Quote:
Originally Posted by Newenglander0000
Neither my husband nor I have ever leased a car. Anyone we know that's leased a car had a bad experience, but they admittedly went over the amount of miles they were allowed (is that the right word?).
A little back story- we will be relocating. Just got rid of our 10 year old car (would cost too much to ship and needed work that we weren't willing to dump into a 10 yr old car) and now we only have 1 SUV now (5 years old, we bought brand new). My dh wants us to have a second car once we get out to CA. Initially we wanted to get a used car under $6k but after looking yesterday my dh feels it will be a waste of money because he said we'll get a car that either has a lot of miles or will need a ton of $$$ in repairs, as it will likely be older.
So, then we had the idea of getting a lease... Just a cheap lease (one of those $99/month or $120/month) so that he can have a dependable car to drive to/from work and the maintenance is included in the price (right? Isn't that how leases work? The dealership covers the cost of any major work needed to be done?). This would allow us to stay under the mileage since my dh would only use it to/from work.
What are the pros/cons of a lease? Would it be better to just buy an older used car in a scenario like ours?
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The very first thing I would consider is WHERE in California you are moving to. I am from California, have family and friends living there, go back 2-3 times per year, lived in both SoCal and Nor Cal, yadda yadda... while having a second vehicle may sound useful the reality is that it might be a royal pain in the behind depending solely on where you will call your new home.
As for buying used... ...if you were looking for used in CA. I gurauntee you can find a good used car for cheap. A native Californian is more likely to be of the mindset
It's a great car but I don't want/need it. I'm tired of looking at it so it get it the heck out of here! Where as someone in New England is going to think
Yeah, we get tons of snow around here and this place is completely rural. You know you NEED a car around here so I'm going to charge a pretty penny for that. You also got to keep in mind the population--which is effin huge in CA. For every one person trying to sell a vehicle there are 100 people down the street wanting to sell one, too. In order to entice buyers to purchase
their vehicle, a Californian is more likely to put money into prior to sale or and/or to let it go for cheap just to get it off their hands.
As for cost of ownership (used); the bottom line is that you never know. A used vehicle can last for years with nothing more than the costs of basic upkeep or it can go kaput two months after purchase. But to be frank, you should get a general idea of the condition of the vehicle before purchase. Or you can spend a few dollars and have a mechanic look it first. The only drawback is that CA. does not do mandatory vehicle/safety inspections prior to registration like some East Coast and/or New England states do; so you would be on your own there. And to add, no one says you have to purchase a used vehicle with high miles on it.
All vehicles eventually were out but there is really no correlation between age of vehicle and how much money would need to be dumped into it in order to keep it rolling. It is not about age but about milage meaning the less one drives the slower the parts wear out.
I lived in New England as well (just prior to living here in Maryland) and I have seen those "$100/month" lease deals. Keep in mind these do not include taxes, registration, other "hidden" fees, etc. and require a down payment. In reality, in CA. a negotiated price of $21,000 down from an MSRP of $24,000 vehicle is likely to be closer to $350/month once all is said and done (for a 36 month lease) at the cheapest. A down payment of a few grand would be required to get the monthly price down $100/month. Then again, depending on vehicle, length of lease, MSRP, negotiated price, down payment or not, taxes (paid per month on the monthly charge), the money factor (similar in concept to monthly interests on a loan), registration, a required security deposit or not, and so on, that monthly lease can be in upwards near $500/month however you are likely to pay $400 or so without a deposit for a basic vehicle.
Two other things to consider: good credit and financial ability are still required to lease a vehicle and as others have mentioned you would be renting the vehicle. At no point during the lease would you actually own the vehicle meaning that you cannot do most things to it/with it that you could with an owned vehicle. For example, if you smoke you absolutely cannot smoke inside of a leased vehicle even with all the windows rolled down.
A few more: Even though major repairs will be covered, you MUST maintain the leased vehicle. Failure to do something like a basic oil change or tire rotations at the proper intervals could result in you being fined a penalty. And if you go over your paid-for yearly miles you will be fined for that, too.
Depending on the lease agreement, at the end of the lease you might be charged fees for "wear and tear", lease-end disposition, and potentially excess milage if you decide not to purchase the vehicle, so I would read the fine print for sure. These fees are meant to be an incentive for you to purchase the vehicle at the end of the lease otherwise the dealer is stuck with a used a vehicle.
Leasing is awesome if you always want to drive a new vehicle and know for sure that you will not drive over the yearly milage. However, it would be a total waste of money if your only reason for the leased vehicle is to have a second car handy when needed.
Quote:
Originally Posted by gunslinger256
don't bother with the lease. Here's my argument:
-you will go over the miles allotted because California is all highway and cars are required to get around
-you can buy an off lease car in California because everyone is buying new there due to the image conscious culture
-you'll need to save money due to the higher cost of living and additional taxes
-perpetually nice weather will have you going out all the time... meaning more miles.
-you can save water by not washing a vehicle you own (OK this is a stretch)
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To your first point, not really. LA is the only part of California that was specifically designed with cars in mind but the rest of the State is like anywhere else and you may be surprised at how many people in California don't own vehicles and do just fine (because they don't want/need a vehicle, not because they cannot afford one).
Although these people do exist in California they don't exist in any greater number than in other parts of the country, so your second point is false. The average Californian is likely to purchase something more economical than vanity and typically those who are non-wealthy who purchase something based on "looks" are more likely to get a used, classic, vehicle to restore.
Third point, very much true.
Fourth point, true but that does not necessarily mean more driving. If a friend or coworker suggests an outing most likely than not they will swing by and pick you up. Californians are big into carpooling.
To your last point; unless one lives near the ocean or up in the mountains, there is little need to wash a vehicle that often.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Newenglander0000
My hubs is thinking that if we were to by an 8 yr old car, we'll maybe get 3 more years out of it before we need to replace it. He is also arguing that the maintenance on an 8 year old car is much more costly than a brand new car.... Hmmm. So much to consider!
I really hate the idea of having a car payment. However, the 5 yr old car is almost paid off! So if we had a small monthly payment ($99-$150/month) it wouldn't be all that bad
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If that 8 year old vehicle cost $2000 to purchase, for an example, and you drove it for three years before it completely busted, that is about $55.6/month. A $10K used vehicle would roughly be just over $277/month over the three years. Either way, still cheaper than leasing (assuming no major repairs).
As I previously mentioned above, how much maintenance would be required on that 8 year old vehicle is going to totally depend on how well the previous owner treated the vehicle. If it recently got new brake pads, rotors, tires, maybe an alternator, etc. and fluids were checked on regular intervals that vehicle could easily go another 8 years without any major hick up (once again, depending on milage--both yours and the previous owner's).
It sounds like your husband simply does not want to bother more than anything and is just making excuses.
Quote:
Originally Posted by southwestW
Buy a used car with manual transmission. Repairs cheap and generally cheaper to maintain. Surprised so few people are doing it.
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Stick shifts are the way to go in my opinion but so few cars have them these days. Besides, kinda hard to shift gears with a cell phone your hand....
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