My brain is fried right now and I have a friend (not close) who is looking to have someone take over her lease. My question is....what happens at the end of a lease?

Do they just take the car and you don't pay anything assuming you didn't go over milage allowance?

or do they "buy" the car back for its value and you pay some kind of original value difference?

I tried reading about it online but it was just confusing as hell. I'm very familier with regular buying and mortgages and thought leasing would be the car equivalent to renting an apartment but when I found out it had downpayments and all kinds of tricky wording I got really confused.

12/13/2009 9:40:59 PM

Woah

You're gonna sell the Mitsubishi

That doesn't exist

Because you are some faggot alias

Heavy stuff

12/13/2009 9:45:19 PM

t

I already sold it weeks ago btw.

12/13/2009 9:48:42 PM

quadruple post

12/13/2009 9:49:27 PM

don't lease

12/13/2009 9:50:03 PM

I guess you couldn't find this:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vehicle_leasing

So you spend your days playing class warrior against those who've done well for themselves and then do dumb shit like lease a car?

12/13/2009 9:52:11 PM

In theory it sounds much smarter (paying a lot less per month, not having to worry about major repairs raping you after warrenty and not getting raped on resale value) but I'm guessing theres some underlying factor that makes everyone say leasing sucks?

I have a friend that bought a brand new car a few years ago and just after warrenty was up had to pay like 3k worth of repairs and still is in deep with a 500 dollar payment

[Edited on December 13, 2009 at 9:59 PM. Reason : just sounds dumb and scares me away from buying a car. ]

12/13/2009 9:54:54 PM

holy shit, no wonder being a fiscal leftist makes sense in your head.

12/13/2009 9:56:49 PM

Maybe they've got some lease where they just bill your grandkids for it.

12/13/2009 9:58:24 PM

Listen I understand the reputation of leasing but I'm really trying to figure this out.

With houses, I think renting is stupid and haven't considered it but I owned a car and still had to constantly pay for repairs/maintenence while owning a house builds value owning a car only loses value so why own at all if the value is constantly dropping and costs are constantly going up? Plus the fact that unlike a house, a car will always lose style, efficiency and value.

I sold my car to pay off student loans and have my parents car until further notice but I do eventually want a newer greener car with premium safety and performance.

12/13/2009 10:05:57 PM

Troll alias asks for advice, ITT.

[Edited on December 13, 2009 at 10:11 PM. Reason : .]

12/13/2009 10:11:48 PM

Quote :

"but I do eventually want a newer greener car with premium safety and performance."

Buy a used Accord

12/13/2009 11:56:58 PM

if you ever desire to save money and not have a car payment...leasing is not the way to go.

12/14/2009 6:25:19 AM

From what I understand leasing is only good for those people who feel they HAVE to have a new car every few years and who dont drive more than say 10k miles a year... also you should have the driving skills to avoid any rocks flying down the road or people opening their car doors into yours as at the end Im pretty sure you end up paying out for those damages. Good luck.

12/14/2009 8:44:24 AM

Buy a used car.

12/14/2009 8:52:08 AM

buying a used car is even worse for what i'm talking about. you end up with higher payments and then after the warrenty runs out (if you foot the cost for one in the first place) you have to pay thousands of dollars for random repairs ON TOP of the monthly payment. By the time the car is payed for you're tired of it and sell it and get 1/10th of what you've put into back just to start over again.

Quote :

"if you ever desire to save money and not have a car payment...leasing is not the way to go. "

you speak as if money cannot be saved with a car payment. buying a car gives you a much larger payment and you still have to pay for random repairs once you own the car while leasing gives you a car payment thats only a few hundred dollars a month which allows you to still save, have a better car and not have to worry about destroying your savings because your transmission is gone.

I have just this weekend realized its a bit silly to make a forever commitment to a car that will cost double monthly, won't even be nice by the time I own it and will have costly repairs down the road just for the sake of "not having a car payment 5 years down the road"

12/14/2009 9:31:47 AM

I bought my used Grand Am in cash for 9,800 (including warranty. My dad and I split the cash price as a HS graduation present) in 2003 a little over a year after it was released. It had about 27,000 miles on it. I have now had the car for over 6 years.

-I have not spent thousands of dollars for random repairs. My only costs to own the car so far (knock-on-wood) have been standard maintenance.
-I have averaged about 16,500 miles a year since owning the car, which is outside the normal mileage bounds for leasing without paying additional fees
-Yes cars decrease in value, but I could probably sell this car for a couple grand right now, whereas if I rented cars for this whole time I'd have no value in what I was driving.
-The $ I spent upfront to buy the car / the mos. I have owned the car = $125/month worth over the 6.5 years I have owned it.

I know experiences may vary (especially with maintenance/repairs from case to case), but I've had a good one so far buying a used car and I plan to do the same next time.


[Edited on December 14, 2009 at 9:53 AM. Reason : math]

12/14/2009 9:50:02 AM

Quote :

"mambagrl: With houses, I think renting is stupid and haven't considered it but I owned a car and still had to constantly pay for repairs/maintenence while owning a house builds value owning a car only loses value so why own at all if the value is constantly dropping and costs are constantly going up? Plus the fact that unlike a house, a car will always lose style, efficiency and value."

You should buy a dependable, efficient, used car that has already lost its original, bullshit value and take good care of it.

The only reason you should lease is if you work a job where you have clients or some such shit that it's imperative to have a brand new car for image purposes or something.

Quote :

"mambagrl: I sold my car to pay off student loans and have my parents car until further notice but I do eventually want a newer greener car with premium safety and performance."

Typically, you get "premium" performance when you make premium money. We all "eventually" want cars that handle like a BMW, but those are luxury vehicles. If that's really important to you, you can manage to afford it, but you'll have to make sacrifices left and right. In other words, a luxury car may be the only luxury in your life...

Premium safety? It's not the 1970's. Cars are generally safe. I always thought it was retarded when new middle-class parents go out and buy a new car cause they want to be extra safe for baby. It's so obviously an appearances/insecurity issue...if those parents really, really cared about the baby, they'd save the money for baby's college. But, noooo, they need a 2010 Toyota Highlander because it got a 5-star safety rating. And even though it's new, it's technically an "affordable" car, and the leather seats...well, those were just part of a great deal!

And if you want green, just buy a used Honda like Str8BacardiL said. It's the smartest, best thing you can do.

12/14/2009 9:53:01 AM

Quote :

"but you'll have to make sacrifices left and right. In other words, a luxury car may be the only luxury in your life... "

the payments are the same for the first five years and you have to pay for repairs on the car you're buying or buy a warrenty thus the used car bought costs more in the short term. Am I wrong on that?

The main thing thats kept me from saving money in the past has been the fact that every blue moon I have to pay car repairs.

12/14/2009 10:06:00 AM

then quit driving pieces of shit

12/14/2009 10:12:55 AM

then quit driving pieces of shit

12/14/2009 10:16:50 AM

^^^You can get a used car for a lower monthly payment than a lease.

Repairs do happen, but not at the rate that you're describing. I mean, you can buy a car that's only a few years old for less than leasing...if the car has been cared for properly and you continue that care, you shouldn't have to worry about devastating repair bills. My 7-year-old Honda Civic has never required repairs.

In terms of the car "not being nice" or you "getting tired" of it, your attitude matches up with the majority of Americans, and it's precisely why people needlessly waste thousands of dollars on leased and new cars. Try to overcome that attitude, and then you can take advantage of the majority by buying their cars used for thousands of dollars less than they paid for them.



There are different theories about when you should resell your used car. I say drive that car for as long as possible. When it becomes too unreliable or uncomfortable, scrap it for whatever you can get and buy another used car. Or save it as a junk car for emergencies/dirty work and buy another used car. Other people are more savvy and can give you better advice about how to get the optimal amount of money out of your used car.

[Edited on December 14, 2009 at 10:27 AM. Reason : ]

12/14/2009 10:23:58 AM

then quit driving pieces of shit

12/14/2009 10:24:45 AM

what is your definition of "car repairs"?

12/14/2009 10:42:13 AM

If you are smart on buying used cars, they will cost you very, very little. Buy something that's pretty much done depreciating, but still new enough that it doesn't break all the time.

Shit, I've MADE money (even after paying for any repairs that were needed) on my last 3 cars, should break even on my truck when I sell it (would've made money, but repairs are gonna make it a roughly break even deal), and should make some money on my current car when I sell it.

I'm just careful and wait for good deals to buy. Even if you just get a decent deal on a car that's largely done depreciating, you won't lose much money.

A lease is just a terrible deal, with the exception of a few unusual situations where it's extremely advantageous for tax purposes. It's mostly a means of driving more car than you really can afford.


Of course, cars and money are the two things in this entire world I know nothing about, so don't listen to me.



Also of note, because this never happens, but I agree with pretty much everything that BridgetSPK said, with the exception of (1) I don't always agree that you should drive cars completely into the ground...that all depends, and (2) Honda makes good stuff, but they aren't universally a good buy. They hold their value really well, and I'm not convinced that they are enough better than their competition (reliability and durability-wise) to justify how much more expensive they are on the used market. I'm not saying don't buy one--there are probably good buys out there. I'm just saying that you shouldn't limit your scope to Honda. The same can be said of Toyota.

[Edited on December 14, 2009 at 10:54 AM. Reason : hell, my car is a Honda...I've had two of them.]

12/14/2009 10:50:30 AM

Also dont forget I believe most car leases you are looking at having to pay about 3 grand up front before you even start those cheaper monthly payments... is that correct?

12/14/2009 11:10:08 AM

ya it is but when you take over somebodys lease then you don't have to worry about that.

12/14/2009 12:03:53 PM

When Bridget and theDuke both agree on the same topic, you should heed the advice given. It's about as close to a proclamation from god as you're going to get around here.

12/14/2009 1:31:43 PM

mambagrl,

Quote :

"what is your definition of "car repairs"?"

12/14/2009 1:33:12 PM

none ofthe stuff theyre saying is wrong but the problem is that they are under the assumption that everyone wants a 7 year old honda civic or some other old clunker that they can pay for asap and keep indefinitely. I'm sure my needs will be completely different in a couple of years.

Quote :

"A lease is just a terrible deal, with the exception of a few unusual situations where it's extremely advantageous for tax purposes. It's mostly a means of driving more car than you really can afford. "

define afford because short term costs are much less in a lease. if you mean "afford to have forever" then yes.

Quote :

"then quit driving pieces of shit"

exactly. I want to be happy, comfortable and at peace when I'm in my car. You only go through life once.

Quote :

"Try to overcome that attitude, and then you can take advantage of the majority by buying their cars used for thousands of dollars less than they paid for them."

I'm not advocating buying new cars, i'm asking about leasing cars in general. so "you can take advantage of the majority by leasing their cars used for thousands of dollars less than the d@s they paid for them"

Quote :

"You can get a used car for a lower monthly payment than a lease."

of course you can get a pos cheaper than you can lease a decent car... and cheap pos are generally much cheaper for labor and such. thats obvious but eveyrone is not looking for simply the cheapest thing to get you from point a to point b.

Quote :

""what is your definition of "car repairs"?""

bottom line wear and tear is going to happen and the nicer the car the more expensive the parts and labor will be and its always devastating in my eyes (even if it doesn't devastate the pocket) to have to go and pay money to fix a car that you still have to buy every month. With a lease you already know all of your costs ahead of time and can plan accordingly but if you have a bought car and something goes wrong then you might have to get your money out early and take some kind of maturation penalty on savings so it can be a huge headache.

[Edited on December 14, 2009 at 2:50 PM. Reason : the point of this thread is to clear up details of leasing. not to debate finance. i'm well versed i]

12/14/2009 2:49:49 PM

Quote :

"the problem is that they are under the assumption that everyone wants a 7 year old honda civic or some other old clunker that they can pay for asap"

I'm under no such assumption. I probably like awesome cars (and boats, motorcycles, airplanes, etc) more than anyone you know. I would go so far as to say that it's an addiction, but I deal with it in a healthy, productive (or at least non-destructive) way.

I want a brand new BMW M3 or Porsche 997 C4S, and I could put one in the garage tomorrow if I wanted to without any problem (hell, I could get both of them if I leased or financed my ass off), but that doesn't mean I could really honestly afford it. It would be absolutely retarded and completely irresponsible.


...but whatever, you're going to do what you want. you don't want advice--you want someone to tell you that the dumbass thing you're about to do is OK.

12/14/2009 3:00:00 PM

You need enough liquid cash to cover your term and put that into a high interest account that is > than the interest of your lease. You need to carefully select a car that will lose the least value over the course of those three years and at the end make your decision to buy or trade in hoping that the residual value they chose for you is less than the car is truly worth. Add the interest you made from the account vs leasing terms and blam-o.

Impossible to find a 0% Audi/BMW leasing special to couple with a 5% account allowing you to pull from monthly. This is extremely oversimplified and perhaps somewhat plain wrong, but it's one of the only situations where leasing could work.

It just sounds to me like you want to live above your means and looking to TWW for justification.

PS: ALIAS plate is already registered by some avid Jennifer Garner fan.

[Edited on December 14, 2009 at 3:13 PM. Reason : .]

12/14/2009 3:10:14 PM

^^^My car was a little more than 1 year old when I got it and in great shape though it was bought used. It was not some 7 year old clunker. In fact, my car was actually leased for a year before I owned it. The dealer got it back and I swooped in to reap the benefits. I let someone rent the car and depreciate it for me. The dealer got it back and I bought the car with a warranty that would have come with it as a new car.

I guess it depends on what you value. You can get reasonably new, safe, gently used cars with good fuel efficiency, not a "POS" by most people's definition etc. for very good prices if you aren't concerned with buying a car tomorrow.

However, if you are dead set on leasing a car that is more expensive than one you would want to buy, even used (which I'm guessing is the case here) or you just got unlucky and burned on repairs in the past, I guess no one can talk you out of leasing. But, as I'm sure you know, the longer you lease the worse it becomes in regards to financial comparison between owning. For the car I bought, someone would have only had to rent that same exact car for 3 years before they had already spent more than I did to own the car (not even including the upfront payment). At that point in time, my car was actually still worth very close to what I paid for it.

[Edited on December 14, 2009 at 3:16 PM. Reason : ]

12/14/2009 3:15:42 PM

AHAHAHA, mambagrl...

If you maintain that a 7 year-old Honda Civic is a POS or a clunker, you deserve what you get. It's not a super nice car, and you can swing a lot better in terms of used cars, but it is a reliable vehicle that cannot be described as a POS or a clunker.

But whatever...it makes perfect sense for a high school chemistry teacher to waste thousands of potential investment dollars on a car lease! Get your swag on with the hot shit yo!

12/14/2009 3:43:04 PM

Quote :

"but whatever, you're going to do what you want. you don't want advice--you want someone to tell you that the dumbass thing you're about to do is OK. "

DING DING DING

12/14/2009 4:41:43 PM

I would look on fueleconomy.gov, kbb.com, and edmunds.com. Hell, even some consumerguideauto. Then peruse CL for good deals -- people are hard up for cash right now, so there are some good cars on there with decent mileage.
You can go for higher mileage with a manual tranny...assuming you know how to drive stick.

Just get a personal loan from a credit union to pay the CL person, and pay the loan over time. Sure, you won't have a warranty, but cars don't puke broken parts every month. Find a well-taken-care-of car and you'll be fine.

12/14/2009 5:58:56 PM

http://www.daveramsey.com/media/flash/drive-free/player.cfm

12/14/2009 6:26:03 PM

Quote :

"Buy a used Accord"

sage advice

12/14/2009 6:33:10 PM

I'd take what some of these leasing nay-sayers in here are telling you with a grain of salt. A lot of them are the types that are going to be doing a lot of their own maintenance (ie fixing shit doesn't cost them as much upfront -- still costs time though).

I understand and agree with the idea that peace of mind can be worth the premium of leasing. I've seen several used cars completely tank on my parents and one on me. Leasing can be a decent option for someone who is very busy (ie don't have a lot of time to learn and to do your own maintenance, or hell even to take the thing to a mechanic), isn't mechanically inclined, and can actually afford to pay for it and stash cash away at the same time....

...however, unless you're teaching in some crazy state I've never heard of (or you've been teaching for like 30 years) then you don't meet the very busy and can actually afford to pay for it criteria.

12/14/2009 7:40:26 PM

^ I disagree. I have an Accord that was a year old when I bought it (similar to CalledToArms above). After 8 years, other than the occasional oil change and one brake pad replacement, I've never done my own maintenance. I'm generally not mechanically inclined enough to do any sort of extensive maintenance. (nor do I have the tools or space).

Ideally, most people should probably only buy the car they can afford with cash up front.

12/14/2009 8:35:22 PM

I don't know what you think but teachers are busier than almost anyone

Quote :

"afford to pay for it and stash cash away at the same time.... "

this is where many people go wrong. just because its necessary to save money doesn't mean STASH AS MUCH CASH AWAY AS YOU CAN AWAY FOREVER. Many people live like that because someone told them to (rightfully so but they took it too far) and they live life without most of the things they want in life and die with all this unspent money that needs to be taxed before its passed on. Its kind of like the child you tell to make sure they whipe thier but everytime or they'll get an infection and then they use an entire roll of toilet paper every trip. I've paid off all my debt with the mitsubishi, and have a nice safety net saved already. I can pay my mortgage and all bills and still have 2500 left over each month so even on a measly salary, I can still afford any practical car as long as the costs are planned. Its only emergencies like the big time repairs on a used car that could potentially keep me from saving money. Sure, if I had a kid the whole thing budget would need to be reoorganized but thats not in the short term plan which is why a long term commitment into a high maintenence car isn't a good idea.

Quote :

"unless you're teaching in some crazy state I've never heard of (or you've been teaching for like 30 years)"

nobodies talking about a bentley or even a highend car. We're just not talking about hondas, toyotas, fords, or kias.

[Edited on December 14, 2009 at 8:39 PM. Reason : you don't need an 80k salary to get around that.]

12/14/2009 8:38:38 PM

Quote :

"I've paid off all my debt with the mitsubishi, and have a nice safety net saved already. I can pay my mortgage and all bills and still have 2500 left over each month "

If all of this is true, you shouldn't be worried about "big time repairs on a used car that could potentially keep me from saving money."

For fuck's sake, saving 2500 a month is 30k a year. You could easily buy a 'new' used car if you had to.

[Edited on December 14, 2009 at 8:44 PM. Reason : ]

12/14/2009 8:41:39 PM

Quote :

"teachers are busier than almost anyone "

haahahahhahha

12/14/2009 8:44:34 PM

Yes because I don't want to throw tons and tons of money into a car that I inevitably won't want in the future. Parts of cars even nice cars are bound to break. My friend bought a mercedees in 2006 and has had 3 1000 dollar + repairs in the last year after warrrenty and the people told him it was just "typical wear and tear".

I put my money into things where its hard to take it out without warning. Money sitting in an account is dumber than just spending it all.

Quote :

"Ideally, most people should probably only buy the car they can afford with cash up front."

are you one of those right wing bible belters that thinks debt and finances are grave sin?

Quote :

"but whatever, you're going to do what you want. you don't want advice--you want someone to tell you that the dumbass thing you're about to do is OK. "

Actually, I think I made it pretty clear what I wanted in the OP. Something only 1 person has even attempted to answer.

Quote :

"saving 2500 a month is 30k a year. You could easily buy a 'new' used car if you had to."

taking all your savings and buying a car is totally a bad idea

[Edited on December 14, 2009 at 8:51 PM. Reason : especially a used car that could fall apart when you drive away]

12/14/2009 8:49:47 PM

Quote :

"are you one of those right wing bible belters that thinks debt and finances are grave sin?"

I'm an atheist.

----

In consecutive posts you've railed against those who save too much money and refused the idea of using savings to buy a car or pay for unexpected repair costs.

[Edited on December 14, 2009 at 8:59 PM. Reason : ]

12/14/2009 8:53:47 PM

If having a new car every few years is that important to you, then yes you should lease.

If not pissing your money away is important to you, then don't lease.

12/14/2009 8:58:16 PM

Quote :

"I can pay my mortgage and all bills and still have 2500 left over each month so even on a measly salary"

LOL. So, you're telling me you're making >50k a year as a teacher? Or maybe you live in a cardboard box?

V If you're going to troll at least be consistent. You said you can pay your mortgage and then turned around and said you're renting. Besides, I'm pointing out how terribly off your calculations have to be. A teacher under 30 in NC would be fortunate to be making 30k a year before taxes...somehow you seem to be taking home >30k a year after taxes. You obviously fucked up your calculations.

[Edited on December 14, 2009 at 9:07 PM. Reason : .]

12/14/2009 8:58:45 PM

A. I don't get paid during the summer.
B. I rent out a condo
C. I don't exactly live in california.

12/14/2009 9:02:39 PM

if you're a teacher, you aren't making over 50K

50K equals right at $3000 a month, at best

and somehow you're paying for everything with $500?

and if you're a teacher, you have the option of getting paid for 12 months or 9..so yea, you could be getting paid for summers

[Edited on December 14, 2009 at 9:09 PM. Reason : safd]

12/14/2009 9:08:34 PM

Quote :

" I can pay my mortgage and all bills and still have 2500 left over each month so even on a measly salary"

wut? so somehow you're making 100k....oh right a really prestigious high school.


oh hi chance

12/14/2009 9:12:05 PM