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Some sick, sick deals on new cars available right now

Doppel

Doppel

Lifer
For whatever reason(s) right now is a great time to buy a new car. A few examples:

1) Right now I can lease a new 4X4 Pathfinder for 39 months @ 12k/year for under $300/month all-inclusive--that means absolutely nothing else; just 39 payments of sub $300. This is a $31k vehicle
2) I mentioned in another thread a few lucky people at the end of last month (not sure if will repeat end of this one) were leasing new Leafs at 12k/year for 24 month leases and $250/month all inclusive. Again that is including capital reduction and 100% of all other fees, taxes, etc.
3) Chevy Volt is having some strong incentives now. I've seen in the Volt forum a few reports of about $350/month all inclusive. This is another car that is around $30K even after the federal tax credit

Some of you will probably always be against leasing no matter the price because you feel you have "nothing to show for it" at the end, as if a vehicle should be a bank and is something more than a continual cost-item, but if you run the numbers over a 3 year period on the above examples (the last one less so, admittedly) over purchasing the same vehicle new you'd have a hard time justifying not leasing--and a literally impossible time with that Leaf lease example.
 
Jumpem said:
Where are you finding these lease deals?
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The Chevy Volt I noted online at the Volt forums (a few dealers enter the lease threads there), the others I've seen locally in the online ads at a couple of dealerships. They aren't even loss-leaders; you can go in and grab it.

Leaf example: http://www.fatwallet.com/forums/deal-discussion/1215478/ . I bet that deal is dead and it was end-of-month only but I saw the exact same one within $10/month in my neck of the woods. And I always check the small, so it's not newb mistake looking at the monthly number and failing to see the "With $3k trade" type crap most ads go for.

Example of the Volt prices:
http://gm-volt.com/forum/showthread....MSRP-of-44-120.00...-2200.00-down-279.00-OTD...

Those include $2200, but divide by the lease term of 36 and add to base payment you see the real rate.

lease != deal on new car.
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It's really sad to still read stuff like this. If you evolve your understand of cost of ownership of vehicles there is a major tool available to you that you're otherwise ignoring based on old-school, contemporarily-irrelevant mathematics.

Again: $250/month for a Leaf all inclusive; $6k over 24 months. There is no scenario in which you could buy that car new and after 2 years and 24,000 not have lost more than $6k in value. None, period.

Whether you want a Leaf;,whether you want new is immaterial to the discussion. There are clearly times when leasing is the superior move and I've just outlined one. In today's market it is regularly the case that a lease payment can be much less than half of the financed payment of a car. Years ago it may have been 2/3rds and the case for leasing was weak.
 
Unless you live in TX or some other state that charges tax based on you buying it like you were buying a new car, full price, etc.

TX is not a good leasing state, I'd rather buy.
 
Doppel said:
It's really sad to still read stuff like this. If you evolve your understand of cost of ownership of vehicles there is a major tool available to you that you're otherwise ignoring based on old-school, contemporarily-irrelevant mathematics.

Again: $250/month for a Leaf all inclusive; $6k over 24 months. There is no scenario in which you could buy that car new and after 2 years and 24,000 not have lost more than $6k in value. None, period.
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I am buying a new car and I keep it until it dies. 15 yrs. After it is paid off, I have about 10 yrs of not paying it at all. Yes, there is some maintenance involved. Don't care what it is worth ever, although I tend to buy cars with good resale value - simply because they are built to last.

That is simply why lease does not work for most. Unless you like for some reason to keep making car payments for the rest of your life. In your calc, after 3 yrs I am again to start over with new payments.

And so that I am not pulling it out of my a**, I bought Taurus back in 2003 when it was $14k new. 9 yrs down the road, I haven't had to even change brake pads yet, and it has been paid off since 2008.
 
postmortemIA said:
I am buying a new car and I keep it until it dies. 15 yrs. After it is paid off, I have about 10 yrs of not paying it at all. Yes, there is some maintenance involved. Don't care what it is worth ever, although I tend to buy cars with good resale value - simply because they are built to last.

That is simply why lease does not work for most. Unless you like for some reason to keep making car payments for the rest of your life. In your calc, after 3 yrs I am again to start over with new payments.

And so that I am not pulling it out of my a**, I bought Taurus back in 2003 when it was $14k new. 9 yrs down the road, I haven't had to even change brake pads yet, and it has been paid off since 2008.
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This is basically how I used to operate. It has to come down to a particular pattern and case by case and also does depend on the car. I'm currently driving two decent cars leasing both at about $200/month and put nothing down, because I got them when the dealerships were running crazy promotions. For that $200/month I have zero repairs, all contemporary safety features, and simply zero hassle, so it's been worth it to me. If I can keep leasing at these kinds of prices I will for the rest of my life.
 
If you really have to be driving new cars all the time, yeah, leasing can be great. If you want to spend as little as possible while still having a car, buying used has always been the best option.

Buy new and keeping it for decades provides an interesting blend of advantages, but few people who feel the need to pay the premium to get a brand-new car will be willing to be driving around in an "old" car 5 years later. Those who do, can save a lot of money that way.
 
jagec said:
If you really have to be driving new cars all the time, yeah, leasing can be great. If you want to spend as little as possible while still having a car, buying used has always been the best option.

Buy new and keeping it for decades provides an interesting blend of advantages, but few people who feel the need to pay the premium to get a brand-new car will be willing to be driving around in an "old" car 5 years later. Those who do, can save a lot of money that way.
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From a pure financial perspective I certainly agree. However, I got rid of one of my last vehicles in small part at least because it was running on old safety tech; no traction control nor stability nor side air bags. Stability control alone has proven itself as a major safety boon.

Here's a Volt thread:
http://gm-volt.com/forum/showthread.php?16526-VOLT-Interest-Surges-Due-to-Cheap-Leases...-USA-Today

"I'm not exaggerating when I say I wonder why everybody isn't driving a Volt. It's virtually a free car right now," says Jesse Toprak, market analyst at TrueCar.com. Drivers could save enough on gasoline to make the lease payment, he says.
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I'm not a fan of renting (leasing) cars. However, if there WAS a car worth leasing to me, it would be the Volt. I don't think I'd ever BUY an electric car. Every year the range decreases little by little and before you know it, you'll need a new battery which isn't cheap.
 
One of the problems with leasing is you are paying into a black hole. There is no paying off a lease, If for some reason you cannot afford lease payments anymore you have nothing. If you lose your job somehow you will also lose your car guaranteed, if you bought a car there is a chance you could have paid it off by then and you can "tough" it out with an older model.

I am just not convinced with the value of a lease, there is something to be said for not having car payments.
 
TakeNoPrisoners said:
One of the problems with leasing is you are paying into a black hole. There is no paying off a lease, If for some reason you cannot afford lease payments anymore you have nothing. If you lose your job somehow you will also lose your car guaranteed, if you bought a car there is a chance you could have paid it off by then and you can "tough" it out with an older model.

I am just not convinced with the value of a lease, there is something to be said for not having car payments.
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not a good rational there. Most leases are 24-36 months, while I think most people finance out to 50-74 months. Your lease payment should be lower than a car payment so you have a better chance of being able to make said payment. Also, the money isn't going into a black hole. You have use of the vehicle and that is what you are paying for... also, you have a residual value on the vehicle. If you lease right, that residual should be in the ballpark of what a loan balance would have been if you had bought the car with traditional financing. But the best part is, if you don't like the car after 2 or 3 yrs, move on to something else. No worries about negative equity which I see a lot of people having issues with.
 
Zivic said:
while I think most people finance out to 50-74 months
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Unless you're getting interest free loans, you really should not be financing a car for longer than 36 months... 48 *maybe*. If you have to stretch it out farther and are paying interest of any sort, you really can't afford that car.
 
Ferzerp said:
Unless you're getting interest free loans, you really should not be financing a car for longer than 36 months... 48 *maybe*. If you have to stretch it out farther and are paying interest of any sort, you really can't afford that car.
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Why? If you're going to keep a car for 6 years, why not finance over 6? Penfed credit union is giving .49 or .99% loans even up through 5 years right now. Why should you be forced to take on extra monthly payments only during the first half? If you expect it to cost a good bit in repairs this approach makes sense, as you even things out (as payments are done you get money left over for repairs), but typically repairs won't come close to what the monthly payments were.

Sometimes I hear that leasing is for people who cannot otherwise afford the car. On the contrary I'd say it's a much better representation of what the car actually costs; you use it as you pay for it and they are both in lockstep, similar to how you pay for your other utilities. A car is a continual cost and drag on finances no matter how it's funded.

Anyway, both of my current cars are $200/month. To buy they would have been about $450/month. If I had taken that $250/month and put it into a bank account, at the end of the three years I'd have no car, but I'd have $9k in savings.
 
Zivic said:
not a good rational there. Most leases are 24-36 months, while I think most people finance out to 50-74 months. Your lease payment should be lower than a car payment so you have a better chance of being able to make said payment. Also, the money isn't going into a black hole. You have use of the vehicle and that is what you are paying for... also, you have a residual value on the vehicle. If you lease right, that residual should be in the ballpark of what a loan balance would have been if you had bought the car with traditional financing. But the best part is, if you don't like the car after 2 or 3 yrs, move on to something else. No worries about negative equity which I see a lot of people having issues with.
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yep, again people need to realize the paradigm has changed. My current two leases have a money factor that equates to a sub 2% interest rate. And, since I'm not in a state that requires me to pay sales tax on anything but the leased capital reduction, EVEN if I ultimately wanted to buy the vehicle it would make no sense not to lease first, just in case I don't want to; there isn't even a disposition fee in some cases if the vehicle is bought out, and you can always put the payment difference into another account as if it were financed over 48-60 months if you absolutely want to.
 
No payment at all while still having decent cars> leasing. Period. With leasing you'll never get to that point so that is not a road I'll go down.
 
leasing is fine if A you like things simple and like to drive new with low to no downtime and don't mind paying a premium or B you can write-off a good chunk for tax purposes
 
desy said:
leasing is fine if A you like things simple and like to drive new with low to no downtime and don't mind paying a premium or B you can write-off a good chunk for tax purposes
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Please explain how it's more advantageous for tax purposes to have a lease vs. purchasing a car.
 
TakeNoPrisoners said:
One of the problems with leasing is you are paying into a black hole. There is no paying off a lease, If for some reason you cannot afford lease payments anymore you have nothing. If you lose your job somehow you will also lose your car guaranteed, if you bought a car there is a chance you could have paid it off by then and you can "tough" it out with an older model.

I am just not convinced with the value of a lease, there is something to be said for not having car payments.
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Potential job loss is a huge plus towards leasing. When you need to trim expenses, it is easier to get by making a $300 lease payment than a $500 purchase payment.
 
Jumpem said:
Potential job loss is a huge plus towards leasing. When you need to trim expenses, it is easier to get by making a $300 lease payment than a $500 purchase payment.
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Potential job loss is a huge negative toward leasing IMO. If you lose your job, you'll most likely lose your car too. If you purchase the car, and it's paid off, you still have transportation. Hell, if it's not paid for, you can at least sell it (given you are not upside down). The real problem here is, people buying a car every 3 years. If you are REALLY that concerned about financial responsibility, buy a GOOD car and drive it for as long as you can. Don't give me this "new safety features" excuse. I have a 1998 truck and I'm still alive. Safety features are GREAT when you are in the market for a new car, but I wouldn't use it as an excuse to buy a new car.

Now, if you want to buy a new car every year, go for it. But don't try and pretend you are being financially savvy because leasing is more cost effective than buying a car every year. They are both bad financial decisions.
 
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Doppel said:
Why? If you're going to keep a car for 6 years, why not finance over 6? Penfed credit union is giving .49 or .99% loans even up through 5 years right now. Why should you be forced to take on extra monthly payments only during the first half? If you expect it to cost a good bit in repairs this approach makes sense, as you even things out (as payments are done you get money left over for repairs), but typically repairs won't come close to what the monthly payments were.

Sometimes I hear that leasing is for people who cannot otherwise afford the car. On the contrary I'd say it's a much better representation of what the car actually costs; you use it as you pay for it and they are both in lockstep, similar to how you pay for your other utilities. A car is a continual cost and drag on finances no matter how it's funded.

Anyway, both of my current cars are $200/month. To buy they would have been about $450/month. If I had taken that $250/month and put it into a bank account, at the end of the three years I'd have no car, but I'd have $9k in savings.
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Because financing for that long is throwing far too much money towards interest. If your finances are such that you need to spread the loan out that far, does it really make fiscal sense to pay all the extra interest, or just to buy a cheaper car?
 
Ferzerp said:
Because financing for that long is throwing far too much money towards interest. If your finances are such that you need to spread the loan out that far, does it really make fiscal sense to pay all the extra interest, or just to buy a cheaper car?
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Some dealerships offer 0% for 60 months, and I think some even offer it for 72 months. Of course if you pay cash, you can take the cash discount over the free financing. 🙂
 
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