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

[Anonymous]

Just curious about the pros and cons.

[Anonymous]

Pro is you usually pay less than what you would have buying outright, and your payments haven’t just gone towards nothing (as is the case with leasing and not buying)

[Anonymous]

isn't con obvious? pay all that monthly lease payments and pay then more to buy?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Just curious about the pros and cons.

It's a pretty simple equation:

When you initiated the lease, the contract stated a residual value of the car. If, at the end of the lease, the car is actually worth more than that residual value, then perhaps you consider buying it assuming you actually liked the vehicle, the model has a reputation for reliability and less expensive repairs, and you have low miles. If the dealer wants to charge you through the nose for damage, etc. that's another factor.

Pros: You know the history of the car.
Cons: You really overpay for the car unless you can buy it outright for cash at the end of the lease.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:isn't con obvious? pay all that monthly lease payments and pay then more to buy?

That's not the right way to think about it. If OP turns the car in, OP has to buy some car.

With some exceptions, leasing is always a bad deal financially. But you really cannot think about things the way you describe -- the lease was a sunk cost regardless.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:isn't con obvious? pay all that monthly lease payments and pay then more to buy?

That's not the right way to think about it. If OP turns the car in, OP has to buy some car.

With some exceptions, leasing is always a bad deal financially. But you really cannot think about things the way you describe -- the lease was a sunk cost regardless.

No, OP can continue to lease.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:isn't con obvious? pay all that monthly lease payments and pay then more to buy?

That's not the right way to think about it. If OP turns the car in, OP has to buy some car.

With some exceptions, leasing is always a bad deal financially. But you really cannot think about things the way you describe -- the lease was a sunk cost regardless.

No, OP can continue to lease.

True, but why repeat a huge financial mistake?

[Anonymous]

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.

[Anonymous]

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?

[Anonymous]

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?

[Anonymous]

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.

It is.

[Anonymous]

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.

[Anonymous]

How would taxes work on something like this. Don’t you pay the whole wad upfront in VA? Do you have to pay it again on the residual?

[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?

Many Subarus do.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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?

Many Subarus do.

My Toyota.