Buy or lease (Flagstaff: leasing, insurance, loan)

[azloyal]

Hello my friends with more wisdom than me.
Please advise would you rather:

Buy a 2 year old car with 30K on it for $200/m and hope nothing goes wrong with the engine when it gets hot to 120F in summers

or

Buy a brand new car for $287/m with longer term months than a used car and not worry for few years.

Thanks,
AZ Loyal

[sablebaby]

I would do whatever was more financially smarter (which sounds like the used car). Buying a 2 year old car will be perfectly fine in our summers. Heck, my car is 10 years old now and it's not a worry. 2 years is NOTHING, it's practically brand new.

I don't think I will ever buy brand new off the lot again. What a waste of money. Even used off the lot is a waste. Buy private party slightly used and get a nice low rate from a bank. Don't worry about the engine, as long as the car is in good shape. We don't go around blowing engines due to the heat. We replace batteries instead.

[joninaz]

Originally Posted by azloyal

Hello my friends with more wisdom than me.
Please advise would you rather:

Buy a 2 year old car with 30K on it for $200/m and hope nothing goes wrong with the engine when it gets hot to 120F in summers

or

Buy a brand new car for $287/m with longer term months than a used car and not worry for few years.

Thanks,
AZ Loyal

A huge percentage of cars these days are leased so there's an abundance of perfectly fine cars coming off 2 year leases that are returned to dealers. My previous car was one such model, with never a problem for years. New cars depreciate 20% the moment you drive them off the lot, so it's a smart play to go slightly used. Your insurance and registration will also be noticably lower. That said, you also need to do a little homework. Use Carfax or a similar service to make sure the car hasn't been wrecked or flooded. Also see if the original warranties are still in play - more and more companies are allowing them to carry to new owners. You can also negotiate a limited warranty with a dealer for a little piece of mind. In short, you can get great deals buying a previously owned car if priced right and with some backing from the dealer/manufacturer.

[sheena]

Originally Posted by azloyal

Hello my friends with more wisdom than me.
Please advise would you rather:

Buy a 2 year old car with 30K on it for $200/m and hope nothing goes wrong with the engine when it gets hot to 120F in summers

or

Buy a brand new car for $287/m with longer term months than a used car and not worry for few years.

Thanks,
AZ Loyal

30K is nothing.....Are the cars the same make and model? or is it as used Lexus and a new Escort?

Make and model mean a lot to me and I would do extensive research on edmonds.com and any forum I could get my hands on before making any purchase.

Anyway I would never buy new.

[YAZ]

I've been leasing for 11 years now, and I really like it.

Leasing is good if it fits your driving habits. Like someone posted before, that brand new vehicle depreciates the second you drive it off the lot.

If it gets stolen or totaled before you start paying on the prinipal, you're gonna get shafted. Unless of course, you have gap insurance.

Leasing fits my needs because I have a habit of getting a new vehicle as soon as I pay off the car loan. Plus, I drive about 8000 miles per year.

[ranman469]

i buy used. best value.for me.
i let someone else suffer the huge loss on a car.

[HX_Guy]

30k miles is nothing, it's practically new in my opinion. My car has 106,000 miles and is a model year 2002 and no problems with the Arizona heat, I've had the car since 2004 and it had 27,000 miles when I bought it.

About leasing...it's good if it can work for you. We have our other vehicle leased, and I love being able to drive a nicer car for less then what it would cost if it was purchased, but I hate the limiting mileage factor. Taking a road trip to say Flagstaff or San Diego pretty much means you have to park the car for a couple weeks or a month because you just used all your allowed miles in one weekend.

[azloyal]

Thank you all for your advice, I think I am going to buy a used car.

[YAZ]

Our leased vehicles are allowed 12k miles per year.

That's 36k over a three year period.

Live within 20 miles of work, you're OK.

[blisterpeanuts]

I bought a '97 Toyota Corolla with 107K for $3400 about 5 months ago. After I put $1500 into the car it was like a new car. I will probably put about $500-$1000/year into this car to keep it running smoothly, but it sure beats forking over $18-$20K for a new one. When I am done with it 5-6 years from now I'll probably get $1500 or $2000 out of it. No debts, no regrets!

Oh and did I mention the 36 miles per gallon?