YACT..... I currently am leasing, would like to buy... what do you think...?

[Al Neri]

Right now this is what I have leased, it was a 3 year lease 15k miles in 8/04.

2004 Honda Accord V6 coupe EX with all of the trimmings (gold package, spoiler, wheel locks, etc.)

I've driven only Hondas (this was my second car, the first was a 1991 accord LX that my parents bought back in '91 and it was passed to my brother in around 99 then to me in 01, i had relatively no problems with it and it had 130k miles on it when i gave it up in 04) and I really like them a lot.

The thing is I'm paying $365 a month, which is a lot for a car imo... (the 365 included the taxes paid $0 down)... I'm considering buying a car figure around 8k down + finance the remainder. I've seen 01 Acura 3.2s for the low 10,000$ range with < 70k miles and similar Lexus ES' on autotrader... do they completely high ball on those prices?

I am just starting my search since my lease isn't up for 11 more months... ($4k more argh)... i know nothing about the whole deal (kelly blue book, black book, etc.) but i'm starting to read as much as I can. How do loans usually work for auto's? Using a financial calculator i estimated that if I took a 5 year loan on $5,000 that i'd pay ~100 a month at 7% interest... is that a safe bet on a loan that I can get (I have 790+ credit, own a condo and am 24 y/o)

Thanks for any input sorry if I rambled.

EDIT: Cars I like (aesthetically):
Cadillac Seville STS
Lexus GS
Acura 3.2
Mazda Millenia

How do the '02 Millenia's run?

 

[spaceman]

cars are overrated.disposable for the most part.
usually they(banks,credit unions) will give you better apr on a newer car(big surprise eh?)
with 790+ credit you wont have any problem securing a loan.

try and stay away from dealer financing rackets if possible.unless you want new and get/qualify for a 0% apr or similar.

at the end of the day, cars are a money pit that (imo) just do not pay the dividends to justify their cost.
ill never buy new, and i dont see myself ever spending over 17 on any vehicle.

 

[jdini76]

why not buy out the lease on the Honda? You could prob get a good deal for a 24 month loan on the Honda then you would own it after 2 years.

 

[dirtboy]

If you aren't too picky about what you drive, you can easily find promotional lease deals that will make owning a car seem silly. This is what I do now. I always have a new car and a warranty and I am paying far less than the people who pay off a car in five years and buy a new one. IMHO, it's the only way to go.

 

[Al Neri]

If you aren't too picky about what you drive, you can easily find promotional lease deals that will make owning a car seem silly. This is what I do now. I always have a new car and a warranty and I am paying far less than the people who pay off a car in five years and buy a new one. IMHO, it's the only way to go.

explain further? any examples?

 

[Al Neri]

Originally posted by: jdini76
why not buy out the lease on the Honda? You could prob get a good deal for a 24 month loan on the Honda then you would own it after 2 years.

it's a coupe, i'd much rather prefer a sedan. ill never buy a coupe unless its a 2 seater going forward........

 

[jdini76]

Originally posted by: Don Rodriguez

If you aren't too picky about what you drive, you can easily find promotional lease deals that will make owning a car seem silly. This is what I do now. I always have a new car and a warranty and I am paying far less than the people who pay off a car in five years and buy a new one. IMHO, it's the only way to go.

explain further? any examples?

He is saying that if you aren't looking for a popular model like mustang or Vette. that its cheaper in the long run to just continue leasing.

 

[iamwiz82]

Originally posted by: dirtboy
If you aren't too picky about what you drive, you can easily find promotional lease deals that will make owning a car seem silly. This is what I do now. I always have a new car and a warranty and I am paying far less than the people who pay off a car in five years and buy a new one. IMHO, it's the only way to go.

That's what we started doing. Our lease payments for both vehicles total up to just a hair over your one.

 

[Al Neri]

Originally posted by: jdini76

Originally posted by: Don Rodriguez

If you aren't too picky about what you drive, you can easily find promotional lease deals that will make owning a car seem silly. This is what I do now. I always have a new car and a warranty and I am paying far less than the people who pay off a car in five years and buy a new one. IMHO, it's the only way to go.

explain further? any examples?

He is saying that if you aren't looking for a popular model like mustang or Vette. that its cheaper in the long run to just continue leasing.

no no that i understand, but i always thought those promotional leases were BS..just to get you down there you find out that there's a ton of hidden costs.

 

[Al Neri]

Originally posted by: iamwiz82

Originally posted by: dirtboy
If you aren't too picky about what you drive, you can easily find promotional lease deals that will make owning a car seem silly. This is what I do now. I always have a new car and a warranty and I am paying far less than the people who pay off a car in five years and buy a new one. IMHO, it's the only way to go.

That's what we started doing. Our lease payments for both vehicles total up to just a hair over your one.

what are your 2 cars?

 

[iamwiz82]

Originally posted by: Don Rodriguez

Originally posted by: iamwiz82

Originally posted by: dirtboy
If you aren't too picky about what you drive, you can easily find promotional lease deals that will make owning a car seem silly. This is what I do now. I always have a new car and a warranty and I am paying far less than the people who pay off a car in five years and buy a new one. IMHO, it's the only way to go.

That's what we started doing. Our lease payments for both vehicles total up to just a hair over your one.

what are your 2 cars?

05 Dodge Ram Hemi 4x4
06 Jeep Liberty

Total sticker price for both was about just about $58,000. :shocked:

You can probably walk into any Chrysler/Dodge dealership today and walk out with a Pacifica or Caravan for around $150/mo with $0 down. They are desperate to clear stock.

 

[Al Neri]

very nice bro!

 

[PricklyPete]

I'd stay away from the Mazda Millenia S. It is in fact a great car for the money, but it will be expensive to keep fixing as it was very low volume and the engine is one of a kind (not used in any other vehicle). The regular Millenia has a crappy 170HP Ford engine that makes it much less worth it.

If you're looking for something "near luxury" of that time period...I'd stick with Acura or Lexus. What about the Lexus IS? You'll definitely pay a price premium with either make.

 

[Al Neri]

lexus IS is about the size of a civic... if i were thinking about an IS i'd probably get a civic or a corolla...