Car Buying Question

[Metros Striker10]

Alright...I've got a question here and I was wondering if anyone could answer it. Suppose you want to finance a car that costs about $8-12k. How much should one expect to pay per month? $150-200? How about if you lease a car? How does that work? Do you simply pay a monthly fee or do you have to pay some sort down payment?

Thanks.

[tcmahoney]

Alright...I've got a question here and I was wondering if anyone could answer it. Suppose you want to finance a car that costs about $8-12k. How much should one expect to pay per month? $150-200? How about if you lease a car? How does that work? Do you simply pay a monthly fee or do you have to pay some sort down payment?

Thanks.

Does your bank or credit union's website have some sort of loan calculator where you can plug in numbers and see what you can expect to pay? Much will depend on the interest rate you pay, which in turn depends on your credit score. You can play with different scenarios and have an idea of what you can afford at what level of interest.

As for leasing ... personally, I'd stay away from it. It's like paying for a car, only you have to pay more if you want to keep it. There are those who can speak more authoritatively on this issue than me, though.

[Cassano]

Alright...I've got a question here and I was wondering if anyone could answer it. Suppose you want to finance a car that costs about $8-12k. How much should one expect to pay per month? $150-200? How about if you lease a car? How does that work? Do you simply pay a monthly fee or do you have to pay some sort down payment?

Thanks.

I love leasing. To lease a car, you usually have to put money down, but for bank and security fees. If you don't want to put any money down for the car, you don't have to, but putting money down decreases the lease price. Usually the security fee is refundable, you get it back when the lease is over. Also, the longer you make the lease, the lower the payment will be. Then you pay the monthly payment and get a new car in 3-4 years.

[Own Goal Hat-Trick]

leasing is for some people, but not for others.

i have a car right now which is leased, and im going to probably lose about 5k on the car. if i owned the car, however, i could sell it right now and make a profit, even selling it cheaply, however, to buy it out (which i will have to) i have to pay way more than its worth.

personally, i think leasing is a very bad idea, as you essentially get no value out of the vehicle.

[Alex_1]

Alright...I've got a question here and I was wondering if anyone could answer it. Suppose you want to finance a car that costs about $8-12k. How much should one expect to pay per month? $150-200? How about if you lease a car? How does that work? Do you simply pay a monthly fee or do you have to pay some sort down payment?

Thanks.

When you lease a car, you have to pay for tax/title/reg and yo umay pay what's called a "cap reduction cost", which really just means you want to pay more up-front to pay less on the monthly payments.

Leasing is good as long as you understand the system and how to position the payments, etc.. Really try to focus on how much the car is actually worth in addition to the residual but above all else, try as hard as you can to be true to yourself. There are all types of funky things the dealership will try to throw at you, so understand if you want to buy a car vs. lease a car.

Personally, I think leasing is a good idea for some people (not all). For instance, I live close enough to my office - so close, I actually walk to work and I also travel for work. Therefor leasing would be a good option (for now, at least) if I'd like a new car for the times I do drive, which is pretty infrequently now... my car gets about 1,000 miles every 3-4 months. I'm admittedly pretty lucky in that regard. Owning a car already is good because you don't worry about the mileage you put on the leased vehicle and it could really jsut be a car you enjoy. Other positives include that the lease car should have almost everything covered under warranty, so you're not outta pocket on anything other than maybe the tires/routine maintenance. And some companies may even pay for that.

IMO leasing is a bad idea if you're just trying to get a car that's out of your price-range & need to do significant commuting. The key to leasing is to remember that you don't own the car - the title's not in your name - and it's a commitment and in some ways, a gamble with mileage (where you work now may not be where you work tomorrow). So funny... 2-3 years ago, I was hell-bent on getting a Z. But now... after looking at them, driving them, almost getting one... I really could care less & don't want to bother with a new car. lol

[UDPride]

The beauty of leasing is the entire burden on the depreciation forecast is on the dealer, not the driver. If the car doesnt meet forecasts, they take the hit and dont make a profit. If the car exceeds it and holds value longer, you can just buy the car at lease end, sell it yourself, and pocket all the equity.

Thats what I do. At lease end I bought my WRX out for the residual value and sold it three weeks later for $2800 more. So basically I drove the car for barebones depreciation cost and nothing else. Youll pay that anyway even if you buy a car.

That said I now drive a 91 BMW I will run into the ground which should prove even cheaper.

[flowergirl]

i have a question for you guys about leasing (not that i would ever do it, we travel way too much) -- do you have to buy the car at the end? what if you don't want to? do you get to just turn it back into the dealer and say here you go, i'm done? (assuming you don't have to pay for overage mileage, damage, etc)