Many of us seem to be getting new cars this year. What are your plans?

[Lebowski]

Exactly.  Leasing is not a smart move in most cases, IMO.

I think it's kind of funny when I tell people I think leasing is a bad move, and they'll reply something along the lines of "well, it's the cheapest option if you want a new car every ~2 years".  I kind of just roll my eyes, like yeah that's my point why would you replace your car every 2 years?  There is no cheap way to get into a new car every 2 years.

Granted, this thinking seems to be less common now than 5 or 10 years ago.  I think I only have one friend now who thinks he needs a new car every 2 years.

[Atomic]

A friend of mine learned the hard way. She leased a gorgeous Mazda6, then lost her job. Her new position (the only thing she could find) was out of town. As a result, she went way over the allotted miles and not only did she own a fortune for this, the dealership supplied her with a long list of additional fees for even the most minuscule dents, dings, stone chips and nearly invisible scratches. She owned thousands and was way in the hole when she decided to purchase the next car.

Yikes!

[Vinsanity]

Thing is, I love buying off-lease cars. Letting someone else take the initial depreciation hit as I drive off in a car with low miles and good condition is a boon to me. If leases became less popular and more people become wise to the game, then I'll have to rethink my strategy

[dazzleman]

Thing is, I love buying off-lease cars. Letting someone else take the initial depreciation hit as I drive off in a car with low miles and good condition is a boon to me. If leases became less popular and more people become wise to the game, then I'll have to rethink my strategy

That's a very good strategy.  Buy off a short-term (2-3 year) lease, and let somebody else take the depreciation.  The leasing suckers' loss is your gain.

[Atomic]

That's a very good strategy.  Buy off a short-term (2-3 year) lease, and let somebody else take the depreciation.  The leasing suckers' loss is your gain.

And...

Q: Are lease models apart of what many manufacturers call Certified Used Cars?

[CALL_911]

Leasing is dumb as hell (unless you can get a straight writeoff), and so is taking out a loan for a car IMO.

[Vinsanity]

Leasing is dumb as hell (unless you can get a straight writeoff), and so is taking out a loan for a car IMO.

I'd agree about the car note in about 80% of the cases, but if you can manage to not be upside-down on the loan, then it's a great financial tool. I was practically never upside-down on the Caddy, though a big part of that had to do with the market value inflation that took place because of cash for clunkers.

[Vinsanity]

And...

Q: Are lease models apart of what many manufacturers call Certified Used Cars?

Often times, but not necessarily. In my case, my car was a lease return that also came with a certified warranty, but I don't think it's uncommon for a car to be one and not the other.

[Raza]

Exactly.  Leasing is not a smart move in most cases, IMO.

Agreed. After my last lease, I'm not in any rush to lease again. Although, right now I drive little enough to get by on a 15,000 mile lease.

[Raza]

That's a very good strategy.  Buy off a short-term (2-3 year) lease, and let somebody else take the depreciation.  The leasing suckers' loss is your gain.

It's also quite risky. I can't tell you how many people I know who lease and don't take care of the car because they don't own it and are planning on giving it back.

[Atomic]

It's also quite risky. I can't tell you how many people I know who lease and don't take care of the car because they don't own it and are planning on giving it back.

Same here and the luxury car owners seen to be the worse. Not certain why that is the case.

[TurboDan]

Haha, there's no shortage of people who want to "help" me spend my money.  My cousin keeps badgering me to put in a pool.  Stuff like that.  Funny that most of the people who want to help me spend my money have none of their own.  No point in taking financial advice from people who are bankrupt....

I'm really not having trouble controlling myself.  I'm past the point in my life where acquisition of material goods is important.  I have what I need.  I'd rather spend the money on travel at this point.  In a couple more years, I'll seriously consider another car, only because I have no patience with taking the car in for a lot of repairs.

I agree about looking, though.  It's fun to look.

You really are the "forum Dad," Dave. I could literally see my dad typing this exact same post if he was on here. 

He bought a nice car (A6) but has had it for 11 years. He's only juuuuuust beginning to seriously consider a new car. He never got his timing belt changed in the current one and it's up to 130K, original everything except brakes pretty much. I guess good for VW/Audi but.... ya know... 

[Morris Minor]

There is a good article in this month's Consumer Reports on the pros & cons of keeping a car for 15 years (200,000 miles).
Key is to pick a reliable model