Do you think it's better to lease a car

[Mighty Thor]

My co-worker drove in today in a brand new Toyota Camry. I was complimenting him on it.

He said this would be his 4th Camry. I asked him if it was getting pricey to be paying it off and then trading it.

He said he never owned a car. He would only do lease. He prefers that over owning a car. According to him, its better to always have a brand new car every 2-3 years or so than to be stuck with an old, outdated car you just finish paying off.

For me I would rather own it than lease it. It seems like a waste of money. I could see his point though on always having an updated new car. But I didn't tell him that.

What do you guys think?

[vanbibber]

to me leasing a car is like renting a apartment. its just money down the drain.

[kristen]

i think that i would do that, only once i started a family, cause your kids can beat on a car like there is no tomorrow. and then you don't have to worry about that extra expense. but for a fun car like our camaro's i would have to buy that myself only because you can't mod a leasted car.

[Mogobs30th]

I would rather own a car. Leasing just seems like a waste of money. There really is no difference between the payments of leasing and owning, and when you lease, you continue to make the payments on one car after another till your basically dead.

At least if you own a car or are making payments to own, there is something you are getting out of it, instead a different car after a two or three year lease with no end to the payments.

[wilkcamaro98]

I think it all depends on the person. If there going to get a new car every few years or they buy a car then get a new one year after payments is over sort of seems pointless to buy a car. Then you should lease. However, if you plan on modding the car and keeping it for awhile then you should buy it.

[ssms5411]

Well if your like my wife and is always changing your mind then I would lease. First she liked the Tahoe,then the GMC trucks, then the BMW 3 series, then the new Mustang, then the BMW SUV, now it's the new Dodge Charger. This is all in two months time. I think she is sticking with the Charger for now, will see next month when we go to lease one. Help me

[ellik]

it would depend on the depreciation of the vehicle you buy. My Dad for example buys each of his trucks. They hold quite a bit of their value. He trades them every 2 years ($30k miles) or so and gets more out of trade in + what he has paid in 2 years than the original sale. He keeps getting new vehicles and his payments keep going down.

Before like 10 years ago he always drove beaters. His first new truck had a payment of like $500/month and 5 trades later (no extra money down) his payments are down to $150ish on a $30k pickup.

He is also an extremely patient shopper and finds some very good deals.

There are some vehicles that I would NEVER buy new though. like a Neon. the depreciate WAY too much... you will never get anywhere near what you paid for it new. you will lose you ***, on the other hand you can lease them for ilke $99 a month.

[ September 13, 2005, 04:02 PM: Message edited by: ellik ]

[Earnhardt132000]

If you plan to mod - own.

If you don't - lease.

[95fbirdkid]

Originally posted by vanbibber:
to me leasing a car is like renting a apartment. its just money down the drain.

[shenanigans]

Originally posted by vanbibber:
to me leasing a car is like renting a apartment. its just money down the drain.

difference is when you buy a car, it becomes worth less every other day.

A house is worth more every day you own it.


I'd own a car because one of my advantages, is I can work on and maintain a car myself. But like my mom, she wants a new vehicle every few years. if she bought and sold the car every 2 years probably lose money.

[camaro_speedemon]

Originally posted by shenanigans:
</font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />Originally posted by vanbibber:
to me leasing a car is like renting a apartment. its just money down the drain.

difference is when you buy a car, it becomes worth less every other day.

A house is worth more every day you own it.


I'd own a car because one of my advantages, is I can work on and maintain a car myself. But like my mom, she wants a new vehicle every few years. if she bought and sold the car every 2 years probably lose money. </font>[/QUOTE]Exactly. If you change cars every few years, then you'll save money leasing. You could also afford a lease on a car that you would never be able to buy.

[SpeedingFirebird]

Originally posted by kristen:
i think that i would do that, only once i started a family, cause your kids can beat on a car like there is no tomorrow.

Not really. You have to pay for all repairs when your lease it up. Dents, whatever come out of your pocket.

There is a reason leasing is so popular with car companies - they make tons of money. If car buyers are smart, they can buy cars and trade them in every few years and make out better than leasing.

As already stated, leasing is money down the drain.

[V6Bob]

Leases look attractive because the monthly payment for a fancy car is low. But, at the end of the lease you have no value. They take the car back.

They laid out all the money for the car in the first place. They get some of it back years later at the end of the lease, when they sell the car. For those years _you_ had their money tied up in the car. Guess what? They charge you interest on that money, it's folded into the lease payment. So leases have some extra costs. Of course, if you borrow the money to buy, you also pay interest.

Here's leasing 101 from a site that's pretty positive about leasing:

http://www.leaseguide.com/lease03.htm

Here's leasing 101 from a site that's pretty negative about leasing:

http://www.safecarguide.com/gui/lea/leasing.htm

Bottom line - whether leasing is a good deal long term or not is insanely complicated. But don't be fooled by the attractive payments, there's a lot more involved.

[ September 13, 2005, 08:00 PM: Message edited by: V6Bob ]

[shenanigans]

Originally posted by SpeedingFirebird:
Not really. You have to pay for all repairs when your lease it up. Dents, whatever come out of your pocket.

There is a reason leasing is so popular with car companies - they make tons of money. If car buyers are smart, they can buy cars and trade them in every few years and make out better than leasing.

As already stated, leasing is money down the drain.

There is a difference between what you want and what is "sensible"

think of all those people that picked up that '04 Gtos for the nice price of $32k.

then one year and less then 10k miles later they are worth like $22k

[MTMike]

Originally posted by ssms5411:
Well if your like my wife and is always changing your mind then I would lease. First she liked the Tahoe,then the GMC trucks, then the BMW 3 series, then the new Mustang, then the BMW SUV, now it's the new Dodge Charger. This is all in two months time. I think she is sticking with the Charger for now, will see next month when we go to lease one. Help me

Damn dude, you need to cut her off until she makes up her mind :eek:

I wouldn't ever lease... Like others said, i'ts just like renting. Even if the car depreciates in value, owning to me is better than renting.