41
There are some who argue that you should lease an electric car. These factors are in addition to all the normal pros and cons of leasing vs. buying.
The technology is still new and is advancing rapidly. In 2-3 years, the newer model may have significantly improved features, range, and efficiency, as well as lower prices. If you are the type of person to ...
39
I think your math is fine, and also consider insurance costs and the convenience factor of each scenario. Moving a car frequently to avoid parking tickets will become tedious. I'd rather spend an hour renting a car 20 times in a year rather than have to spend 15 minutes moving a car every three days. And if there's no other easy parking, that 15 minutes can ...
35
The most important question is: What's your buyout price and what's your car worth?
If your 3 year old car has less than 5K miles on it, most likely it's worth more than your buyout price. If it's a car you would consider purchasing with 36K miles on it, then you're getting a great bargain if you can pay the same amount for a car with 5K on it. If you're ...
33
Prior to having children we did exactly what you describe. We would visit my mother in law about four to six times a year, a 350-mile-each-way trip for a weekend. We'd simply rent a car, drive down, drive back, return it, out $150 or so for the weekend, a total of under $1000 a year; far cheaper than owning.
You should factor in whether you will save ...
27
In general leasing requires you to have an insurance policy that meets certain criteria (such as the policy being comprehensive).
However, in the event that the vehicle is written off the insurance company will give you (their belief of) the value of the vehicle at the time, less any excess, whereas the leasing company will expect you to give them (their ...
26
Uh, you want to lease a car through a dealer? That is the worst possible way to obtain a car. Dealers love leases because it allows them to sell a car for an unnegotiated price and to hide additional fees. It's the most profitable kind of sale for them.
The best option would be to buy a used car off of Craigslist or eBay, then sell it again the same way ...
25
I have a few recommendations/comments:
Consider keeping your current car. The buyout amount for your lease is often negotiable. Tell the dealer you are NOT going to be leasing or buying a new car from them, but you are interested in buying out your BMW if they are willing to negotiate on the buyout amount. They will say, "no deals" and then you schedule to ...
20
You must pay every dollar of the value of the car as agreed to on the lease. Period.
Some people carry insurance. This insurance will pay out based on the insurance policy. The usual default is that the insurance will buy you a non-smashed used car of comparable make, model, age and trim options. Minus any deductibles.
Note that these are two ...
answered Jun 9 '19 at 18:58
Harper - Reinstate Monica
37.3k7 gold badges60 silver badges122 bronze badges
18
It's my understand that leasing is never the better overall deal, with the possible exception of a person who would otherwise buy a brand new car every 2 or 3 years, and does not drive a lot of miles.
Note: in the case of a company car, Canadian taxes let you deduct the entire lease payment (which clearly has some principal in it) if you lease, while if you ...
17
My wife and I have been car-free since 2011. We spent about $3500 on car shares and rentals last year (I went through it recently to flag trips that were medical transportation and unreimbursed work related for taxes). This compares favorably with the last year of car ownership.
I had reached a point I started needing $200+ repairs every couple of months ...
16
I'd go with option #3 and pretend that the first two options were never even on the table. All things are negotiable, especially in dealerships! A dealer will NEVER send you away if you are willing to give them some money.
The dealer is lying to you about option #3 because he thinks you will lease another car even without the incentive (maybe you already ...
14
Electric does make a difference when considering whether to lease or buy. The make/model is something to consider. The state you live in also makes a difference.
If you are purchasing a small electric compliance car (like the Fiat 500e), leasing is almost always a better deal. These cars are often only available in certain states (California and Oregon), ...
11
You have met the money factor, an invention of some marketing department. It is a function of the capitalized cost and term you agree too.
Money Factor = Total monthly charge/((Net capitalization cost + Residual value) x Term)
Thus, when negotiating a lease, the only thing there is to talk about is the purchase price of the car, which affects the ...
11
When getting a car always start with your bank or credit union. They are very likely to offer better loan rate than the dealer. Because you start there you have a data point so you can tell if the dealer is giving you a good rate.
Having the loan approved before going to the dealer allows you to negotiate the best deal for the purchase price for the car. ...
9
The most economical way is to save your money, and buy a 1+ year old used car with cash.
8
You'll have to run the numbers, but I would recommend either:
1) Get a used "beater" car, which has already lost most of its value. You'll be able to resell it for close to the same amount. And yes, insurance will be correspondingly lower.
2) Or investigate a car sharing service such as Zipcar. If you need the car only infrequently, and can plan your usage ...
8
If you are talking straight dollars then leasing is always a losing proposition when compared with purchasing.
The financial workings of leasing are so confusing that people don’t realize that leasing invariably costs more than an equivalent
loan. And even if they did, the extra cost is difficult to calculate.
Still, many people can’t afford the ...
8
A lease is a rental plain and simple. You borrow money to finance the expected depreciation over the course of the lease term. This arrangement will almost always cost more over time of your "ownership." That does not mean that a lease is always a worse "deal."
Cars are almost always a losing proposition; save for the oddball Porsche or Ferrari that is ...
8
For so little use, you are probably better off not owning a car. Car ownership has high fixed costs and unexpected ones like repairs. Difficult parking makes it worse.
If you do buy a car, you probably shouldn't buy a new $20k one. A used car will depreciate much less.
Be aware that if you own a car, you will end up using it much more than you thought. ...
7
I wouldn't think so. It has no positive value. It is in fact a liability.
You owe a specific amount of money per month as a payment for the lease. You could owe additional charges at the end of the lease for excess miles or above average wear. If you need to get out of the lease there could be a penalty.
At the end of the lease period you have nothing, ...
7
Within some limitations, the dealer is allowed to approve or deny lending to anyone that it chooses.
Those constraints are the basics that you'd expect for any regulation in the US:
Race
Religion
Nationality
Sex
Marital Status
Age
Source of income
You can read more about them in this leaflet from the FDIC's Fair Lending Laws office. (Link is a pdf ...
7
What Chase told you is correct. You are paying for a big sales tax because the state of Ohio is assuming you bought the car in Ohio. Just fill out the form like they said and send it in.
The Kentucky revenue web site says the following:
Credit to New Residents of KY -
When offering a vehicle for registration for the first time in
Kentucky which was ...
7
2 bits of advice.
Don't ask me any questions about my car. I know it has 4 wheels, and runs on gas. More than that, I don't know (I lied, I know it has a cassette deck), and I don't care.
Never take financial advice from a car salesman. Why would you?
The lease is a red herring.
You have identified a car that you are willing to buy for $25,000. You ...
answered May 20 '19 at 23:18
6
Yes.
You did not notice the "$1,410 Customer Down Payment", the "$650 Acquisition Fee", the "$350 Disposition Fee" "due at lease termination", and the "$275 security deposit" for customers who do not have good enough credit. Also, "A dealer documentary service fee up to $150 may be added to the sale price or capitalized cost."
These charges might (or ...
6
There are two reasons leases are generally a worse deal than buying.
First, inherent in the lease is the concept of trading in the car at the end of the lease term. As we all know, cars depreciate the most in the first year or two. By repeatedly leasing cars on short time frames, you own the vehicles during those most expensive years. Of course there's ...
6
If you lease a car, you are paying for the depreciation of a certain number of miles, even if you don't actually use those miles. Since you know you will be well under the standard number of miles when your lease is up, and you already know that you want to keep the car, buying is better than leasing.
answered Jun 14 '16 at 19:53
Ben Miller - Reinstate Monica
87.7k23 gold badges245 silver badges318 bronze badges
6
With a gross income of $ 95,000 per year, and a net savings rate of over $ 18,000 per year, a budget of $ 3,600 per year for automobile interest and depreciation is not irresponsible.
But poor car choices, poor car maintenance habits, and driving habits that risk totalling cars are irresponsible. Also, not fully understanding a lease deal is irresponsible.
...
6
For a long time I did just as you did. I had a car, but I didn't drive it. Even if you NEVER drive a car, it still has a cost. You still have to insure it and you still have to register it.
On top of that a sitting car will have costs. Cars are not built to sit.
I found it to be much cheaper to take a "taxi" then to own a car. Eventually I got rid of my ...
6
Some banks allow you to choose the outcome: shorten the term or lower the payments.
Also, some companies state in their contracts, that making early payments will cost you. So read the fine print about it.
Basically it depends on your provider/bank/financial company.
Only top voted, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible
