Buy a car ... lease a car

[burr]

Originally Posted by MKTwet

Lease makes sense if you like a new car every 2-3 yrs, get the newest features, maintenance and work covered. High end and luxury cars makes a lot of sense with a good lease you don't ever need to worry about depreciation and expensive repair bill.

Purchase makes sense if you plan on keeping for more than 5 yrs and it's not a luxury brand and you intend to daily drive it for more than 15k miles a year.

this is what I'm trying to say.
RX350 is not in the same range as a toyota so not in the equation)

[rabbit33]

Originally Posted by burr

As I stated, vehicle prices have gone thru the roof and was wondering about exactly this angle. Instead of buying a 40K or 45K previously owned (Lexus450 or ToyHighlander or four runner), lease a new one. Three years, do it again. Looking at it, it may not be as I had thought, investment could be 15K-18K for three yr lease, or more. I'm really asking just to see if it would be an viable option.

Well, do the math. Leasing companies buy cars, too, so increasing purchase prices will be passed on to the person leasing the car.

There is no way that leasing is going to be cheaper than buying and driving till wear-out, unless you believe auto leasing companies are charitable organizations. You MIGHT be able to find an unusual "corner case" where in that one special case it turned out to be cheaper, but on average, it's simply not going to be.

[IntentionsRGood]

Originally Posted by Hemlock140

Leases require more down payment, but then much lower monthly payments.

I leased my last 2 cars for this reason. My monthly payments were half of what I would pay if I financed both cars.

Well, times have changed! A friend of mine just leased a car and she's paying over $2,000 a month! She told me the dealer said financing the car would be the same monthly payments.

[IntentionsRGood]

Originally Posted by greggd1

I had a leased car and at the end of the term, I bought it from the leasing company/Chase.

Same here. I leased my last 2 cars and bought them both from the leasing companies. With the first car, I paid the lease off a year early. Then I had no monthly payments for a year until the lease was up.

[southernlady5464]

Sometimes there are other considerations. Example, our state doesn’t charge personal property tax on leased vehicles but it does on owned. And that can be a sizable chunk of change.

[CALGUY]

Speaking of leasing, I asked this question a couple of years ago, and don't recall getting an answer that explains the question (Why?)
Why is one charged a sales tax on a vehicle lease?
The vehicle is not being purchased, it is being rented for a stated period of time.
How do dealers gat away charging a sales tax on a vehicle they are renting, not selling?
I don't charge a sales tax on my apartment rentals.

[City Guy997S]

Originally Posted by IntentionsRGood

I leased my last 2 cars for this reason. My monthly payments were half of what I would pay if I financed both cars.

Well, times have changed! A friend of mine just leased a car and she's paying over $2,000 a month! She told me the dealer said financing the car would be the same monthly payments.

Your friend either brought negative equity into the deal OR is leasing something that depreciates terribly.

[City Guy997S]

Originally Posted by CALGUY

Speaking of leasing, I asked this question a couple of years ago, and don't recall getting an answer that explains the question (Why?)
Why is one charged a sales tax on a vehicle lease?
The vehicle is not being purchased, it is being rented for a stated period of time.
How do dealers gat away charging a sales tax on a vehicle they are renting, not selling?
I don't charge a sales tax on my apartment rentals.

You only get charged the tax on the payment (not the whole car)

You pay multiple taxes when you rent a hotel room right? Sales tax/ bed tax or whatever your county/state calls it. Even some hotels charge a resort fee (tax).

[NORTY FLATZ]

"Buy a car/Rent a car..."

[YourWakeUpCall]

Originally Posted by MKTwet

Lease makes sense if you like a new car every 2-3 yrs, get the newest features, maintenance and work covered. High end and luxury cars makes a lot of sense with a good lease you don't ever need to worry about depreciation and expensive repair bill.

Purchase makes sense if you plan on keeping for more than 5 yrs and it's not a luxury brand and you intend to daily drive it for more than 15k miles a year.

None of the above is always true. You're going to get hit with the same depreciation regardless of whether you lease, finance, or pay cash. When you lease, the lessor builds the depreciation into the lease down payment/payments/residual value. Also, how long you plan to keep the car isn't a big factor - leasing just makes it easier to get rid of a car at the end of the lease period.