Car Leasing

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Please help, a friend of mine always get hammered at the dealers. Please give me a
couple of hints she can use to get a better deal on a lease. Most grateful
 
Just to warn you, you are opening up a can of worms here.

At least from this crowd, you will not find much support for leasing.
 
Originally Posted By: The Critic
Just to warn you, you are opening up a can of worms here.

At least from this crowd, you will not find much support for leasing.


That's a hint in itself!
 
I just have to ask it......


Why is she leasing?

(there can be good reasons to Lease, but not many)
 
If you like new cars and change them often, doesn't it save you sales tax?

Also, some lease deals are really good compared to buying something nearly new.

Lastly, if you are in the market for a new car, doesn't it give you options in case something doesn't turn out right.

I can see some advantages if I was anyhow looking for a new or nearly new car.
 
Don't go for the deal you see on TV.

eg $99 a month, $2999 down, 12k miles over 36 months (4k a year!!!) with mileage overages.

And get some dowdy car with good resale value like a corolla or civic, not the most she thinks she can get.
 
With very few exceptions, leasing is for people who aren't financially responsible enough to live within their means. If she really is a friend you'd do well to help her understand that leasing is only renting a vehicle-at the end of 3 or 4 years she'll turn it in and have nothing to show for all those payments. It's for people who focus on nothing other than the monthly payment amount but still have to have that shiny new car in order to bolster their own self image.

Or worse yet, at the end of the lease she'll buy it out, and spend another 4 or 5 years making payments on a car that's already 3 or 4 years old. Making payments on the same vehicle for 7, 8, 9 or 10 years is simply stupid.

Leases are filled with additional fees that, by agreeing to them, show what a foolish mistake leasing is. Disposition fees, purchase option fees, document fees, mileage fees and a host of other "fees" that add to the inflated cost of leasing.

There is a reason why manufacturers and dealers push leases so hard-they are a money maker for both. And guess who always gets the short end of the stick? Right-the poor sap who actually shells out all those monthly payments. Also note that when leases are advertised they never show the total amount the lessee will pay, just that "low monthly lease payment". Again, leases are targeted at people who don't have any real financial sense, and don't understand how much the lease is really costing them. But they just gotta have that shiny new car to keep up their image.

But since you state that your friend "always gets hammered at dealers" tells me that she regularly makes foolish financial decisions, so you may be best served to let her do what she wants. Some people will simply never learn.
 
Originally Posted By: Pop_Rivit
With very few exceptions, leasing is for people who aren't financially responsible enough to live within their means. If she really is a friend you'd do well to help her understand that leasing is only renting a vehicle-at the end of 3 or 4 years she'll turn it in and have nothing to show for all those payments. It's for people who focus on nothing other than the monthly payment amount but still have to have that shiny new car in order to bolster their own self image.


Couldn't have said it better myself!
 
1. Demand GAP insurance (at no additional cost to you)
GAP protects you incase you wreck your car so you won't have to pay anymore.

2. Do not put a down payment on the vehicle (just more cash out of your pocket)

3. Stay firm with your price and DO NOT give in. If they say no, then get up and leave. If they are fibbing they will stop you and go "figure out" a better deal

4. If you plan on buying the car after the lease, treat it well and keep all your service records.
 
Here come the BITOG leasing Charlitains. If you know you're not going to keep the car for an extended period and drive less than 12k miles per year leasing is likely smarter (as long as you're NOT doing it only to buy a model you couldn't otherwise afford). If you buy a car and don't plan to run it for years after your finance period is up to recoup the time without payments you could be wasting more money, after all, cars are depreciating assets that are subject additional costs as they age. The "buying is the only way" crowd sometimes cannot see this bleeding from their high horses (although, to be fair, there are many here who practice what they preach and will run a car for 10+ years and 150k+ miles). Plus if you lease and decide to buy the car at the end, you shouldn't have lost money as the payments you made are factored into the residual (just be prepared to run the car for a long time or you run into the same situation I mentioned above). As long as your situation matches certain criteria it can be quite advantageous to lease assets that depreciate (like cars) and buy those which appreciate (like real estate).

Lawman's response was good and I'd say #3 is the real key.
 
Originally Posted By: Miller88
Originally Posted By: Pop_Rivit
With very few exceptions, leasing is for people who aren't financially responsible enough to live within their means. If she really is a friend you'd do well to help her understand that leasing is only renting a vehicle-at the end of 3 or 4 years she'll turn it in and have nothing to show for all those payments. It's for people who focus on nothing other than the monthly payment amount but still have to have that shiny new car in order to bolster their own self image.


Couldn't have said it better myself!


I recall a girlfriend who handed in a 7 year old car we dumped some stop leak in and transmission band aid for the lease down payment/fees and then paid out $99/month for 24 months. I believe she was allowed 20k miles overall. I did not think for a junker + $2400 of reliable/economical transport she did that poorly. She changed the engine oil once per year and did nothing else to it. She left the country and turned the car in early for $100 (one lease payments) and nothing to deal with.

I think there can be great lease deals and situations. Depends on unique situations and the deals going at the time.
 
Man that sucks, was she good looking enough to be missed? Know a lot of international students who I became good friends with and they end up leaving when their education is done...always a sad day for me.
 
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If you're a person to keep a car only a short while, and like to cycle through cars, one must still identify if the residual value they are offering is higher than what you could likely get at a personal sale. The money factors for leases are a hidden interest rate, and higher than financing. Plus there are other fees, other risks, etc that occur which may make you think twice.

I'm no fan of leasing or financing, and in reality if I were someone to routinely swap cars, I'd probably be looking for the demos and year old like new models to lose some of the depreciation hit,

But the biggest ?? IN THIS IS WHAT IS THE MAKE AND MODEL. that makes all the difference in the world wrt residual values and he deals that can be had.

But I still fear that the getting hammered comment is because she doesn't understand math and puts vanity over responsibility, thereby rolling owed money from past transactions into new ones and then wondering why the deal was so poor.

The reality is that most people in this country are broke, and stay that way because of stupid decisions. The pro lease/finance people can go making all the arguments they want, but that point is the reality, so leasing and financing and other basis of living beyond your means is not helping anyone in any way.
 
Originally Posted By: bobbob
Please give me a
couple of hints she can use to get a better deal on a lease. Most grateful

Once you know which car you want, you can check www.truecar.com to see what kind of deals (both purchase as well as lease) others are getting. If the dealer you go to wants more than that, walk away and try another dealer.

Of course you have to make a correction for person-specific factors, for example credit history. Don't expect to get a great deal if you have a weak credit score.
 
Leasing IS NOT always a bad thing or only for people that are "not financially responsible". That is a gross exaggeration.
Plenty of info is available online about leasing vs. buying and all the pluses and minuses for each. Not a THING wrong in leasing if you understand the costs and are willing to pay them for reasons that are perfectly suited to your lifestyle.
If you are trolling here OP.....then shame on you. But seriously, use the internet for this type of thing and do some research. You know what they say about opinions....
 
OP needs to provide more details, ie what is the car and what are the terms the dealer is offering?
 
I leased my Explorer last year because I have never owned a Ford and I had no trust in the brand. I understood that it was going to cost me a little more in the long run but it was worth the piece of mind being able to turn it in and just walk away at lease end.

Pretty happy with my decision, the Explorer hasn't been bad but it has some quality control issues that have turned me away from keeping it at lease end.

I think one important thing is to negotiate the lease just like you would a regular purchase. I negotiated the price down on the vehicle then talked about lease terms etc. I paid TTL out of pocket but that's it, no other money down.

This vehicle was also for my wife to haul the kids around in, I wanted something safe and new. It's kind of nice being able to "rent" a kid hauler for a few years for the wife and kids to beat up and then turn it in for something fresh. Ford offers a program called Easy Care that covers dings, stains, tears etc for a small fee. It's really nice not having to stress about them tearing up a vehicle I paid for and care about.

Anyways, everyone has their own reason for leasing, it's not always a bad idea depending on all the factors.
 
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I can agree with most on here...but as a few people have said, it can depend...


I have a buddy who works many hours in downtown Detriot. His last few cars have been leases, usually with everything included. His wife's car was bought, and it pretty much is the only car that he has time for. It makes easier on him, so he can spend time with his family. He knows he is spending a few extra bucks in the end, but he has no put no money into a car besides gas to get there. So for some people, it is worth it.

Also debating in my case as well. Might end up spending a few extra bucks to lease our small sedan just in case. The wife and I would like another little one, and there is a chance she could have more than one. Would need a bigger car then for sure! So, it would make it easier to trade up if needed with getting in trouble.

Now if things change for the good for me, then a buy will happen for sure....
 
Originally Posted By: andrewg
Leasing IS NOT always a bad thing or only for people that are "not financially responsible". That is a gross exaggeration.
Plenty of info is available online about leasing vs. buying and all the pluses and minuses for each. Not a THING wrong in leasing if you understand the costs and are willing to pay them for reasons that are perfectly suited to your lifestyle.
If you are trolling here OP.....then shame on you. But seriously, use the internet for this type of thing and do some research. You know what they say about opinions....


Agreed totally that leasing is not always a bad thing. The problem is that you have to be pretty financially savvy to understand how a lease works. There are lots of ways for the finance guys at the dealership to screw you over. If your friend doesn't have the math skills, it's probably not a good idea.

BTW, one reason leasing can be good is if a manufacturer wants to discount a car to get their inventory down, but doesn't want to show "fire sale" prices. Leasing can bury that with either a lower "Capitalized cost" or a higher residual. Infiniti and Acura have done that for years.
 
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