shopping around a bit will help alot on pricing

 

leasing is good, but only if you plan to keep the car a few years. Financially, it is EXACTLY the same as buying, then selling in X years.

When you lease, you pay the depreciation, and the interest (money factor) on the outstanding balance.

When you buy, you pay for the whole car, then sell it. Many think that since they own the car, they get a "profit" when they sell it. Maybe, maybe not.

When you lease, you have NO RESALE RISK. If the residual is higher than the car's worth, you WALK AWAY. When it is lower, you can buy it and then make a profit reselling.

When you BUY it, you are not shielded from the resale value risk. Leasing is best if you KNOW you won't keep the car. You can profiteer is the residual is in your favor, and walk away if not. If you buy then sell, you are more likely to have paid more money over the X year term, especially if the depreciation is high.

As far as interest and all is concerned, leasing is no different than buying from an economic sense...you pay principal and interest on both, and the interest is the amount of the oustanding loan.

Anyway, the dealer thinks he's got a live one. Tell him that you'll pay that payment with NOTHING DOWN. It CAN be done on a 48 month lease...a 3 year will be about $430 or so plus tax. They always highball you...most people are financially ignorant and don't know they're being taken for a ride. In fact, many people pay A LOT MORE than they agreed upon in their loans because the dealer quoted them a payment for an amount OVER STICKER!

 

Robby - I sent you a PM - but have also posted here to see at what level there amy be interest ..

Would you have any interest in picking up my lease? I have an 04 Berlina Black with 3400 miles that i picked up in April - the car has been garage kept - broken in correctly - Zaino/303 cleaned meticulously - my monthly is 373/month - I think there's 44 months left - with 12000 miles a year - I'll get you the info on the residual & anything else you need to determine if you're interested - ?
I love this car & don't think I really want to give it up - but I haven't really been able to use it since I got it...& I have a small family so its hard for us to enjoy the car together...did I mention the insurance just for keeping it in the garage?
Let me know if you have any interest & I'll look into what it takes or have you come out to Glen Ridge/Montclair to look at the car - or get anything else you need to know...

Best
Joel

 

Seems a bit high, im paying 375/month for 60 and i bought it. id say find a used one and buy it. JM .02

 

yours is used.. How can you compare that?

 

leasing can have many advantages over buying - all depends on how you review the numbers & what your needs are...

I had posted something like this a while back -

re: low market values of used S's

.... all the more reason to lease i - if used car sales are tough! or just plain bad. - The residual value is assigned by AHF or by leasing company - if the market value of the car is above the residual perhaps we (people who lease) buy - if market is below the residual we just give her back...

I leased for cash flow reasons - buying was actually a bit more expensive via financing at the end of 4 years - with lease payment of 373/mos x 48 mos = 17904 plus a residual buyout at $18100 = a total cost of $36K IF Ichoose to buy it at 48 months... If I purchase via financing my monthly payment is higher & dependant on how much I put down as deposit up front money - I would have had to let go of a decent sized 10-15K chunk of cash up front - with the lease I have the cash in hand - monthy's are relatively low - and at the end of 4 years I can give up the cash & own to own or to sell or just let her go. What I need to make with leasing is a term commitment to the car - in my case 48 months - its been the case that leases are either difficult or expensive to get out of - but lately there seems to be more activity in trading and swapping leases (that are good ones) with minimal incentives needed to do so.

MY04
48mos/48K miles
373/mos includes NJ Sales tax
fees about 325 plus first month 373 = 698 out the door
purchase price on vehicle was 30060
residual is 17500 with a +2% (of 30060) mileage adjustment to 18100

 

and to respond to my self - here is what purchasing - (one option anyway) would have cost me -

To buy the car with financing - I was quoted a purchase price of 30500 - at an estimated interest rate of 4.9 - with 10K down the payments for 60 months were 454 - total at the end of 5 years 37240. With 15K down - 335 month - 60 months - total 35100. I looked at several--->many other options for buying and nothing in this case beat the lease option.

Yes I'm locked in for 4 years. I'm paying $900 more in total than the 15K down option - but I'll have the 15K in the bank (or available for mods?) for the 4 years prior to the buy out and if I choose to I don't have to buy.

 

Some people talk about financing as "owning". I'm sorry, but if you don't hold the title to the car, you're still "renting" it from the bank and you DO NOT own the car. Sure, after 4-5 years of paying X amount a month, you own the car, but as far as I'm concerned, paying Honda $350 a month for 48 months with $2000 down on a lease is not much different than $350 a month with $18,000 down on a finance. The only thing is, you just put a lot of dough into something that depreciates $3-4k the second you sign the paperwork instead of keeping the $$$ invested vs. putting very little down while still paying a low monthly payment (leasing). I still think $2-3k down on a $35,000 car (with tax) is not very much.

Find a lease calculator (www.leaseguide.com) and plug numbers in. Go into the dealer and tell them what you're going to pay and that's it. Period dot. Naturally, they have to make money, but there's no reason to rip you off. If they want your business, they'll bite. If not, walk out and go somewhere else. I think you'll have more leverage on leasing a convertible sports car in a few months.