Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I mean this genuinely. If you’re in a position where a car down payment makes a difference in your level of precariousness, then you definitely should not be leasing. It’s a perpetual cycle of renting.

Perhaps you shouldn’t be looking at new cars at all. Buy something used, stock you your savings coffers.

All of this. Emphatically.

This. How much is this car you want to buy? How much cash do you have? If you bought at $20K car (you can buy a gently used Camry or Accord for this price), a 20% down payment plus taxes and tags would be about 5-6K. If that much cash is a problem for you to part with, I agree with the suggestion of others to buy a much cheaper car or perhaps figure out a way to not buy car right now at all.

People who's leases are ending right now can't even return them.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I know for buying there are 0% Incentives over a long term but that really does now speak to me. I am leaning toward leasing for the first time ever to preserve cash that would otherwise be the down payment. Is there any reason that is a bad idea right now?

I think most leases require a "capital cost reduction" payment -- i.e. a down payment. It's usually $3,000-$5000. And when the lease is over, you have nothing left to show for it. And may get dinged for mileage or wear and tear. At least when you buy a car, you have an asset, albeit a depreciated one.

You had the use of the car for the 3 years, so it isn't nothing. You also don't need to put anything down with a lease - you can do $0 capital costs reductions and just pay the mandatory fees. People often use it to get nicer cars than they otherwise could purchase. And with the rapid changes to the technology in cars, having a car for 7-10 years won't give you these improvements.

Check out Hertz auto sales. They are on the verge of bankruptcy and offering cars at a deep discount. It looks like used car prices could tank very soon because of the Hertz situation and the general lack of buyers.

Anonymous wrote:I know for buying there are 0% Incentives over a long term but that really does now speak to me. I am leaning toward leasing for the first time ever to preserve cash that would otherwise be the down payment. Is there any reason that is a bad idea right now?

I think most leases require a "capital cost reduction" payment -- i.e. a down payment. It's usually $3,000-$5000. And when the lease is over, you have nothing left to show for it. And may get dinged for mileage or wear and tear. At least when you buy a car, you have an asset, albeit a depreciated one.

Buy a nice used car coming off a three year lease. Make sure it’s certified pre-owned with an extended warranty. The car’s price will be about 60% of a new car and it will have plenty of good years ahead of it.

Since you are going to be putting money into a leased car for awhile - it makes zero sense to not just purchase a new car instead.

Because in the end, you will be the proud owner of a vehicle where if you lease, you have to give the car back that you paid for monthly.

The only benefit of a leased car is if you can write off the full expense off on your taxes.

I’m all for buying. Paid off my car last month. It’s got 35k miles on it and will last at least 10 years more and probably 15 with the amount we need it. Won’t have a car payment for a very long time.

It's hard to get out of a lease if you need to. Much easier to sell a car you own.

Just thinking about if you had to sell before the lease term was up.

Anonymous wrote:I mean this genuinely. If you’re in a position where a car down payment makes a difference in your level of precariousness, then you definitely should not be leasing. It’s a perpetual cycle of renting.

Perhaps you shouldn’t be looking at new cars at all. Buy something used, stock you your savings coffers.

All of this. Emphatically.

I mean this genuinely. If you’re in a position where a car down payment makes a difference in your level of precariousness, then you definitely should not be leasing. It’s a perpetual cycle of renting.

Perhaps you shouldn’t be looking at new cars at all. Buy something used, stock you your savings coffers.

Anonymous wrote:Do you have to do a downpayment? I've done $500 down on a $50k car and $1k down on a $70k car before but both times it was just for the hell of it. The finance guy always said no downpayment was necessary. Leases, on the other hand, almost always require a downpayment

No down payment required on the lease. That’s why I would do it, to keep cash on hand in lieu of dumping into the vehicle.

Anonymous wrote:Do you have to do a downpayment? I've done $500 down on a $50k car and $1k down on a $70k car before but both times it was just for the hell of it. The finance guy always said no downpayment was necessary. Leases, on the other hand, almost always require a downpayment

I don't have expensive cars but have done the same

Do you have to do a downpayment? I've done $500 down on a $50k car and $1k down on a $70k car before but both times it was just for the hell of it. The finance guy always said no downpayment was necessary. Leases, on the other hand, almost always require a downpayment

I know for buying there are 0% Incentives over a long term but that really does now speak to me. I am leaning toward leasing for the first time ever to preserve cash that would otherwise be the down payment. Is there any reason that is a bad idea right now?