Cars: Lease or Buy????

Leasing is not a smart idea. It SEEMS like it is - after all, you get to drive a new car for a really low car payment, but it's just not financially sound.

The way it generally works is you finance about half the car's value for however many years the lease will let you (1, 2, 5...I think they go up to five now! Insane!), and then at the end of the lease, you can just give it back or finance the other half of the car or trade it in for something else. So still sounds great, I know...BUT...the value of the car will decrease dramatically, so you can very quickly find yourself upside down in it. You are never really building any equity, and may find yourself owing quite a bit of money at the end of the lease.

Most leases are also incredibly strict with miles, etc. And while you can buy extra miles and build it into your lease, you're now paying interest on a future bill.

Many people who have leased cars greatly regret it. It's a pretty quick way to throw money away. There are those out there that just continue to lease - trade it in - lease another - trade it in - lease another. But everytime they're doing that, they build negative equity....if your car isn't worth more than what you owe, the difference is wrapped up into your new financing, so you're paying for something you no longer own - and paying interest on it!

Many people who lease do so in order to drive more car than they can afford. Prestige and all, you know. I personally don't think that's a very good example to set for our kids, but that's just me. (and some say they just want a new car every few years, but even then, financially, you will lose more money by leasing and are better off buying new and selling it every few years)

So...that's a real big CON opinion from me. :) I hope some others can respond with some PRO's so you can make a better informed decision, but I just can't in good conscience recommend leasing a vehicle for any reason.

Good luck! S.

2 moms found this helpful

DO NOT LEASE! Leasing is just giving into the mentality that you are always going to have a car payment...& that you can buy more than you can really afford. We, as people, have GOT to stop thinking in terms of DEBT being good & OK, not in terms of "If I can afford the payment, I can then afford the item." Rich people don't lease, most rich people pay cash for high quality used cars (like a 2006 Honda Odyssey, someone else is trying to get out of a lease on!!:)). We can REALLY do very well getting a vehicle that is 2-4 years old. Cars are so much better made these days & even a car that "holds it's value" is worth only 40-50% of the original price in under 4 years...not a great investment. I'm so looking forward to getting out of my lease, buying a car that is sufficient for my needs (a/c, space & cd/ radio...leather would be nice) & feeling the freedom of having a $500/ mo payment gone- money that I can save or invest in my kids' college funds.

So, you wanna buy my van?????? ;))) Don't lease, T.. Just buy a reliable used car- save the butt kicking on depreciation & save that money!

Love,
Your favorite hot-head

2 moms found this helpful

Hi T.,

I leased the first car I paid for myself, and I regret it. We now own two cars and have no payments, it's awesome. As someone else noted, as Dave Ramsey says "fleases are bad.' I'd recommend you don't do it.

C.

1 mom found this helpful

It depends on how much you drive. I had a BMW X5 that we leased.
Pros=never had to pay for oil change, or repairs
Cons=went way over miles and had to pay for each mile over when the lease was up. Also, once you lease it is like you are locked into leasing forever! You don't have a trade in when you are ready for a new vehicle. If you go on road trips for vacation you have to take that into account.

1 mom found this helpful

Leasing a car is like renting an apartment, at the end of the day, you've put all that money in and you don't have anything to show for it. My fiance was a car salesman and he highly recommends staying away from leases. They usually have mileage restrictions and will charge you per mile however many miles you go over (usually 12,000-15,000 miles per year). You also have to make sure you keep up with all maintenance, I'm not sure what happens if you don't, but it's not like if you owned the car. I'd stick with purchasing a car. Don't let the salesmen pressure you! And don't buy anything in the back (i.e. extended warranties, gap insurance etc). The salesmen make extra money off that and according to my fiance and his coworkers, you don't even really need that stuff. Good luck!

1 mom found this helpful

I'm a leasing right now, and my husband and I are regretting ever doing it! BIG MISTAKE, plus you have to have the top of the line insurance coverage on it instead of the basic full coverage. Just my opinion, DONT DO IT.

good luck
B.

1 mom found this helpful

I have a Infiniti G35 Coupe that we leased last year.. Now I need a bigger car because I have a 10 month old. The only bad thing about a lease is if you have to get out of it to get a bigger car..at least my thought is you are always paying car payments anyways unless you buy a car and pay for it that day...So i say if you find the right car that fits your needs then its a good idea but if you can afford to buy one just buy one..GOOD LUCK and let us know what you get!! It is always exciting to get a new car!

1 mom found this helpful

I have never leased one, but do know that the financial adviser, Dave Ramsey, says it is the MOST expensive way to drive a car. Just thought I would share.

K.

1 mom found this helpful

I see that most people are against a lease and I can understand why, but like one of the moms said, it depends on your situation. We are currently leasing for the second time. I am definitely more of the buying car type, but my husband was in a wreck a couple of months ago and totaled the car he was driving (96 Civic, so not worth much anyway) but we needed a car for him to drive and didn't have that much money to put down and to figure into our monthly budget. It is a car that we wouldn't mind buying in a couple of years. It really isn't more car than we can afford like others have said, but it just came at a time that we weren't ready for it. Ultimately you have to do what is best for your families finances. Good Luck!

1 mom found this helpful

I got a VERY bad deal on a lease. We won't ever lease again. My only advice is if you do lease--lease through the dealership and not an agency like AutoFlex or D&M Leasing. If you can buy do it.
hope this helps
J.

1 mom found this helpful

This really depends on your personal views on financial matters and how often you intend to trade in, as well as how much driving you do. If you plan on trading your vehicle in every 2 or 3 years (depending on the length of your lease contract), don't mind always having a payment and do minimal driving, go for it. A lease purchase really is not wise financially speaking, especially if there is any chance you may go over the maximum miles you can drive within your contract. They charge you big-time for miles over. Also, because cars depreciate so quickly you really get a very bad deal if you decide to purchase at the end of the lease.

1 mom found this helpful

Hi T. L,

We've been leasing for the last 10 years or so. We go thru AutoFlex Leasing -- Bob Outman on Central Expressway in Plano (I think - maybe Dallas).

Leasing is great. Typically your lease payments will be lower than if you would finance the vehicle. This leasing company does EVERYTHING for you -- right down to finding the color and options you want of the car you want to lease! They will also lease cars thru CarMax. They make it very convenient. If you're interested, I can give you Bob's number...and you can mention our name.

The down side is that you don't own anything at the end of the lease! But we're happy to give back the car(s) just when they start to need new tires, brakes, etc. You may also want to consider how many miles you drive per year. Our lease was 15,000 per year for the lease term -- and we're not even close to coming close, so we don't have to worry about paying extra at the term of the lease for the mileage. All is negotiable, and Bob is really good -- and truly has your interests at heart. After all, word of mouth gives him and AutoLease more business!!!

Let me know if you want his number...

A. O

If you've never heard of Dave Ramsey, you should google him and check him out. He's a financial guru whose changed my family's life. He says its never a good thing to lease a car, because you end up wasting a lot of money.