We leased a car - Page 4

homedecor1 · ‎03-09-2010

Congrats & happy motoring in your new car.🚘🎉

Everyone has different opinions on owning vs. leasing a car. You're decision was based on your personal needs. I've leased for 8 years & never once had a bad experience. In fact, my payment stays about the same and normally I go to a upgraded style.

I like it for many reasons besides the fact every 18 months I drive-a new car🙂🙂

Sooner · ‎03-10-2010

@itsmetoo wrote:
@sunshine45 wrote:
@Abrowneyegirl wrote:
@libbyannE wrote:
We always buy German cars, although the last two were assembled in South Carolina, Never a problem, If you lease a car, you commit yourself to monthly payments forever and never own anything. We pay cash, so never a payment.
What are you talking about? Why do you say, "commit yourself to monthly payments forever?" That makes no sense.

Never say never. We own and have owned a lot of luxury imports- some with MAJOR problems some a joy. It is like buying an appliance or anything else now-a-days it is a gamble.

i think that @libbyannE is referring to the fact that you will never own the car unless you purchase it after the lease is up. if you dont purchase it then you will lease another car with another payment......thus, "monthly payments forever" or until you stop driving.

leasing is not for me for several reasons, but hope you enjoy your brand new car @Abrowneyegirl !
And then there is the down payment, which depending on the car can be a lot, that you lose with a lease.

We have looked at it and no way does it make financial sense for us. We keep cars clean, trade every four years or so, they are low mileage and a brand that holds it value well. For us it would cost us a lot more to lease.

Snoopp · ‎02-02-2015

@Abrowneyegirl wrote:
@fthunt wrote:
If your niece wants a Cadillac, or any other 'strong' car....tell her to check out 'used' "C" on the internet or contact a dealer who can check a GM auction - which is available only to dealers. I just spotted a 2012 CTS beautiful white one with $85K miles...price $10K to $12K. Many cars have come off 2 or 3 lease program - lots of companies do lease for their high-end executives.
Just a thought.........
She has one, just bought it earlier this year brand new. It is in the shop more than she has it. She has hired an attorney that specializes in the Lemon Law process because one of the problems has been fixed 4+ times. The other problems are just icing on the cake.
I don't think she will ever own another Cadillac.

That’s a shame. I think Cadillac has some very nice looking cars. I can no longer go on looks alone now and have to put reliability at the top of my car 🚘 wish list.

NicksmomESQ · ‎08-19-2014

@Abrowneyegirl We leased a car once & will never do it again:

1-You make monthly payments throughout the term of the lease & when it’s done you don’t own anything.

2- If you decide to buy the car after the lease expires it won’t be cheap. If you add up all your payments & add it into the lease buy out price you will probably pay more for the car than it cost new.

3- If your leased car turns out to be a lemon you can’t just drop it off at the dealer & get a new one. The same rules apply as if you bought it.

- You’re still responsible for insuring the car & for paying any deductibles that apply if you get into an accident.Also if the car gets totaled in an accident & the leasing company isn’t happy with amount the insurance company offers them they can & usually will bill you for the difference.

- Even with free oil changes you’re still responsible for regular maintenance & repairs. Some things won’t be covered under warranty.

- There are mileage limitations on most leases. If you go over you pay the difference when you turn the car in.

-When you turn the car in you are also responsible for any nicks or scratches that they find while checking over the car.

DH & I only leased once. I have friends who have leased for many years. These are the things they complain about. Some have stopped leasing ,some haven’t.It’s a personal choice.

Good luck in whatever you choose to do.

Abrowneyegirl · ‎03-15-2010

@Snoopp

I agree there are some beautiful Caddys out there! I have owned Caddy's on and off over the years are they drive like a dream and I have had some with HORRIBLE engine problems and others with no problems. Our niece loved ours and bought one - and she got the 1 in 1000 dud.

Snoopp · ‎02-02-2015

@Abrowneyegirl @Oh what a shame she got a lemon. It happens and we all hope not to us.

Abrowneyegirl · ‎03-15-2010

@NicksmomESQ wrote:
@Abrowneyegirl We leased a car once & will never do it again:
1-You make monthly payments throughout the term of the lease & when it’s done you don’t own anything. Of course you do not own it at the end of the lease, you are only making payments on it while driving it.
2- If you decide to buy the car after the lease expires it won’t be cheap. If you add up all your payments & add it into the lease buy out price you will probably pay more for the car than it cost new.
When you negotiate the lease you negotiate the payments as well as the pay off price. Just like when you buy a car. No difference. If you can not afford the car after the lease term is up you leased the wrong car. Every nickle and dime is spelled out.
3- If your leased car turns out to be a lemon you can’t just drop it off at the dealer & get a new one. The same rules apply as if you bought it.
If there is a problem with the car they come by, pick it up and leave a loaner. Our friend did get a lemon, they gave her a loaner, the exact make and model of her leased car for 3 months and 2 weeks while they resolved her problem.
- You’re still responsible for insuring the car & for paying any deductibles that apply if you get into an accident.Also if the car gets totaled in an accident & the leasing company isn’t happy with amount the insurance company offers them they can & usually will bill you for the difference.
Leases include gap insurance. If the car gets totaled we pay our deductible like we would for any one of our cars. The difference is covered via the gap insurance. Done.
- Even with free oil changes you’re still responsible for regular maintenance & repairs. Some things won’t be covered under warranty.
We were clearly instructed do NOT fix or replace anything (even the tires) before checking with our salesperson. He will research any issue to determine who pays. But even if, we understand a car has expenses- that is the joy of owning a car.
- There are mileage limitations on most leases. If you go over you pay the difference when you turn the car in.
Again we negotiated the annual mileage allowance as part of the lease. They do not tell you the mileage you get, you tell them what you need/want. Again we have other vehicles we own outright. So between all the cars our mileage is spread out.
-When you turn the car in you are also responsible for any nicks or scratches that they find while checking over the car. We plan on buying the car. If we changed our mind and wanted something else, they know that if they nickle and dime us we will buy our car from someone else. We live in a VERY competitive auto market.

The lease market has changed dramatically from years ago. My DH first response was "never". We do not carry debt or like to make 'payments' but when I asked to run the numbers with our finance guy he broke down the numbers and based on our scenario and luck with cars the lease option made a lot of sense. My husband was shocked. I have to admit I was only curious and wanted to learn more but was pleasantly surprised when reviewing the numbers.

DH & I only leased once. I have friends who have leased for many years. These are the things they complain about. Some have stopped leasing ,some haven’t.It’s a personal choice.
Good luck in whatever you choose to do.

CatsyCline · ‎07-24-2013

@Abrowneyegirl leasing seems to have improved over the years. i was very emotional and leased a sporty red toyota in 1990. no money down. low payments. there would be a balloon payment at the end (if i kept the car) my ex husband sneakily arranged the deal - he worked at the dealership. (everything you hear about sleazy sales guys is true. we were going thru a divorce and he wanted to get me out of the car i was driving so i would not ask for it in the divorce)

at that time i wasn't advised about gap insurance, if it even existed. it was not offerred or even mentioned. a year or so later i found myself struggling to make lease payments. i tried to get out of the lease but no dealer would take it. i even put some ads up at the market hoping somone would take over the lease.

then my vehicle was stolen and totaled. blessing in disguise? not. the thieves took all the seats and smashed up the car. the shell of my car was found outside a body shop the next day. my insurance company did not cover the amount i owed - the payments had been pro-rated. i owed a couple ks and to make things worse i was forced to have a recorded phone conversation with the agent in which i stated that i did not arrange for my car to be stolen!

i'll never forget getting ready for work one morning and seeing my parking spot empty!

this was my car

Image result for 1990 toyota corolla sr5 sport coupe

NicksmomESQ · ‎08-19-2014

@Abrowneyegirl All my friends who currently lease say the same things.They still do it because they are self employed & get tax benefits.Maybe where you live things are different.I don’t know.All I know is how we feel about it.

I hope your experience is a positive one!!

SahmIam · ‎04-16-2010

@NicksmomESQ makes some very good points; these were the same complaints I remember hearing many years ago. No one leased unless it was a company car because it favored the dealership 100%. But things have dramatically changed especially since more people now lease than buy. You can still be taken advantage of but that's happens in sales as well. For us, leasing saved us a ton because we were able to break the leases on each car that was defective; that would have been a nightmare had we purchased instead.

Bottom line, you have to know what you want; you need to read the fine print and you need decide what works best for you should you choose to lease.