After the lease term expires you can move on to the next cool car that you covet without having to sell/trade in/lose your arse.

JV

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JV

What gets us into trouble is not what we don't know...it's what we know for sure that just ain't so

With a purchase you are in control of if/when to sell it, you don't have to worry about going over your alotted number of miles, and it's all yours after you have completed your payments.

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Xoutpost.com - where you come for the information but stay for the friendships

If you want a new car every 3-4 years then go lease... I think leasing (2yrs.) is also good for first year production cars then if you like it then just buy a new (most bugs already fixed) one after the lease term end.

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TQ2K


'04 N62 - Alpine White/Truffle
'03 S62 - Petrol Mica/Champagne
'97 S52/4/5 - Alpine White/Dove
'91 M42/4/5 - Brilliantrot/Tan

I personally don't believe in financing things that depreciate but if you must I think buying is better if you plan to keep the car longer - lease if you only plan on keeping the car a couple years. jmo

I completely 100% agree with MD4.6's statement!

I use to buy all my cars, but I have found the benefits of leasing much more appealing lately. I can write off my leasing expenses through my business. I can return the car after the warranty period, so avoiding additional repair expenses. I like driving new cars, so this provides me with the mechanism to do so. I have modified lease cars, then took off the parts before returning the car, and sold the parts on Ebay.

That being said, I purchased the X5 because I took advantage of the Sect 19 deductions last year. I will average 17,000 miles per year on this, so the excess mileage will be very expensive, and I plan to own this car for a long time. So it made more sense for me to buy it.

Lease:
-Lower monthly payments (usually)
-Keep reasonable payments without requiring larger cash outlay at time of purchase
-Reduced risk of future market value for people that like to get new cars every 2-3 years anyways
-You can drive more car on the same budget
-Great if you like to get "all the options"... these items usually return pennies on the dollar in terms of resale, but in a lease they are residualized and you pay a small percentage
-You might qualify for some tax benefits
-If something happens that sours your relationship with the car, you know you can walk away without risking resale value problems

but,

-Mileage limits with expensive penalities for excess mileage
-Excess Wear and Tear charges... you better take good care of the car!
-You'll pay lots of interest, unless the car has really cheap lease rates
-No ownership interest in the car
-You're paying payments forever (if you keep leasing) and have nothing to "show" for it in the end
----but, you could also convert your purchase price and upkeep on an owned vehicle into a monthly "cost to operate" expense and compare this to your continous lease monthly payments
-If you decide to keep the car at lease end, it will have cost more than to just buy it upfront

Nice list

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Xoutpost.com - where you come for the information but stay for the friendships

Actually, there are quite a few caveats to what is stated below. As with all equations there are variables. As a clear example on my wife's old 3.0, we made out pretty well on it given that we got in .00015 money factor, min driveoff and a BMW's overly pessimistic residual value of 3 years at 59%.

Let's just say at year 2.5 (which is usually the best time to get rid of a leased car since this is right before the flood of 3 year leases end thereby causing a big depreciation if you decide to sell), the actual residual value was much lower then market value of the car. So bottom line is we paid off the car and pocket $6K.

it's all in how you play the number..

This is where I am in total darkness. You said "the actual residual value was much lower then market value of the car. So bottom line is we paid off the car and pocket $6K."

That couple of sentences I just don't understand. I have never leased a car. Both of us keep our cars a long time. 200.000 miles on our 1989 MBZ so when you speak in lease terms (actual residual value vs market value of the car. So bottom line is we paid off the car and pocket $6K. I am totally in the dark. Explain. Although we have always purchased our cars we are open to the lease thing as long as we understand what's going on.

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"What you hear in a great jazz band is the sound of democracy. “The jazz band works best when participation is shaped by intelligent communication.”
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