Leasing a Car

[Serif]

Leasing is only smart if you don't mind having a car payment always

Leasing a car is worse than financing IMO, both are stupid. I love putting out 100-600 bucks a month out on a thing I actually don't own!

Save up money buy a beater, then save up more money and sell that beater and upgrade your car. And then do it again, and then again...

It ain't rocket surgery or brain science

[takethistoyourgrave]

Basically echoing what has already been said, but leasing is basically never a good or financially sound decision.

Buy a ~3 year old car.

[archibaldcrane]

Good aquantance of mine leased a 2010 Elantra for 2k down, $150 a month, everything is included (free oil changes, tune ups). 24k miles for a 2 year lease. His credit was nearly perfrect though. YMMV

So, he paid $5,600 to drive a car for two years that he could've owned free and clear for under $12,000?

Bleh.

[jmc]

What I don't get, is how people make the argument that leasing is better because of the free maint.

Where if you were to buy a new car, some come with free maint anyways (Toyota, BMW). It's also not expensive, as long as you don't get the work done at the dealership.

[archibaldcrane]

What I don't get, is how people make the argument that leasing is better because of the free maint.

Where if you were to buy a new car, some come with free maint anyways (Toyota, BMW). It's also not expensive, as long as you don't get the work done at the dealership.

Yeah, besides oil changes, what maintenance are you really getting in the first 36,000 miles?

[Callisto]

12,000 miles/year is pretty standard, if you intend to travel more than that probably not a good idea. I personally am the type to drive a car until it absolutely will not move on its own power anymore before I get another, dropping over half of what you'd pay to own the car outright and giving up another potential 7+ years out of it after the 3 years would be up doesn't make sense to me, but some people always need a newish car so the lease works for them.

[Melena]

The only other thing I could see someone going through a lease is so they can try it out and decide whether they want to buy it outright. That way if you hate it 6 months later, you only got another 18 months to go with it, whereas if you buy you have to find a buyer to take over the loan or trade in and tack on whatever's left onto a new car loan and get raped that way.

[Ddz]

Leasing a car is worse than financing IMO, both are stupid. I love putting out 100-600 bucks a month out on a thing I actually don't own!

Save up money buy a beater, then save up more money and sell that beater and upgrade your car. And then do it again, and then again...

It ain't rocket surgery or brain science

It's like renting an apt. Throwing money out the window every month gets you out of long-term expensive maintenance. Warranties expire. Shit will ultimately cost you in the end unless you get extremely lucky and have a car last 200,000 miles without needing any major repairs. Leasing is good for people that are OK with having a monthly "rent" and no worries of being stranded on a road trip. I have seen car repair bills upwards of $7,000 on cars that weren't even very old, but had expired warranties. To each his own, I guess.

[Omnipotent]

Pretty much been looking around >5k for a Saab, I love Saabs, last long and have a good friend his is a Saab enthusiast. My dad is under the assumption that Saabs will BREAK THE BANK when it comes to fixes, but I have found tons of Saabs >4k with about 100k miles that would definitely fit my criteria.. he wants me to look @ Fords and Toyotas, all of which are between Contours, Taurus and Escorts and I'de rather walk than drive one of those.

[kyod]

If you're looking at a high mileage (older) vehicle, I would stick with Toyota, Honda or even Mazda. Much more reliable with higher mileage than American cars.

[Callisto]

My dad is under the assumption that Saabs will BREAK THE BANK when it comes to fixes, but I have found tons of Saabs >4k with about 100k miles that would definitely fit my criteria.. he wants me to look @ Fords and Toyotas, all of which are between Contours, Taurus and Escorts and I'de rather walk than drive one of those.

Probably, the parts are much less plentiful compared to Ford/Toyota/Honda and will run a boatload, and sometimes local mechanics don't know how to fix euros. If there's anything I'd recommend for 100k+ miles it's a Camry, my family had them growing up and we never got less than 300k miles out of one.

[Awoir]

Pretty much been looking around >5k for a Saab, I love Saabs, last long and have a good friend his is a Saab enthusiast. My dad is under the assumption that Saabs will BREAK THE BANK when it comes to fixes, but I have found tons of Saabs >4k with about 100k miles that would definitely fit my criteria.. he wants me to look @ Fords and Toyotas, all of which are between Contours, Taurus and Escorts and I'de rather walk than drive one of those.

Are you going to be working on the car yourself? If not then getting the Saab worked on WILL cost more than any of the domestic cars you named. Hate to say it but stick with a generic car (Camry, Accord, Taurus, Focus, etc.) because parts are readily available and they've been worked on enough that most of the major problems have been figured out / can be repaired easily. Don't lease, they suck. Buy some old beater and don't get a Saab.

[Omnipotent]

How much is cost more, 5-10% increase? OR double the prices of generic parts etc..

[Ddz]

I worked at a SAAB dealership when I was in college. The labor rates were $100/hr, even then. Parts were always on order/never available. People waited weeks with loaner vehicles...and at the time we were the only dealership in the area. How far will you have to drive to your nearest SAAB dealer? If you know a mechanic that will work under the table, that is the way to go lol.

Also, don't lose the keys...
http://www.saabsunited.com/2009/08/m...your-keys.html

[Senji]

Figured out? What a load of shit, Its a 4k saab he wants, its probably at least 10 years old and there are a ton out there. Its not an alfa romeo or a new GTR.

A mechanic is gonna rake you over for a brake job and suspension for the same amount on a 9-3 as a camry. If he wants to fix some shit himself he's more likely to find info on a saab enthusiast forum then sift through all the consumer reports mouth breather bullshit. Would easier to source some cheap used parts with a history for car part outs.

If your local mechanics cant figure out old gen euro cars or dont get the business from them, I can only imagine how shitty the rest of your entire area is.

I dont even like saabs at all, but Camry, Accord, Taurus, Focus, escort; all uninspiring piles.

[Zigma]

Do not lease as you do not seem to understand the benefits. You should only lease IMO if you can write off the miles, the note, and the expenses associated with it. Get yourself an economy car like civic or ... kia.

Good luck!

[Cyn]

How much is cost more, 5-10% increase? OR double the prices of generic parts etc..

I used to own a Passat and anything small that went wrong ended up costing hundreds of dollars to have fixed (like the shitty plastic clip in the power window breaking). I can't even imagine how much Saab repairs would cost.

[Dryr]

Leasing a car is worse than financing IMO, both are stupid. I love putting out 100-600 bucks a month out on a thing I actually don't own!

Save up money buy a beater, then save up more money and sell that beater and upgrade your car. And then do it again, and then again...

It ain't rocket surgery or brain science

This isn't always a great strategy. Every time you trade up you lose a chunk of cash on your resale, meanwhile you paid to keep them in running condition in the form of repairs. By the time you get into a new-ish, respectable vehicle you have lost just as much as you would have thrown away on a lease, but you will have spent that time in clunkers instead of something new.

IMO, leases are for people who can write-off at least part of the expense, or have solid plans to be in a different financial position or geographic location by the time the lease is up.

spend a week or two surfing craigslist in your area. I found a kickass deal on a used jeep after about a week of seeking and it's still working great for me.

[Siniroth]

The only real problem with it is doing it over and over, save up money and buy ONE beater, use that until it's about to break down, once it's completely gone upgrade, don't waste money on maintenance (unless you're fucked otherwise, and keep up with easy stuff like oil changes), the money you lose on maintenance and reselling constantly will add up quickly enough

[wyrmtung]

Pretty much been looking around >5k for a Saab, I love Saabs, last long and have a good friend his is a Saab enthusiast. My dad is under the assumption that Saabs will BREAK THE BANK when it comes to fixes, but I have found tons of Saabs >4k with about 100k miles that would definitely fit my criteria.. he wants me to look @ Fords and Toyotas, all of which are between Contours, Taurus and Escorts and I'de rather walk than drive one of those.

As stated, there aren't a lot of Saabs on the road so your parts are going to be higher due to supply and demand. However, I have to disagree with your dad's recommendation on buying an American car. If you want to avoid the repair shop then buy foreign. Your best economical and reliable cars are going to be Hondas and Toyotas. When I was younger, I was strictly a Honda man. Every Honda I ever owned was a reliable son of a bitch.

I have now moved on to BMWs. I like them but I still have been to the shop for my car (which I bought new) more times in the last two years than I have in all my years of used Hondas. Actually, now that I think about all the stupid things I had to have BMW fix on my car, it kinda pisses me off.