. Worse than buying. But, it's not worse than buying and selling the car early before it's paid off.

The thing is, if you know you're going to want out in a few years, and you know that you'll always have a car payment in your monthly budget, then a lease is an ok move.

If you have your own business, it's even better because you can write off the interest, etc.

I personally have never leased because every car I get I'm convinced I'll keep for the long-haul, but I have yet to do that. I just lie to myself basically. There are many cars in my past that I should have leased... but oh well.

 

i roll too many miles, and i may decide to change some stuff out from time to time, which is not cool with a lease. mods, lots of mileage, and a lease don't mix

 

That's now what I'm looking to do, but I understand that a lot of folks do it.

 

You can only write off a lease if you own the business? I currently wtire off mileage etc on my current car for work, but own the car & don't own the business.

 

Check with your local accountant, because state laws may vary, but at a Federal level, yes... you must own the business to write off the payment.
If you don't own it, then you can write off the miles just like you do now with the car you own.

 

Also what kind of difference in payment, if any, am I looking at for a 24 mo vs 36 mo lease?

 

www.leasecompare.com

They can give you a lot of info, and you can model different leases for different cars.

 

To me the only benefit of the lease is the lower payment. Owing gives you equity in the car, unrestricted milage, ability to personalize without consequences. Plus the ability to sell the car at the end or use it as a DP towards another car almost equals out the lower payment of a lease.

 

keep in mind with a buy you are not only out the instant depreciation of the car once you drive it off the lot but you are also out the entire sales tax amount and in cali where i am from 8.25% on a 50k car is a little over $4,000. on a lease you only pay sales tax on each payment you make, not on the car as a whole. yes you may have equity in it after a year or two but look at what you lost to get that equity. i am in no way saying a lease is always better than a buy because thats not the case, it really depends on the person which is best. but i just wanted to throw some more info out there. and btw i would not recommend leasing if the sole reason is to be able to get a car you normally would not be able to afford.

 

It's real simple.

If you must or really want a new car every 2 to 3 years, lease. Otherwise, buy and pay it off.

 

thats true too

If you can't afford to finance it, don't lease it

 

Leasing a car guarranties that you a residual value. If the car gets accidented fifty times, you won't have to kill yourself selling the car... Just give back the car and that it.

I lease my cars all the time (other than my summer cars). I never get to the end of my lease since I trade my cars every 18-24 months... I prefer leasing but it costs more since you're stuck with a payment all your life...

Also one more thing... People say that leasing costs more than buying... One thing you may consider is that if the lease costs 150$ less per month, that's $150 per month you can invest.

 

If I buy I'm buying used not new.

 

As long as you don't take that extra $150 and use it on a more expensive car with a higher lease payment, which is what i think we are telling people to avoid

 

Whether Leasing makes sense or not depends on personal preference. I personally get tired of cars very quickly. I bought my CLS in late 2000 and by 2003 I already got tired of it. I fell in love with the Z and took a decent loss selling the CLS.

Now that I lease the Z, I don't have to worry about maintenance and I know in a short time I will be in my next car. I may be a bit more expensive, but it keeps me in new cars every few years.

 

I have leased a car before and it sucked. I put a little extra mileage and got hit with a big bill, then the few little knicks, carpet wear and stuff like that was going to be charged, but i faught it. Lastly, i paid all that money for 3 years, just to have nothing at the end. No money for a down payment, couldnt sell the car, nothing. Plus i was paying for a car payment, plus ins, so i had no money to save. At the end, i had nothing and had to start over. I was young and worked my ass off for my money. Leasing is good for people who like to switch up every few years and have the means to do so.

 

I've done both
Lease if you can say yes to these questions...
You want a new car every few years
Your payments will not exceed your budget. Cost of car doesn't matter if you can get good monthly payments with a lease.
You can stay within the 12-15K miles a year term
You take care of the car, don't trash it, & mod it only if you can put it back to stock.

The only advantages to buying a new car now days is you have the car to show for it. You won't have equity in the car till you pay it off. Resale sucks on cars. More so then a few years ago.

 

Also if you happen to own a business or are in a position to do so you can write off taxes on a leased car as a business expense. I don't really understand it all, but my dad says he saves alot of money by leasing over buying..

 

If you use the vehicle strictly for business purposes, you can often write off the entire cost of ownership as a business expense.

 

I don't own a business, but I do write off mileage etc for my current vehicle. Do you have to own the business to write off a lease?

 

Didn't I answer that for you earlier in this thread?

Yes, you have to own the business. Otherwise, you just write off the miles like you do now.

 

If you put on a lot of miles, its not worth it to lease.

Lease if you intend on getting a new car every 3 years and you can stay within the mileage.

 

Also when you buy it off the end of the lease you save pure billz . I get mine off lease in January