Last post for me here...I swear!

If $300 is what you can pay a month on a car the person with half a brain buys the Civic instead of leasing the S2000!

'strange sounds and unusual things' are covered by warranty...you can take it to the shop no matter how you paid.

 

WV, I think you may have misunderstood me here. I agree with you- a person should never lease something he/she can barely afford per month. That's not a main issue with me on this potential lease. I just want to make sure that I arm myself with enough info so I don't get taken. I've read a book on lease vs. buy and I was just trying to figure out the different variables (ie. residual value, money factor) to see if the numbers work. I've already started an excel spreadsheet for it and I was just looking for some guidance. Good advise in general though.

 

cool...you're right...good luck..an informed buyer is always better off...and I'm not informing you on what you need.

 

don't listen to people that say you should NEVER lease a vehicle...if you can get a good lease, and you like (and can afford) to drive a NEW vehicles every 3/4 years under warranty, lease is the way to go (rather than selling the car or trading it in).
It just happens that Honda has a very attractive lease deal for the S2000 right now.........nice!

 

I disagree to an extent. many who can't afford a car do lease, though.

when you lease, you pay depreciation and interest. that's it.

when you buy, you pay depreciation, interest, and equity. that's why payments are usually higher.

problem is, a car is always losing value. If you buy and then sell in 4 years versus just leased, you are essentially doing the same thing. You make no "profit" selling the car because it's money you've already PAID FOR IT. With leasing, you just avoid sinking money into it in the first place.

IF YOU ONLY KEEP A CAR A FEW YEARS leasing is an excellent idea. You have NO RESALE RISK either. Imagine the tears all those suckers who bought fords and chevys at near sticker 3 years ago are feeling now! Also, if the residual is less than the market value, you can always buy then resell if you are so inclined.

If I knew I'd have a car 4 years I'd just lease it. Better to pay $300 a month for 4 years, than pay $500 for those same 4 years, then run the risk of not getting my "equity" back due to a volatile used car market. Plus, if you own a business, lease payments are deductible. loan payments are not (but the interest is).

 

cool...just got done studying exempt syndicated municipal bonds for 4 hours so I really don't care anymore..I bought mine and plan on driving it for another 40 years!

 

leasing is attractive even if you could afford to buy the car outright.....actually i would say leasing is for the rich people that CAN afford to drive a new vehicle every 3/4 years....they can put that additional hundreds of dollars saved / month in stocks or anything that actually APPRECIATES (car = depreciates).

if you can BARELY afford to lease a S2000 ($299 / month), I'd say you might want to consider what insurance and decent tires are going to cost

 

"Rich" people don't worry about $200 extra a month to put into securities!

 

yes, but upper middle class people do.

 

My experience with random noises and such is that the dealers never hear them. Funny how that works....until they show up well after the warranty period. With the lease, if something is funky, it's their problem when it happens 'cuz I've moved on to something else. When a car was solid I've bought them, run them for awhile and sold them. Typically at a profit. Related story....had a Subaru with slush box. It never shifted right, but every Subie shop insisted it did and that it was normal. Until I went to trade it in, and every shop that drove said no thanks, bad tranny. Had no luck selling it private, so finally found a dealership that sold Subaru's as well as the truck brand I wanted so they didn't complain about it (the car was still under warranty). If I'd leased the thing, wouldn't have had the hassles.

And "rich" people certainly do worry about $200 a month. Probably much more so than those who aren't.

But a lease isn't a good excuse to buy something you can't afford. Just a different way of financing with a little protection at the end. And if you do own a business, it is all the more beneficial (in most cases).

One thing about the American Honda lease that many others don't include (at least they used to ) is a waiver on small dings, etc. Don't remember the amount, but it could really save some $'s on turn in, whereas other leasing companies will charge.

Happy shopping, and I hope you get the car you want!

Mark