topic Re: Leasing a Vehicle vs Purchasing in Among Friends

Leasing a Vehicle vs Purchasing

Allegheny — Sun, 05 Mar 2017 18:49:10 GMT

DH is going to be replacing his SUV soon. We have been debating leasing vs purchasing. We have never leased prior and generally have kept our vehicles for 5-7 years, sometimes longer.

We are retired, I am in my mid 60s, DH is 70. We are debt free, excellent credit rating and financially stable for now and foreseeable future.

Mileage for us will not be an issue, we only drive about 5000 miles annually.

What he likes about leasing is being able to get a new vehicle every 2-3 years and being able to afford a higher end vehicle, even though will be slightly more costly then owning.

We plan on talking with friends and others who have leased, but otherwise are looking for opinions on the ins & outs, reliable references to read to get an understanding on doing comparison of leasing vs purchase.

Appreciate your thoughts and opinions.

Re: Leasing a Vehicle vs Purchasing

labs — Sun, 05 Mar 2017 19:00:29 GMT

I have leased for over 12 years, on my 4th SUV and love it.I have never gone over the mileage limit and get a new car every 3 years.

Re: Leasing a Vehicle vs Purchasing

Elom — Sun, 05 Mar 2017 19:03:22 GMT

I decided to lease when I had to purchase a car after my dear husband passed away. I like the idea of a new car every 3 years. I don't have an issue with mileage and nice to know it will be dependable. Leasing isn't as it was years ago. We leased many years ago and the rules have changed a lot. The payment is reasonable and no money down which works for me since a car is such a depreciating item. I just found out the insurance requirements have gone down. I will continue to lease. Hope this helped.

Re: Leasing a Vehicle vs Purchasing

GCR18 — Sun, 05 Mar 2017 19:06:45 GMT

My sister leased a couple times over the years, but did so for lack of finances. She had no issues. I think leasing is a match for what your husband wants out of it. Whenever I contemplate a new car, I go to Barnes and Noble and get a book or two. I know those stores are dwindling, but I like having an actual book to study aspects of the transaction/car before making a decision.

Re: Leasing a Vehicle vs Purchasing

docsgirl — Sun, 05 Mar 2017 19:08:08 GMT

Hi Allegheny,

I just purchased a new 2017 Ford Escape and I love it. I had a 2001 Toyota Solara that I purchased new and I only had 55,000 miles on it. I don't drive that much but at the age of nearly 71, I was having difficulty getting in and out as it's low to the ground. Like you, I have a very high credit score, am debt free, and financially comfortable so I had the option of buying or leasing. With leasing, as you stated, you get a new vehicle every 3 years and the payments are a bit lower BUT it's like renting an apartment vs, buying a home...you always have a payment and own nothing. I decided to purchase my car because I take excellent care of my vehicle and because of my good credit, I was able to get 60 months at 0% interest. When I consulted with my financial advisor he said, 'While 60 months is a long time, you'll have the car that long, if not longer, so use their money (0%) and in 5 years your payments will cease. If money is not an issue, like in our cases, it's just a matter of what suits you best. If you are not prone to keeping a vehicle for a long time, perhaps leasing is the way to go

I probably haven't been much assistance in helping you make a decision but I do wish you and DH best of luck in whatever you decide. docsgirl

Re: Leasing a Vehicle vs Purchasing

CaneCorsoMom — Sun, 05 Mar 2017 19:11:05 GMT

I always buy a vehicle because when I pay it off I have many, many more years of no car payments. It is the smartest thing to do - just think what you could do with the extra money.

Re: Leasing a Vehicle vs Purchasing

Annabellethecat66 — Sun, 05 Mar 2017 19:15:32 GMT

When my husband died I leased a vehicle thinking I'd just get a new one every year like he and I used to do.

However, I forgot how lazy I am. I just kept renewing the lease. I never went over the mileage because I don't drive much.

Finally, I had to come off of the lease. My daughter (rightfully) told me to buy the car because I have an Acura and they hold their value. They really hold their value!

When someone wrecked my car a few years later. My insurance company invested a few dollars less than $20,000 into my previously leased car to fix it. They said Acuras hold their value. The entire car was almost rebuilt. Ha!

This past Fall I bought a new Acura 2017. I love it. My best friend liked mine so much she bought a 2015 Acura. They are wonderful cars.

I think leasing would probably be the best deal for you because you probably won't travel much and that way when you stop driving your family wouldn't be stuck with a car to get rid of.

I just paid cash for my car and will give it to my granddaughte who will be driving when I stop (in about 2 years). My daughter keeps their cars forever.

I hate to drive and look forward to using Uber AND this granddaughter....Ha!

Re: Leasing a Vehicle vs Purchasing

Msfitness — Sun, 05 Mar 2017 19:19:07 GMT

Years ago I leased 2 vehicles but got out of the plan after the second vehicle. The balloon payment, if I decided I wanted to keep the car was frightening. I also did not like leasing because I enjoy not having a car note (for a while at least); and I love owning my own car. Having the leasing option is wonderful and I am happy it is available for consumers.

Re: Leasing a Vehicle vs Purchasing

gidgetgh — Sun, 05 Mar 2017 19:22:35 GMT

I'm not a fan of leasing. You pay and you pay and you pay and at the end of the lease you have nothing.

Re: Leasing a Vehicle vs Purchasing

queendiva — Sun, 05 Mar 2017 19:33:37 GMT

Can you negotiate a lease? You can negotiate the price of a new car for purchase. For a person with no debt and excellent credit you need put little or no $ down on the purchase and negotiate a great deal if you are a good deal maker. You can pay off a financed car anytime you choose and have the $ to do so. Not to be morbid, but what happens to a leased car if the owner can no longer drive, or worse? Are you not obligated to the terms of the lease? If that happened with a purchased car it could be sold. I have leased and owned. I need to finance a purchase, but I can pay it off any time and I like having a car with no payments for several years after. You will always have payments with a lease and sometimes $ owed at the end. Purchase rates, especially on new cars can be as low as 0% for five or more years. That's why I finance and leave my cash to invest- especially in today's market.

My preference is to buy a one to three year old luxury car with one previous owner or an end of year model. Let someone else pay the depreciation. I drive what I love for as long as possible (last car maybe too long, 153K miles), then sell it on Craig's list. Even with high mileage I still recouped enough to cover almost a year of payments on my "new" car. Cars are generally built to drive much longer (over 100K miles) so to me it does not make economic sense to get a brand new car every three years. There is no right or wrong way to own a car; it's what works for you. If you have never leased a car I urge you to learn as much as you can about leasing before you ever set foot in the shark tank AKA the car dealership.

Re: Leasing a Vehicle vs Purchasing

TheMemphisVette — Sun, 05 Mar 2017 19:33:52 GMT

5 years

leasing
payments 600	x	60	36000.00
what you have when done			0.00

pay cash
pay 40,000
put 600 a month back	x	60	36000.00
car value			15000.00
what you have when done			51000.00

Re: Leasing a Vehicle vs Purchasing

sugar22 — Sun, 05 Mar 2017 19:37:45 GMT

We have leased for years, always get a new vehicle every 2-3 years. (Sorry but we're from Detroit!) In that time, things don't usually go bad so no maintenance expenses. What I like best is just turning the car in to the dealer rather than trying to sell it yourself, which could be a dangerous proposition sometimes with bad people trying to steal your car.

Re: Leasing a Vehicle vs Purchasing

software — Sun, 05 Mar 2017 19:38:31 GMT

Leasing is a scam. So if you are financially stable, just buy outright.

I buy cars, no payments. Another scam, financing a car. Even at zero interest.

I agree with you.

@gidgetgh wrote:
I'm not a fan of leasing. You pay and you pay and you pay and at the end of the lease you have nothing.

Re: Leasing a Vehicle vs Purchasing

divagirl101 — Sun, 05 Mar 2017 19:47:24 GMT

If you had listened to Suze Orman, she stated that leasing a vehicle is not a wise decision unless you want to impress people with a vehicle you cannot in reality afford. So, unless you are going to lease a Lexus to impress someone, buy instead of lease. She also stated that leasing a car was a "no win" situation.

Re: Leasing a Vehicle vs Purchasing

151949 — Sun, 05 Mar 2017 19:48:36 GMT

My DH always had company cars and got a new one yearly. Now we are retired he just refuses to keep a car for longer than 3 years. For us - since he is going to sell the car in 3 years anyway - we are better off to lease than buy. Even taking the car north to Pa. and back each year we have not exceeded the milage. In the past we always bought insurance that would cover the costs of any scratches etc they may find on the car when we turned it in as there are always some - and they charge you for those - can potentially be hundreds of dollars. Well, this fall when we returned our SUV and leased a new one (Buick) they informed us that this insurance no longer exists. Now we are very nervous about getting any , even slight , damage to the car.

Re: Leasing a Vehicle vs Purchasing

151949 — Sun, 05 Mar 2017 19:56:15 GMT

@queendiva You negiotiate your price just the same as when you buy then the lease is based on that negiotiated price. For instance - we chose a 2016 Buick Enclave that they had left over when the 2017 models came out. They immediately gave us a large discount off the stiucker for that, then we had GM points on our GM credit card plus my DH gets the GM retiree discount because his company was a GM supplier, and in the end we had $14,500 off the sticker, that was the price our lease was based upon.

Re: Leasing a Vehicle vs Purchasing

queendiva — Sun, 05 Mar 2017 19:55:15 GMT

@151949: Thank you. My leasing days are behind me.

Re: Leasing a Vehicle vs Purchasing

151949 — Sun, 05 Mar 2017 19:58:31 GMT

My friend's SIL owns a car dealership and he gets her fabulous deals on cars that have been turned in after only a one or two year lease. That is where to look for a car.

Re: Leasing a Vehicle vs Purchasing

Bhvbum — Sun, 05 Mar 2017 20:29:56 GMT

consumer Reports has done a number of articles on leasing versus buying through the years. Always, always the least expensive is buying the car and keeping it after it's been paid for. So if you have no trouble always having a car payment then this is the way to go because you can turn it in and get a new car.

That is a very expensive way to get an automobile. Actually one of the cheapest is buying a low mileage car that you want with a couple years on it, and also continue to drive it after you've paid for it. The key is keeping the car after it has been paid for, then you do have trade-in value.

Re: Leasing a Vehicle vs Purchasing

DiAnne — Sun, 05 Mar 2017 20:41:40 GMT

Leasing is a cheaper way to get a car but unless you can write a portion of the car off it does not seem like a good financial sense. I always pay cash for cars because I do not like to pay interest. I pay my credit cards off every month also.