Hey all-

Last week i received a truly bittersweet piece of news - that instead of commuting 25+ miles each way through ridiculous traffic to and from work 5 days a week, which i have been doing for the past 2.5 yrs., that i will now i have a 5 minute walk to work.

The sad part is that if I take this opportunity, I will no longer need my beloved xB anymore... The only reason I got it, other than being a kicka$$ car, is that it would get me to and from work safely and reliably. Now my only worries might be a good pair of shoes and a decent raincoat...

Anyways - any thoughts on what the hell to do in this situation? I put $5000 down on my lease to get my payments @ $140/mo., but would hate to possibly end the lease without getting any of my $$$ back...

just looking for suggestions, thoughts, flaming on leases, whatever.... :question:

huh so just becasue you are going to walk only five minutes you are thinking about giving up the box.what you don't run errands...........

i live in the city... everything is in walking distance...

i would probably get a used car that I could pay for in cash for the occasional road trip, etc. I just can't justify keeping a new car with 15K mile/yr. lease when i will be putting next to 0 miles on it a week.


plus we would be getting a company vespa :D

:pray: so who realy cars how much they drive there car.... its all about haveing one... come on dont give it up that easly....... :pray: my mom bout a new 03 nissan altima and has had it for like almost 2 years and only has 15,000 miles on it.... i bout mine 6+ monthes ago and i now how 11,000 miles on this puppy now dont tell me she is going to give up here nice fancy car... she is like hell no i love this thing..... so there just cuz u can walk to work dose not mean u have to...... :pray: :P dont give it up i say..... :pray:

the miles you wont put on the car will be a plus when you go to trade or sell hang onto the car if you dont need then sell it
and pocket the diffrence if you can (you did not do a 5 year lease i hope)

3 yr. lease

hmm... another reason i'm considering this is to be completely out of debt, and to have a car that is my own - which is why i'm considering just buying a beater that i won't owe any money on... :-/

the only thing i know about returning a lease is that you have to pay for damages(scratches, dings, chipped paint, etc..). we had to pay like 4k on my moms benz for all the stuff she did to it.

I would hate to see you give up the box, but I don't think that anyone can blame you for improving your financial situation...ESPECIALLY if you're getting a Vespa.

yeah nate, i know - crappy timing. it's just that if i'm barely driving anymore i can hardly justify keeping a brand new car... i love my box but i just don't feel like making monthly payments on it if it's just going to sit on the street 90% of the time


has anyone turned one back into koons before? - i know this doesn't help you at all so i understand if you are hesitant to offer any advice... :P

What would have the lease payments been with minimum down? Figure that out, multiply by the number of months you've had it and add in the minimum down. Then take what you've spent (money down + lease payments you've made) and subtract one from the other. Maybe they'll give you that back. I dunno. I don't like the idea of leases because of this kind of thing. I like to know that if I can cover the lien I can sell the car for whatever I need to.

thus bringing up the question of why anyone would lease a car verrry verrry few instances where someone does better to lease a car...

~wC

i knew this thread wouldn't get far without someone hatin' on leases :D


to each his own :D

ahhhh funk it. i'll probably just keep it...


*orders goldlines*

:D

:lol: That's the American Spirit. SPEND! SPEND!

my box is going to look HOT sitting @ the curb all week long!


woot

my box is going to look HOT sitting @ the curb all week long!


woot I feel for you. Thats why had a beater when I lived in Chicago. Although I did have a parking space by my apt.

I needed a car to get from Hyde Park to Rush street and back on LSD(Lake Shore Drive) on the weekends. You Chicago folks will get this.

Hi retail,
$140/month is pretty sweet, wish that were my payment. I know you had to pony up the dough to get it there!
If you're looking for alternatives to getting out of the lease you might want to check out
http://swapalease.com
They hook up people wanting to get out of leases and people wanting to buy into a remaining lease. Of course the usual caveats apply, make sure your contract will allow it, etc...
I'm not promoting the site or anything, just thought it might be of some use if you didn't already know about it.
Good Luck

i live in the city... everything is in walking distance...

i would probably get a used car that I could pay for in cash for the occasional road trip, etc. I just can't justify keeping a new car with 15K mile/yr. lease when i will be putting next to 0 miles on it a week.


plus we would be getting a company vespa :D

That's a tough call.

If you keep the car, it costs you money, but you are going to get royally butt-raped trying to get out of a lease early. I really would not even consider it. First off, car dealers are bloodthirsty cash-hungry wolves, you can kiss your $5k goodbye. Second of all, they are going to try to get you to pay them for the duration of the lease, it's very sticky getting out of one and you can count on getting screwed because of what you signed.

For future reference, don't EVER give a downpayment like that on a lease-- its practically throwing money away. Leasing itself is questionable, it only makes financial sense with more expensive cars that depreciate more. If you are the type of person who likes a new Audi or Saab every 2-3 years --- then it can make financial sense to lease. Otherwise you are paying for the right to hand the car over at the end of the lease and be emptyhanded.

$140 a month?

I pay $320 a month, pretty much anyone with a decent job can afford that, and I am acutally going to own my car. If I decide to sell it or I don't want it before the payments are done, I am free to sell the car and get another. If I don't, then in a few years I will own the car outright.

Just a thought.

You can try and give back the car and lose your $5,000 and then some, or you can keep the car and lose your $5,000 (its already long gone anyway)

I think you should stay in the lease and suck it up.

Good luck whatever you decide.

thanks for the tough love, i guess.

what if I privately sold my car to pay the lease off?

actually just talked to my dealer - looks like i may be able to switch over to financing :shock:

there ya go...switch over...I wasnt hating on leases just every thing I've read says it makes little sense unless your company is paying you to have a company car or something like that...but on a good car like ours they dont depreciate enough to justify a lease...

~wC

actually just talked to my dealer - looks like i may be able to switch over to financing :shock:

You can always switch from lease to purchase... I hope that you're aware that you will be getting a used car rate when you finance this car.

How many months are left on your lease?

How does the sales tax work in your state? Is there a little bit of sales tax in each month's payment or did you pay all sales tax up front?

If you refinace the lease, is there a second sales tax ( there is here in Illinois)?

How much is reasonable to pay for a beater that will be servicable for the same time period as the lease?

Let's answer these questions and you will be able to make the best decision for you.

PM if you would prefer not discuss it in the group.

all the sales tax upfront - and im still figuring out all the particulars (second sales tax, financing as a new vs. used car)

actually just talked to my dealer - looks like i may be able to switch over to financing :shock:

You can always switch from lease to purchase... I hope that you're aware that you will be getting a used car rate when you finance this car.

christ - this would suck :nails:

what happens if you lose your job? then your going to have to find a car, and a job. I would keep your ride bro, what if you want to go on a date? Movies? vacation?

Dont give up your ride just because you work close.

I work in sales for Lexus of Glendale ( I get also 20% discount off of Toyota parts :) haha )

Find out what your buyout is...just call the bank to who you make your payments to..Toyota Finicial ? you know what your buy out is in the end of the lease cause it is on your contract.....your 5k out of pocket was a waste..all you needed to do was put basic drive off. all the extra money you gave em was just to lower your payment..not pay off the car.... Bank sets the buyout with your residual value (i.e 50%) from MSRP..not your payment amount....

So example...your car cost 15K.....and you had a residual of 50%...and you leased it for 36 months...divide the $15K and that leaves you with 7500 buyout plus any taxes involed...... now..your payment is 36 divided by the other 7500 and any money factors added (finance rate) which comes to about $208..mininum drive off is 1st month payment, dmv, and bank doq's and tax on your down...so maybe 500 ?
So your other $4500 went to lowering your payment only......what you could have done was maybe give em maybe another $2500 or so..and get 1 pay lease, and pay for all your payments up front....

But the best thing would of been...Finance the car up front....with your $5grand... your payment could of been $200 maybe(with good credit) and you'd have equity allready with that good size down payment and you'd own the car.


Besides...you'll always need a car... never know when your job will change again..and in today's reality..$140 payment on a new car is great...

And...girls like guys with a car.... a girl might think you are a loser or something with no car...and .. just my opinion...

u can surrender the vehicle to the dealership, but ur credit is gonna be crap.

I work in sales for Lexus of Glendale ( I get also 20% discount off of Toyota parts :) haha )

Find out what your buyout is...just call the bank to who you make your payments to..Toyota Finicial ? you know what your buy out is in the end of the lease cause it is on your contract.....your 5k out of pocket was a waste..all you needed to do was put basic drive off. all the extra money you gave em was just to lower your payment..not pay off the car.... Bank sets the buyout with your residual value (i.e 50%) from MSRP..not your payment amount....

So example...your car cost 15K.....and you had a residual of 50%...and you leased it for 36 months...divide the $15K and that leaves you with 7500 buyout plus any taxes involed...... now..your payment is 36 divided by the other 7500 and any money factors added (finance rate) which comes to about $208..mininum drive off is 1st month payment, dmv, and bank doq's and tax on your down...so maybe 500 ?
So your other $4500 went to lowering your payment only......what you could have done was maybe give em maybe another $2500 or so..and get 1 pay lease, and pay for all your payments up front....

But the best thing would of been...Finance the car up front....with your $5grand... your payment could of been $200 maybe(with good credit) and you'd have equity allready with that good size down payment and you'd own the car.


Besides...you'll always need a car... never know when your job will change again..and in today's reality..$140 payment on a new car is great...

And...girls like guys with a car.... a girl might think you are a loser or something with no car...and .. just my opinion...


i'm working on maybe buying out the lease through a loan, and financing that way, or selling the car and paying off the lease... and starting over with a little beater of a used car that I could pay off within a year for just running around town

it has already been established that i'm a moron. thank you. i made a hasty decision because my old car was on its deathbed, and now i'm paying for it through this mess

my girlfriend hates cars, and is already super envious of the fact that I may be with out any use for it :D


anyways. all this b.s. is why i would love to live on a beach with nothing but my flip flops and a sailboat - but that's for another time ;)