I need a new car. I currently drive a Yukon which has over 170k miles and has some issues. Drives okay and I like it, but the gas (12-13mpg) and maintenence are making it a burden. I had decided to go and test drive a Honda Civic, amazing gas mileage and the new ones look good too. Well me being 6’3 230, I didn’t fit as well as I would have liked.
Insert salesman, and he offers that the Accord would fit me much better. Oh it did, it’s amazing. The new 2008 Accord coupe is a really nice vehicle. Only problem: $425/month to purchase one. That is deffinately steep for me since I did not want to go over $300.
I did not intend to lease, but a lease on the same vehicle would be exactly $300/month. Of course I could go buy a used Accord for around $15k, however I haven’t had a new car in a long time and I really have fallen in love with the 08.
Is leasing so bad? I do drive alot so I have every intention of buying it out at the end. Opinions??
Buying it at the end of a lease will cost you more in the end so I would not suggest doing that.
I currently lease but I do not drive much and I change vehicles every few years so for me it’s cheaper.
What I would do if I were you is to ask what the buyout would be at the end of the lease. Then add up all of your lease payments (including tax!! which is NOT included in that lease price they quoted you normally) and add it to the buyout. That�??s your total payment.
Plus would you really want to be paying off a 2-3 year old vehicle for another 2-3 years? If you do then by the time you own it you own a 6yr old car.
[quote]CrewPierce wrote:
Buying it at the end of a lease will cost you more in the end so I would not suggest doing that.
I currently lease but I do not drive much and I change vehicles every few years so for me it’s cheaper.
What I would do if I were you is to ask what the buyout would be at the end of the lease. Then add up all of your lease payments (including tax!! which is NOT included in that lease price they quoted you normally) and add it to the buyout. That�??s your total payment.
Plus would you really want to be paying off a 2-3 year old vehicle for another 2-3 years? If you do then by the time you own it you own a 6yr old car.
Hope that helps!
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Good post.
My advice is to buy used based on what you say you want to spend. You will regret the lease on the tail end unless you plan on changing cars every couple years.
Wow I can’t believe the dealer let you out the door.
Yes in your situation leasing is horrible. It’s great for people who like to have a new car every 2-3 years. Plus if you do alot of driving you will end up paying the same or more then if you just purchased the car now. You may want to see how certified pre owned is.
[quote]Airtruth wrote:
Wow I can’t believe the dealer let you out the door.
Yes in your situation leasing is horrible. It’s great for people who like to have a new car every 2-3 years. Plus if you do alot of driving you will end up paying the same or more then if you just purchased the car now. You may want to see how certified pre owned is.
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Salesperson sees commission a lease is more money for the salesperson. When I sold Honda I could lease an accord ex-v6 for about 300 a month I’d make 400 or so, if I sold the car at 300 a month on a 60 month buy with little money down I’d make about a 100.
Also what I found to work best is to go into the dealership and say I’m looking to pay X a month. If you can do it, great. If not I’ll find someone who can.
That’s what I did with my newest car. At first they told me I was nuts, so I started to leave. By then end they got it right to where I said I would pay. To do this they took off $10,000+ from the sticker price.
[quote]kevinm1 wrote:
Airtruth wrote:
Wow I can’t believe the dealer let you out the door.
Yes in your situation leasing is horrible. It’s great for people who like to have a new car every 2-3 years. Plus if you do alot of driving you will end up paying the same or more then if you just purchased the car now. You may want to see how certified pre owned is.
Salesperson sees commission a lease is more money for the salesperson. When I sold Honda I could lease an accord ex-v6 for about 300 a month I’d make 400 or so, if I sold the car at 300 a month on a 60 month buy with little money down I’d make about a 100.
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I was surprised because the dealer had him on the fence. Most dealers at least in this area would throw themselves on the hood of your car screaming before they would let you leave without your signature. Here’s a guy who went in wanting to pay 300 a month, and a civic, before he left he was contemplating 425 and an 2008 accord.
Let him walk out the door he posts on T-Nation and is told to buy a used accord for under 300 a month. Not a very good job on the part of the salesman.
Also what I found to work best is to go into the dealership and say I’m looking to pay X a month. If you can do it, great. If not I’ll find someone who can.
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This is generally a BAD idea. They can always find a way to match your $x/month by changing term of lease/loan, $ due at purchase, $ due at dropoff, etc. They are very skilled at hiding fees and costs in this scenario. That’s why they always try to steer the conversation to “how much do you want to spend a month?”.
I either pay cash for the car or get my financing externally. That way, the only thing I’m negotiating with the dealer is final price. At that point, you can name your price and say “take it or leave it” and you’re not left wondering if you got screwed or not.
There are a lot of websites nowadays where you can go to find out what the dealer cost is. Take this price and add a small margin to be fair to the dealer, and set your price. If no dealer will take it, you can always come back a little higher in a week. They won’t hold it against you.
OP, like others have said, leasing is not fundamentally a bad idea, it just doesn’t sound right for you.
Also what I found to work best is to go into the dealership and say I’m looking to pay X a month. If you can do it, great. If not I’ll find someone who can.
This is generally a BAD idea. They can always find a way to match your $x/month by changing term of lease/loan, $ due at purchase, $ due at dropoff, etc. They are very skilled at hiding fees and costs in this scenario. That’s why they always try to steer the conversation to “how much do you want to spend a month?”.
I either pay cash for the car or get my financing externally. That way, the only thing I’m negotiating with the dealer is final price. At that point, you can name your price and say “take it or leave it” and you’re not left wondering if you got screwed or not.
There are a lot of websites nowadays where you can go to find out what the dealer cost is. Take this price and add a small margin to be fair to the dealer, and set your price. If no dealer will take it, you can always come back a little higher in a week. They won’t hold it against you.
OP, like others have said, leasing is not fundamentally a bad idea, it just doesn’t sound right for you.
Good luck,
DB
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AH good catch DB. I forgot to mention that I had it down to what I wanted to put down as well.
To add to your point there are also websites which post what others got their car for/ what their lease payment is.
Thats one part of the way I decided how much to pay.
You should be able to pick up a used '03 or '04 with around 30k miles for $300 a month (48-54 months). Accords are great cars. I’m driving my second right now, and I love it. I will drive it until it dies. But they’re built so well I may end up preceding it to the grave.
kevinm1 wrote:
What he said any most salespeople I know would buy a used before going new too much deprciation[/quote]
Definitely - in addition to what’s been mentioned, leases have other hidden traps, like maximum yearly mileage. If you go over, you will pay hefty penalties at the end of the lease.
Used cars are great - get a 2-3 year old model - pay a little extra for lower mileage and certification from the dealer. By waiting a few years you can see about average repair costs and reliability of the new models, and you’re foregoing all that “drive off of the lot” depreciation.
That’s not bad overall, except that 3 of the 5 reasons to lease aren’t financial pluses - they’re ways to get the use of more car than a person could afford to buy, without any consideration of the overall spend or financial sense of the transaction.
[quote]BostonBarrister wrote:
Definitely - in addition to what’s been mentioned, leases have other hidden traps, like maximum yearly mileage. If you go over, you will pay hefty penalties at the end of the lease.
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Good point. I have a friend that paid 400-500 per month to lease a Mercedes, and had to sit it in his garage for the last year of the lease because he went over the mileage limit at the end of the second year. Not much sense in leasing a car you can only look at.
