Thinking of leasing

Status
Not open for further replies.
Joined
Dec 7, 2012
Messages
3,390
Have been considering a suitable replacement vehicle as a daily driver. I am planning on selling my Accord to a good friend of mine for a very reasonable price. Accord will have 155k when sold.

I am really considering on leasing a brand new F150. I get it, the whole money paid and no kept vehicle thing. But I am really excited on potentially having a vehicle where I'm never putting brakes, tires or repairs into it. I drive maybe 4,000 miles a year back and forth to work so a 12,000 mile lease would probably be more than sufficient if not maybe a 10,500 figuring in pleasure. Sure this puts you in a constant state of paying, however, I am getting to a point where the DD/main vehicle... I don't want to do much with. I'd rather put effort into my Regal, job, enjoyment of hobbies. Financially and career wise, things are going excellent.

I like the 2.7 Ecoboost. Seems like a good combination of power and economy. Its payload may be perfect for what I want. My most preferible options would be SuperCab (extended cab), 6 1/2ft box and 4x4. It would be really nice to load the 4 wheeler in the back, or be able to tow 3-4,000lbs worth of a trailer for camping.

Can you lease higher optioned models? I love the creature comforts -- leather, advanced factory stereo, etc. Can you order a somewhat piece-meal option wise truck and lease it? Will the factory build a custom truck to lease? Anyone got one of these trucks? What are you thoughts on it.

Also, FWIW, my uncle and wifes grandpa works and worked at Ford. Not sure how any potential discount from that works, applies or if I am even applicable (or wanted me to use theirs).

Thanks.
 
Last edited:
I did one lease on a 2014 Rav4 a few years back. My thoughts.

Deal was $999 down, $199 per month. Thats what you walk in expecting.

Anyways, you get to Toyota, and that $199 per month car can not be ordered, and was not available in the 3 states surrounding Texas.

It was a bare bones Rav4 with no roof rack, and no floor mats, and a few other things. The lowest price RAV4 I could get was $244 per month, so I bit.

You pay the tax up front, on top of your $999, so it is not $999 down. If I recall it was $2400 or so.

Also you would be dumb to not buy gap insurance, so I bought that. Car has full maintenance for the 2 years, but some things are not covered by service plan. Dealer wanted to charge me $60 to change cabin air filter in their car.

2 year lease, 12k miles per year. Option to buy out lease for $18k or whatever at end of term, otherwise you turn it in.

You can be billed for tire wear, scratches, damage.

After about 15 months, I sold the car outright to beepi, they wrote me a check for $19,500, and after they paid off Toyota, I walked away with about $1000-$1500 in my pocket.

Had I kept the car to end of term, I'm sure Toyota would have charged me something extra.

If you have expendable money and don't care, then go for it. The waste of money, and the fact that 12k miles per year is not a lot ticked me off. We didn't drive the car down to the coast, or the beach because we were worried about mileage.

So you are paying for a car to sit in the garage, besides normal commuting.
 
Originally Posted By: Mr Nice
Leasing is good if you want a different vehicle every few years.
That's kind of how I see it, too. If the OP knows he only wants to keep it for 2 years and then not have to worry about disposing of it, then leasing might be the way to go.
 
A co-worker leased a Buick Verano.

At the end of the lease he paid for scratches and stuff, but he lied to the people at the dealership to get a big discount.

Just keep the Accord for a few more years and save to buy the truck outright.
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted By: KrisZ
At 4k miles a year, what kind of "constant work" any reasonably maintained vehicle would need?
If you're tired if the Accord and want something new, then just get it, no need to come up with excuses to justify the purchase.IMO


Sure 4,000 miles a year for work, but you have to figure in pleasure too. So lets figure 10,000 miles.

Buffalo is not easy on a car whatsoever. I would be impressed to find a worse system of frequently traveled roads.
 
Originally Posted By: KrisZ
At 4k miles a year, what kind of "constant work" any reasonably maintained vehicle would need?
If you're tired if the Accord and want something new, then just get it, no need to come up with excuses to justify the purchase.IMO


Honestly, me cheapskate thinks similar too!
 
I leased a 2013 Fusion Titanium with almost every option that it came with (MSRP 37K). I paid only taxes up front which was about $2200. Kept the car as a weekend driver and had a mileage allowance of 10.5k per year for a two year lease. Monthly payment was $429. I did the maintenance myself and Ford has a third party company inspect it 3 weeks before I returned it to the dealership. They did not charge me anything extra but I did take care of it very well. Ford does lease cars and trucks with the upgraded tech and features. I ordered my second Fusion from them and they offered me the option to lease that one that I ordered from the factory. I turned the new one into my daily and have racked up about 30k miles a year since.
 
You can lease just about any vehicle. You can also negotiate the price the lease is based off of, just like a purchase, a lot of people dont know that.

I bought a new f150 a few weeks ago. One dealer was pushing lease hard. On that truck the price would have been about $42k IIRC, and after three years the residual would have been $32k. But we would have made $22k in payments not including taxes. Interest rates are going up, so besides being $10k in the hole to start we would have been refinancing at a higher rate at the end of the lease if we wanted to buy it.

As for the truck, i like it. Very roomy. I dont like how large it is, including the large turning radius, but that is how they make them now. I have the 5.0 and it is great. I dont like the ecoboost, but the 2.7 is plenty capable for what you said your usage is. The back end is a bit light at times due to all aluminum bed and steering is a bit numb as most trucks are. The 10 speed is nice, except it can shift hard once in a while when starting to drive it when it is cold outside. I think it might be due to the thin fluid they use.

Ford has good rebates now for the 2.7, lease or buy. IMO the only f150 worth leasing is the STX as if you go beyond that the value is just not there.
 
Originally Posted By: Mr Nice
Leasing is good if you want a different vehicle every few years.

Personally, I'd purchase the truck and not lease.


And don't mind paying premium prices along with penalties for mileage over 12,000 miles a year. I took my daughter one time to learn the lesson.
 
Check out leasehackr.com for the latest deals.

I think it's only good if you use up the miles that you paid for, too little miles and you're over paying, too many and then there's a penalty. If you're worried about repairs, I would think a Ford extended warranty which goes up to 8/125k would be the way to go. Probably some recent off lease vehicle in the 3-4 year range that would still qualify for an extended warranty.
 
Originally Posted By: redhat
Originally Posted By: KrisZ
At 4k miles a year, what kind of "constant work" any reasonably maintained vehicle would need?
If you're tired if the Accord and want something new, then just get it, no need to come up with excuses to justify the purchase.IMO


Sure 4,000 miles a year for work, but you have to figure in pleasure too. So lets figure 10,000 miles.

Buffalo is not easy on a car whatsoever. I would be impressed to find a worse system of frequently traveled roads.


Well, Ontario is not the easiest on the cars either and our roads are pretty bad as well. My 06 Mazda doesn't feel like it needs to be retired yet
 
Situationally, leasing may have some benefits. Mathematically, leasing is usually more expensive over the long run vs buying.
 
Leasing is great if you drive less than ~12,000 miles per year AND like a new car every ~3 years. Buying is smarter if you drive a lot and/or intend to keep the car AFTER it is paid off. Since cars are generally depreciating assets, you don't begin to get ahead until it's paid off and you can begin saving that money every month. Many people buy a new car every 5 years and proclaim to be smarter than someone who leases, they're not because they're never without a car payment, either. So if you meet the criteria in the first sentence, by all means, lease. Make sure you only pay taxes and reg. fees up front, don't pay ANY cap cost reduction as you could lose that money, and don't buy any extra warranties as the vehicle will be under full warranty for the lease term. If you do all that you'll be using your money as smartly as you can predicated on a new vehicle every few years.

With all that said, I can't help but be nervous at the prospect of leasing a truck. The more you use its capabilities the more you run the risk of damage which you could be liable for at the end.
 
Originally Posted By: JohnnyJohnson
Originally Posted By: Mr Nice
Leasing is good if you want a different vehicle every few years.

Personally, I'd purchase the truck and not lease.


And don't mind paying premium prices along with penalties for mileage over 12,000 miles a year. I took my daughter one time to learn the lesson.

Well then she did it wrong. I pay the same as what a new Accord Touring is leasing for for my well-equipped 340i, paid only taxes and fees down (also refundable sec. deposits), and am on my mileage target. Of the last 4 vehicles I leased, I paid exactly $0 in excess wear, mileage, or damage charges. Over that period of ~14 years I paid less to lease than I would've to finance and trade in and out of the same cars. Just like there is a group of people for whom buying is certainly the best decision, there is a group of people for whom leasing is smartest.
 
I think this is a GREAT THREAD. We have articulate posters talking about the PROS and CONS of leasing in a rationale matter.

Kudos to all.

Too many of these threads about leasing basically turn in to just bashing by jealous people who can't afford to buy or lease a new car.
 
Last edited:
A friend of mine was leasing a Tacoma, and after a year or so just returned it. Lost a lot of money on that, but he would never recommend leasing again. Too much money for nothing, you can't customize your vehicle, you have to worry far too much about mileage or damage or whatever.
 
Originally Posted By: dogememe
A friend of mine was leasing a Tacoma, and after a year or so just returned it. Lost a lot of money on that, but he would never recommend leasing again. Too much money for nothing, you can't customize your vehicle, you have to worry far too much about mileage or damage or whatever.

Well then he did it wrong, too. Your friend should've understood how the lease contract worked. It isn't money for nothing, it's an agreed-to payment, almost always less than financing, for use of a new vehicle which you bear little responsibility for, other than keeping it in decent condition. I'm not sure what he wanted to customize but you can change rims (retain the originals), tint windows, etc.

There isn't bad financing or bad leasing as much as people choosing the wrong one for their needs. See my experience in the post above. The interesting thing is the folks who end up in a lease they shouldn't be in become more readily aware, because of contractual terms, than people who finance and unknowingly pay more to get in and out of cars than leasing (I'm not suggesting that's a large group of people).
 
Last edited:
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top