November 2014 Moms

Car Leasing

Anyone have any advice on this?

Some Background:  (questions below if you don't wanna read it all)

I have never leased a car before,  I have no one close to me that has ever done it either.  DH has leased before,  but its been decades since he has done it.   

DH wants me to get an AWD/4WD vehicle since I will be the primary baby transporter.   Buying a new car with AWD/4WD thats within my budget gives me like 2 choices.   We have lost our asses financing a used vehicle before and really hate the thought of chancing that again.

My current car turns 3 years old this December and only has 24,500 miles on it.   I could lease a vehicle without going over the mileage limits,  just not sure how it all works.

I have looked at the current "specials" that are out there, but it seems like they are for the absolute base model, some of which are only for the front wheel drive version of the cars.  

 

 

In short,  my question......Does leasing work like purchasing ?  Do I just find the car I want,  and then the negotiating begins?    What is negotiable?  The length of the lease?   The monthly payment?  The mileage per year limit?  The down payment?    

I plan on stopping in some dealerships this week after work to talk to people,  just thought I would pick your lovely brains for some insight/opinions. 

Thanks ladies!  

Nov. '14 January Siggy : Work Sucks!

 

Me 32-DH 38

Married July 14, 2007  ----- TTC # 1 October 1, 2013
BFP   March 7, 2014  -----  EDD November 17, 2014 ---- Baby boy born November 16, 2014

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Re: Car Leasing

  • From my experience leasing cars, you can generally tell them what you want (model, additional accessories, etc), let them know how many months you want to lease for (usually 24 or 36), how much you want to put down, and how many miles per year you need (usually 10K to 15K). I have never put down money to lease a car. Doing so will lower your monthly payments, but I've never found it to be worthwhile. Once they have all that information, they pretty much just tell you the monthly payment. I'm not sure how negotiable that is because it's just a formula they plug all your information into. When I leased my last car, they didn't have the model I wanted on their lot, so I gave them all the specs I wanted and they found one from another dealership. I think there was a small fee to transport it but it wasn't much. I also had them add an automatic car starter (BEST THING EVER) and they just tacked that on to the monthly price. But definitely shop around at different dealerships, even for the same vehicle. My lease is up in December and I'm going to see if I can find a car a model year older to get a lower price.

    Also, I love my Subaru and would recommend it to anyone who wanted an AWD car  :)
    image 

  • We looked at leasing a 2014 Honda CRV and then ended up buying a used 1998 Toyota 4Runner.  But old cars don't scare us and we actually prefer them.  Everyone I talked to said leasing just isn't worth it and they'd never do it again.  You have to pay a fee when you turn it in, you have to keep it spotless (hard with a baby), pay a fortune if you go over the mileage, and you pay a lot up front and then every month and at the end of 3 years you have nothing.  It's like renting an apartment that you have to pay the maintenance fees on and buy appliances (tires) for.

    That said, we did get fairly far in the leasing process before we found the 4Runner.  Everything is negotiable, especially right now when they are trying to clear their lots for new models.    Monthly payments are based on the sticker price of the car.  So you need to negotiate that sticker price down first. Basically go in, tell the salesman you'd like to buy, test drive, negotiate a purchase price, then be like OK, we're leasing, how can we make this work?  Then negotiate your down payment, your mileage, etc.
    Baby girl N born 10/29/14!

    **Follow your heart, but take your brain with you**


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  • Edmunds.com is a great resource for anything vehicle related - research, reviews, buying vs. leasing, and the forums are extremely helpful for either because you can look to see what other people are getting in terms of lease or purchase deals in your specific area.  I've never leased, but there are lease forums on there.  I used the site a lot with the purchase of my last vehicle, was able to negotiate with several dealers and get a great deal I wanted over the phone, just had to go into the dealer sign-paperwork and drive it home.  Good luck.

     
  • We lease every car we buy...we ALWAYS plan on purchasing once the lease is up. Right now we have on lease a Honda crv that we plan on purchasing once lease is up.

    I would not do it unless you plan to buy. But you can get a much better interest rate on the first 3 years if you lease first, which is why we go that route. Before this I had a civic, which I leased first and then purchased afterwards.

    Several people in my family have worked in car sales. They have all leased at one point or another. But like I said it's really only a decent plan if you plan on purchasing after lease is up.
  • @belmont1785  I wondered about that.   DH has an infatuation with volkswagen,  and he was checking out the Tiguan.    I seen one lease pricing example where it actually listed the purchase price after the lease was done and it didn't seem like a bad deal when the lease payments + purchase price combined was compared to the original purchase price of the vehicle.

    Unless I discoverd I didn't like the vehicle by the end of the lease,  we more than likely would purchase it.    With all the more miles I am logging, the vehicle would still have a ton of life in it after the lease was done.   

    Nov. '14 January Siggy : Work Sucks!

     

    Me 32-DH 38

    Married July 14, 2007  ----- TTC # 1 October 1, 2013
    BFP   March 7, 2014  -----  EDD November 17, 2014 ---- Baby boy born November 16, 2014

    Baby Birthday Ticker Ticker
  • @mander82 we just leased a Tiguan!  It's been about a month and I LOVE it.

    OP, I have leased and bought.  I am not anti-lease.  I think it serves a purpose and depends on what you want/need.  There is not a fee when you turn it back in (as one PP said) unless you go over miles or excessive damage (normal wear and tear is fine).  My sister exclusively leases and it has worked great for her.  She has kids and they make messes, she has never had to pay for the "damage" from that.

    We decided to lease this time for payments.  We wanted to keep our reserves in savings for unpaid maternity leave (so very little down) and we wanted low monthly payments.  Leasing was the way to go.  Everything is negotiable.  They have a variety of leasing terms.  We negotiated both the trade in value of my old car and the "purchase price" of the Tiguan which reduced the monthly payments.  

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  • I drove a leased car and it didn't end up making sense for me. This was years ago and I ended up going over the mileage in the lease and they were very nit-picky about minor scratches to the car. I know that with a baby scratches and stains etc. are bound to happen. Perhaps it is worth it if you buy the car in the end. 

    We recently purchased a used SUV with about 30k miles on it and got a great deal on it. It is nice not having to worry about the mileage too.

  • I've leased a couple of cars now.  I negotiated the upgrades to my vehicles both times and mileage this last time.  I am paying $10 over what I would be paying for a base model Sonata for a fully upgraded Sonata with an extra 3k miles per year.

    Come prepared with a cash downpayment and they will be more willing to work with you on any additions you need.  Also, this is a GREAT time to look at leases because you can look at the brand new 2014 models that they would be begging people to take right now since all of the 2015 models should be out. 

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