545 messages,
Last post on Feb 03, 2012 at 1:40 PM
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Car Financing, Car Leasing
#506 of 545 Re: Lease/buy now or wait [qbrozen]
by hawkette
Jul 09, 2009 (11:40 am)
Thanks. I should mention that my payments are more like $460/mo at 6.7% and the incentive for the Subaru is $239/mo lease. (The purchase incentive is $2000 cash back at 2.9%.) I am inclined to hold onto the Rav4 however.
#507 of 545 Re: Lease/buy now or wait [hawkette]
by qbrozen
Jul 09, 2009 (1:59 pm)
I figured it was in the $450-$500/mo range.
The Subie deal may be tempting ... but is that $239 all inclusive (taxes, tags, bank fees, etc) and the exact model you want? Little differences in equipment, money down, miles per year, etc, can make a substantial difference in lease payment.
#508 of 545 Re: Lease/buy now or wait [qbrozen]
by dtownfb
Jul 10, 2009 (9:41 am)
A couple of quick math calculations shows the Subaru being the better deal as far as out of pocket money. But at the end of 3 years, you'll need a new car if you go the Subaru route. if you stay with the Rav4, you have a paid off car.
personally, unless the Rav4 is a complete lemon, i would stick with what you have. buy a can of "new car" spray to get you by.
#509 of 545 Lease or loan????
by virosario
Jul 19, 2009 (12:16 pm)
Hello. I've been reading a lot of posts about leasing vs purchasing, but still don't decide what is best for us. I'm married with no kids so it's only the two of us. We have a 2004 Mitsu Outlander 2004 xls and are making monthly payments of $300. We are still 53 monthly payments away from paying it in full. The car is still good but it's begining to have it's problems with the suspension and the obvious wear and tear. We bought it used, 2 years ago with 43000K and now it's 57000K, we drive in town, never out-of-state or long trips, just to go to work which is a daily commute of less than 7miles. I'm worried because it was a big mistake to make a 72 month commitment for a used car. i got a lemon warranty on this too. This car depresses too quickly and I would like to have a vehicle with better gas mileage, and not to deal with a lot of maintenance, as I can barely pay the monthly payments. I'm just trying to live withing my means and lower my bills. I would like to know what is better for me in the long term. Sorry for the long post, I will appreciate any advice, thanks.
#510 of 545 Re: Lease or loan???? [virosario]
by volvomax
Jul 19, 2009 (12:45 pm)
As you noted,your first mistake was in taking out a 72 mo loan for a used car.
If you had to go 72 months, maybe it would have been better to find a car that you could afford with a shorter term.
Having said that, its tought to geta decent car for $300/mo. That corresponds to $15,000 financed for 5 yrs.
Right now, there just aren't many leases running less than $300/mo without some significant up front money.
You probably have a very firm grip on your car,so trading is probably out of the question. Besides, its hard to come up with a crossover that gets better mileage than an Outlander. Hoepfully, you can just drive your car for another 4 yrs,do the maintenance and be ok.
#511 of 545 Re: Lease or loan???? [virosario]
by tidester
Jul 19, 2009 (5:11 pm)
I'll second what vmax said but I think the good news is that your Outlander has very low miles on it so it should remain functional for a good long time. Typical mileage on a family vehicle is about 12,000 to 13,000 miles per year and you're driving at half that rate.
tidester, host
SUVs and Smart Shopper
#513 of 545 Lease or Purchase
by ctsfan
Sep 16, 2009 (11:57 pm)
I recently went to a dealer for quotes on the 2009 CTS. The 48 month lease (12,000 mi/year) quote was $540/month and the financing quote (0% for 72 months) to purchase car was $550/month. No money down for either quotes.
I've always leased my cars for no more than 39 months. So, is 48 months too long to lease a car (i.e. is it worth it)? Since I've never financed a car for purchase before, is 72 months too long of a time period to finance?
HELP!
#514 of 545 Re: Lease or Purchase [ctsfan]
by kirstie_h HOST
Sep 17, 2009 (7:15 am)
Both certainly seem like a long time to me.
On the lease - be aware that it is difficult to impossible to get out of a lease once you're in it, without HUGE financial penalties. If you go the leasing route, you need to be sure that the 12,000 mile/year limit and the vehicle will suit your lifestyle for 4 years. Think about the future - any possibility of moving? is your job stable?
On the purchase - 72 months is also a long time. If you are used to changing vehicles every 3.5 years, 6 years may seem like an eternity. Since you're putting no money down, you are going to be upside-down on loan-to-value for a long time, meaning the vehicle will be worth less than you owe on it for the majority of the loan payment period. This means that if you don't like it or want to trade it in, you may not be able to do so (without significant negative financial implications) for about 5 years.
There isn't a one-size-fits-all decision here. You just need to be aware of the financial facts - if you look at them and think, "yeah, I can live with that," and you love the vehicle and can comfortably afford the payment, then it's reasonable for you to get the vehicle.
#515 of 545 Re: Lease or Purchase [kirstie_h]
by ctsfan
Sep 17, 2009 (10:38 am)
Thank you kirstie h!