I have a 2002SE which I love. Just a sunroof for the extra features, 40k miles. My lease is up shortly and I can buy the car for $12800. I haven't test driven any new Maximas yet but I love the look of the new models. I would get another SE lease. Don't really need any features, just want a sunroof again(not sure what the deal is with the long sunroof and the regular). I was wondering what people have been paying for 2005's leases and if the $12800 was a good price for my 2002. The car is in great condition. I did have a somewhat major accident a few years ago and the back end was replaced but you would never know it. Thanks guys.

 

A lease is based off of the sale price. You will pay what the car is worth whether you lease it or not. It just varies on what your balloon is. On a lease the dealer will make more because they will sell you the car at sticker. The only thing that they figure out is rate and term, mileage and balloon...

 

I actually got my 2002SE lease for about $1500 under MSRP. Somewhat friendly with a dealer.

 

if you do another lease just haggle it out so they base it off the lowest possible msrp. thats the key and buy as much milage up front as possible because it will cost you more per mile on the back end when you turn it in. be honest with yourself when you consider the milage you will need. when i was selling for nissan i saw plenty of people buy leases for 10 or 12k/year knowing full well that they drive 15k/year. some of them had to come up with 2200-5000 $$$$$, so what happens. the dealer would hit them with "you can buy the car XXX$$$, we will give you a nice finance package or you can turn in the car and still pay us the money you owe."

 

t depends on what's most important to you. If you want lower monthly payments and like a driving a new car, that's always under warranty, every two or three years, but are willing to pay a little more over the long haul to get those benefits, then you should lease.

If you want to be able to pay off your vehicle, be payment-free for a while, and drive it for as long as you want — but are willing to have higher initial monthly payments and maintenance costs, but lower long-term costs — then you should buy.

 

thanks everyone for your input.

 

i would never lease a car..you pay for something you don't get to keep

 

Compare the Costs: Buying vs. Leasing vs. Buying a Used Car

 

I echo what most of the others have written. Leasing is good for some people and the two things to make sure you get are lowest sell price (cap cost) and lowest residual. As leasing companies have been hammered by lower profits, they have steadily lowered residual rates. This makes the balance you owe at the end of the lease if you want to keep the car lower. But it also forces you to pay for that difference during the term, instead of letting them eat it by giving them back the car, raising the monthly payment.

This issue coupled with low finance rates, continues to close the gap between the cost of a lease and conventional financing (term loan). I always used to lease, but the cost is now too prohibitive in most cases. I'm buying both my 2004 Max and my 2001 Excursion.

We'll see if this makes sense down the road.

Joe

 

based on the same principle; we can assume that you are a home owner and never rented.

lol

 

i say you go for the 2k5 se more power also new smoother look

 

i say you go for the 2k5 se more power also new smoother look check it out on my sig...