What car to lease

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oik01

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Im moving to the US (Florida in specific) in a month. Ive been thinking about the car I would want to lease. It has to be affordable, but I'm also hoping Id get something a bit sporty ( not too sporty so its much more expensive). Any ideas? I currently have the Infinity G35 back home...
 
Danoff
Leasing is almost always a waste of money.
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Fully agree.

For what you pay to lease you might as well buy a new car. Its not worth it.


Go out and buy yourself a car. Don't waste your money.


If you need suggestions, give us some insight based on what you like and the forum will give honest suggestions.
 
I recommend that you plan your finances and set yourself an upper limit which you will not spend more than per month, otherwise you'll get screwed by the salespeople. And I would recommend doing some research, I really can't imagine that leasing a car is going to be cheaper in the long run than buying it. That said, you've been incredibly vague about your situation and haven't really specified what you want, we can't help you unless you're a lot more specific. Here are a few questions that you could answer to help us out:
  • Is buying a new car a viable option for you, and if so, what would your budget be?
  • How much do you want to pay per month on the lease or, if borrowing money to buy, on loan payments?
  • What do you need in a car? How much room? Fuel economy? Reliability?
  • What do you want in a car? Power? Handling characteristics? Transmission? Technology and equipment? Luxury?
  • Are you happy with the Infiniti, and do you have any complaints about it?
If you don't mind me asking, what country are you moving from? I wish you the best of luck with your move to America, I hope you enjoy it :)
 
Beeblebrox237
I recommend that you plan your finances and set yourself an upper limit which you will not spend more than per month, otherwise you'll get screwed by the salespeople. And I would recommend doing some research, I really can't imagine that leasing a car is going to be cheaper in the long run than buying it. That said, you've been incredibly vague about your situation and haven't really specified what you want, we can't help you unless you're a lot more specific. Here are a few questions that you could answer to help us out:
  • Is buying a new car a viable option for you, and if so, what would your budget be?
  • How much do you want to pay per month on the lease or, if borrowing money to buy, on loan payments?
  • What do you need in a car? How much room? Fuel economy? Reliability?
  • What do you want in a car? Power? Handling characteristics? Transmission? Technology and equipment? Luxury?
  • Are you happy with the Infiniti, and do you have any complaints about it?
If you don't mind me asking, what country are you moving from? I wish you the best of luck with your move to America, I hope you enjoy it :)
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Thanks for the extensive post. I guess the reason why I haven't given much information is because I don't yet know exactly how much my living expenses will be. People working where I will work, with the same salary have told me they spent around 500 and 600 dollars on their cars per month. The problem is that this will have to include insurance which will be expensive considering I might be driving on an international license for a few months.

Answering your questions:

1. Probably, but I haven't understood why that is a better option than leasing. One car I looked at was the Subaru BRZ. It goes for 26.4K. Leasing costs 400 a month over 42 months with a 2100 dollar deposit. This amounts to a total cost of 18900 dollars but the end of 3 and a half years. In comparison, buying the car would incur two main costs: a) Car depreciation which according to this online calculator (http://www.money-zine.com/calculators/auto-loan-calculators/car-depreciation-calculator/) would be about 15500 in 4 years. 2) Interest on paying out the car. The end result would be very very close. It just seems like unless I have the cash in hand right now, I wouldn't save much by buying the car :S correct me if the above is wrong :S

2) I guess I will probably set aside a max of 400 a month for the car assuming I can find an insurance for the car costing less than 200 a month (online forums show people paying far less, but I will have to pay more than most for the reasons above)

3) I am single so space for two should be fine. Fuel economy isn't as big of an issue because my commute will be relatively limited. Reliability is def a must since I will not have much time to keep fixing a car.

4) In order of importance : Luxury / nice interior if I can afford it, Performance/ smooth ride , equipment especially the speakers.

5) I love my Infinity to the extent that I would've considered getting the same car had it not been a bit more expensive from what Ive seen online; I also probably wouldn't mind a bit of a change...

Im coming from Lebanon. And thanks for wishes :)
 
oik01
Thanks for the extensive post. I guess the reason why I haven't given much information is because I don't yet know exactly how much my living expenses will be. People working where I will work, with the same salary have told me they spent around 500 and 600 dollars on their cars per month. The problem is that this will have to include insurance which will be expensive considering I might be driving on an international license for a few months.

Answering your questions:

1. Probably, but I haven't understood why that is a better option than leasing. One car I looked at was the Subaru BRZ. It goes for 26.4K. Leasing costs 400 a month over 42 months with a 2100 dollar deposit. This amounts to a total cost of 18900 dollars but the end of 3 and a half years. In comparison, buying the car would incur two main costs: a) Car depreciation which according to this online calculator (http://www.money-zine.com/calculators/auto-loan-calculators/car-depreciation-calculator/) would be about 15500 in 4 years. 2) Interest on paying out the car. The end result would be very very close. It just seems like unless I have the cash in hand right now, I wouldn't save much by buying the car :S correct me if the above is wrong :S

2) I guess I will probably set aside a max of 400 a month for the car assuming I can find an insurance for the car costing less than 200 a month (online forums show people paying far less, but I will have to pay more than most for the reasons above)

3) I am single so space for two should be fine. Fuel economy isn't as big of an issue because my commute will be relatively limited. Reliability is def a must since I will not have much time to keep fixing a car.

4) In order of importance : Luxury / nice interior if I can afford it, Performance/ smooth ride , equipment especially the speakers.

5) I love my Infinity to the extent that I would've considered getting the same car had it not been a bit more expensive from what Ive seen online; I also probably wouldn't mind a bit of a change...

Im coming from Lebanon. And thanks for wishes :)
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Thanks for your extensive post, that's awesome! I completely understand your lack of certainty with respect to living expenses. I have no idea what you'd pay for insurance but I'm sure it won't be too expensive. Insurance is pretty affordable in America, though I don't know how it compares to Lebanon.

The BRZ is an interesting choice, actually. My dad, who lives in Pittsburgh, recently bought a Scion FRS, the BRZ's sister car. He loves it to death, and drives it 50 miles a day for his commute. So it's definitely a great little car. Depreciation is a concern, however for the BRZ it's hard to know what it'll be worth in a few years. It doesn't seem to be depreciating as fast as other cars, though.

That said, you can lease an Infiniti Q60 for $299 a month with a $3,850 down payment, for 39 months. The Q60 is just the G37 coupe, very similar to what you have. Link. That might be your best option, since you already know and love the car, and and it's a pretty good deal.

From what I can tell, a 3 year lease is cheaper than a 4 year lease, here are a few other cars in your price range:
BMW 228i: 3 year lease at $319 a month with $2,750 down and a $750 acquisition fee
Mercedes Benz C250 coupe: 3 year lease $379 a month with $3,000 down and a $795 acquisition fee
 
Danoff
Leasing is almost always a waste of money.
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Isn't a lease preferrable to a monthly car payment especially if you are trading it in afterwards and getting a buy back for the residual cost?

Of course it's almost always better to buy cash (I think there are some benefits to leases tax-wise) but if you plan on not keeping the car a lease might be a good option to a normal montly payment with interests, no?
 
oik01
Im not sure what my budget should be ... probably 350 a month or so?
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$350/month for a luxury/performance car may not do it. You'll likely be throwing down a large down payment & cash due at signing; see below.
Beeblebrox237
From what I can tell, a 3 year lease is cheaper than a 4 year lease, here are a few other cars in your price range:
BMW 228i: 3 year lease at $319 a month with $2,750 down and a $750 acquisition fee
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On a model with only the Premium package installed.
This requires $3,794 due at signing, though & the lease will run him $11,500. That's a huge chunk of money owed up front on the lease. It also only allows 10,000/year with .20 cent fee for every mile over & a $350 fee at the end. This all assuming his credit meets the requirement for it. Outside this offer, he will be expected to pay $420+/month at the least.

I imagine the Mercedes is a similar option (I know the Infiniti is), though I'm not familiar at all with their leasing/finance program. But a BMW without a budget of at least $500/month to cover all your bases is a big stretch. Same for Mercedes & the same for a $45,000 Infiniti. A $350/month budget would be somewhere closer to a car in the $25-30K if you can negotiate the deal.
 
motortrend
Isn't a lease preferrable to a monthly car payment especially if you are trading it in afterwards and getting a buy back for the residual cost?
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Totally depends on the interest rate and the lease parameters. Most of the time the lease is worse. In some cases, if you can negotiate amazing lease parameters, a lease can beat buying the car for cash. Heck in some cases a loan can beat buying the car for cash. 9 times out of 10 the preference is this: cash > loan > lease
 
Get a lease and save some money. There are plenty of brand new cars you can have for 350-400/month. I leased my wife's car for 3 years, she doesn't drive more than 10K miles a year and she likes BMW's so...win, win. There are plenty of specials for leases so look around.

It's all about perspective. I bought my WRX but I would lease again in a heartbeat..Each person has their own financial situation and if a low payment is what you are looking for as well as something you wont be driving from coast to coast then the choice is pretty obvious to me.

Good luck!
 
Havok_
Get a lease and save some money. There are plenty of brand new cars you can have for 350-400/month. I leased my wife's car for 3 years, she doesn't drive more than 10K miles a year and she likes BMW's so...win, win. There are plenty of specials for leases so look around.

It's all about perspective. I bought my WRX but I would lease again in a heartbeat..Each person has their own financial situation and if a low payment is what you are looking for as well as something you wont be driving from coast to coast then the choice is pretty obvious to me.

Good luck!
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Huh?

Each person has their own financial situation, but whether or not you can "get a lease and save some money" is not an opinion. Finances are math, it either saves money or it doesn't. Most of the time leases cost money. It comes down to the parameters of the lease, and most leases are the worst possible option.
 
Danoff
Huh?

Each person has their own financial situation, but whether or not you can "get a lease and save some money" is not an opinion. Finances are math, it either saves money or it doesn't. Most of the time leases cost money. It comes down to the parameters of the lease, and most leases are the worst possible option.
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So according to you, one would not save money by getting a lease rather than financing? What is hard to understand?

You write: "It comes down to the parameters of the lease, and most leases are the worst possible option."

So if I can get a brand new "X" for 3000 and have a monthly payment of "Y" for 36 months and it fits "Z's" budget, that is not feasible according to "Math"?

Yet by financing a car; A higher down payment is generally required, higher monthly payments, you're responsible for maintenance costs once the warranty expires, trade-in or selling hassles when you're ready to get rid of your car and more of your ready cash is tied up in a car, which depreciates, rather than an investment that appreciates.

So "Math" says finance, to a person who is moving to the U.S and will most likely be on a budget......Huh??^10
 
Or a used car wouldn't be a bad option either A nice used Honda S2000 would be awesome. Definitely pros and cons to both(leasing vs financing) if you think about it long enough.
 
Havok_
So according to you, one would not save money by getting a lease rather than financing? What is hard to understand?

You write: "It comes down to the parameters of the lease, and most leases are the worst possible option."

So if I can get a brand new "X" for 3000 and have a monthly payment of "Y" for 36 months and it fits "Z's" budget, that is not feasible according to "Math"?

Yet by financing a car; A higher down payment is generally required, higher monthly payments, you're responsible for maintenance costs once the warranty expires, trade-in or selling hassles when you're ready to get rid of your car and more of your ready cash is tied up in a car, which depreciates, rather than an investment that appreciates.

So "Math" says finance, to a person who is moving to the U.S and will most likely be on a budget......Huh??^10
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What?

It's math.

Total lease cost at the end = final balloon payment + initial down compounded over the lease term + each payment compounded over the time to go
Total loan cost at the end = initial down compounded over time of ownership + each payment compounded over time to go + maintenance compounded over time to go - sale price + remaining loan price
Total cash purchase cost at the end = initial cost of the car compounded over the time of ownership + maintenance compounded over time to go


In most cases Total cash purchase coast at the end < Total loan cost at the end < Total lease cost at the end
 

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