Would you lease a minivan with 3 kids?

Mrs.Greg

DH and I are shopping for a new minivan. DH thinks we should lease this time - the payments are lower, its a short commitment so we can get a new car in just a few years, we don't do an excessive amout of driving. My only concern is how dirty it would get with 3 kids. What do you think? We've never leased before... how much do they make you pay if its what they considered dirty?

pea-kay

Oh lord. Mine is full of cracker crumbs, ground in crayons, sticky stuff, etc, etc, etc. I guess if I leased I just wouldn't let them have any food or crayons in the car, but that would make my life much more difficult. I don't know anything about car leases, though. Hmm.

jessican08

My H has always leased cars (because he's the type that would just sell once the car was paid off and get a new one anyway) and we just traded in my Tucson (which I owned) and leased a Santa Fe for me since it has a bit more room.

As long as the car just has normal wear and tear, it shouldn't be an issue. My H's cars have even had small door dings and scratches and they don't bat an eye over those. As far as the interior, having worn floor mats is "normal", you just want to make sure the upholstery isn't stained or torn, etc. Basically as long as the car looks good once you vacuum and wipe it down, you should be fine.

Also, make sure you work a deal where you're not putting any money down (as most leases require). They may even try to say, "OK, no money down" but then bump up your monthly payments or extend the lease to compensate. Don't let them, just be firm! You can usually circumvent that and walk away with a good deal. 

Mrs.Greg

jessican08:

My H has always leased cars (because he's the type that would just sell once the car was paid off and get a new one anyway) and we just traded in my Tucson (which I owned) and leased a Santa Fe for me since it has a bit more room.

As long as the car just has normal wear and tear, it shouldn't be an issue. My H's cars have even had small door dings and scratches and they don't bat an eye over those. As far as the interior, having worn floor mats is "normal", you just want to make sure the upholstery isn't stained or torn, etc. Basically as long as the car looks good once you vacuum and wipe it down, you should be fine.

Also, make sure you work a deal where you're not putting any money down (as most leases require). They may even try to say, "OK, no money down" but then bump up your monthly payments or extend the lease to compensate. Don't let them, just be firm! You can usually circumvent that and walk away with a good deal. 

Thanks for the tip! Honda is having a deal - $2000 due at signing, no first month payment, $309 a month for 35 months. We thought that was a good deal... is it not?

NicoleeBonsai

we were in the same boat as you a couple of months ago. we weighed the options and for us, and the amount of driving we do (very little), it didn't make financial sense to lease. here are some of the articles we read when making our decision:

 https://www.smartmoney.com/calculator/autos/buy-or-lease-a-car-1302833645461/

https://www.edmunds.com/car-buying/compare-the-costs-buying-vs-leasing-vs-buying-a-used-car.html

we ended up buying an odyssey and we love it!

JosiePosy

I guess from a financial perspective I think it rarely makes sense to lease unless you are able to write it off as a business expense. Then again I buy cars and drive them into the ground. I've been driving the same car for over 10 years and haven't had a car payment in over 5 years. There are perks to having no car payments. You'll get more than the value out of that van if you purchase and drive it for long past the loan period. But again that's me.