Poll of the Day > should i buy or lease a car?

(+) Yeah! (+)

My old car was stolen recently, and a got it back last week. for a week it worked fine, but when i started it up this morning, it ran for a little bit then died out. not sure what the problem is. pretty sure the engine didn't seize up so it might be an easy fix.

I was looking into getting a new car anyway, but I'm not sure what to do as far as how i should purchase the car. is getting a car lease a good idea? I have enough money to buy a used car, but depending on the price it could break the bank(I have about 20k in the bank right now).

I have a stable job (I'm a teacher) so I have no worries about losing my job. I obviously don't want to spend all of the money in my bank on a car. not sure what to really do.

Best bet is to get a used car that tends to run well for a long time. I'm a fan of toyota Avalons personally. They have good gas milage, a decent sized tank, run freaking forever, and are insanely cheap in general.

You can get them for around 3k-5k depending on the year/milage, and easily drive that car for another 100k miles most of the time. They are quite comfortable as well, and cheap to fix.

My 1999 toyota avalon has well over 200k miles (got it with 30k around 2001), and still runs just fine. I have replaced a belt and the latch on a door and that is it over the years (Besides normal maintanance).

I still actually prefer driving it over my BMW.

The avalon has a blue book value of 1.5k (but generally you'd pay 2-3k if you bought one of that year/model).

I'd go for a bit newer version though with less milage (hopefully around 100k), since that'll last you a very long time, and won't be that much more cost wise.

Far better then buying a new car, or leasing in my opinion, especially since it'll keep it's value this way. If you buy a used car over 10 years old, it won't depreciate in value much if you sell it again in the future. Buy a 2005 Toyota Avalon for 5k today, and in 5 years you could probably sell it for 4k, and get another newer one again.

Best way to do it in my opinion, always having cars that are not going to need any work done (or very little), with almost no actual cost (1k every 5 years, is 200$ a year lol).
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Do whatever works best for you.
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@wolfy42

thanks for that. I should mention that i want a larger sized car so that traversing in the snow is easier, plus I can put my bikes in the back if i want to go riding.

I know cars are terrible investments, which is why I would buy a used car. but if i can lease a new car, it seems like a smart choice to me since i no nothing about cars, and new cars don't have as many problems as old cars.

And honestly this is a little dumb, but i've had used old cars my entire life. I wouldn't mind getting something new. I would never buy brand new, but i would lease a new car.

Erik_P posted...

Do whatever works best for you.

that's what i'm trying to figure out

Buy a used car to significantly drop both cost and likelyhood of being stolen. What do you currently drive and what do you like?

green dragon posted...

new cars don't have as many problems as old cars.

Anything in the last 10 years from Japan isn't going to give you much trouble for a long time as long as it hasn't been abused.
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How many miles do you plan to drive in an average week?

Figure that out and see if leasing is right for you.

I'm actually looking at new cars myself. A new one would be nice since I've never had a new car, but one off of a 2 year lease is probably a smarter option for me.

Jeep renegade
Mazda 3
Honda Civic
Dodge Dart

Are my top picks so far. (All new 2017/2016)

Idk what I would get if I bought one fresh off of a lease.
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I'd recommend a subaru legacy spec b for a large car with all weather performance.
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Kyuubi4269 posted...

Buy a used car to significantly drop both cost and likelyhood of being stolen. What do you currently drive and what do you like?

i have a honda accord. it was actually stolen twice. both times the cops found it within 2 days.

I don't really know what i like per se. i've only ever owned the same style of car.

i've driven my moms scion sedan (i forget the model) many times and her dodge durango about (8 years ago, once).

while i do like the smaller cars, a rav4 would be nice so i can put my bikes in their to go on trips. not worried about theft on newer cars since i won't be getting anything too fancy, plus insurance should cover theft cost.

SmokeMassTree posted...

How many miles do you plan to drive in an average week?

Figure that out and see if leasing is right for you.

i crunched the number, and yeah, less miles than the lease max. I will be making periodic 300 mile round trips and i factored that in as well, and it works out still.

SmokeMassTree posted...

Jeep renegade
Mazda 3
Honda Civic
Dodge Dart

those are all priced well and cost less than a rav4. kinda want a small car to reduce the cost by like 50%

Suzuki SX4
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as somebody who went through this recently I highly recommend the 2nd poster's advice

You really want to get something reliable and worth it (toyota, honda, subaru,etc)

I would outright buy/finance a new"er" old car like a 2013-2014 civic or corolloa/camry if you can. You have a career so you don't need to be Mr.Frugal but you also don't want to lease something when it'll be much cheaper next year
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Kyuubi4269 posted...

I'd recommend a subaru legacy spec b for a large car with all weather performance.

This. Subaru's in general are great, especially for snow. I'm in Michigan and trust them more than most cars from the big 3 for winter driving lol.

Leasing comes down to two things: mileage and ownership. You have to be 100% certain that you can stay under the mileage cap. If you don't then you will end up owing a lot of money and may end up having to buy the vehicle at end of lease. As for ownership, you are basically renting the vehicle and will have to give it up at some point. So if you get attached to things this will probably not work.

On the plus side, the dealership will probably give a great deal on maintenance and if you renew your lease, you'll get a better deal than the first time. You will always be making payments but you'll always be driving a new car.
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Dodge darts are about to hit clearance prices pretty soon. They aren't making a new model for 2017 so the 2016s will be reduced to clear space.

It's a nice car, but it's not best in anything for its class.

I had a 2015 and loved it. Wrecked it a couple months ago when a semi couldn't stop on the highway. Walked away with a few bruises and an injured back.

Mazda 3 and Honda Civic are the best cars this year for cheap.
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Leasing is a scam, don't do it.

However, lease end cars are great to pick up as used cars because they have been treated so well and are rather low mileage (plus dealerships want to get rid of them, so they aren't very expensive). New cars are only a good idea if you plan on driving the same thing for 10 - 15 years. Otherwise, stick to used.
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Dikitain posted...

Leasing is a scam, don't do it.

However, lease end cars are great to pick up as used cars because they have been treated so well and are rather low mileage (plus dealerships want to get rid of them, so they aren't very expensive). New cars are only a good idea if you plan on driving the same thing for 10 - 15 years. Otherwise, stick to used.

Yeah, lease end cars are the way to go if you don't want brand new.
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Just don't lease a car that doesn't hold its value or you're gonna get fucked.

I'm currently leasing a 2017 Subaru Legacy 3.6R Limited. The thing practically drives itself which is great for my commute.

I have a little buyers remorse because I had my car paid off before getting this, but whatever. It's a nice car and isn't terribly expensive.
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i might buy/finance a lease end car. that's what i'm thinking right now.

I would avoid leasing unless you (are sure that you) want to drive a new car every 3 or so years while under the dealer's terms. Understand that things can change during those 3 years. I leased a Honda Civic awhile back thinking that I wanted to drive a new car every 3 or so years. That mindset changed about midway through the lease. I was very lucky that the buyout price (including taxes) was well below that of the actual value when it came to the end of the lease. If the buyout price was above, then I would have walked away and would have also paid a turn-in fee; this fee is thrown at you if you decide not to lease or buy a car at the end of the lease.


You also have to be sure how much you drive. Leased cars tend to have a mileage limit, and if you go over that limit, they will charge you for each mile that you add over it.

lease
lease
lease
lease
lease
lease

Even if you have 20 bags in the bank, you wouldnt wanna drop say 10k on anything - car, holiday, anything. The only thing you should ever be dropping that money on is an investment like a house. Considering a car is the exact opposite of that you shouldn't be dropping big sums of money like that on anything.

So back to my original point, say you wanna blow 10k on a car. It's better for you to pay off that 10k (obviously with interest unfortunately) over 2-3 years, or even 4 if you like the car enough.

It's so much better for your cashflow to have that 10k or whatever coming out of your bank account in £500 installments over the next few years than all in one go.

If you dropped 10k now, it's gone. Whereas if you take out the loan or lease it, you're committed to paying the 10k, plus whatever interest but you can still use the remainder of that 10k you've allocated on anything else if anything crops up in the meantime.

tl;dr - lease it, it's not even a question IMO
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leased a 2017 corolla

leasing just made more sense. I can purchase the car at the end of the lease if I want to. literally no reasonfor me not to lease

boooo

i thought you were gonna lease a real baller car haha

But tbh, knowing me, when I do get round to it I'll end up getting something really sensible too.

Well done though, leasing is such a no brainer in most situations.
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This car is baller! Very nice interior and will last me forever!

green dragon posted...

This car is baller! Very nice interior and will last me forever!

Probably won't want it to.
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The Corolla just got a new facelift for the 2017 year, I think it looks nice!
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greendragon you got me thinking bro

i might just get me a car right now too

was planning on buying a house next April but even if I defer it to next June and can get me a car in the meantime, is it worth it?

As in to delay getting a house for a few months for the sake of getting myself a nice car that I'll drive for the next 2 years or so.
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buy cpo (certified pre owned)
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FatalAccident posted...

greendragon you got me thinking bro

i might just get me a car right now too

was planning on buying a house next April but even if I defer it to next June and can get me a car in the meantime, is it worth it?

As in to delay getting a house for a few months for the sake of getting myself a nice car that I'll drive for the next 2 years or so.

Do it. Get the house. Been thinking about getting me a house as well.


We movin up in the world, fam

indeed
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