Decisions, Decisions...

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EGProject

YEEEEAAHHHHH
Having a bit of an automotive conundrum right now. I currently own a 2009 Fit, which was financed for 3 years. I pay about $360/mo and about a year and a half into the term. Due to the mileage (42k) I owe right around what wholesale/fair market value is. I could easily continue to drive the car until it is paid off and sell it and pocket the money.

Here is the dillemma. I work for Audi USA and about 8 months ago they unveiled a new employee lease plan for all employees. Basically we pay 1% of MSRP/month for 6 months or a year term with no money down and no mileage restrictions. After the term, we can get another similarly equipped car or something different. Payment is automatically withdrawn via company payroll and its split between pay periods, meaning the monthly payment isn't exactly due at one time. I.E, I can lease a $40k car for 6 months or a year for 400/mo. It is limited to A3/A4/Q5/Q7/S4.

Right now my finance guy has been hooking people up with buying off their cars and giving them really good deals. This being the case since the used car market is hot. It has been explained to me that I can "sell" my car to the dealer, and get out of it without any major out of pocket expense save for plates and registration (no sales tax), and into a brand new car for almost what I'm paying now.

The question is, do I wait it out - pay off my car and pocket the money THEN lease something, or jump on this right now?
 
consider the costs of care and feeding for said Audi, then ask yourself if that is something you want to take on on top of the additional lease payment
 
What attracts people to leasing a car? I've never understood it.

leasing makes perfect sense for the person who always likes to drive something new and doesnt put on an excessive amount of mileage

makes more sense for the person who says:
"yayyyy i payed off my car... now let me go buy something else"
or
"hrmph... im bored with this car... i want something newer... im trading this thing in"
or
for a car with relatively new or unproven technology in it that you are not ready to place "buy" trust in quite yet



for people who actually buy a car with the intention of holding on to it and driving it into the ground... then buying makes drastically more sense

but for the people going from bank payment to bank payment to bank payment why bother buying... they never actually "own" anything anyway
 
consider the costs of care and feeding for said Audi, then ask yourself if that is something you want to take on on top of the additional lease payment

I work on them, so its all warranty anyway. If I keep it 6 months, the only service it will need is the 5000 mile service - which is free. Even then, an oil change is only $30 in parts for me and no labor. I called around and my insurance would only go up $30/mo from where it is now. My only concern is excise tax.
 
leasing makes perfect sense for the person who always likes to drive something new and doesnt put on an excessive amount of mileage

makes more sense for the person who says:
"yayyyy i payed off my car... now let me go buy something else"
or
"hrmph... im bored with this car... i want something newer... im trading this thing in"
or
for a car with relatively new or unproven technology in it that you are not ready to place "buy" trust in quite yet



for people who actually buy a car with the intention of holding on to it and driving it into the ground... then buying makes drastically more sense

but for the people going from bank payment to bank payment to bank payment why bother buying... they never actually "own" anything anyway

:shrug2: I guess I'm the type to drive into the ground, though I usually hate holding onto vehicles for extended periods of time. I start to see how shitty they are, then I get rid of them and go you know, it wasn't that bad... But I really don't ever see myself financing anything anyway. Except maybe a house.
 
I would hold out, and then buy one of the 6monthers or 12monthers when audi sells them for a nicely sized discount
 
i wouldnt do it. the lease monthly rate doesnt sound much better than what you would normally pay IMO not much of a "deal". you will pay more per month for a car you wont even own. makes no sense.
 
IIRC you have a pretty long commute... going from 40 to 20 mpg will hit your wallet pretty good on top of it costing more a month than your car does. And, IRRC, most audis want premium fuel on top of it.
$40 for the payment
+ $30 for insurance
+ 200 for fuel?
= almost double what you're paying now.
 
Audis suck anyway, sure they are nice but for the money they suck. My wife had a TT quattro and an s line a4 so I know.

It doesnt make sense as B pointed out for you. The lease deal doesnt sound that incredible either.

I lease cars for the most part outside of my civic I have owned since 02 and my s2000 I just traded in.

Im leasing my Pilot for less money than you are paying for your fit. Yes I will own nothing at the end of 3 years but I would be under water most likely on any car I purchased and tried to trade in after 3 years...they always screw you on trades so unless you want to really own a car forever whats the point.
 
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anything he mentions regarding cars, financing, or car financing, you should do the opposite. :D
and why is that, 90% of people lease or finance a car....lots of idiots on here will tell you not to buy something if you can't pay cash, fact of the matter is the world is run on credit and not cash. And there is nothing wrong with it at all. Also helps you build your credit rating for the future.

As long as you can afford it, be smart about it.
 
and why is that, 90% of people lease or finance a car....lots of idiots on here will tell you not to buy something if you can't pay cash, fact of the matter is the world is run on credit and not cash. And there is nothing wrong with it at all.

Americaaaaaaa, FUCK YEAH

i see the point in a lease for some people, but i still think the logical thing to do would be to buy the car so you get some return on your investment at the end of it. Sure, it wont be 100% return, but anything is better than the 0 return you get with a lease IMO
 
B does have a good point. Didn't really consider the extra fuel. The new 2.0T's can get 24-27, but considering I drive like an asshole its probably closer to 22 combined.

Everyone else in this thread is missing the point. Unlimited mileage. A NEW $40,000 car ever 6 months or a year. A comparable A4 would regularly lease for $425/460 per month and there is residual, mileage and other factors. Also, leasing a new German car is pretty much the only way to do it. If you finance a NEW German car you are pretty much retarded. Buy one pre owned, or lease a new one.

The only other thing is how excise tax works with these cars. I certainly don't want to pay $1000 of taxes a year for a car.
 
it's like working with a clothing store and using your paycheck to buy the store clothes. even if it's on discount, do you really NEED it?

not really. save your money for other shit. I'm sure there are better uses for your money.
 
B does have a good point. Didn't really consider the extra fuel. The new 2.0T's can get 24-27, but considering I drive like an asshole its probably closer to 22 combined.

Everyone else in this thread is missing the point. Unlimited mileage. A NEW $40,000 car ever 6 months or a year. A comparable A4 would regularly lease for $425/460 per month and there is residual, mileage and other factors. Also, leasing a new German car is pretty much the only way to do it. If you finance a NEW German car you are pretty much retarded. Buy one pre owned, or lease a new one.

The only other thing is how excise tax works with these cars. I certainly don't want to pay $1000 of taxes a year for a car.

No , for once, B does not have a good point. America isn't where it is because people finance or lease cars. We are here because of bad loans to people who couldn't afford it and credit default swaps(CDS) which couldn't be paid to the loan company when people defaulted on their loans because those companies didn't keep that money in reserves and CDS's are not regulated by the government.


There is nothing wrong with financing everything. Like i said you just need to be smart about it. Just because a bank will give you $350,000 for a house doesn't mean you buy a $350,000 house.

Imagine if everyone waited until they had the cash to buy something....the economy would collapse. Credit Card companies would be out of business, banks would close, and same with retailers because merchandise would be sitting on the shelves..
 
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