Anyone ever lease a vehicle?

[matcom]

as opposed to buying?

I'm thinking about it for the lower payments but need to get the 'skinny' from 'experts'

Anyone out there?

THANKS!

:hi:

[IndianaJones]

1. mileage is the biggest thing. Know how many miles you will put on the car. nt.

[AlCzervik]

2. i did twice, it worked out fine because i stayed under the mileage but in the end

when i went to buy a car i had no trade in. Also if possible keep the car in the garage because when you turn it in they go over it with a magnifying glass looking for ding and dents.

[IdaBriggs]

3. Depends on how much you drive. It can be a good deal, but everything

is about how well you take care of "other people's property" (which is what a Leased Vehicle is). If you are "super responsible" about oil changes, etc. and don't drive too much, the cheaper payments can be good.

That being said, SAVE ALL OF YOUR RECEIPTS for normal maintenance, as occassionally dealerships will find "stuff" wrong and try to blame you for defects. (My sister is having this problem at the moment -- she didn't save all of her oil changes receipts, and they are saying a vehicle with 35,000 miles has a "blown engine" that she should pay for....)

[matcom]

4. hhmmm

i drive 50 miles round trip to work every day. don't know if that is too much.

also, was thinking of leasing a small pickup to replace my old pickup because I need it for yard work. Likely to get a couple of scrapes.

what is the payment like at the end if you want to buy it? can that be financed?

[IndianaJones]

5. that is borderline too much mileage. will you only use it for work?

penalties can be steep if you exceed mileage. You can buy and finance the vehicle after the lease term is up.

[matcom]

6. sounds like a lease isn't for me

thanks for all the info :hi:

[NMDemDist2]

8. that's probably too much matcom

I could get away with it cuz I drive less than 7500 miles a year BUT then you are looking at unending car payments, you never actually own a car

I have a nice car with 21 months left on payments and an old beater I own outright and plan to drive the wheels off it. paid $1200 a year ago, gave it a tranny service, oil changes and a new battery and alternator so I have averaged a $135 a month car payment (including purchase price). Cant beat that eh? anything else is gravy yanno?

edit to add, I've leased cars but the only time it's worked out for me is if I had a job that basically paid for it in 'car allowance'. I do know some folks who don't mind a constant car payment and want a new car every couple years in any case so it's a good fit for them.

here's a pic of the old girl and she's been worth every penny, never stranded me, starts every time and get 26+ MPG

[Mountainman]

11. They can tell you when you sign the lease what the buyout is.

[DeposeTheBoyKing]

7. We only lease and love it

It's true you have to watch the mileage, but we never even meet the 12,000/year cutoff. You can get a lower payment and a better car, and you can just turn it in at the end of the lease term unless you want to buy it. You'll want to check out what the payoff value would be if you decide to keep it.

[matcom]

9. I average over 1500 miles a year just to and from work

x(

[Mountainman]

10. Find out what the mileage allowance is and be sure you can stay with in that range or you will have

to pay for additional miles when you turn it in and that can get expensive.