Someone explain to me the differences between leasing and buying a car

[TXHokie]

Also owning a car outright is great but after 5 yrs, it's an old car and you'll be making unexpected repair/upkeep payment. Not so much fun when you have to cough up 1k or 2k here and there for big repairs not to mention getting stranded.

 

[Armitage]

Originally posted by: TXHokie
Also owning a car outright is great but after 5 yrs, it's an old car and you'll be making unexpected repair/upkeep payment. Not so much fun when you have to cough up 1k or 2k here and there for big repairs not to mention getting stranded.

A quality car shouldn't have many/any of those in the first 100K to 150K miles. At 15K/year that's 7 to 10 years. If that doesn't match your experience, you might take a look at what you're buying.

Besides, what's a $1K repair bill? 2 or 3 payments on a new car?

 

[iamwiz82]

Originally posted by: Armitage

Originally posted by: TXHokie
Also owning a car outright is great but after 5 yrs, it's an old car and you'll be making unexpected repair/upkeep payment. Not so much fun when you have to cough up 1k or 2k here and there for big repairs not to mention getting stranded.

A quality car shouldn't have many/any of those in the first 100K to 150K miles. At 15K/year that's 7 to 10 years. If that doesn't match your experience, you might take a look at what you're buying.

Besides, what's a $1K repair bill? 2 or 3 payments on a new car?

See my example. That's almost 6 months of my payments. Plus you leave out all of the typical stuff, brakes, tires, batteries.

 

[Armitage]

Originally posted by: iamwiz82

Originally posted by: Armitage

Originally posted by: TXHokie
Also owning a car outright is great but after 5 yrs, it's an old car and you'll be making unexpected repair/upkeep payment. Not so much fun when you have to cough up 1k or 2k here and there for big repairs not to mention getting stranded.

A quality car shouldn't have many/any of those in the first 100K to 150K miles. At 15K/year that's 7 to 10 years. If that doesn't match your experience, you might take a look at what you're buying.

Besides, what's a $1K repair bill? 2 or 3 payments on a new car?

See my example. That's almost 6 months of my payments. Plus you leave out all of the typical stuff, brakes, tires, batteries.

So I could have about one of these type of repairs a year for 5 years and still come out ahead by $800 to $1000 per year. And that's just payments - not registration and insurance costs. My last two vehicles in this mileage range only needed one repair of that magnitude between them.

 

[thomsbrain]

leasing is great if you don't drive, yet somehow feel you need a new car all the time.

if you actually drive anywhere, you're gonna go over your mileage limits and get your anus raped by two fists instead of the merely single-fist raping you get when you don't drive your leased car.

buying > leasing. (for those who have brain cells and sub-8" butthole openings)

 

[krunchykrome]

Originally posted by: thomsbrain
leasing is great if you don't drive, yet somehow feel you need a new car all the time.

if you actually drive anywhere, you're gonna go over your mileage limits and get your anus raped by two fists instead of the merely single-fist raping you get when you don't drive your leased car.

buying > leasing for those who have brain cells and sub-8" butthole openings.

For some strange reason, your explanation seemed clearer than any of the others.

Thank you

 

[jdini76]

I browsed the thread breifly, and IMO YMMV. Everyone's leasing experience is going to be different. They always say that if you go over your milage you will get raped. that is not necesarily true. I leased a Mustang GT. and was 15k over my miles, and I had 4 payments left, I turned it in early, and got a Explorer sport trac. They wiped my miles and remaining payments off, and let me get into the truck with no money down. Now it is probably becasue of the gas price related reasons for this, but I am just saying that your lease experience could be worse or better it really just depends on how you handle the dealing. So there is no definate argument for buying over leasing. it really just comes down to how long you plan to want the car. 2, 3, 5+ years?

 

[vi edit]

I don't treat cars as an investment and I openly admit that buying used and holding is the "smart" choice.

That being said, when a lease payment consumes about 5% of my take home pay, it's money well spent to have the latest and greatest safety features, a brand new car under warranty every 3 years, and never having to worry about spending a dime in any significant wear and tear replacement parts.

If I was on a much more restrictive budget it would be a different story. But it's a cost that I'm willing to budget in for the piece of mind that it provides.