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Leasing a car can be a real pain, but..... I'm suspecting that it can be a real boon in Maine, as opposed to mid atlantic region where I moved from. Why? Well, used cars are a dime a dozen there.
So...my research suggests several things. First of all, when you are retired you probably have another car and you aren't working, so you can give yourself a mileage limit per month and follow it pretty easily.
Second, you cover the whole inside with vinyl. You don't want any spots on the upholstry, or dirt on it, and you don't want any stains on the carpet.
Third, you don't get a lease that exceeds the actually warranty on the car, and you make sure the warranty is transferable in case you decide to sell it rather than turn it in. Better to get a lease with a car whose warranty is longer than the lease, because then you can offer a used car with a full warranty, and also the dealer will still have the warranty when they go to sell it.
Fourth, if you decide not to turn it in, with the lack of used cars up here, you should be able to sell it for way more than what you owe, and be all set for your next leased car. And since the mileage will be really low, it should fly out of your hands.
Leasing a car in this environment, when you know you can stay under the mileage numbers, should work great.
Leasing a car can be a real pain, but..... I'm suspecting that it can be a real boon in Maine, as opposed to mid atlantic region where I moved from. Why? Well, used cars are a dime a dozen there.
So...my research suggests several things. First of all, when you are retired you probably have another car and you aren't working, so you can give yourself a mileage limit per month and follow it pretty easily.
Second, you cover the whole inside with vinyl. You don't want any spots on the upholstry, or dirt on it, and you don't want any stains on the carpet.
Third, you don't get a lease that exceeds the actually warranty on the car, and you make sure the warranty is transferable in case you decide to sell it rather than turn it in. Better to get a lease with a car whose warranty is longer than the lease, because then you can offer a used car with a full warranty, and also the dealer will still have the warranty when they go to sell it.
Fourth, if you decide not to turn it in, with the lack of used cars up here, you should be able to sell it for way more than what you owe, and be all set for your next leased car. And since the mileage will be really low, it should fly out of your hands.
Leasing a car in this environment, when you know you can stay under the mileage numbers, should work great.
Key point: if you can stay under the mileage allowed. With cities and large towns so far apart it's hard to commit to low mileage. Someone would either need to live right near their place of employment or at least within close distance of a shopping plaza if retired in order to make leasing feasible. Lots of Mainers need to travel and leasing just doesn't make sense. Keeping an older car for 10+ years while saving up for a relatively new car seems like the best choice for people who can't be tied to a 5-10 mile radius for work/living. Heck, I only live 20 minutes away from my place of employment but when I figure in trips to the grocery store and bi-monthly visits to family 30 miles away I'm already surpassing the allowed lease mileage.
Leasing is almost always the most expensive (per mile) way to possess an automobile. Its advantage is that you always have a fairly new car. Some people like new cars because they think they are more dependable. Of course, a lemon is a lemon, whether you own it or lease it, so in my mind leasers tend to open themselves to the possibility of more lemons.
The problem in Maine, everything is so far from everything, it's hard to keep your mileage down. I like buying a car and keeping it until both headlights are pointing up at a 45 degree angle. Then I have it towed to the junkyard and buy another three year old used car.
Actually leasing is the least expensive way to possess an auto. BUt..... you have to fit in the parameters.
1. Don't lease for longer than the warranty on the car
2. Don't drive over the number of miles, which means that if you have a 10,000 mile limit per year, you stop driving it on any month that you exceed 833 miles---or you bankroll 15 cents a mile for every mile over the number.
3. Keep the car in pristine condition inside and outside. Cover everything inside and keep the car waxed and nice on the outside.
4. Sell the car before trade back in time. If its still under warranty, and you've kept it nice, then the dismal used car market downeast will make it a creampuff.
The problem with buying is that the total cost of the purchase often leaves you having paid the whole cost of the car and with a car at the end of the payment schedule that now needs major work. My Ford Focus had the transmission die at 70K while I was still busy buying it to the tune of $1600 for rebuilding---an impossible price downeast where there is no competition for this kind of work. To afford it had a 6 year loan. If you are really lucky you might still have a viable car after the sale---I have one of those too that I leased for 3 years and then paid the $3000 at the end of the term, and 12 years after the initial, its still going strong at 152,000 miles.
Leasing is almost always the most expensive (per mile) way to possess an automobile. Its advantage is that you always have a fairly new car. Some people like new cars because they think they are more dependable. Of course, a lemon is a lemon, whether you own it or lease it, so in my mind leasers tend to open themselves to the possibility of more lemons.
The problem in Maine, everything is so far from everything, it's hard to keep your mileage down. I like buying a car and keeping it until both headlights are pointing up at a 45 degree angle. Then I have it towed to the junkyard and buy another three year old used car.
I don't think slyfox2 is hearing people saying that most people in Maine drive way more than those allowed by a lease. I've always thought that people who lease cars need to equip them with an alarm that goes off as a warning each month about mileage issues approaching too many. Cover the seats, wipe you feet, don't get the floor dirty, don't burn anything with a cigarette (no I don't smoke), don't let your pet leave any fur or chew up or scratch up the car, if it's 4 wheel drive, better forget about off road adventures....sounds like a very stressful car driving experience (by all means no white or tan interior!) I know someone who details cars and makes them look practically like new...could pay him a visit just before the lease is up if you're a person who doesn't put many miles on a car and want to go the leasing route.
Some people have teased me because I don't buy new cars. I did chuckle when their new car was in the shop at least once a month for lemony work. I usually buy a used Toyota with at least 80,000 miles on it. My precious Celica now has over 200,000 miles. The headlights only point up when they are on; otherwise they are asleep in the hood.
I don't think slyfox2 is hearing people saying that most people in Maine drive way more than those allowed by a lease.
Yeah, Consumers Reports has covered this topic several times, and there are a few VERY specific scenarios where leasing is cost effective. Not only is everything spread out in Maine, but Maine winters and roads are hard on cars. It's really just common sense: Did anyone REALLY expect that always driving a new car would cost less than not always driving a new car?
Yeah, Consumers Reports has covered this topic several times, and there are a few VERY specific scenarios where leasing is cost effective. Not only is everything spread out in Maine, but Maine winters and roads are hard on cars. It's really just common sense: Did anyone REALLY expect that always driving a new car would cost less than not always driving a new car?
Add no driving in winter storms to the list of how to ensure that your leased car is like new at the end of the lease...and to avoid potholes, no driving after dark....yeah, my brother damaged part of his car in a pothole one time...not a leased car btw
All people in Maine do not drive more miles than the lease. Heck when I was working back in mid atlantic states I ran way over the lease numbers even though I negotiated more than the standard 10K miles.
What I am saying is that if you are not one of those who would vastly exceed the mileage, the the resale market would help you. In fact I am also saying that even if you exceed the mileage numbers, the lack of available used cars, makes it easily possible for you to sell the car within 6 months before the lease is up, and since I am also saying that no one should lease a car for more time than the auto warranty, when you sell it on the open market, it will still be under warranty.
Right now, you can buy a 3 year old Hyundai at Stanley for 12,555 that three years ago was sold new for 12,950. This is the state of used cars in Maine.
And of course, you can damage your car when it is leased or not leased. I see no reason why that has any effect on things. You get it fixed. I don't understand what the fact that the calcium chloride on the roads in the winter has on leasing. If you lease staying within the corrosion warranty(which is usually 100,000 miles), its not a big deal.
If you just hate leasing, no matter what, then you'll still hate leasing.
The bottom line that I am saying is that leasing is a better deal in Maine for just one reason: you can resell it before the lease is out for way more than almost anyplace else on the planet.
The bottom line that I am saying is that leasing is a better deal in Maine for just one reason: you can resell it before the lease is out for way more than almost anyplace else on the planet.
Sorry Sly, but I've got no idea what point you are making here. You are going to sell a leased car... to who? How do you sell a car you don't own or have legal title to own? Why would the car dealership let you sell a car if it is worth more to them for resale?
I probably just don't understand what you are proposing to be an advantage.
Sorry Sly, but I've got no idea what point you are making here. You are going to sell a leased car... to who? How do you sell a car you don't own or have legal title to own? Why would the car dealership let you sell a car if it is worth more to them for resale?
I probably just don't understand what you are proposing to be an advantage.
OK this is how its done:
First of all, you put it into the agreement that you do not have to resell the car back to them. These terms are all negotiable with the dealer. You also put it in the lease agreement, that at a certain period of time in the lease that you can have someone else assume the remaining payments of the lease.
Before the end of the lease, you make arrangements for someone to buy the vehicle. This person either waits until you've made all the payments, and then you purchase the vehicle from the dealer as per your option, and sell it to them, or assumes the payments and then buys it themselves at the end of the lease.
These things are done all the time. The internet tells you exactly how to make it happen.
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