Why is leasing a car a bad idea?

[aida2003]

I was curious that's all. I'll check Vanguard.

Thanks

[soul_schizm]

I don't know...I'm considering leasing very seriously. I guess it depends on how you feel about your car.

People always tell me, you will *OWN* your car after 5 years!! You will OWN!!

OK, sure, that is nice. I've owned my truck for 11 years. Let me tell you, it's no picnic. Every few months, there's a suprise 1,500 - 2,000 repair bill. That equals out to a few months of payments on a very nice car lease. And guess what? My 10 year old car is absolutely not great to drive, not a real good experience anymore. And the repairs are a major hassle. Not fun.

So yes, you will OWN after paying off your car. But guess what you will own? An old, outdated model that nobody wants and nobody cares about. Even dealers. They will penalize you for the miles and the wear & tear, just like they would when you turn in your leased car.

Think about that very seriously. You aren't going to get away with anything just because you owned your vehicle. Any buyer or trade-in dealer is going to penalize you unless the car was kept in tip-top condition.

Cars are not all numbers and statistics. It's how you feel about them. Nobody can "prove" to you that you did the right or wrong thing based on a statistics sheet. If you feel good about what you did, that's all that matters.

If you are going to be 7 years into this thing, and hating the fact that you are driving an old piece of crap while everyone else is tricked out on the latest and greatest, then you should absolutely not buy. Cars are never a good investment. Period. They are a pure commodity. There's defintely value in having someone else deal with the ownership details.

Just saying. Leasing isn't all bad. I'm a long-term owner, and leasing sounds pretty good to me right about now. So that's the other side of the story. Don't believe that everyone thinks owning is a great thing, because not everyone does.

[photo]

I've owned my truck for 11 years. Let me tell you, it's no picnic. Every few months, there's a suprise 1,500 - 2,000 repair bill. That equals out to a few months of payments on a very nice car lease. And guess what? My 10 year old car is absoultely NOT NICE. And the repairs are a MAJOR HASSLE. Not fun.

It sounds like you have a lemon. Our cars are much older than that, and other than regular maintenance, we've paid almost nothing for major repairs. We take good care of them. If you do your homework and look at the history of repairs for a specific model, you can come out way ahead owning a vehicle.

However, if you simply prefer to lease and are financially responsible, then there's nothing stopping you from doing that.

[nitemarecooper]

Maintenance

You do realize that if you lease a car you need to perform the routine maintenance of the car. You need to turn in those service records as part of the final inspection. Just because you lease a car doesn't mean you don't take care of it. The final inspection of the car can cost you a lot of money when you turn the car in. We had to replace 3/4 tires, the windshield and pay for a touched up scratch. It cost well over $1000 to do this.

I am glad someone mentioned this. I've never even considered leasing a car but that is what I understood too, that all regular maintenance had to be done just like purchasing.

[krantcents]

Leasing when you are driving that many miles has to be very expensive! From your description, you had 2 years leases. A lease is made up of a money factor and depreciation. The car depreciated a great deal based on the miles you drove and you paid for that in your payment. Buying the car for cash is the absolute least expensive way to buy a car, next comes financed and then a lease. Unless you were writing it off for business, you paid for it.

[greenskeeper]

leasing is good if you need (WANT) to have a new car every 2 or 3 years, or are not mechanically inclined.

financing a car and then trading it in before the end of the loan (to finance another car) is financial stupidity.

I pay cash for 5+ yr old cars and drive them into the ground. I am handy with a wrench so most of my repairs are only the cost of the parts involved.

[snafu]

I'm guessing soul s has bought into the marketing that equates your 'ride' with status, etc. When maintenance costs escalate, it's likely time to get a newer car, possibly 2 yrs old, depreciated, returned lease with a decent consumer report. The Lemon Aid series of books offers details to help your decision making process.