Leasing a car

Anyone doing this?
We are sick of having old cars and paying a fortune on repairs etc. I just paid 500 euro on repairs for mine here and need to sell it in a month, I'll be lucky to get a thousand for it.
Anyway, we are thinking of buying or leasing a new or newish car when we move to Phoenix. We have only a small amount of money for a downpayment.
I have been reading up about it on the net but any words of wisdom/advice?
I read something about your insurance being more, is this true?

[MissCrabette]

I wouldn't lease. You are only allowed to drive a certain amount of miles and then you get charged for any additional miles you drive. They can also charge you based on the condition of the car when you turn it back in. Plus the biggest drawback of all: at the end of it all, even though you've made sizeable monthly payments, the car is still not yours. I'd look into a good certified preowned car.

[SuzySunshine]

I agree with Cristina, DH and I researched this extensively when we bought our new cars at the end of medical school. The mileage thing was huge for us, our parents live 6-8 hours away and we make that trip at least once/quarter.

The you don't own anything argument got to us as well, plus we knew we'd be keeping our cars for all of residency (i.e. 7 years) so leasing made less sense. There are a lot of really nice, new cars out there that you can get for reasonable prices that have great warranties and your payments would actually be lower. Most cars are going to a 10 year, 100,000 warranty because Hyundai and Kia did a few years ago and now the other car manufacturers are playing catch up.

We have now had our cars almost four year and we still only have to pay for the basic maintenance. I've had a few warranty things done on mine, all free and DH's also comes with a 8 year corrosion protection which is key with the MN salt.

ETA:I did have a girlfriend that leased an Audi TT but it was a "luxury" car lease which meant she was able to drive it even less then a regular lease. In cases like that where you've got disposable income and want a "fun" car it makes a little bit more sense.

[DCJenn]

My husband leased (Before Me) and got totally screwed at the end. I freaked out while we were dating because he drove it across the country not once, not twice but three times. and not straight through, either. He took the long meandering paths.

I don't think it's something that we would do. The other issue is that sometimes there's a penalty for turning them in early, too.

Jenn

Thanks for the input.
I think the mileage restrictions will be the dealbreaker for us, since we are planning a trip of over 3000 miles in the first month with the car! Plus we'll be living in Phoenix and LA for residency which are both spread out cities so I think we'll clock up the miles.
The lack of ownership bothers me in that I'd be constantly worried about scraping the thing and having to get it fixed for the lease end, where as if it was our own car we would make do.
DH is still keen as he thinks cos he'll be a rich dawkter in 4 years we can deal with these issues then
I'd rather go with one of your suggestions.
I have another month to work on him

[Deebs]

We looked at leasing options, too, but also put tons of miles on our cars. To be honest, we'd be fine if DH's car was a lease b/c he just drives it back and forth to work, but we weren't sure how far we'd be living from his next job. We ended up finding cars that were certified used. It was a huge deal to me during residency to have as few unplanned expenses as possible. While we ended up paying a bit more for our used cars because they were certified, I ended up knowing exactly what we'd be paying out and budgeting for it.

[Vishenka69]

We're thinking about leasing vs buying too. We'll be needing a second car after we move and are really torn as to what to get. Neither one of us has ever had a new car and we're both itching for one. Depending on APR, buying can cost as much as a good lease deal. We currently do under 10,000 miles a year, so mileage wouldn't be that big of a deal. A bunch of people we know lease and are very happy with the arrangement.

I think in the end we'll just see what kind of deal we can get for the car(s) we want.

[SuzySunshine]

Buying can cost just as much but you own the car so in 3-5 years when you trade it in there is value there unlike a lease.

I do agree that if you buy a new car every 2-3 years its probably the way to go. For people who tend to drive their cars more then 5 years its probably not the way to go.

[medpedspouse]

How about a hybrid (lease/own). Some companies call it a buyers option/smart options. We did this with our last vehicle. I do have the mi. restrictions (and I am way below) but the car is mine. Since I am way below and it is worth more than what I owe, I can sell it for the profit. This is what I plan to do this year. Now, if it was worth less, then I would wait and turn it in at the end of the agreement. The downside to this is that if I turn it in, I have nothing to show for it and nothing trade in if I am buying another car.

We have done the hybrid option with 6 cars and have been very pleased... as it has been mentioned, it fits our lifestyle.

We currently do under 10,000 miles a year, so mileage wouldn't be that big of a deal.

That could change a lot in your new town. If you were to do a lease, I'd probably suggest waiting to see what it's like living in a non-walkable / no decent public transportation area. That's going to be a big change for you.

re

Toyota Corolla offers a good price & gets about 40 mpg. Suspension real tight though.. VW Rabbit drives nice but lousy gas mileage. Companies like VW piss me off because with all fuel consumption & pollution probs here they are not even developing fuel efficient cars.

[Cumberland]

We leased once, and it worked out well for us. We had NO money at all at the time, and were able to get a honda accord with 15k miles a year for no money down and a really low payment- it was like 219 a month. We didnt go over the mileage, never had to worry about it breaking down, and we had a nice new car. For a similar payment we wouldnt have had such a nice car. That being said, I wouldnt do it again bc like everyone else has said, at the end of the three years, we had to start all over.

[PrincessFiona]

Don't do it. We leased and regretted it. You are limited in your mileage and the car has to be kept in the same perfect condition that it was leased in...no spills, scratches etc.

It's just impossilbe.

When your lease time is up, you end up paying dearly to buy the car as well.

kris

[Rapunzel]

Don't do it. We leased and regretted it. You are limited in your mileage and the car has to be kept in the same perfect condition that it was leased in...no spills, scratches etc.

It's just impossilbe.

When your lease time is up, you end up paying dearly to buy the car as well.

kris

Financial guru Dave Ramsey calls it "fleecing". We leased a car once and hated all the restrictions. It is a good way to get a nicer car than you can afford. We leased a Ford Explorer when DH was in residency because we certainly couldn't afford to buy a new one. But we always took my old Camry on any trips because you're so limited with your mileage. Also,there's nothing better than owning your cars and having no car payments.

That being said,half my neighborhood seems to lease and all seem quite happy with doing so.

Good luck with whatever you decide.

Sonya
Wife to OB and DS(5) and DD(3)