pebkac

I don't understand why anyone would lease any car....didn't make sense to me in 1985 when it all started and it still does not make sense to me now. Not to insult anyone her! I feel as if leasing is for people who don't know any better and are getting taken advantage of. I am also sure there are some bean counters that will argue that fact but I just don't see it.......

Glenn

There's s few people who don't know what they are talking about in this thread. I have leased a few cars in the past. I have traded them in like any other car I have owned and recieved the proper trade in value. I went for the least amount of miles as I could on the lease and it didn't mater that I went over when I traded it in. The trade in value was based on condition and the amount of miles. I was not charged for going over. I am sure it might have been different if I just wanted to turn the car in and walk away or if I wanted to trade it in on a toyota or something besides a ford.
I can also tell you that I was more paranoid about dents and dings that if I would have bought the car. If you plan on keeping the car after the lease used car loans have pretty good rates these days.

LagunaBeach

Yeah, I'm going to get all sentimental and want to pass down my Explorer to my kids. Leasing makes a lot more sense to the people who actually WANT a new vehicle every 2-3 years. Paying off a vehicle and having the title doesn't really count as an accomplishment to me. Let's look at my recent lease turn-in for an example, an '11 Explorer.

Purchase price $39,000
Payoff after 2 years $28,500
Dealer offer on trade-in $24,000
Lease payment for 2 years $450
Payment for a 5 year loan $670

Why would I pay another $220 EVERY month for 2 years for the EXACT same vehicle when I have no intention of keeping it in the long run? Don't make a general statement that leasing sucks and it a terrible financial decision. For you maybe. There are a lot of people who want a new car every couple of years, and leasing makes great financial sense.

Getportfolio

(Engrish voice) Silly rabbit. You eat muffins now and keep clean Explorer for dealership. Good boy. Run along now.

Haha!

Rando

That's $8,928 you'll never see again vs buying and selling after 3 years.

Rando

Trading in a car is also a terrible financial decision. You never get what it's worth vs craigslist.

MD1

And how much do you think the person who bought the exact same car, but rather financed than leased, paid?

I bet it was more than $248/month, and youre making an assumption on the trade in value. For me, I've already negotiated the trade in value before I took the car from the dealership.

Glenn

This may be true to some extent. Trading it in is more convenient and you expect to pay for that to a point. If your happy in the end that is all that counts. Pretty much the first two years of the cars loan/lease your paying for the deprecation. With a lease you know what that number is up front. I'm not saying a lease is better or worse than buying, they both have their pros and cons.
.

xlover

Leasing vs buying is really a mathematical and philosophical choice. Every car is going to depreciate and it's just a matter of how you choose to deal with that. Mathematically the buy vs lease comes down to how long and how much you expect to use the vehicle and the expected residual value at the end of use. Now for those out there that want to keep their vehicles long term and having the latest and greatest isn't that important leasing makes no sense. Also if the expected residual value at time of purchase is low enough that the difference in lease payment vs buy payment is not significant then leasing is not the right option. What you will find is that after 3 years and 36k or 45k miles the money saved on the lease vs buy payment is often close to the equity if you bought and were looking to trade in or sell the car. What you have to do is whip out your excel tables put the numbers in and try to make an educated guess on which number is going to give you the most financial benefit. Debating the philosophical merits of how long to keep a car, modding, and the flexibility of ownership is a different discussion.

For me 28, no kids, no wife, live in Boston and like to upgrade my vehicle every 2-3 years to have the latest toys/something different. It makes sense on certain vehicles with good residual values. It would seem the expected residual values on the mustang are low enough that ford doesn't even bother offering lease support through ford credit which basically answers my original question.

WhiteBird00

Well said! Financially (pure dollars and cents), leasing is seldom a good choice unless you get a tax benefit (business use) OR you know you're going to replace the car in two or three years anyway.

But not all decisions are based solely on dollars and cents. Sometimes a lease will allow one to get more car than could otherwise be afforded with the idea that in three years their income would support buying the car for the residual. Not a good choice in terms of overall cost but it has advantages for some people.

Personally, I've never been in a situation where leasing made more sense than buying because I tend to keep cars for many years but I would not dismiss the possibility if circumstances warrant.

08ljensen

I sold cars for awhile, and sometimes leasing makes way more sense than buying. when i say buying im saying financing. if you pay cash then talking about why buying is better than a lease, well your better off not posting in this thread at all.

Buying and leasing are very similar, and they accomplish the same thing but there is one main difference. when you buy you have 3 choices throughout the loan; when you lease you have 4 choices.

Buying choices during any point of the loan are: 1. Buyout the car from the bank and now you actually own the car. 2. Trade in the car for the value its worth, and get another car. 3. Sell the car on your own.

Lease options 1-3 are identical to buy options. 4. during the middle of your financing term you can turn the car back in and walk away, trade it in, buyout, or sell it. Leasing just gives you the option to turn it back in.

Obviously some cars lease better than others. where i sold cars we had a specific car where it made better financial sense to lease a car then finance the remaining amount afterwards and you would have paid less than financing it. so yes some situations it would be stupid for one to not lease, THEY WOULD SAVE MONEY IN THE PROCESS OF LEASING/FINANCING TO OWN.

Mustangs.... Im not sure about it but i dont think it makes sense financially.

But lets get real if we wanted to make sense financially, we wouldnt have mustangs, they are not practical. if we wanted to "make financial sense" we should have bought a bike and a bus pass. but we WANTED mustangs. same reason why people lease, they WANT to have options. most decisions make financial sense if we WANT what we are choosing.

essque

saw this today and thought of this thread. a/z plan pricing of course but u can always get x-plan and negotiate from there.

xlover

Was looking at the fine print, based on a plan pricing and rebates to the dealer..... I wonder if that is a ford credit lease or some third party. Looks shady with those terms.

MD1

Based on the A plan, which is a shame!

Can the A plan be used by knowing a Ford employee?

essque

this was just for illustration purposes. obviously those ads are meant to get your foot in the door and are not realistic for most (flawless credit score, employee pricing, returnee lease rebate + something small like a 10k annual lease). what i would do is lock down an x-plan code, prepare to make a thousand or two deposit and work with a dealer that has a large mustang inventory. you might be surprised what you can negotiate on these cars especially while it's still winter. just my .02 cents.

Ross

So lease for $370 a month and give it back after 3 years(and probably pay for tires, scratches, etc.)
OR
Pay $420 a month for 6 years and keep it(and do with it as I please).

Tough choice.

MD1

6 years? Ever heard of negative equity before?

essque

well that's a little over simplified. my lease payment was $100 less a month than financing for 60 months. i was over mileage when i returned my 08 plus it had the normal wear and tear of a 3 year daily driver. i paid nothing and they gave me no problems. im actually really glad i leased that car because my lease came up right as the 5.0's were arriving. i doubt it would have been fun to sell a used 4.6 at the time.

windsor202

Anyone interested in taking over my lease on my 2012 Shelby GT500? Like new condition. 13,128 miles on it with 21 months left to go on 39 month lease allowing for 1350 miles per month. Black on black fastback with navigation/technology package, and glass roof. $540.20 per month with $2000 down to me. Shelby has been garaged since November. Ever thought a Shelby could be this affordable?

Ross

What does negative equity have to do with anything? As soon as you drive off the lot, your car depreciated. So why is a 6 year loan any worse?