Car Buying Advice

[buckeye4rnr]

Sorry if this has been posted before, I did check but came up with nothing... my searchfoo has been off lately.


I'm either going to buy or lease(leaning towards lease) a new Grand Cherokee. I've never bought a car from anyone other than my father so any tips would be very much appreciated. Buying adice would be great but leasing advice is what I really want as the numbers I've checked put my lease at 100-200/month which would definitely let me save up for something real reliable down the road.

I know that I have to be willing to walk and I certainly am as all the GCs I've looked at come with the Selec-Terrain system I want and most came with the rear view camera which would be nice to have.

[Sawin]

IMO, leasing is foolish. Why spend x-thousands of dollars on something for 3 years, then turn around and give it away? That's basically what a lease is doing, as far as I'm concerned. If I were you, I would buy a relatively inexpensive, reliable car, that's decent on gas, and pay for it outright, or finance it for 60-72 months to keep your payments negligible. By doing so, you'd be able to keep to your plan and save money for something else down the road, but if you were to sell it or pay it off in the interim, you'd be that much better off for it...

When I buy a car, I buy a 2-4year old model with low mileage and finance about 50% of the price. This way I don't deplete all my savings, I continue to build credit, and get to drive without a car payment for a year or two, before moving on to the next one....

[JoeT]

I'm not any help, because I've never leased...but your lease amount of $100-$200 a month seems unlikely (unless you're putting $15,000 down as a cap cost reduction)

Their website shows $309 a month with $2499 down for 36 months with 10,000 miles a year ( so it's really $378.42 a month for 36 months) and in 3 years you still don't own a car, or any part of it . you gave them $13,623.12 in 3 years to "rent their car"

you can reduce that lease rate to $226 with $4753 down for 24 months and 10k miles a year (so it's really costing you $424.04 a month for 24 months) and in 3 years you still don't own a car, or any part of it...you gave them $10,177.96 in 2 years to "rent their car"


my opinion (not that you asked) is that leasing is only beneficial to the dealer UNLESS you can use the lease as a tax write off as a business expense. or you switch cars every 2 years and have to drive the newest shit that you can't afford to buy

[spqrzilla]

Dave Ramsey on car leases:
http://www.daveramsey.com/index.cfm?...ntItemId=10367

[Ashton]

I would never lease a car. It's like renting an apartment. You're just spending money and not holding any value (throwing your money away)

Since it looks like you're trying to keep your payments low I'd buy a lower end reliable car. If you have good credit there are places that you can get 0% or .9 interest I think. That way you're paying very little interest on a loan and you have time to repay that loan.

[Jefe's AR]

Contrary to what others have said, leasing can be a wise financial decision. It depends on many factors and I'm not interested in going into detail but there is many sources out there. Do your homework.

Otherwise just call Centennial Leasing & Sales and speak with Pat Laurie. He'll get you set on any car you want to lease or buy. They work with many local and non-local dealers of all brands and also have some used vehicles of their own. You can also use him to purchase or lease a used vehicle from another dealer. Pat will do all the work and is very good at what he does.

PS: I like Dave Ramsey but in his example of why not to lease he describes a 60 month lease. Unless you like throwing your money away you should never lease more than 36 months. Beyond that you should buy. I would possibly consider a 38 or 40 month lease but it would have to be a very good deal.

[JoeT]

I'll add....

that same $30,000 GC, figure you can buy for $25,000 (for easy math) with no money down. If you belong to a credit union, loans are going approx 1.9% for 60 months right now. You could own that same car for $458 a month in 5 years. still not a great option, but better IMHO than a lease for roughly the same money

[kwando]

ask what the residual value is, that is the cost of the car after the lease terms.

Remember you can always buy out the lease at the end or even before the term is over.

[Jefe's AR]

ask what the residual value is, that is the cost of the car after the lease terms.

Remember you can always buy out the lease at the end or even before the term is over.

Or sell it or trade it in just like when you purchase a car.

[Inconel710]

Leasing only works if you either plan on buying the vehicle after the lease is up or don't drive much. That per mile charge when you go over the 10k or 12k annual they alot you adds up quick. If you do buy it, the residual value may or may not be above the actual resale value of the vehicle. If it's below, you lose on buying the car.

Save up and pay cash. I've got two paid for vehicles (paid cash for the second one) and it sure is nice not having any car payments. Ask yourself if a 25-30k vehicle really fits your budget. If that 25k is more than half your annual income, you're trying to live above your means and you'll have trouble making the payments down the road.