@HImom: one caution about the cars with longer warranties: Even a Kia salesperson told me that while they have a longer warranty, it is only honored if you follow ALL the outlined maintenance items on time. We’ve always payed close attention to oil changes, but sometimes got lazy on other items with cars we owned for a long time (ie radiator flushes, etc.). You’d have to keep meticulous records, and/or always bring to a Kia dealer.
We are also considering a lease for the first time for a variety of reasons. Some of the responses above make it sound very complicated (negotiating a sales price first, verifying taxes, understanding all the fees, etc.). Doesn’t it really come down to comparing how much a month for a particular car? Is it not possible to go to a dealer and simply ask what is the lowest monthly payment (assuming nothing down) for car XYZ? Ultimately I really don’t care about the make and model as long as it meets certain criteria. Long term reliability is no longer an issue if you only use it for 2-3 years while under bumper to bumper warranty. One more question: Are there resources online that help you compare relative lease costs for a particular make and model? There are a few helpful sites that guide you regarding new or used purchase prices (Edmonds, KBB, cars.com, Truecar, etc.), but I have not seen similar comparisons for leases.
The leases I’ve seen advertised in our local paper seem to all require significant down payments and monthly lease amounts. Those are not very enticing to me at this time.
Don’t let a dealer talk you into particular deal by simply looking at the lowest monthly payment, because they could play around with term of the lease, # of miles/yr and finance rate. If all else is equal, it is the price that will determine your monthly payment. If you come to an agreement on price, then you could dictate what lease terms are best for you. I sometimes opt for 4 yrs instead of 3, but if 3 yr financing rate is more favorable then I may choose that. One leasing company had a lower mileage charge, so I chose to have 10K miles/yr instead of 15K miles.
Like I mentioned before, residue value on a car will determine how much you are financing (cost of car - residue value). If you lease a car with high residue value then your monthly payments will be lower.
There are only a few variables to a lease. Downpayment, monthly, miles, years. You can run the math. I think my first was 1500 down, $126 x 24. That’s $4524. 20k miles.
I’d expect deals vary by area and are higher in HI. **But I also leased in December, when dealers are anxious to unload inventory. Think about that, Himom. Press for a year-end deal now, if you can’t risk a wait.
My dealer doesn’t negotiate base price, lists low.
My current lease will total about 10k for 39 months. But I’m likely to turn it in at 35 months, depending.
Yes, with a new vehicle, your insurance can go up. But that’s true for a new car purchase, too.
And this: if I’d bought that Chevy Cruze, over 24 months, would have paid about 8400. Residual maybe 12k. Super. But where’s that money going? Into your next new vehicle. Not like we get rich on car buying. The car companies do.
@oldfort: Understood there are variables, but it just doesn’t seem too complicated unless I’m totally missing something. I was hoping I could determine a model or two, go to dealer “A”, and simply ask for the total monthly rate, out the door, no money down. Then compare that monthly rate with dealer “B”, with the same terms (same mileage cap, same $0 down). If they secretly or openly throw in other add-ons, or use different starting costs or financing terms, their monthly rate would obviously be higher, no? If they raise the rate after having you sit with the finance department for an hour, I walk.
What I don’t like is that they need to run a credit inquiry. We have that frozen for now, so I’m hoping we can discuss terms based on an assumed credit rating, and if for some reason it differs when signing the paperwork, I deal with that. I don’t want several dealers pulling my credit while I’m looking, and as a result affecting my rating.
I only know 2 individuals who lease. Both pay $310/mo. albeit on totally different cars. This monthly cost supposedly includes everything – required maintenance, insurance on instant devaluation, etc. Both are based on $0 down. So, basically they are ‘renting’ a car, and after their 3 year period is completed, have to start over. I am leery of what happens at the end of the lease. Now you need a car ‘in a hurry’. If you find one too soon, you pay a penalty for an early termination. If too late, you’re without a car for a month or more. It appears the leasing process ties you into always looking for a replacement during the same month every 3 or so years. That may or may not fit with your personal schedule that particular year.
@kjofkw you can usually extend your lease for a few months. I’ll do that when I have no desire to shop for a new car. It also helps if you stick with the same model for a few times. You’re just getting the latest and greatest.
Maybe Google for an advice site, kjofkw. I didn’t pay a penalty 3 months early. And we took our time exploring nect options-, didn’t wait until the other lease expired.
I did re-lease.
I’m curious why they require a down payment on a lease? Are you buying down the interest rate or something? It seems like money out the window to me. Do you save on the sales tax, since you are not purchasing the car? And DMV fees for an ownership transfer?
Advertised leases may have downpayments (listed in the fine print) in order to get the headline monthly payment attractively low in the advertising.
We leased my daughter’s car after figuring out that we would be spending more to keep her dad’s old SUV on the road. We leased at the end of the calendar year the previous year’s model and it cost less per month than her cell phone (VW).
Tax depends on your state.