Community Chat

[Katcat1]

You only lease a car if you can use for business otherwise it is a big loss.  I learned my lesson --  never again. 

[straykatz]

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@Pooky1 wrote:

i agree with you 100 percent. i never want to be making car payments forever. we were thrilled when they were payed off.

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Me too...I'm driving an 18yr old Jeep I bought new in 1999....only has a little over 100,000 miles on it.....it's still like new....sure I would like to have some of the bells and whistles on newer cars but I don't want a car payment.  If I can get another 18 years out of my Jeep I'll be thrilled.  :-)  

[GCR18]

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@Ibby114 wrote:

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@GCR18 wrote:

The buyout price can be researched in the newspaper and Kelly's Blue Book, etc.  If it's a fair deal, you like the car and can afford it, why not buy it.  

Something else to think about is what if you have to break the lease.  My sister leased a car in October and we are trying to break her lease.  She's since been sick and no longer able to drive.  We are going to have to pay thousands to terminate the lease.  Waiting for the exact figure.

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@GCR18 It might be better to continue paying the lease- my Dad passed away after having a lease for a year. The leasing comany 'made a deal' with me (I'm the executor) -  give them the car to auction and the estate would  only be responsible for the remaining lease payments after it sells. The $12,500 sale price covered the remaining lease payments easily. When push came to shove they re-negged on that arrangement (saying I 'misunderstood' - ha! ) and they're trying to ALSO get the residual value of the car from the estate! HUGE difference. Get whatever arrangement you make in writing- and hope for the best.  And stay away from Hyundai finance!!

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@Ibby114

We're working with Nissan Motor Credit.  I'll mention your story to her conservator.  Thanks for the tips.

[Tinkrbl44]

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@Plaid Pants2 wrote:

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@Tinkrbl44 wrote:

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@esmeraldagooch wrote:

From Dave Ramsey

QUESTION: Listener asks Dave to break down the mathematical flaws in a car lease.

ANSWER: A car fleece is basically renting a car. You pay $400 a month and at the end of the new car lease, you turn it back in. If you want to buy it, you are buying it for what they estimate at the beginning of the fleece to be the market value. At the end of the lease, it’s called the residual value. If you pay $400 a month for 60 months, you pay $24,000 before turning it in. The car will not have gone down in value more than that, because the car companies would lose money if it did. When they get the car back, you will have paid them more than the car has depreciated during that time.

During that time, you’re maintaining the car as if you owned it. You’ll get charged for excessive wear and tear, or if you put too many miles on it. If you rent it for $24,000 and it went down $15,000 in value, then it cost me $9,000 to rent this car for this period of time. That is their profit during that time.

Another thing is that the interest rates on a vehicle lease are not disclosed because the Federal Trade Commission has determined that this is not a debt, so there is no federal disclosure involved. Therefore, you have no truth in lending disclosure sheet. The interest rates you get charged are unbelievably high. That’s where you’ll realize you got screwed over.

People get sold automobile leases because they are told that it’s what sophisticated people do. But as it turns out, the car companies make more money on leasing you the car than if you bought the car with cash, according to the National Auto Dealers Association. Broke people think ‘how much down and how much a month’. Rich people think ‘how much’. If you can’t pay cash for a car, then ride a bicycle. But don’t lease a car

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@esmeraldagooch

I agree with everything above except the highlighted part.   I find it hard to believe anyone would actually  fall for that, and ignore the dollar comparisons.

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There are people who feel that they MUST have the latest and greatest vehicle, and it MUST have all the bells and whistles.

It their way of saying, "Look at me!!! Look at me!!! Look at what I'm driving!!!"

I think that's what he ment by "sophisticated people".

Think of "keeping up with the Jonses".

People want others to believe that they are the Jonses.

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@Plaid Pants2

Oh, I don't dispute that at all .....  my comment was that I doubted that someone would actually lease a car because someone told them "that's what sophisticated people do".    Financing the car makes a lot more sense most of the time.   Businesses lease cars for their top people all the time and take the writeoff.

[Irshgrl31201]

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@sunshine45 wrote:

@Lucky Charm

those weathertech mats are amazing, arent they?

anytime i change my car i order a set.

i gave a set to my sister for christmas and she loves them.

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Love these too @sunshine45. Got them after reading about them here.

[libbyannE]

Leasing is a bad idea. You pay and pay and have nothing in the end. Buy, don't lease.

[deedledeedeedle]

I attribute the spike in leased cars due to the IRS stopping the auto loan interest deduction. I would never lease, although I know a lot of people who use auto leasing just so they have a bright shiny toy every two years. I choose to make low interest loan payments and then hang onto my car. Having gone 9 years without a car payment is sweet. It also helps that I drive a Honda & take excellent care of it. It still looks brand new, actually.

dee

[GenXmuse]

I think we can talk ourselves into what we want quite easily. There is always a "good reason" to go the less economical route if we want something bad enough. 

For some people, having a new car every few years is worth the tied up capital. For others, it might be vacations or jewelry, or plastic surgery or handbags. We all have our "thing"!

[bonnielu]

Timely topic for us.  We have a 2012 Prius... still owe a bit  on it.  We have a 2007 Camry, paid for obviously.  We really don't drive both cars as DH and me seem to drive together.  Thinking of getting a RAV4 or Highlander (safety features would be a plus for us)  Cannot decide which car to turn in... if not both.  And cannot decide to buy a car in the  first place.  The dealership is after us to do something.  I am hiding until I make up my mind.  Hate to give up the Prius, no problem giving up the Camry but am torn.  Both are perfect except the safety features are haunting me. 

[151949]

@bonnielu  At the time my DH retired we owned a 3/4 ton GMC pickup, a GMC full size SUV,and a Chev Equinox, a 1970 MGB sports car and a little 18ft open bow boat. Sold everything, and went down to only one vehicle. A full size SUV because we need that for snowbirding. The financial savings has been tremendous. I don't think we ever realized how expensive vehicles are. The money for maintainence, gas, insurance, oil changes, tires -- it all really adds up, plus my little vintage MGB was very expensive to get parts for.

We have not found that only having one vehicle has been all that inconvenient. We also have a golf cart so I can ride that around the neighborhood, without having to go into the street, just on the sidewalks.