Well, which did you do and why? Just curious how many people buy vs lease these days and what the reasoning is for doing so.

Personally, we buy our vehicles because we aquire them with the intention of keeping them for 8-10 years and we tend to put a lot of miles on them in the first 4-5 years. I've also heard that leasing makes sense for people that can either write the expense off on their taxes or who want to have a newer vehicle all the time with a minimum payment, don't really use them that much, and don't want the hassle of selling or trading their old one in.

 

I like to Mod, so a lease would not work for me, also I do plan on keeping it around a while and don't want a never ending car note...

 

if i didnt work for a dealership, i would have bought it due to a couple of mods i like to do. But besides that when doing the math, even though with financing you own it, it really works out to the same thing and with financing you have a much higher monthly payment. More of a matter of preference.

 

I drive WAY too many miles in a year to lease so I could never do that. And besides, I also like to make my car unique to myself (appearance and mods) so I can't do that with a lease.

 

I lease my Maxima. Its my first lease and I bought it for business use. Its a great tax right off and honestly at $300 a month for 36m you can't go wrong. I still mod my Maxima, I had my lawyer look at the fine print and as long as its back to stock when you give it back they are fine with it. For me I'm only going to buy a car if I know I can live with it for more than 5 years. I bought my 350Z because its a fun car that I dont mind having around. The Maxima on the other hand is for work and will be gone in 2 years. I LOVE having a new car all the time and leasing lets me do that.

I hope this thread remains mature and people don't start bashing for one reason or another. Keep in mind with leasing and most other things it makes sense to the person making the payment. Thats all that matters!

 

yea mileage is another thing, if i didnt work here, no way would i be able to lease...

 

I leased but at the time I had no plans of doing this much to my car, we'll see what the future holds. I too like to have a new car every few years, that's why I always keep all stock parts!!

 

I bought my Maxima. I generally keep cars for about seven to eight years. I put about 12,000 to 13,000 miles a year on a car and sell them when they reach 90,000 miles. Usually they are still very reliable up to that point. For me, having no payments for those final four years makes it the cheapest way for me to own a car.

 

I bought mine because I plan on keeping it for at least 7-8 years. And after the 5th year, I can use the money that I am paying monthly towards something else.

 

It depends on the buyer IMO... if you're well informed enough then you can look at your circumstances and figure out what makes more sense for you. Granted, with a low payment lease you also have the issue of the last payment, having to return the car and keeping the mileage low... but like I said it all depends on what you want, as long as you don't let the dealership talk you into a lease when financing would be better.

In my case, I drive WAY too many miles to go with a lease. I've had the car for less than 18 months and I'm already at 38k. At that rate even with a 24-month lease I'd be paying out the anus when it's time to return it. Not to mention that I'd have to get all the nicks and scratches fixed when it's time for the questionnaire... either that or have to pay when I returned the car.

Personally -- in my situation -- finance is the way to go. I got a really low rate and I get to do whatever I want to the car without having to worry about going back to stock. When I finally get rid of it, all of the stuff in there is staying... that way I don't have to bother with it either.

Again, it depends on what works for you and what doesn't... for some people leasing is much more practical -- especially if they don't drive a lot and if they plan to be out of the car in 2-3 years.

 

As other people have already stated, it totally depends on the following conditions:

Average yearly mileage.
What kind of mods, if any, do you plan on doing?
Do you like always having a car payment?
etc...

When I was considering a lease last year I found a ton of useful information on this site:
http://www.leaseguide.com/lease03.htm

 

I leased my Maxima, I was originally gonna put a down payment and pay it off but the numbers worked out to be less if I leased it and just paid it off in the end my job has me putting about 100 miles a day on it, I can never say what Im gonna do but within 3-5 years I'll have something new, I also have a loaded 2003 V8 Limited 4Runner, bought that for the hell of it

 

I brought mine. I travel alot and mod my car. I already have over over 49,000 mile on the car and its only 2 year old. Leasing has it good and bad points. I think leasing is good for a business person who can write it off. I leased once and will never do it again. After spending all that money I had nothing to show at the end of the lease.
My 2 cents.

 

Agreed, I bought mine because I expect to keep it for 7-10yrs. I always like it when I can get a car paid off use the payment for something else. I also tend to put a few extra miles on my cars. I will have had my car exactly one year on 11/20 and I have 18,700miles So for me buying is the only way to go.

 

if you dont drive crazy miles... and want a lower payment... and plan on keeping updated cars... leasing is the way...

if you drive a lot of miles... leasing is not for you. 15 cents per every mile over allowance is what nmac charges on 12k miles/yr leases...

if you drive a lot of miles and want a lower payment... GET AN ALTIMA!! HAHAHA

if you dont like car payments and dont mind driving an outdated car, purchasing is the way to go. pay the car off and drive it til da wheels fall off.

ALL DEPENDS ON WHAT YOUR NEAR FUTURE PLANS ARE...

 

well cars i like women, i have commitment problems with them. 3 years is plenty.

 

So like women, with such a high turnover it stays expensive...

 

lol...indeed

 

i bought mine, i plan on driving it into the ground!

 

i bought mine too, although i can't seem to hold on to a car for more that 3-4 years. i like to mod but i don't have money to do it right now, and i drive low miles. probably should have leased but with as much as we're paying for this one my wife will make me drive it until i'm old enough to need viagra.

 

I bought mine and will pay it off in 12 to 18 mos. I hate car payments or any other monthly payment for that matter.

 

Ive put about 20k per year on my car...leasing wouldnt work for me for that reason..plus it will be paid for in 30 months and if I wanna get a new car I can trade it and get prolly $10k or so...or I will keep it for a little longer. I like the flexibility.

 

I think that purchasing the car gives you more options. You can do as many mods without worrying about having to take it back in the stock way it came. Drive as much as you want with no worries of going over the allowed mileage. I just think it is the smarter way to go but I am sure it is just a matter your life style.

 

Bottom line for me is don't lease unless you have to (can't afford to buy outright or have a loan) or their is a tax benefit. Leasing is essentially another form of car rental....

 

I understand what you're saying, but I would have to disagree on it being another form of car rental. Renting a car is quite different.

 

bought mine to drive it until it dies or costs are too prohibitive to keep. I hate being in debt so leasing would bother me too much since I couldn't pay off the loan.

My last vehicle lasted 9 years before it died.

 

opposite here ... fell in love with this car and bought it .. no lease/finance.. no mods .. never thought of / or still think of ... getting rid of it after X number of years..

unlike what u say logik05se... too me .. cars are like women .. they grow on you.. good luck 3 yrs from now! (and hope i am happy too!)

 

Like leaches in a swamp, haven't been able (Pause too look over shoulder ) to detach mine in 22 years...

 

I never considered a lease because of the miles I drive. I don't plan to mod, so that was not a consideration. I plan to keep the car past when I have it paid off, so that is another reason I have never considered a lease. I typically put well over 100k miles on a car and so, from what little I understand of leases, it would not make sense to lease a car for that many miles (and years).

 

Personally I would never lease a car for many reasons. Some of which are the fact that you end up with nothing in hand at the end of the lease and the payments may be somewhat lower than a purchase, they are still too much for essentially renting something for a few years. Also the higher insurance premiums and monthly sales tax are things alot of leasors don't think about. I also like knowing the car is mine which in itself is to me a great feeling. I bought my 05 SE in January and it was paid off by September. There are also the factors of not being able to modify it in any way, excessive wear & tear fees, over mileage penalties, etc. Actually I truly never understood why anyone would want to lease a car. I am however glad that people do because I love to be able to buy a few year old cars for good prices after someone who leased it already paid almost half the vehicles original value in depreciation. I just recently bought my wife a simply beautiful Infinity I35 with only 30k on it in pristine condition without a scratch or anything on it for just over half the cars original MSRP. So while I would personally never lease a vehicle, I sure do love leases!

 

I have only leased one car in my entire life and did not like the feeling. It was a 96 Pathfinder. Since then I have bought and traded in a 99 Frontier KC XE 4x4, 02 Frontier CC SE 4x4 (ordered from the factory) and my current 04 Titan CC SE 4x4. My GF leases and has leased 2 Pathys, an Xterra, and 2 Maximas. She now has a 06 SE in Liquid silver.
I save alot of money and then buy. She saves about a grand and then leases. She got a great deal on the Max. But I still would not want to lease. But she loves it.

 

i bought my because the payment was good and i got a good interesr rate

 

I used to feel the same way about leasing...seeing it being completly pointless...but when you actually sit down and crunch the numbers considering your a person that will most likely want to change cars within 3 years then its deffinatly for you. As far as moding goes if I didnt manage a Nissan dealership I either wouldnt have been able to mod it or I wouldnt have leased it.
Different strokes for different folks.

 

bought my Maxima.

 

Again leasing isnt for everybody but it works out in my favor if you will?...... 3 yr lease no money down $300 a month. i like new **** every 3-4 years so leasing was it for me.

 

I like new **** also, however I like to know it's mine and I can trade, sell or do what I want with it. Lease = Never ending Rental...