Cars - Leasing vs. Buying

Well, the catch is that you don't own it.

You can't sell your apartment when you move out of it and you can't sell your leased car when you are done driving it.

When you buy a car, you can sell it when you are ready to buy a new one, which is a huge help with the down payment.

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Originally Posted by sprouticus

True. However, you CAN buy out the rest of the car after the 3 year lease for 63% of the MSRP. I dunno if that's the same thing everywhere, or just for Honda, but after doing some math it's not too much of a loss that I would be taking. I atleast have that option, which is good to have. I'm hoping that in 3 years I'll be able to finance a car, and if not, I'll just buy out the Civic for another few years.

I guess my problem with your decision here is that you want a brand new car. The loss that you are taking is you are pouring money into something that will depreciate 33% in 3 years, and that is only if you choose the buy option. If you don't, you just wasted your money in the worst way you can on an auto.

Where, instead, you could buy something that has already depreciated and spend a ton less money on it. Plus, if you were to finance now, you could improve your credit score. There's no way you can't finance now unless you are like in bankruptcy or something.

If you own, you don't have to wait 3 years to sell it. You could sell it in a year if you are unhappy. And then you aren't losing that money to renting a car, you get back a big portion of the money you spent.

I think buying new cars is absolutely insane, but you are talking about buying a new car with the possibility of not getting any money back when you are done.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Originally Posted by sprouticus

I think leasing is the best option for me because I don't have a big and steady income yet. Plus I'm moving to California in a year. If I can keep my car payments down until I can establish a good, full-tine, paying job, then by the time the lease is up, I can have more flexibility.

1) Your lease may not be breakable, which means that because of your unsteady income, you could face huge fines if you can't afford the car anymore, rather than just selling it and buying something cheaper. If you have no steady income, why on Earth would you want to get yourself in a lengthy lease and also spend over $200 a month on a car?

(I guess that wouldn't make you unusual, most Americans get themselves into bad situations financially.)

2) If you are moving, then you are pretty much stuck with the car. You would have to break the lease when you move (with those major fines), find some way to get it back to New Hampshire from California when the lease is up, or buy it. You'd have no other option.


I was able to get a 2004 Dodge Neon with 18,000 from a dealer for $10k. I put $4k down (part of that was a trade-in, thanks to owning my previous car) and my payment is under $200.

Perhaps you should spend your money more wisely now and you can have luxuries later. But that's just how I approach the world.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

Why did you make this thread? Nearly Everyone who answered said that leases are stupid. You already answered what you were going to do before you came here.

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