YACT

[Pandamonium]

I'm a third year undergrad, and school is a little over 1,000mi away from home. I'm now seriously looking into cars since I'll be staying at school over the summer. Would it be better to lease or buy used? I kind of want a no strings attached arrangement since I have no desire to drive to/from school...

I've never bought or leased a car before, so all this is foreign to me. Any direction in what concerns/pros/cons I should look for would help me immensely.

 

[sniperruff]

buy a used car. the new impala's and focus are pretty reliable and they are dirt cheap used.

if you want a peace of mind and have $12k to fork over, buy a new corolla/matrix.

 

[BigJ]

Make sure you factor in insurance costs to the amount of money you're going to spend on a car. As an undergrad, I know how tough money can be to come by and a $200/month insurance payment could be rough during school.

 

[Kishan]

Originally posted by: BigJ
Make sure you factor in insurance costs to the amount of money you're going to spend on a car. As an undergrad, I know how tough money can be to come by and a $200/month insurance payment could be rough during school.

yup. Personally, I would say lease then. You can get a Corolla for around $185 a month + insurance. 185 is high as well, more like 120.

 

[Pandamonium]

So one year leases can get that low? (I'm tinkering with kbb.com right now)

 

[Kishan]

Originally posted by: Pandamonium
So one year leases can get that low? (I'm tinkering with kbb.com right now)

no i'm thinking 36, maybe 24.You're in CT, so I'm not sure whats out there, but get something 2 year used or the like.

 

[thomsbrain]

Originally posted by: KPSHAH316

Originally posted by: BigJ
Make sure you factor in insurance costs to the amount of money you're going to spend on a car. As an undergrad, I know how tough money can be to come by and a $200/month insurance payment could be rough during school.

yup. Personally, I would say lease then. You can get a Corolla for around $185 a month + insurance. 185 is high as well, more like 120.

what the hell? you want to add a month payment on TOP of his insurance? and you want him to insure a NEW car instead of an old one? and don't forget there will be a hefty downpayment on top of that monthly lease.

buy a used corolla. it will probably cost you the same as the downpayment on the lease, insurance will be less, and at the end you can sell it for almost what you paid for it.

 

[vi edit]

Buy newspaper.
Look in classifieds for a camry or accord in the $3,000-$4,000 range.
Test drive cars.
Buy cleanest one.
Drive for a year.
Sell it for damn near the same price you bought it for.

 

[thedarkwolf]

Originally posted by: vi_edit
Buy newspaper.
Look in classifieds for a camry or accord in the $3,000-$4,000 range.
Test drive cars.
Buy cleanest one.
Drive for a year.
Sell it for damn near the same price you bought it for.

Either that or find a $300-$500 and drive it for a year then just park it somewhere and leave it.

 

[FoBoT]

buy a used car

very few people should lease a car , you are likely not one of them

 

[acemcmac]

used 1999 or later V6 mustang can be had for 7-9k and will be reliable, fast and pretty........

 

[RossMAN]

Originally posted by: vi_edit
Buy newspaper.
Look in classifieds for a camry or accord in the $3,000-$4,000 range.
Test drive cars.
Buy cleanest one.
Drive for a year.
Sell it for damn near the same price you bought it for.

Yep.

Find a nice Camry 96 or newer, very reliable.

 

[RossMAN]

Found on cars.com

96 Camry LE for $3250

96 Camry for $3,900

 

[TheLonelyPhoenix]

Originally posted by: acemcmac
used 1999 or later V6 mustang can be had for 7-9k and will be reliable, fast and pretty........

Just don't admit to owning one on AT. Especially if its automatic.



Typical better to buy used rather than lease, in your case... you can get very decent used cars for much less than a lease, and its sounds like you're in the market for "A to B without embarassment" transportation. As vi_edit has said, Camry and Accords (Toyotas and Hondas in general, actually) have excellent reliability and don't devalue much at all after the first 3-4 years.

 

[jammur21]

Buy a $3,000 camry