Is Leasing Really a Bad Idea?

Off Topic
21

[quote]TKL wrote:
rainjack wrote:
Buy a used car.

How does one go about negotiating price for a used car? I heard the blue book is accurate for prices, is that what most people use? [/quote]

You would negotiate a used car just like a new one if you are buying from a car lot.

If you are buying from an individual, good old fashioned haggling always works.

It all depends on how motivated the seller is to sell, and how much the buyer is willing to pay.

I am not a car expert, but I think the NADA book is used more for loan values by bankers than setting market prices.

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I was looking at this site:

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If you can afford it, leasing is the best option period.

24

[quote]TKL wrote:
rainjack wrote:
Buy a used car.

How does one go about negotiating price for a used car? I heard the blue book is accurate for prices, is that what most people use? [/quote]

Bluebook is pretty good. Figure out what options you really want, test drive a lot, and take your time. Negotiating is really about patience. Don’t bluff, if you can make an offer and walk away, eventually either you will find a great deal, or some desperate seller will drop down to your price. Don’t go out and fall in love with the first vehicle that suits your needs.

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[quote]chillain wrote:
If you can afford it, leasing is the best option period.

[/quote]

Do you mean if he doesn’t care about how much money he spends?

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Leasing is the best option if you are one of those people that gets a new car every 2-4 years.
Other than that if you cant afford new go with somehing a few years old as has already been said.

27

[quote]LillGuy001 wrote:
Leasing is the best option if you are one of those people that gets a new car every 2-4 years.
Other than that if you cant afford new go with somehing a few years old as has already been said.[/quote]

Horse shit. Worst advice on this thread.

29

[quote]BostonBarrister wrote:

rainjack wrote:
Buy a used car.

kevinm1 wrote:
What he said any most salespeople I know would buy a used before going new too much deprciation

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.

[/quote]

One of my cousins leased a new whatever model so that she would have a good car to drive back and forth to school. So being the twenty-something kid she was, anytime a road trip came up she wanted to drive her “new” car.

By the time she added up the mileage and the penalty, she realized that she was going to be over her miles. So her brand-new car that she loved so much had to SIT in the driveway, while she still made payments, for SIX months before she turned it in.

And since she still needed a car to get around in, she had to buy a used POS car in the meantime.

30

[quote]rainjack wrote:
LillGuy001 wrote:
Leasing is the best option if you are one of those people that gets a new car every 2-4 years.
Other than that if you cant afford new go with something a few years old as has already been said.

Horse shit. Worst advice on this thread. [/quote]

Do explain to me your extensive konwledge on this topic and why you are of course right. Since im spewing horse shit.

If you are in fact one of those people that go with a new vehicle every 2-4 years, it does end up being much cheaper in the end to lease the car rather than purchase it.
Something that is a few years old with low miles and is mechanicaly sound can end up being a great purchase for most.

31

Hey good thread, thanks. I had been looking into leasing out of sheer curiosity.

I’m planning on driving my car until it dies anyway. At least I’m trying to convince myself of that. So far, so good.

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[quote]LillGuy001 wrote:
Leasing is the best option if you are one of those people that gets a new car every 2-4 years.
Other than that if you cant afford new go with somehing a few years old as has already been said.[/quote]

Leasing is just plain financial stupidity. Read the article I posted a few back :wink:

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Yes, leasing is a terrible idea. They have you sign a contract to only drive a very few miles. If you go over, you have to pay to return the car. If you want to purchase the car at the end of the lease, consider it as if you were making a interest only loan and are stuck with the principle at the end.

In other words, don’t do it.

34

[quote]dollarbill44 wrote:
CrewPierce wrote:

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
[/quote]

I had been wanting to buy a new car, so I decided to purchase a new GTO. I saved up enough money to pay cash for the car. I walked into the dealership with my checkbook in hand. Testdrove it, loved it. I started negotiating price and we agreed on a final price.

Finally, the salesman asked me how I was going to pay for the car and I said “cash”. His response was “are you aware that we have excellent finance options?” I repeated, that I was paying cash and he kept pushing. I got a little pissed and told him I was going to go and think it over because the Astros’ were about to play in the World Series. He offered for me to watch it there. This aggravated me.

He stopped and told me that “he had something to show me”. He came back with his manger. The manager told me “I came by to make you aware that the price is only available for today”. I grabbed my stuff and left.

Basically, they will do whatever they can to get you to finance or purchase under their terms and a lease is the worse way to do it. The point of the story is that if you come in with your mind made up, they will do whatever possible to get you to do what they want. “What is $50 a month?”

35

Man y’all are hating the leasing ideas!

For me it makes sense since I 1) change cars often and 2) I don’t drive much.

For me I am paying 19k over 3 years for a 50k car (this includes down payment and all other expenses including oil changes and such).

We could say I bought the car IN CASH for 50k. The expected value in 3yrs is 27,000. So if I sold it after three years I would have lost 23k. So infact I saved 4k by leasing.

This was even assuming I paid in cash so there was no interest and I didn’t take into account and oil changes or anything.

That being said I plan on buying my next car because I may be doing more driving than I am now. Also, I’ll be buying a truck haha I need something practical.

36

[quote]CrewPierce wrote:
Man y’all are hating the leasing ideas!

For me it makes sense since I 1) change cars often and 2) I don’t drive much.

For me I am paying 19k over 3 years for a 50k car (this includes down payment and all other expenses including oil changes and such).

We could say I bought the car IN CASH for 50k. The expected value in 3yrs is 27,000. So if I sold it after three years I would have lost 23k. So infact I saved 4k by leasing.

… [/quote]

You are kidding yourself here. If your numbers were accurate then they wouldn’t lease you the car for that amount.

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[quote]CrewPierce wrote:
Man y’all are hating the leasing ideas!

For me it makes sense since I 1) change cars often and 2) I don’t drive much.

For me I am paying 19k over 3 years for a 50k car (this includes down payment and all other expenses including oil changes and such).

We could say I bought the car IN CASH for 50k. The expected value in 3yrs is 27,000. So if I sold it after three years I would have lost 23k. So infact I saved 4k by leasing.[/quote]

You outline a valid reason for leasing. But the thing you have to realize paying for your transportation in this way is that you’ll always have a monthly car payment, and that monthly payment will be significant (not what it would be for purchasing the same car, but higher than if you were making a payment on a more modest used car that had already taken much of it’s initial depreciation). Leasing is the most expensive way for you to “own” a car. Yes you do get a nicer car for your monthly payment, but that payment will always be with you as long as you continue to lease. That’s where you get hit the hardest. Where purchasing a car pays off is when the car is paid off and you continue to drive it.

The best way to buy a car, regardless of whether you lease, finance it, or buy it outright with cash is to approach the dealer and negotiate the purchase price of the car. After you have that settled then begin separate negotiations regarding how you will pay for it. A cash purchase obviously give you the strongest negotiating position. A lot of times you can do better by arranging your financing with a third party (your bank or credit union) and only going to the dealer for the car itself at the price you’ve agreed upon. Financing and leasing are major money makers for dealers and for the automobile industry (Ford and GM’s credit arms are their most profitable subsidiaries), so going in and accepting what the dealer provides you probably isn’t in your best interests.

Finally never be afraid of getting up and walking out during negotiations. You’ll be surprised how often doing this will cause the dealer to adjust their offer in order to retain your business.

38

[quote]Zap Branigan wrote:
CrewPierce wrote:
Man y’all are hating the leasing ideas!

For me it makes sense since I 1) change cars often and 2) I don’t drive much.

For me I am paying 19k over 3 years for a 50k car (this includes down payment and all other expenses including oil changes and such).

We could say I bought the car IN CASH for 50k. The expected value in 3yrs is 27,000. So if I sold it after three years I would have lost 23k. So infact I saved 4k by leasing.

…

You are kidding yourself here. If your numbers were accurate then they wouldn’t lease you the car for that amount.

[/quote]

Lol it helps when you work for the car company, so I guess you are correct my figures are not valid for everyone. I got a huge discount for being an employee. I promise that my numbers are correct though.