Leasing a vehicle

[Purple Farmer]

Leasing is a tool, use it if you want to or buy, pay cash if you can or borrow. Frankly we need to understand it's a depreciating asset, some people want new cars, some people want more cash in the bank, some people perceive new as reliable and older as unreliable.

Just get the vehicle you will be happy with.

[martinbns]

Of our last 6 vehicles, we have leased 3.

In our case we always finance over 60 or lease over 36 so the payments work out to be the same.

If we buy, we will have some value at the end, you are upside down for about 40 months usually if you want to trade it early. You will also probably own the car when it's not under warranty making that an unknown.

To me, the biggest value of leasing if you don't pile on miles is fixing your cost of the car including depreciation. My wife likes nice cars, I drive a company vehicle.

Her last car was an infiniti G37x, we paid about $47k, financed over 60 months, decided she wanted something new after 49 months, owed about $8k got $16 on trade. We only owned the car for a few months out of warranty, and the car had 68,000 km on it.

Last summer we looked at the Q50 and a few others, decided on a BMW 335 xdrive. Could have applied the trade and would have if we had bought the BMW, 60 month payments and 39 mth lease payments without a DP were within $100 of each other. On the lease we didn't apply the DP, just took a cheque for the equity.

We leased the BMW, 39 months, took 24,000 yr even though Lesley probably won't need more than 18k, pay about $15/mthly extra for tire and wheel coverage and up to $7500 wear and tear at lease end. The car will never be out of warranty or the included maintenance, appealing given an oil change on one of these os over $200. If the car is worth more than the residual we may buy it but probably not.

Already made a claim under the tire insurance, saved me $450, but mostly it locks in exactly what I will pay for the car for the 39 months we will own it including depreciation and I like to know.

For those who claimed there is a tax advantage for someone self employed it's not true, if you lease you write off the business portion of the lease payment, if you buy you write off the business portion of the depreciation, 6 of one half a dozen of the other.

[Big Grey Wolf]

I like a lease, after 3 years the dealer has two trucks and you are standing on the sidewalk with no truck and need to walk home. It makes sense to me.

[Digger1]

I leased a vehicle from GM when I was alot younger and more foolish. Never again, after putting $18,000 into it in 3 years and giving it back. Now I'm more into Dave Ramsey's school of thought on it. Google him up for some great math lessons.