Am I a sucker for leasing all of our family cars?

[Anonymous]

"Only" $600/mo? For American-made junk? Am I the only that caught that?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:"Only" $600/mo? For American-made junk? Am I the only that caught that?

Let me guess...you drive a C-class or Honda Odyssey.

Tahoes are $50k+, as far as cars in that segment go they lease pretty well (64% residual for 10k/year).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We do the same thing. It works for us. I'm always the one giving rides to people who have their cars stuck in the shop for one issue or another. They can sink their money into a depreciating asset if they want. Car payments are a line item in our budget, and we'd rather pay a fixed amount each month than end up with high car repair bills unexpectedly. It may not make sense to others but it makes sense to us.

The implication of this statement is that you will end up better off, financially, with a lease than by purchasing a new car. That is just not true. There are valid reasons to lease a car - you want a new car every year, you can write off the lease and its easier, you temporarily need low payments, etc. - but deluding yourself that it's a savvy financial move is not one of them. It is unequivocally more economical to keep a car for 8-10 years than it is to lease it.

So true. We used to lease and then we bought years ago. We have a 2007 and a 2008 that we bought new. Both have needed some repairs (new tires seem to be pricey as I recall). But there is no way that we spend $7,200 per year per car ($600 *12) so it has been well worth it to keep the cars the whole time. They are both good brands and can run for many more years. Also, our kids are getting ready to drive and these are the perfect cars for them.

[Anonymous]

You're not a sucker, OP.

You just have more money than sense.

[Anonymous]

OP, you could buy a new car and then just have a rental delivered to your house or the shop whenever you need to leave it for repairs (which is unlikely in the first 3 yrs anyway).

I think you just like knowing that someone else is responsible for the car -- like having a personal car butler. But, don't fool yourself. You are paying a lot to have the latest and greatest.

I'm happily driving my 2004 camry! I don't have any ego tied up in having an impressive car. It's comfortable and gets me where I need to go. My friend is looking to sell her 2012 camry. I test drove it and it was great! I want to buy it (for $9000). To me, it is like a new car. So smooth and responsive and quiet.

I think you have acclimated yourself to "new with all the bells and whistles" and now you are trying to justify it.

If you are going to throw money away by getting a new car every 3 years, then you might as well do the lease. But, don't kid yourself. Cars are quite nice after three years too... and they are a lot cheaper if you buy them rather than rent them.

You could probably hire a personal concierge to bring you a rental car and then take your (purchased) vehicle to the shop for you at a lower cost than you are paying to lease it.

[Anonymous]

Leasing is a horrible deal for the consumer and a great deal for the dealership. Just looked up the Tahoe and even if you pay sticker price, that's 950/month if you qualify for 0% interest.

SO lets do some simple math, 600*120=$72,000 for a decade of leasing Tahoe's. Meanwhile the cost of buying (at sticker) is only $57,000.

[Anonymous]

How much did you put down to get the lower payments? The payments can be manipulated to anything. Do you know what interest rate is implied in the lease? I would assume a loaded Tahoe is probably about $55k, so if you put nothing down, $600 a month is good and you can get rid of that pos after three years.

[Anonymous]

I drove a 15 year old Honda to work this am. I got it while in college (thanks Dad!). I have never been stranded in that car. I do put some money into maintenance every few years to keep it running. But. It's hardly this over bearing ridiculous experience to get it serviced. It's been paid off for 10 years, so we have NO car payment. Just insurance/gas and some check ups. No property tax either because it's so old.

So no, I don't think leasing makes sense. Buy a well rated car, drive it until it can not be driven anymore. This is way better use of your money.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You're not a sucker, OP.

You just have more money than sense.

In my book that's one of the defining conditions of being a sucker.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I drive a company car, my wife's new loaded Tahoe is only $600/m and our teen's car is only $150/m. For $750/m we get latest technology, never have to worry about maintenance, free onstar, satellite radio, roadside, loaners. It seems like a no brainer. We bought our oldest a used car but it was a pain in the arse to deal with tires, breaks, etc., so we've leased everything ever since.

Since when do you not have to pay for maintenance in a leased car? We've leased before and we were responsible for the maintenance costs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Leasing is a horrible deal for the consumer and a great deal for the dealership. Just looked up the Tahoe and even if you pay sticker price, that's 950/month if you qualify for 0% interest.

SO lets do some simple math, 600*120=$72,000 for a decade of leasing Tahoe's. Meanwhile the cost of buying (at sticker) is only $57,000.

I agree with you, however you're discounting some costs, including the repairs on a 10-year-old Tahoe and some maintenance in later years that won't be incurred by a short-term lease. There's also the opportunity cost of owning an older vehicle -- gains in efficiency, safety, etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I drove a 15 year old Honda to work this am. I got it while in college (thanks Dad!). I have never been stranded in that car. I do put some money into maintenance every few years to keep it running. But. It's hardly this over bearing ridiculous experience to get it serviced. It's been paid off for 10 years, so we have NO car payment. Just insurance/gas and some check ups. No property tax either because it's so old.

So no, I don't think leasing makes sense. Buy a well rated car, drive it until it can not be driven anymore. This is way better use of your money.

Our Camry is 20 years old. I used to want to get rid of it; now i'm curious to see how long it lasts.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I drive a company car, my wife's new loaded Tahoe is only $600/m and our teen's car is only $150/m. For $750/m we get latest technology, never have to worry about maintenance, free onstar, satellite radio, roadside, loaners. It seems like a no brainer. We bought our oldest a used car but it was a pain in the arse to deal with tires, breaks, etc., so we've leased everything ever since.

Since when do you not have to pay for maintenance in a leased car? We've leased before and we were responsible for the maintenance costs.

I have a Mercedes, bought, not leased, but I don't pay for any maintenance expect tires while it's under warranty.

[Anonymous]

Isn't there also a downpayment for leased cars?

I've never leased and car and have no desire to.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We do the same thing. It works for us. I'm always the one giving rides to people who have their cars stuck in the shop for one issue or another. They can sink their money into a depreciating asset if they want. Car payments are a line item in our budget, and we'd rather pay a fixed amount each month than end up with high car repair bills unexpectedly. It may not make sense to others but it makes sense to us.

The implication of this statement is that you will end up better off, financially, with a lease than by purchasing a new car. That is just not true. There are valid reasons to lease a car - you want a new car every year, you can write off the lease and its easier, you temporarily need low payments, etc. - but deluding yourself that it's a savvy financial move is not one of them. It is unequivocally more economical to keep a car for 8-10 years than it is to lease it.

+1. If leasing was such a great deal, why do all the lease people have to constantly insist what a great deal it is? I view leasing as a tool for people who are only capable of managing their money on a month-to-month basis. This describes every single person I know who leases. They can afford X per month and want the nicest, newest possible car for that X per month. That is literally their entire thought process about leasing.