We lease our cars

Mr. Ed

Mr. Ed

Be what you is not what you what you ain’t
Location
Central NY
My wife and I lease our cars from Subaru. Both lease vehicles will come to term toward the end of this year. At that time we will move to one vehicle and I will drive my wife to and from her workplace from December to April when she plans to retire. In the mean while, I plan to continue working as long as I am able.

I've always liked cars and so I look forward to my next vehicle. My wife's stipulations for our next vehicle is vastly inhibiting. Nearly every car I choose fails to meet the criteria for vehicle prudence; AWD, size, cost, style and features.

My wife does not want to be stuck with a vehicle she is not happy with should something happen to me, so we compromise. Hyundai Kona offers an Ultimate package for around $30,000 I might be interested in leasing. Because I am currently leasing a vehicle I won't have a vehicle to trade in so, I'm saving $200 a month for a $2500 downpayment in September.

Vehicles don't seem as interesting now that I am grownup with the exception of the classics
 

I would never lease a vehicle.. constant payments, regardless of whether I would get a new car every 3 years I'd never be finished paying.. Nope, I always buy my cars straight out, no car payments, ... as does my o/h.... and I keep my car until it starts costing more in repairs , or potential repairs than I'm happy with and then I change it...

Hubs otoh upgrades every couple or so years and they are expensive cars..

Me ?.. I'm just happy to have a car that's reliable, good condition, fuel efficient, cheap to run, and gets me to exactly the same A-to- B run that my husbands cars cost him an arm and a lung to do the same .... :LOL:
 
A number of years ago, friends of ours went through a challenging financial spell as a result of the Mr., suffering a serious medical/health condition that laid him up from his job for over a year, and having always bought their vehicles, they were able to put a new vehicle they had bought up for sale and in turn, apply the equity from the sale to their situation to help pull them through the tough time.

Had they leased, there wouldn't have been anything for them to fall back on.

That was lesson enough for dear husband and I to never look at leasing.
 
Leasing a car is much like renting a house/apartment, IMO. Sure, there are little concerns with maintenance/upkeep, but when it comes time to trade/move, there is No Equity. For someone who has no desire to do maintenance, etc., leasing/renting is probably a good option, but that "freedom" comes at a price....such costs Are factored into the lease/rent. There is No "free lunch".

Here is a pretty good breakdown of the advantages/disadvantages of leasing.........

https://www.yahoo.com/news/leasing-vs-buying-car-110004108.html
 
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To me leasing is like an extended rental. Too may restrictions. It is not YOUR car - it still belongs to the dealership or leasing company. I, like hollydolly, purchase for cash and always a new car, never pre-owned. My dad always said "If you buy a used car, you're just buying someone else's problem. Nobody ever trades in a good car." This is my Honda Civic, bought in 2002 and still going strong with occasional maintenance.

my car1a.jpg
 
My Toyota Echo was built in 2000, and I bought it used in 2004 for about $5,000 cash. I have never owned a new car, nor have I had a car loan. To me, that is just a bad idea to borrow money on an item with such depreciation. My car has been great, requiring only routine maintenance and at 160,000 miles, a brake job. I will continue to drive it until it starts needing expensive repairs. It could very well be my last vehicle. I know plenty of folks for whom having a car payment is simply a way of life. Each to his or her own.

Everything I have read about leasing has said that the only way leasing makes good financial sense is as a business expense that can be written off on taxes. However, there could be good reason to lease. I wouldn't know since I have never looked into it any further than reading articles in financial publications.

Tony
 
We have not made a car payment for 30 years. All the equity is ours.
We have never needed or owned a car with AWD or 4WD, for us that is excess baggage.
 
I lost my fascination for new cars several years ago. When I retired, I began to consider spending our money more wisely. A new car looses half its value within 3 or 4 years....to me, that is a really poor "investment". Our vehicles are several years old....1997 and 2006, but both are in good shape, low mileage, and we probably spend less than $1k/yr., each, on insurance and maintenance, etc. So long as they show no signs of major problems, I plan on keeping them until we are too old to drive.
 
bowmore said:
The main reason we replaced @Kayelle's car was it had over 100K miles nad the engine which was poorly designed died. Talk about a quantum leap in technology
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Agreed about the leap in technology. When we bring our vehicles in for their scheduled maintenance, I wander around the new car show room floor. Looking inside these vehicles, it is interesting to see all the doodads stuffed in them. Every once in a while I will see comments around the forum that clearly indicate how outmoded my car is since it has manual locks, manual windows, nothing fancy. But, then, I suppose that also explains why my car has been so reliable too. I would probably be lost in a brand new car. :geek:

Tony
 
Have leased in the past, but just don't care for that arrangement anymore.
I bought a new car last December, have paid it off, and feel very good with that decision ... and it's probably my last car.
 
debodun said:
To me leasing is like an extended rental. Too may restrictions. It is not YOUR car - it still belongs to the dealership or leasing company. I, like hollydolly, purchase for cash and always a new car, never pre-owned. My dad always said "If you buy a used car, you're just buying someone else's problem. Nobody ever trades in a good car." This is my Honda Civic, bought in 2002 and still going strong with occasional maintenance.

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People DO trade in good cars -- people who think they need a new car every couple of years. If you watch what you are doing, get a Carfax report and have a mechanic look over the car, you can find very good buys on low mileage one-owner cars. I always have, anyway. I don't want to take the depreciation a brand new car takes the moment you drive it out of the showroom. I bought my Saturn from a dealer who had sold it brand new to a guy for his wife. She didn't like it, so he brought it back with 25 miles on it a few days later. Since it was then a used car, I bought it for several thousand less than the new car price but still with the new car warranty. It was still "new" for all intents and purposes.
 
On a slightly different concern, where buying/leasing a new car is concerned.....the next few months may Not be a good time to go car shopping. It seems that there is a shortage of semiconductors, due to the major increase in sales of laptops/computers, as a result of the increase in people working from home during this pandemic.
Since most of today's new cars are loaded with "gee whiz" electronics, the car makers are having to cut back production, since they can't get the components for all the "entertainment" features.
That means fewer cars on the dealers lots, and less incentive for them to offer a reasonable selling price.

https://www.yahoo.com/autos/fca-for...autos/fca-ford-idle-plants-due-185800127.html
 
Leasing does work for some people. Right now my son is leasing and I believe he did so with the last three vehicles he drove. I also had a neighbor who leased (or so I was told) and every so often she'd get a nice, new ride. If I still drove, I don't know if I'd bother to lease. After my car was totaled (because my husband parked it on the street instead of the lot like I asked him to), I knew I wouldn't want to bother with a used car. A new car loses value as soon as it's driven off the lot...that's not an attractive option either. Turns out I didn't have to choose. Due to glaucoma complications and eye surgeries, I stopped driving about the same time the car was totaled.
 
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OneEyedDiva said:
Leasing does work for some people. Right now my son is leasing and I believe he did so with the last three vehicles he drove. I also had a neighbor who leased (or so I was told) and every so often she'd get a nice, new ride. If I still drove, I don't know if I'd bother to lease. After my car was totaled, I knew I wouldn't want to bother with a used car. A new car loses value as soon as it's driven off the lot...that's not an attractive thought either.
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That's the main advantage (in my view).
I drive off in a new car (sticker price $31,000 with only around $2,000 down & $350/month. Those figures would be impossible with a purchase. I don't have to be concerned with depreciation or repairs. At the end of the lease, I bring the car back & drive off with another new one. No haggling over trade in. And, if I don't like the car for whatever reason, I can turn it in early, & the dealer will pay off the lease. I've done that a couple of times.
 
I have a friend that buys a new car every 3 years. I told he she should lease, but she said "No." Leasing is probably better for those that want a new car every few years. But people like me that plan to keep a car until it falls apart, buying is probably a better option.
 
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win231 said:
And, if I don't like the car for whatever reason, I can turn it in early, & the dealer will pay off the lease. I've done that a couple of times.
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I will have to look into this, my daughter (essentially me since I signed the contract) has a leased car that she likes and wants to pay off at the end of the lease and keep but I think she should switch to an AWD vehicle because she is in nursing school and she will need to drive in all weather once she has a job.
I wish now that we had not leased this time, I think we should have paid the extra mileage of her previous lease and bought a used AWD vehicle. I had the worst experiences with used American cars back in the 70's and a new American car in the 80's, so I've since only bought brand new Honda Civic's (chosen due to Consumer Report ratings the first time I could buy a car plus due to Toyota's being out of stock that year), but I watched some Dave Ramsey YouTube videos and he made some pretty good points about buying used cars.
 
We prefer leasing because leased cars are easier to dispose of than a bank purchased car. I like driving a new car every three years and I can afford lease payments over an installment loan for a higher priced vehicle.
 
debodun said:
I pay cash, so no financing for me - I do own my car when I drive it off the lot
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debodun said:
I have a friend that buys a new car every 3 years. I told he she should lease, but she said "No." Leasing is probably better for those that want a new car every few years. But people like me that plan to keep a car until it falls apart, buying is probably a better option.
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Nothing wrong with keeping a car until it falls apart......unless you're in it at the time.
 

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