car spinoff: own or lease?

Just curious...DH and I both come from families that have never leased, so we're not used to it, but it certainly sounds like the most viable option for us when we get a new car.

Re: car spinoff: own or lease?

i finance, which is different from leasing. i'll never lease a car, it makes no sense for me, personally. fh has always leased, he likes getting a new car every 3 or so years. but this last one, the equinox, he will own once its paid off.

Re: car spinoff: own or lease?

I have always bought and so has DH. I don't like leasing. I don't want to have a perpetual car payment. Plus, we take good care of our cars and I don't mind having the same car for 5 years.

Re: car spinoff: own or lease?

I just went through this... I decided to buy because the lease didn't seem to save much money. I don't drive a lot of miles and I am not the type of person that needs something new every 3 years.
While doing my research I learned never to put $$$b down on a lease, and without money down the monthly payment was not much less than buying it, for the cars and deals I looked at.

Re: car spinoff: own or lease?

we own both

but i wish i could lease....i put on too many miles

Re: car spinoff: own or lease?

I love leasing.. my family always leased..

For me, although technically you dont ""own" the car in the end ( which everyone says is a waste of money)
I rather loose out on owning the car and get another one every few years.
I always feel like I have a brand new car and never get stuck having to do any work or repairs on any cars.. I like that.
Its just a matter of personal taste.

Re: car spinoff: own or lease?

we bought ours in cash

Re: car spinoff: own or lease?

we both own... my step-dad has always leased though... his additude is that he gets a new car before the one he had starts having any problems.

I'd like to lease - but DH comes from a family that always bought their cars... I guess we shall see.

Re: car spinoff: own or lease?

Also keep in mind, from an insurance standpoint - if you lease, you basically get nothing if the car is stolen or totaled. Since the leasing company owns the car, they get the money. So, if you spent $10k in monthly payments and down payment on your leased car and then it's totaled, you get nothing but if you own it, you will get some $$$ (depending on the value). To me, leasing is just not practical - I'm an own-it kind of girl.

Re: car spinoff: own or lease?

Own one, lease the other.

Re: car spinoff: own or lease?

Re: car spinoff: own or lease?

Only Lease and wouldnt do it any other way! I have owned and your car depreciates so quickly! Plus I get bored easily and like having new toys every 3 years. I would only own Hot Rods, nothing else.

edited to say after reading some posts- My car insurance is the SAME as when I owned and have turned cars in with minor dings and scratches and interior leather ripped didnt have to pay 1 cent.
with a lease I have never paid to have it maintainced but for an oil change. Have had brakes and tires done and all under warranty- this is Lexus and Infiniti that I have had these experiences with.

Message edited 5/30/2006 7:32:10 PM.

Re: car spinoff: own or lease?

OWN.....Not a big fan of leasing....

Re: car spinoff: own or lease?

Posted by MommaG

Also keep in mind, from an insurance standpoint - if you lease, you basically get nothing if the car is stolen or totaled. Since the leasing company owns the car, they get the money. So, if you spent $10k in monthly payments and down payment on your leased car and then it's totaled, you get nothing but if you own it, you will get some $$$ (depending on the value). To me, leasing is just not practical - I'm an own-it kind of girl.

Re: car spinoff: own or lease?

Re: car spinoff: own or lease?

Re: car spinoff: own or lease?

I leased my first car, but from now on I will only buy, unless I end up with a new job that is much closer. Then again, I'm not really into cars and the idea of having a new one every three years doesn't mean a lot to me. But my dad leased several times and was always pleased.

Re: car spinoff: own or lease?

Dh used to lease before I met him and he got burned the last time he did it, so now we both own

Re: car spinoff: own or lease?

Posted by girlygrl33

Posted by MommaG

Also keep in mind, from an insurance standpoint - if you lease, you basically get nothing if the car is stolen or totaled. Since the leasing company owns the car, they get the money. So, if you spent $10k in monthly payments and down payment on your leased car and then it's totaled, you get nothing but if you own it, you will get some $$$ (depending on the value). To me, leasing is just not practical - I'm an own-it kind of girl.

huh? My stepbrother totaled his car - Lease and got money from his insurance company and leased another.

Re: car spinoff: own or lease?

My car was financed and it's paid off and it's mine. My family would never lease.

FH's car is on a Driver's Option. It's a lease to buy plan. The payments are a little more than a lease, a little less than a finance, and we have it for 36 months. After 36 months we can turn it in just like a lease, we can keep paying the same as we've been paying and we'll own it in another 36 months, or we can do what we plan to which is to refinance at that point and pay more per month (we'll be able to afford to pay more then hopefully..that was our plan), and pay it off within another 1-2 years, making it like a 4-5 year finance. Set up this way right now, WE are the title holders to the car, so should anything happen, we get the insurance money, and we have to keep the minimum ins levels for a finance, not for a lease.

For us it was the most ideal because we wanted to own it, but we couldn't afford a high car payment at the time, so it gives us the option of keeping it at this level or refinancing and paying more when we're more financially stable. We were also able to take advantage of financing deals, etc.

ETA: We also don't like to lease because I don't want to ALWAYS be paying a car payment. It's SUCH a financial relief to have NO payment on my car. It's 6 years old now and I still feel like it's a "new" car. I'm going to have it detailed and have a little repair work done to the dings ans scratches and it'll really be like having a new car and I don't have to send a check every month to VW. I can't even tell you how good that feels. To me leasing seems like a waste of money. You pay FORVER and you own nothing. If you want to buy, look into cars that hold onto their value well. My FFIL used to give me crap cause my car was so expensive compared to his hyundai which he got about the same time and its a much bigger car...but after 5 years, mine retained 50% of its value, his was worth $2500 bucks..so that makes a difference too

Message edited 5/31/2006 7:54:56 AM.

Re: car spinoff: own or lease?

I have a short attention span - so I lease- I would never buy a car- b/c I don't ever plan on keeping it

I get 15K miles per year and I love knowing that in another 18 months I am getting a new car- which I will lease

My Dad told me to never buy a mercedes b/c after 5 or 6 years parts start to go and it becomes very expensive to manitain- so I am glad to give mine back after 4 years and get something else


My DH plans on keeping his mustang forever- so we bought it-

I wish our pathfinder was leased- b/c it would be gone already- but now I have to sell it

to each his own-

Re: car spinoff: own or lease?

We both own. We like it this way for now.

Re: car spinoff: own or lease?

Posted by MommaG

Posted by girlygrl33

Posted by MommaG

Also keep in mind, from an insurance standpoint - if you lease, you basically get nothing if the car is stolen or totaled. Since the leasing company owns the car, they get the money. So, if you spent $10k in monthly payments and down payment on your leased car and then it's totaled, you get nothing but if you own it, you will get some $$$ (depending on the value). To me, leasing is just not practical - I'm an own-it kind of girl.

huh? My stepbrother totaled his car - Lease and got money from his insurance company and leased another.

The leasing company is not obligated to give any of the insurance proceeds to the person who leased the car - the leasing company owns it and is entitled to the value of the vehicle. If your stepbrother added anything to the vehicle after the lease (stereo, for example) he would get the money for that. He would also get money for renting a vehicle or loss of use if he had that coverage. If the leasing company chose to accept less than the value, whatever their reason, which is their option, the person who leased would get whatever is left. The leasing company gets paid first, and usually takes it all.

Message edited 5/31/2006 9:30:33 AM.

Re: car spinoff: own or lease?

I "lease", DH owns.

Very very few co's in NY do a true 'lease' any longer (NYS law has a loop hole whereby when "Honda"'s name is on the title, as in a lease, someone who gets into an accident with that car can sue "Honda" as the owner of the vehicle). What it is now is a balloon payment: You pay lease-type payments for X number of months. At the end you can either turn it in, in lease-fashion, or refinance the balloon payment to purchase it.

Jackie - there are sooooo many factors that go into the decision so it's not really easy to say hard and fast that you should absolutely lease or absolutely buy. Look at how well the car holds its value (Hondas and Toyotas are typically the best here, whereas many American cars and manufacturers like Volkswagen are pretty poor). If the car depreciates quickly, you're better off leasing it because you'll have an upside-down payment at some point with financing. If the car holds its value well, it might be worth the investment to purchase it.


ETS: I just read the posts about a higher insurance rate... very untrue. The 'problem' with a lease is that you must have FULL insurance as you do not own the vehicle. But, unless you're buying your car outright for cash, your lender for the financing will require FULL insurance as well.

Message edited 5/31/2006 9:29:42 AM.

Re: car spinoff: own or lease?

I own mine and DH is financing his - his payments are up September '07 but we might look into paying it off sooner.