IS300 purchase vs lease
05-22-17, 10:26 AM
#46
Lexus Fanatic
Then you should buy
05-22-17, 11:48 AM
#47
Good for you. Not having a lot of debt and paying off the credit cards is a wise decision.
I think it would be fair for the OP to see a calculation of owning the car for a full 9 years versus leasing the (three of) same car for 9 years. Or better yet, go to 12 years of having the car versus having a lease for 12 years. The OP is sort of going it wrong by wanting to buy and then trade the car after 6 years. The advantage of buying car and getting all the payments over with is that once its paid, you can do whatever you want with the car, you can keep it, sell it, trade it, donate it, give it away, destroy it, sleep in it, etc etc. So many things can change from year 4-12 that having that car paid off and owning can be worth it.
Keeping it for 10 years minimum is the best option for the OP if he is going to buy the car.
I think it would be fair for the OP to see a calculation of owning the car for a full 9 years versus leasing the (three of) same car for 9 years. Or better yet, go to 12 years of having the car versus having a lease for 12 years. The OP is sort of going it wrong by wanting to buy and then trade the car after 6 years. The advantage of buying car and getting all the payments over with is that once its paid, you can do whatever you want with the car, you can keep it, sell it, trade it, donate it, give it away, destroy it, sleep in it, etc etc. So many things can change from year 4-12 that having that car paid off and owning can be worth it.
Keeping it for 10 years minimum is the best option for the OP if he is going to buy the car.
I calculated 6 years because the OP wanted to keep it for 6. It's a personal choice really. I don't like to keep my cars for more than 3-4 years. The longest I've kept a car is 6 years and it was tenuous at the end of that 6 years. Then again, it was for a much more expensive car that wasn't reliable.
my younger bro's buddy is a partner at a big 4. He made this statement when my sis in-law bought her '17 A4: "Only idiots buy cars, they're depreciating assets. Why would anyone put money into such a thing as that?"
My brother says that I purchased a 1998 Maxima and am still driving it, so you're saying he should have leased instead? To which he replied, c'mon, your brother is the exception, he obviously doesn't care about what kind of car he's driving....
Maybe that's the key.
My brother says that I purchased a 1998 Maxima and am still driving it, so you're saying he should have leased instead? To which he replied, c'mon, your brother is the exception, he obviously doesn't care about what kind of car he's driving....
Maybe that's the key.
05-22-17, 11:51 AM
#48
05-22-17, 11:57 AM
#49
Lexus Fanatic
Originally Posted by ragingf80
That's the key I think. We can't make blanket statements like "leasing is like throwing away money", which I hear so often.
05-22-17, 05:32 PM
#50
Lexus Fanatic
I hear you guys, I think the key is to have a plan, stick to it, and know why you did it. And if you made a mistake, learn from it. I don't think anyone here can decide a lease vs. buy for someone else, but they can offer their experience and understanding of the terms and numbers...
05-22-17, 05:45 PM
#51
Lexus Fanatic
You eat gruel with syrup!? Spendthrift.
05-22-17, 06:11 PM
#52
Lexus Fanatic
05-22-17, 06:13 PM
#53
Lexus Fanatic
We ate out 2X this past weekend. The first outing on Sat. went well. But on Sunday, my wife impulsively ordered a lemonade. I kicked her under the table but she ignored me and ordered it anyway. $2.99 for a drink that if she could wait until we got to the car, we had at least 3 Poland Springs in the cupholders. I'm poking fun but $2.99 when she doesn't even finish the drink, is throwing money away. At the same time, eating out 2X is doing the same. We could have stayed home and enjoyed the oatmeal and gruel, it's really not that bad with syrup.
05-22-17, 06:13 PM
#54
Lexus Fanatic
05-22-17, 06:35 PM
#55
Lexus Fanatic
That's why it's important to KNOW what you want when you sign those papers...and be sure you aren't going to change your mind tomorrow.
Last edited by mmarshall; 05-22-17 at 06:40 PM.
05-22-17, 07:06 PM
#56
Lexus Fanatic
Eh, its just money. If you've got it to spend, and its not hurting you to spend it, who are we to tell you you're "throwing money away".?
05-22-17, 07:27 PM
#57
Lexus Fanatic
Oh, I agree it's not hurting me personally. But, IMO, it still makes little sense....particularly if one is going to need that money for other things. This person had also asked a number of us for advice....several times, and then clearly disregarded it. I see no ill or evil in mentioning that....hopefully others will not follow and make the same mistake.
05-22-17, 07:31 PM
#58
Lexus Fanatic
Oh, I agree it's not hurting me personally. But, IMO, it still makes little sense....particularly if one is going to need that money for other things. This person had also asked a number of us for advice....several times, and then clearly disregarded it. I see no ill or evil in mentioning that....hopefully others will not follow and make the same mistake.
05-22-17, 07:39 PM
#59
I'll agree from that point of view. But, at the same time, what IS throwing money away (sometimes lots of it), is when people are so "sure" that they want a certain vehicle, and then, a year or two later, with the steep depreciation-curve, change their minds and take a major bath on the trade-in or early-lease termination. We've seen that, even right here on Car Chat. I don't remember the poster's name (and probably wouldn't use it if I did)...but one case involved an Audi S5 (which not a cheap car to begin with, by any means) that the guy bought and loved....until he test-drove a Mercedes AMG less than a year later. The AMG, of course, had more power (most AMG products do.....even the entry-level ones), and, despite advice from several of us to the contrary, he just HAD to have it, bath or no bath. What can you say in a case like that?
That's why it's important to KNOW what you want when you sign those papers...and be sure you aren't going to change your mind tomorrow.
That's why it's important to KNOW what you want when you sign those papers...and be sure you aren't going to change your mind tomorrow.
I'd say so long as he knew he was taking a bath, that's his money to burn! I can't say that I'm innocent of such folly, however. The shortest I've ever owned a car is 3 months and it was a bloody bath indeed. Lets just leave it at that.
05-22-17, 08:06 PM
#60
Lexus Fanatic
I can't say I'm totally innocent, either, but not in modern times. Back in the late 1970s and early 1980s, American cars were so poorly built (I'm not exaggerating), and warranties so short (only 1/12 on everything) that I wasted money several times before I finally said the hell with it and converted to Japanese makes.