i think you missed the point, the point is.....
people tend to rent out of thier income, if you are a college student and make 500.00 am mommy and daddy pay half your rent, logic would say rent a studio apartment by the college; yes? but i see 3-4 students living in a nice townhome by where i live, and they have to split the 1500.00 4 ways so they can live on the "nicer side of town". its not that im judging their situation, im just saying its the same mentality.

I dont see anything wrong with leasing a car, or renting a apartment with your freinds, either way your paying to rent, not own....but depending on the person that is the right choice for that person, you cannot tell someone who makes 8k a month that leasing is a stupid descion. At that level of income it would not matter anyway, they are not concerned about the cost of gas, let alone the principal of owning a car. the only reason i bought a Tc is its a commuter car and techincally a shop car for my business, i moddified it and will tear the crap out of that car for work and daily driving, so the wear and tear aspect alone, then the overall value of the car would not justify leasing that car.
I think when you compare a economy car like the Tc to a mercedes you are comparing apples and oranges. but to each his own.

 

Leasing is for those who wish to drive a car that they cannot afford to finance.

 

so are you saying i cannot afford to finance my cars?
If you truly think that then you missed my argument.
If you are basically generalizing that i cannot afford to finance my car then you dont understand my reasons. I dont know alot of people who can afford to "throw away" 500-600 a month on something they will never have any equity in.
To me that is a lame argument, I stated my reasons for leasing. If you want to think that its an issue of affording you may want to think about who you are generalizing about.
Most people who i know that lease are leasing cars like sl65 and gs430's cas over 30,000.00 not only do they just drive them too and from work, but they are paying 600- 1000.00 a month for thier payments, they own thier own homes and make 60k or more a year so i highly doubt its an issue of the ability to afford.
Leases are for a targeted market of people who want somthing different every 3 years and don't care about having equity in thier vehicles....and who can afford to throw away a payment that is more then a fully loaded Tc will ever be.

Why is everyone so concerned with what people do with thier money, its only money you live once and when you die what do you plan to with it?

 

okay, let me correct some of you.....Leases are not bad, leasing is not for those who wish do drive a car that they cannot finance, Leasing is a GREAT Idea!

Leasing is usually harder to get than an actual lone. Also, studies show that most people tire of thier car after about three-four years, meaning they have to sell it and lose ALL KINDS OF MONEY. HOWEVER, on a lease, you just give it back.........OR you can buy the car, and the lease payments count as regular car payments, usually making the car cheaper, because the lease payments are based on depreciation! It is like rent-to-own. The only bad thing about a Lease is the limited mileage....and if you properly access your mileage use, then there should be NO PROBLEM.

Leasing a car and renting an apartment are NOTHING alike, unless you can choose to BUY the apartment after your lease is up....

Leasing is not paying to 'borrow' Its like extending your return policy......Dont like the car? Return it. Like the car? Keep it......

 

yep, if i didn't drive about 25,000 miles per year, i'd lease and bargain the proper residual. most residuals are set more than the real value of the vehicle at the term of the lease so most folk will be adding that difference if they wish to refinance the residual or will be adding fees (mileage, wear, etc.), to their next lease.

it has been my experience that rarely does one come out of most leases cleanly; best case scenario is generally no equity at all and in many cases there are significant add ons (mileage, improper residual, modifications, wear, etc.). so to keep the car you must pay or finance the overvalued residual, thus you'll be paying more to keep the car than you would have paid if you financed it because you'll now be financing a used car for more than it is worth. i suppose you could look at that additional amount as a "fee" to decide two years in if you really want the car but it seems costly.

a properly written lease is great for people who drive 10,000 miles per year and can write off their vehicle's expenses. be aware of the residual, as well as the payments.

 

the place i leased my car is acutually a broker and has calculated the depreiciation, and has guaranteed to buy it back/ turn it in at the predetermined price. So im guaranteed not to loose anything, just turn it in. Also wells fargo now will allow you tailor your lease, i belive you can get up to 30k miles per year now, and in fact will lower your payment even more.
However i have seen leases go horribly wrong, i had a freind whos mom was leasing a camary, her daughter was using it and ended up putting like 140k on the odometer at the end of the 3 year lease, they ended up owing like 15 cents per mile, it was acutally less to buy it out, even though they would have to take out another loan and refincance the residual, which was even more then the car was worth..
I agree, leasing or renting an apartment are not the same thing, but the principal is the same.....at least to me.
but everyone at some point has to rent, not everyone has to lease a car.
I think leases are good like surf said "a properly written lease is great for people who drive 10,000 miles per year and can write off their vehicle's expenses.", but again alot of people who lease own multiple cars......

 

yeah, most leases guarantee a buy back but it is generally with no equity. i was addressing the comment that one can decide to keep (refinance) the car. most often the residual was set too high and to refinance the car one would have to pay more than it is worth, so most folk just turn it in and release. this is when they get killed on the miles, wear, etc. that gets carried over unless one pays it outright.

 

gotcha....actually, in my case if i have equity i get that back. or apply it towards the new car.

 

I have yet to work at a dealership that charges for 'wear' on the car.....that is bogus

 

yeah, i think they can only charge you for milage, everything else is an assumed loss...
unless it is damaged, like the door has a huge hole in it or something.

 

yep, i was unclear. i didn't mean routine wear and tear, i meant damage (many times the "damage" charges would seem to me to fit into wear and tear).

 

there is charge for wear and tear/damage....need to read your lease conditions. eg. any dings size of a quarter or more you have to pay for, any scratches on the paint that measures over a certain length, any tears on fabric exceeding a certain length and so on.

 

that would be condsidered damage, i would think wear would be considered worn down **** finnish, bug strikes, things that are not your fault but are normal to all cars, yes obviously i would be expected to pay for any damages, that is why some dealers charge a security deposit.

 

yeah, i got charged on an old 3 series lease for curbed rims....i didn't really sweat that fee because i was 20,000 miles over! so the $200.00 wear/damage was nowhere near the $3,000.00 mileage hit.

so i bought the car, traded it right away and hid the upside down in a loan for a jeep cherokee when they were hot. it took me three more cars to get out of the upside down loss on the lease.

[/ikid ikid]

 

wow 20k over.......at what point did you say oh well were going to owe on the milage and just keep driving? what was your milage allowence? would you lease again?

 

lol Ok

Although no one actually answered my original question I do appretiate all the advice.

As some have said I might want to own it at the end of the lease or I might not. I'm just not sure yet. Also I can't afford to finance it right now.

My final decision was $299/m, 48 months, $1000 down. Automatic, mud guards. Everything else standard.

 

if it works for you there is nothing wrong with it.......
good luck with your new purchase and enjoy the car!