Leasing question.

I was wondering how many members here lease their vehicles. Also I would like to know any pro’s/cons of leasing a vehicle. I’m not very well versed in the field and would like to get some input.

I’ve never leased myself but a couple of my friends have.
Its all fine and dandy until you go over your miles or put a few dings in it. One of my friends had to add the fees of his lease to a loan to purchase a vehicle. I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone who can afford to buy. Thats just me playing things safe.

I lease at least one of our vehicles all the time. I like leasing because I understand that I will always want my wife to drive a new car, and we can keep the payments quite a bit lower on a lease than we can a purchase.
Leasing is good for people like me, who want a new car, but can be a problem if you drive a lot of miles.
Basically, leasing is just paying for the part of the car that your using. The amount of car left over is the residual value. The higher the residual value, the lower you lease payment will be. You can also choose to purchase the car at the end of your lease for that amount.
Hope this helps some.

Not much more that I could add, except that if you arent sure you can keep the miles within the lease limits, you can end up spending a substantial amount more at the end of the lease. If its for a car used to commute and grocery-getting, that could be ok. If its for a truck and you find that “honey-hole” a couple hundred miles away…

Blue Fleck,
Having been in the business for over 10 years,there simply isnt a blanket yes or no answer to your question.Generally speaking,if you drive less than 18K per year,and like to be in a different vehichle every 2-3 years it may very well be an option for you.If you are using it for business a high percentage of the time there could be significant benefits as well,check with your accountant if you do.The manufacturers at times will have signifcant incentives available(lease rate and residuals)but normally not on all models.PM me if you have questions.Good luck

Here’s basically why I ask. I have the opportunity to get into a new ’05 Dodge Dakota for about $150 less than I pay now. I drive on average about 11,000 miles per year. The thing that sticks out in my mind is saving $150 a month. I’m not too sure the extra “baggage” from the lease is worth the savings. I only have 2 years left on my truck now. I have plenty of equity in that vehicle too. So I’m torn between what to do. I’m not much of a fan of the lease programs, but once again saving $150 per…. I think I might stick with what I know and keep the truck I have now.

Thanks to all who replied.

My first new truck I ever bought I leased and I really got bent over, big time. Alot of the things everyone mentioned are what I would say too. I won’t go on and on. I would never lease again. Both trucks I have now have great equity and are almost paid for. I like to get ahead on things so leasing isn’t for me.

Sounds like a good idea to me!

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I think I might stick with what I know and keep the truck I have now.

Thanks to all who replied.

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I have leased a few vehicles and can be a good thing if you know what you are doing.Just remember you still may have to nagotiate a price on the vehicle.

Pros
If you stay within the 3 year 36000 warranty you wont have to pay for any repairs.If you plan on driving more miles buy the mileage up front it is cheaper.It is usually best if you can stay within the warranty or close to it.Dont lease a vehicle for over 3 years.
You wont have to worry about being upside down oweing more money than the car is worth but it can be costly to get out of a lease early.
You have the option to return,buy or sell the vehicle at the end.If the vehicle isnt worth the residual or buyout you can return it if it is worth more you could sell it for a profit.Kindof like a 2-3 year test drive.
There can be some tax advantages to leasing if used for bussiness but you would have to check with an accountant about that.

Cons
Usually the most popular vehicles dont lease out cheap.
With interests rates low you may be better of buying.
It can cost you extra for access damage or mileage.
It can cost you more if you change your mind and want out of a lease early.
If you put on a lot of miles you could have to spend money on tires or brakes and repairs etc.

I used to sell cars for a while and here is some tips.
Check out prices before you go to a dealer.You can find out invoice prices on the web for most cars.Cars usually have an 8% markup and trucks are 12%.Sticker price x .92 for cars and x .88 for trucks will put you at invoice.Dont forget about rebates and incentives.If you know what you are doing the not so popular stuff you can buy for 50-100 over invoice or sometimes less if you are real good and the popular suff or usually 500 over invoice but there are some exceptions.Remember you have the money in your pocket and they want it.If you or anyone else needs any help let me know I have helped a lot of people buy cars.

If your looking for a boat they even have a higher mark up.

Thanks for the info Castaway that is some awesome info

This may be a good deal for you based on mileage but there are a few other things to consider.
First of all what price are they leasing you the vehicle for?And just like a loan a lease has a rate like interest.It is very possible they have a special program on these where they have the price cut and a low rate like ford rangers had for a while.Also keep this in mind if it is a special with a low rate the residual buy out will be high and you will be turning it in at the end of the lease.Are you trading anything in?Most cases you are better off selling your own vehicle unless there is a tax offset.It is usually best to put the minimum down on a lease as your equity can do better elsewhere.If you have any other questions let me know.

Some leases also require you to do all the schedualed maintainence at the dealer and you need to turn in the reciepts when the lease is over.

You are required to maintain the vehicle and is a good idea to document oil changes etc just in case but I have never seen where you had to bring it to a specific dealer.

A gal at my work has a Toyota. There was a oil leak in the motor and the motor blew. The dealer said to bring the dealer reciepts in as stated in the lease. She was never told about that and they would not honor the warranty. She had to pay $1700 for the repair and now has to bring her business back to that same dealer for the remainder of the lease.

To me that would be like saying they wont warranty a vehicle because you do your own repairs.Something sounds fishy here to me.If you let a vehicle run out of oil and it blows up they might have a problem with that.Im not even sure it would be leagal for them to tell you where you had to repair it.There is either more to this story or she is getting the shaft and might want to talk to a lawyer.

She brought the lease to a lawyer and the lawyer told her the verbage in the lease was valid. The leak was from the oil drain plug. The dealer blamed it on “whoever was changing the oil”

There are many things that void a manufactures warranty if you do your own repairs. Appliances for one are known for that.

I think the verbage in the contract said if you or anyone else screws things up we wont cover it and they would be correct.If she could have proved that the oil change people screwed up she could go after them.

I HAVE BEEN IN THE CAR BUSINESS FOR 5 YEARS AND 80% OF THE MANAGERS AND SALES PEOPLE LEASE THERE VEHICLES. IF YOU DONT FORSEE ANY CHANGES IN YOU DRIVING HABITS TO WHERE YOUR MILES PER YEAR WOULD CHANGE LEASING IS PERFECT FOR YOU. #1 MOST PEOPLE I KNOW WILL TRULY HAVE A CAR PAYMENT FOR THE REST OF THERE LIVES SO WHY WOULDNT YOU WANT TO PAY 150.00 DOLLARS LESS A MONTH FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE.#2 POPULAR CARS AND TRUCKS LEASE OUT BETTER!!! BECAUSE A MORE POPULAR TRUCK IS HAS MORE VALUE AT THE END OF THE LEASE SO ITS WORTH MORE TO THE LEASING COMPANY THAT MEANS A LOWER PAYMENT TO YOU!! #3 I ALSO WAS BENT OVER ON MY FIRST LEASE BUT ONLY BECAUSE I DIDNT UNDERSTAND HOW A LEASE WORKS IF YOU ASK FOR THE LOWEST PAYMENT POSSIBLE YOU ARE GOING TO GET A LOW MILAGE LEASE AND IF YOU DRIVE 20000 MILES A YEAR YOU ARE IN TROUBLE AT THE END OF A LEASE. #4 YOU CAN PICK HOW MANY MILES YOU WANT TO DRIVE PER YEAR AND IF YOU DONT USED THEM ON A HIGH MILAGE LEASE YOU GET THEM PAID BACK TO YOU. (HOW CAN YOU GO WRONG WITH THAT??) #5 DAMAGE TO A VEHICLE IS BASED ON NORMAL WEAR AND TEAR. IF YOU HAVE A TRUCK ITS A TRUCK AND YOU WILL HAVE SCRATCHES AND DINGS IN THE BOX AND YOU WILL NOT BE CHARGED FOR THEM. AS LONG AS A SCRATCH ISNT LONGER THAN 4 INCHES OR A HOLE IN THE APOLSTRY ISNT BIGGER THAN A QUARTER YOU WONT HAVE TO PAY EITHER. IF YOU ARE LIKE ME I BEAT THE CRAP OUT OF MY LEASE SO I BOUGHT WEAR CARE FOR 350.00 AND IT COVERS 3500.00 WORHT OF DAMAGE ON MY TRUCK. I KNOW THIS WAS A LITTLE LONG BUT IT IS TOUGH TO UNDERSTAND IF YOU DONT KNOW MUCH ABOUT IT. BUT IT WORKS FOR JUST ABOUT EVERY ONE WHO TRADES ANY LESS THAN 4 YEARS. ANY QUESTIONS CALL ANYTIME 651-214-8875 SEE YA, COREY

It comes down to what works for you. I know many who have leased and have leased again and will lease forever.

I just picked up my new lease truck a couple weeks ago. A Dodge. Chrysler financial is doing something with Dodges now that they didn’t use to. They are giving a rebate on unused milage. Basically, when you lease a vehicle, you are paying for the mileage as part of your payment. It costs you about 15 cents a mile if you go over your mileage cap, but if you are under your cap, they will rebate you 12 cents a mile on all your unused mileage! Now as far as I know, with these Dodges, only Chysler Financial is doing this. Not Chase Manhattan, or U.S. Banks, or Wells Fargo, so if you look into the lease, make sure you ask about this program.

If you do lease, as I have for the last 12 years now, it is best to write the lease with a higher mileage cap and have miles left than it is to go over. Yes, your payment will be slightly higher each month, but it is better than going over and for me at least, my truck lease payments are deductable. In many cases, a retail purchase isn’t deductable, unless the vehicle is in a company name.