Is it better to lease a car? (tires, best, Mercury)

[calif]

This has turned out to be a great thread for me to learn from! Many good points have been brought up.

Reps coming to most of you, wish I could rep Sayantsi many more times! ha

[Victor 13]

We leased two small GM sedans the last 9 years. It served us well for the time, but we decided to buy recently. Having a lease saved on mechanical worries, though I found out tires are not covered if damaged.

Having a trouble free car is great if you don't mind paying the price for it. If you do travel, be careful not to go over the mileage limit. I am about to surrender an 04 Ion in a few days with 22,000 miles on it. The limit is about 42,000 on the car I leased for 4 years.

When my wife gave back her 05 Ion in January, it was a 3 year lease. We were charged 250.00 for wear and tear on the vehicle! It only had 17,000 miles on it. I seriously believe that had we up-graded or continued the lease program, the fee would have been waived, so be watchful of that.

We are now paying on an 07 Chevy Uplander and it will be ours in 4 years. I found a cream puff 96 Chevy Lumina van to replace my Ion, and it is paid for already.

Good luck on your choice!

[calif]

Can I ask what kind of wear and tear you were charged for? I have kiddos.

[Victor 13]

I have three grandkiddos that stay with us much, so I will blame some of it on them.

They found a some swirl surface scratches on the top roof of the car. After they sent us pictures of of it, it looks like our cat must of curled up on top sometime?

The windshield had a pit on it, that we never noticed, on the passenger side, on the top.

The car was vacumed inside as well as the trunk, and washed well, but I never thought of spraying the engine compartment, because the dealer also sent us a picture of a dusty engine with the hood us. Now, that was a problem for me.

Didn't want to argue with them, just paid the fee and moved on.

Another reason I choose not to continue my lease with vehicle two.

[sikes0000]

That's another good point about leasing I can't believe I forgot. Maintenance. Probably the main reason I lease. I never have to worry about fixing my car other then tires/brakes. I am always covered by a bumper to bumper. So many little things go wrong with a car that I like the warranty a lease can provide. With buying I have to pay extra for an extended or take my chances with a powertrain warranty. From experience the power train warranty doesn't do anything for me. Its the windows that stop working or some light that doesn't work that starts costing me hundreds to fix because my bumper to bumper is gone.

I guess it doesn't matter too much with leases because by the time stuff starts to go wrong with it I am trading it in for new one I may never own but I will never be in the shop (fingers crossed!).

Thats strange getting nailed for scratches or a dirty engine. All of my leases considered that normal wear and tear. I have had dents, chipped glass and filthy cars turned in and have only even been nailed for miles. Make sure you check the lease agreement before signing. Maybe it depends on the state. Our roads here are horrible and so is the winter weather.

[calif]

I can't imagine being charged for a dirty engine! Seems crazy, and something on the roof? They were nit picking.

Part of the reason we do get new cars isn't to "waste money" and isn't because we are "dumb" as a previous poster stated, it is because we live in a pretty remote area and I don't want to be stranded with kiddos where there isn't any cell reception etc if the car breaks down. We do take good care of our cars, but you can never be sure when something will break on you. New cars have less of a chance of breaking down than older ones, so that is why we were thinking about getting a new one.

[Fnix]

If you dont drive alot and dont wanna make car payments for 4-6 years or like having a new car every few years go for it. You get mechanical covered and it teaches you the responsibility of taking care of a car, because when you turn it back in they will charge you extra if it is not taken care of.

[sean98125]

Originally Posted by sikes0000

That's another good point about leasing I can't believe I forgot. Maintenance. Probably the main reason I lease. I never have to worry about fixing my car other then tires/brakes. I am always covered by a bumper to bumper. So many little things go wrong with a car that I like the warranty a lease can provide. With buying I have to pay extra for an extended or take my chances with a powertrain warranty. From experience the power train warranty doesn't do anything for me. Its the windows that stop working or some light that doesn't work that starts costing me hundreds to fix because my bumper to bumper is gone.

But you can buy a new car with a bumper to bumper warranty, you know.

[sean98125]

You also don't need an extended warranty - if they were good deals, the warranty companies would go out of business. We have a car repair/replacement fund that we use if we get a big repair - that way, we also have the cash on hand to go out and buy another car if the repair is not worth the cost to us. That's one of the nice things about owning a car and keeping it for a while - you can put $350 a month into savings instead of into that new car smell.

It really isn't that hard to keep an older car running fine. I'd rather spend $1000 a year on routine maintenance and regular checks of major systems than $4200 a year on car payments. In five years I've saved up enough for my next late-model used car if I choose to use the money for that. A cycle of leasing is just a never-ending treadmill where you've already dedicated money that you haven't even earned yet to pay for some executive's swimming pool maintenance.

You also save a bundle on insurance since you don't need full coverage.

[LArenter]

I just leased a new car this past weekend.

If you are going to look at it from a finanical angle only, you will find no financial argument that will justify a lease over a purchase.

Especially with the low interest rates going around, purchasing right now seems like a good bet.

The reasons I decided to lease over purchase was because I would like to drive a new car every three years. I don't drive over 12K miles a year. I like the peace of mind that every aspect of maintenance is covered for the length of my lease (for my make that includes oil changes, brake pads, annual maintenance). And in 2.5 years I get to plan my next car 'purchase'.

I will also be starting a business next year and that means lease payments and mileage can be deducted.

It all comes down to your personal preference in driving new cars and whether or not you can afford it.