that I have waited long enough for the S, can't wait any longer.
Question is get a used 2002 buy and put some nice downpayment from 5000 to 10000 or lease a 2003 with 5 down and buy it when I start making more money. I do wish to make changes to it, but there is nothing wrong with having it a year stock, also I will be graduating college in 4 months. Any input about lease vs buy will be greatly appreciated.

 

common man is someone going to help me out on this one, i am stuck right in the middle

 

Zambono,

First, I notice you are limiting your choices. Why not also look at the cost to lease a 2002?

Anyway, the question you ask will answer itself when you sit down with pen and paper and figure out the exact, total cost both ways. How much will the 2002 cost? How much will the buyout for the 2003 be? What will your loan payments be, and what will the lease payments be. Don't just accept any general statements like "leasing costs less" or "buying is better." Anyone who gives that advice is just filling space on this board. Without knowing the details of your purchase and lease options, no one can give you any real conclusions.

If you do a search on Google, I think you will find some sites that provide comparrisons of loan to lease. You have to plug in the numbers. Edmunds used to have one, but I don't know if they still do. Also, you can go to a bank and talk to a loan officer about this.

Good luck.

Bill

 

Leasing builds no equity for you and rarely has any advantage unless you are in business. Even then, almost always you come out better buying. If you don't know the differences between the two, buy.

 

I hate to be the voice of hard reality, but do you have a job offer yet? Perhaps you should wait to find out for sure what your income will be before going into debt. Securing the loan after your your income rises will also improve the interest rate.

 

Save for another year, find a nice used S and pay with CASH. Car payments suck!

 

thanks for the input much appreciated, car payments due suck and right now my integra is paid for. I will look at all my options, I might wait till my actual graduation I think i can get some kind of incentive, like in carmax I was told, then I can also save sum and yes I actually have a few job offers so i am lucky in that sense.