leasing vs buying

[Anonymous]

we used to lease our vehicles and I hated it! once you get into that dreaded leasing cycle it is hard to get out. at the end of the lease cycle you are always given the option to then buy the car - which always ends up being way more $$ than you thought it would be. And you're either penalized for going over your miles.

don't do it OP. Don't allow yourself to get sucked into those "great" leasing options out there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At then end of the lease the dealership has your money and they have the car. You have nothing. How is that a good deal financially?

It might be a good idea bcs you kept a lot more of your money to start-- it might be 8k to lease for 3 years and $25k to buy.

What car can you lease for $8k including down payment for 3 years?

Three years ago I leased a Civic for a total of $6760 over three years. If I could find a deal like that, I'd do it again. Basically 20,000 over 9 years for a car. Could you do better buying a cheap car and keeping it forever? Perhaps. But factoring in long term maintenance costs that aren't a consideration for three year leases, I'd bet you will end up paying more. And yes, you'll have a car in year 10 - but it's a 10 yo car that was cheap to begin with.

The key to this is not caring what you get on the lease. No frills - you go to the dealership and ask for the special you saw advertised on TV, and don't be persuaded to get one model up because it's just $30/month more. That's an extra grand over the term of the lease.

???

Your math mostly ignores the fact that at the end of 9 years someone who bought the car rather than leasing it now owns an asset worth something. This is the whole advantage of buying vs leasing and the whole reason why buying costs more from a monthly payment standpoint.

You hand wave this away as " but it's a 10 yo car that was cheap to begin with" but even in the case of a basic 10 year old Civic it will still be worth $5k to $8k depending on miles/condition. And if you choose to keep driving it you can easily get another 5 to 10 years of service out of it.

Someone who had leased for that same period would have spent $20k on cars and have nothing to show for it but still more lease payments to make.


Nothing wrong with leasing if you understand it and know what you are getting into but in most cases people lease simply because the monthly number is lower than if they were to buy the same car regardless of the longer term implications.