Anyone ever lease a car and buy it at the end of the lease?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Leasing is not always a "huge financial mistake"-- it really depends on the car and how long you drive cars. To me it falls in the category of different strokes for how you spend extra money. We spend big on vacations, other people spend big on meals out, other people don't like to drive 10 year old cars. If you are in the last group leasing may or may not make sense.

How many cars last ten years or 140,000 miles anyway without major expenditures?

My current Honda CRV, 11 years old and 130k miles. No major repairs, just replacing tires, brakes and wipers, along with oil changes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How many cars last ten years or 140,000 miles anyway without major expenditures?

My 2006 Ford Escape Hybrid has 151K miles on it. One problem that cost about $500 due to a faulty component of the computer that was an unexpected expense. Otherwise, oil changes and tires are the only expenses. It finally had a major expense (power steering failed) at 150,200 miles.

And people always say that Ford stands for "For Or Repair Daily". Wasn't the case with mine.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How many cars last ten years or 140,000 miles anyway without major expenditures?

My 2006 Ford Escape Hybrid has 151K miles on it. One problem that cost about $500 due to a faulty component of the computer that was an unexpected expense. Otherwise, oil changes and tires are the only expenses. It finally had a major expense (power steering failed) at 150,200 miles.

And people always say that Ford stands for "For Or Repair Daily". Wasn't the case with mine.

The new explorer safety ratings are scaring me off but we have a 98 ford still running strong and we've put very little money into it. We keep it as its more reliable than my 14 year old car that has had problems from the start but its made it this long. If you take care of cars and maintain them, you can easily keep them 10 years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Or how about this? Through a relative I get the Jeep employee discount. With the deals available, I can get a Jeep, no money down, 15,000 miles/year for $200/month. This is on a $28,000 vehicle. So this board is telling me that it is better to take a loan out to buy than take this lease?

I always buy but that is a good deal as 200 over 10 years would be that price. But, it depends on how long you keep your cars.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My parents who are very comfortably off, had leased cars for the last 15 or so years. They had good reason. My parents are now 92 and 86 and since they were about 75/70, they started leasing. My mother is still a licensed and working realtor at age 86 (she is as healthy as she was 30 years ago). When my father started having problems with mobility and not being able to take care of things such as car maintenance, it became worth the money (which they could afford) to lease Cadillacs.

The service is unbeatable. If there were any problems, my mother drove the car to the dealership, they loaned her a similar vehicle, moved all of her real estate equipment from her trunk to the loaner trunk and off she drove. They called her when servicing was done. The on-board On-Star system was perfect for her. If she had any issue, she pressed the button and On-Star helped her figure out what to do, including driving off to the dealership and they alerted the service department she was on the way. She once had a flat and hit the On-Star. They had a truck out to her in no time, replaced the tired and sent her on her way. Last year, I had to drive them up here due to the hurricane. We had battery problems when it got to our house. Even though my mother wasn't here any longer (she flew out to my brother's house as part of a pre-planned trip), I called Cadillac, explained the problem and that the car was still in my driveway. While I was at work, they sent someone over, found the battery was defective and not recharging as necessary, replaced it, tested it including doing a test drive, all for no charge. The service tech left his card with his personal cell phone number and told me to call him if I had any further issues while it was in town.

In addition every 3 years or so, they "buy" a new car with a minimal down and essentially the same monthly payment and get a new car. They have the means and absolutely no desire or ability to take care of cars anymore (my father did that for 50 years). This is one of the few times that it makes sense to lease cars. It gives me a good deal of peace of mind knowing that my mother is not going to be stranded out on the highway for long (or at all in most cases). The On-Star folks take very good car of her.

If you are able to take care of the basics of car maintenance, I think leasing is a bad idea, but in my parents case, they are paying to be taken care of.

Thank you, this is very helpful info as my mom is in her late 70s and this may be a good option for her when she gets a new car.

[Anonymous]

Leasing can be funny. Depending on residual and mileage , some dealers may but your leased car from “you” (it’s actually the finance company that owns the leased vehicle) and give you a credit off the price for a new car.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Just curious about the pros and cons.

That would defeat the point of leasing! Impressing people by always having a new car!

[Anonymous]

Leasing is great if you have your own business and can write off the lease payment (and maintenance, gas, etc...) as an expense. Otherwise, it's like renting an apartment.

[Anonymous]

I did this with an VW Jetta when I first starting working (couldn't really afford to buy new car but didn't want to worry about maintenance). At the end, I liked the car and the purchase price was reasonable for a used car (and I knew the history) so I bought it. It made sense for me at the time, I'm not sure I'd do it again (would probably just buy outright as I assume I could afford it). That being said, if you're in a similar situation or if you just want to see if you like a car, it's not the end of the world.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Leasing is great if you have your own business and can write off the lease payment (and maintenance, gas, etc...) as an expense. Otherwise, it's like renting an apartment.

This is what we do. It's a good tax write off.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Leasing can be funny. Depending on residual and mileage , some dealers may but your leased car from “you” (it’s actually the finance company that owns the leased vehicle) and give you a credit off the price for a new car.

How do you approach this/ask for it? I have a lease coming up in Jan. I'm perfectly happy to buy it and not have payments for a while. Or under what you're saying I'd use the credits to buy a new car - probably same make/model, just a 2019. And before people start on -- it was sooooo dumb to lease and I did it just to impress -- moved here from NYC and didn't know if it would be a 2 yr gig or more permanent and did NOT want to get stuck with taking a car back to NYC/unloading it before I go -- it just wouldn't be cost efficient for me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Leasing can be funny. Depending on residual and mileage , some dealers may but your leased car from “you” (it’s actually the finance company that owns the leased vehicle) and give you a credit off the price for a new car.

How do you approach this/ask for it? I have a lease coming up in Jan. I'm perfectly happy to buy it and not have payments for a while. Or under what you're saying I'd use the credits to buy a new car - probably same make/model, just a 2019. And before people start on -- it was sooooo dumb to lease and I did it just to impress -- moved here from NYC and didn't know if it would be a 2 yr gig or more permanent and did NOT want to get stuck with taking a car back to NYC/unloading it before I go -- it just wouldn't be cost efficient for me.

that actually sounds like a great reason to have leased....

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Leasing is not always a "huge financial mistake"-- it really depends on the car and how long you drive cars. To me it falls in the category of different strokes for how you spend extra money. We spend big on vacations, other people spend big on meals out, other people don't like to drive 10 year old cars. If you are in the last group leasing may or may not make sense.

How many cars last ten years or 140,000 miles anyway without major expenditures?

My 10yo civic is doing just fine, thanks.

[Anonymous]

It's cheaper to get into the car.

[Anonymous]

Our 2002 Acura RL lasted for 13 years and 180,000 miles with no repairs ever needed. Just normal maintenance.