Hey guts been a long time since I owned my 97 Max. I have driven 2 lexus', a jeep srt8 and currently an Infiniti m35x.
I guess I just cant seem to find the car I love and want to drive for a few years.
My question is this... I currently own an 07 Infiniti M35x. I like it but im bored with it and dont have xm/sirius built into the car, its black which I dont care for and several other minor issues.
In buying the new 2010 Maxima am I getting less of a car or is it a pretty equal trade? I would b leasing the Maxima. I am currently upside down in my car and leasing would rid me of this debt.
I have never leased either. I guess there are pros and cons to leasing.
Any input to help me decide would be awesome!

 

Read everything you can BEFORE you lease a vehicle, make sure it is the right option for you. It is veeeeery easy to get hosed on a lease. If you are upside down on your current, they are just going to add it back somewhere else in the lease. The dealer is not going to eat it, that's for sure.

 

If you are bored with an Infiniti M35X, you will soon be bored with a Maxima. They are not the same vehicle but the Infiniti has more of an "edge."

Leasing to correct an upside down loan does not work. Sure, the payments are within budget but you don't get something for nothing. This reminds me of the democrats that claim by covering 30 Mil more people, the cost of healthcare goes down. But I digress.

 

Fox Nissan & Fox Acura
Grand Rapids, MI 49512

Still has new 2009 Maximas. You could reverse about 3-4k of your debt with one of these. Prices are 23k up to 30k. May not be geographically feasible but the prices are right. I would think leasing one would also be less than a 2010.

 

If your worried about a debt, leasing a car for sure wont magically pull you out. It gets paid for in the long run by you.

Best advice is to learn to love what you have. Your car is a nice one, enjoy it for a while and try to put an end to these "One night stands" you like to have with your vehicles. What I am saying is, to help out being upside down, put 100,000 miles on a car. Drive it until you dont think is is reliable anymore or at least until the warranty runs out. Good luck my friend.

 

Thanks guys.
I know a car will always be a debt. I just want to find a car and keep it for a few years. With that being said I think a brand new Maxima would suffice my needs. Ilove the look, I love the way it drives and with a lease I can have a brand new vehicle every 2-3 years.

 

if you want speed you cant go wrong with the srt8 jeep, easy 12s in the quarter mile with minor bolt ons

 

Based on your purchasing practices you maybe a perfect candidate for leasing, If you keep a car well past the day the loan is paid off (or you paid cash to begin with), you save money by buying. But if you trade in your car before the loan is paid off, the value of the trade-in is unlikely to cover the remaining balance on the loan as you already know that so leasing might be the answer for you.

For example, if you leased a new Maxima for three years, your monthly payments would be $489. When you turned in the car at the end of the lease, you'd pay a "turn-in" fee of $395 and then walk away. If, however, you bought the Max with a five-year loan at 7.9%, your monthly payments would be $546, and after five years you'd own the car free and clear.

But say you want to get rid of the car after three years. To match the residual value written into a three-year lease, you'd probably have to sell the Max on your own rather than trade it in. Then you'd have to pay off the loan. Buying would leave you about $1,600 poorer.

Make sure you press them for the money factor. The lower this number, the better (multiply it by 2,400 to get an estimate of the interest rate). Dealers like to avoid discussing this figure...

Make sure the residual value isn't inflated it will hurt you big time later on....

I wouldn't recommend a Maxima to lease as the residual value could put you upside down again only if you elect to purchase the vehicle after the lease. You need a vehicle that can hold it's value and not depreciate like a rock, Infiniti is a better leasing opportunity in my opinion.

Oh and check out www.leasecompare.com I've used it to compare lease versus finance cost, also don't forget you pay less taxes also so you need to keep that in mind.

FYI - I always end up buying as I drive way too many miles annually....

 

And don't forget, if the dealer doesn't like the way the car looks when you return it you're gonna pay for that too. So, keep it reasonably clean and for god's sake, don't let anyone hit it.

 

Helo-
That was an awesome post. The more I talk to people the more it makes sense to me to lease. My only problem now is making sure I can keep a car for three years lol...

Thanks so much for the help! I will use your advice wisely.

 

Working at a car dealerships myself I deal with a lot of people trying to sell leased vehicles to us and honestly it all depends on how much you still have left to pay off on it. At our place we would have to buy out the loan basically what ever the car is worth at the end we have to pay the dealership and if you still own payments on it you would have to pay off those payments as well as the cost of the vehicle.

If your going to go to another dealerships I am not sure if they are going to do the same thing but like mentioned above "learn to love it"; leasing cars is not a smart thing to do unless your a business owner and you know that your going to be getting new cars every few years anyways.

GOOD LUCK! Lesson Learned

 

I really dont believe I could ever keep a car more than 3 years hence why I am giving this some serious thought.

 

There are two added bits of insurance you can give yourself with regards to leasing. First, consider other leases besides what is offered by Nissan. The residual value they quote is often lower so that they ensure you have made sufficient payments to cover the actual value of the car at the end of the lease. This provides you with the potential to sell the car at the end of the lease and make money in the process. This is not guaranteed but it is a lot better than facing an upside-down situation. Second, there are warranties out there for people who are leasing that are concerned about having to pay for excess wear and tear at the end of the lease.

 

Are you sure you do not have chronic car buying syndrome? If you don't know what that is, see here: http://townhall-talk.edmunds.com/WebX?14@@.ef2c24d/0 Unless you cure that syndrome, you will not like any vehicle in this world.

As far as I know, the M35x is an awesome car. One complaint against it is its gas mileage. Why are you bored with it?

 

bb...
o i dont disagree i have a problem with cars and cellphones lol. i get bored so quickly.
The Infiniti is ok. For one its black. Im tired of the black. It doesnt have satellite radio or ipod which I added (i own a car electronics store) but its still not the same. The gas mileage is awful. The windows can not be cracked when it is raining at all, if they are forget it u are soaked. It doesnt handle that great. It has 63k miles. I bought with high miles cuz I had to sell my Jeep srt8(personal struggles).
IDK I guess I just want something new and I will enjoy it and stick with it.

 

I bought my 09 Maxima about a year ago and am still in love with it. When I was younger I used to get bored of cars every 2-3 years but as I got older and had kids I think I got more tired of car payments than with the 2-3 years old cars. Current cars are a 95 Grand Prix, a 99 Rodeo and now my 09 Maxima. I'll keep my Maxima probably for another 15 years or longer as long as it hold ups. I of course see other cars I think I would love to have (2010 Camaro SS, Challenger RT8) but realize it wouldnt be a good decision. For now I look forward to when the Maxima is paid off and have no more car loans to worry about

 

You chose the color black each time, so you will have to live with it.

The M, since an older car, might not have satellite radio or ipod. The Max has it since its a newer car. I am sure, the 2011 M has many more gadgets that the current Max. Again, when in 2014, the next gen Max will come out, it will have more gadgets than the 2014 M. It is important to think whether you have the financial strength to buy a car every 2-3 years to keep up with the new gadgets. If you don't, its probably not a great idea to lust after gadgets.

The gas mileage in M is awful, I know that. But it is a large sedan, much like a small SUV. What else can you expect? The Max has better mpg but it hardly has any rear legroom. If you sit in the rear seat of a Max just after sitting in the rear seat of your M, you will feel claustrophobic. The current G (RWD) gets better mpg than the Max with more hp and torque and is of comparable interior dimensions.

I am not sure I understand your complaint about the window and raining.

If you want true handling, you will have to get a BMW or MB. But they cost much more and not sure about reliability. Infiniti handling is one of the best among the Japanese cars. I don't think you will find Maxima handling great if you do not like M's handling. I would suggest you take a 09-10 Maxima (rent it if possible) in a windy highway for a spin and drive above 70 mph. Then you will know how good its handling is.

Don't get me wrong, I am not trying to discourage buying a Maxima. M is a much more expensive car than the Maxima and if "you get what you pay for" is true, then you already do not like a car better than the Maxima. How will you like a Maxima?

To me, interior quality, space and handling are the most important aspects of a car as long as it looks decent and gets decent mpg. I do not care for 500 hp or 50 mpg. You will have to know what you care for and what you don't, and that will make your task much easier. Definitely check out the 10 Maxima, also take a look at the 10 Altima 3.5SR. I am hearing great things about the 2011 Sonata. Also, have heard that the Mazda6, Fusion and Accord handle well but I have never driven any of them on windy highways at high speed, so can't comment.

If you decide to go with the Maxima, check out the prices paid sticky so that you can negotiate well http://forums.maxima.org/7th-generat...r-shopper.html

 

Leasing is the way to go... my buy out is $16000 after 4 years... where the car is still worth about $24000... so you get $8000 back if you buy out and then sell it private