Community Chat

[BirkiLady]

@BirkiLady @I have always paid cash, but right now, I'd like to keep my cash. 

@Mindy D  Then talk with the financial person at the dealership (or your bank) about a loan. It will be less expensive in the long run and you will OWN the vehicle when it is paid for. That's a WIN-WIN. 

Don't know your age, but this may be the last vehicle you decide to purchase. You don't want it to be a leased vehicle! Make your money work FOR you, please.

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[Duckncover]

Paying cash sounds like a good idea unless you are buying a brand new vehicle. You are losing thousands of dollars if you pay in cash due to the drop in value as soon as you drive it from the dealer. 

[Mindy D]

@NickNack @I was thinking that car insurance might go up. This is important. Thanks for your post.

[Nuttmeg]

@Mindy D

I did a quick Google search and found some general free information from Consumer Reports about car leasing.

There should be lots of YouTube videos about leasing. 

JMO, leasing is similar to buying a car. The best deal you can negotiate. The lower your monthly payments. 

True Car. Com is a place to check prices. Kelly Bluebook and Edmunds.

Mindy D, many newspapers and TV ads are promotions good for a short time. You have to negotiate the price of the car and then tell the sales person you are leasing. Do not mix the two processes. A lease is a sale where you return the vehicle. 

[BirkiLady]

@Duckncover  Never. Paying cash enables the buyer to negiotate so much better. I've always bought new vehicles and always paid cash.

First car was at age 17 in 1967.  My parents taught me well.  

This is the year to MAKE money on trade-ins since they are few and far between. If you can afford to pay for a new vehicle, do it now!   

[gidgetgh]

My thoughts on leasing.....you pay and pay and pay and keep paying and, at the end, you own nothing.

Might as well just go to Hertz or Avis, rent a car and swap the car out every few weeks for another one.

[WenGirl42]

@Mindy D if you are a Costco member, they have relationships with car dealers with pre-arranged member prices for sales and leases.  Might be a way to do some research in a more targeted way you could feel more comfortable about.  

(Other warehouse-club type places might have the same thing, but we've used and had a great experience with Costco specifically).

[conlt]

I have leased with Acura Financial Services over and over again since 1996. I never had to put anything down. I guess I started leasing because the payments were less than if I bought. I was really scared to do it. Acura always waived any excess mileage etc. if I leased again. 

I leased my last Acura MDX in 2018. I ended up buying it out this year when the lease matured. The reason I bought it out was because it only has 15,000 miles on it. So I put some money down on it and borrowed the rest. It was like a used car loan. 

My experience with Acura Financial Services was great and maybe it has to do with the Acura dealership that I go to. They are quite good too. 

I do remember my first lease, I went to the dealership and I told them I wanted the advertised rate. They gave it to me. I also ended up purchasing that car are the end of the lease and drove it for 10 years before passing it over to a family member. 

Since I am 63 now, I am glad I finally bought the car. I am fairly lucky because it has low mileage, and I now have a work car, so I can continue to keep the mileage low on my Acura MDX 

[kaydee50]

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@BirkiLady wrote:

Why lease when you could take out a car loan? Then in a few years, the vehicle would be owned  by you!  Never to return to the dealership for another leased vehicle.

I've never understood why anyone would want to continue with that cycle of payments forever. Once you have one vehicle paid for, save the money and you'll be able to pay cash for the next vehicle, rather than those annoying payments! It's also great negiotating power. 

Use your financial sense and become savvy with your money. I only pay cash for my vehicles. Always have; always will. 

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We used to feel the same way.  Kept our cars for 10+ years.  Now in our 70s, the last car we had--and it will be the last car--was a 3 year lease on a Honda Civic.  The big plus for us was that there was no maintenace.  The dealership took care of everything.   We turned in the car prior to the lease expiration because we were moving out of the area and wouldn't be needing a car.  It cost us very little to terminate the lease early.  At this stage of our lives, if we ever needed another car (I hope not!!)  we would definitely lease and not buy.

[Mindy D]

@kaydee50 @Hello, Kaydee50. If you recently leased the Civic, would you mind sharing what the monthly leased payments were on it. 

My other question. Why would you not want a longer lease?

Third question. Did you car insurance payments increase when you leased?

THANK YOU🌹