njlou

You have a good point re leasing. I always thought that a BMW/MB/Audi, and all other expensive cars should be leased since if you bought them, you OWN it.
Logic being that you dont have the market place for top dollar and you cant offer financing or warranty.
VERY few can shell out big$$ on a used car, certainly not yours!!

So in this category leasing is expensive but the only way to go. After the 3 years you can start anew.
That said since I hate leases I bought my BMW. I am hoping it wount be too bad.

pukka

You have to also be ok with the annual mileage limit, being on the hook for taxes and fees for a car you don't actually own, and fixing or paying to fix any damage or modification when the car gets returned. 12k annual miles a year is a joke for me - I can easily rack up 18-20k miles a year driving every day. I have yet to see a 3-year lease payment with an annual mileage rate that high cost significantly less than a 5 or 6 year loan.

I don't agree with leasing either, unless its under certain circumstances. But its attractive to someone who likes to always have a late model car with a warranty.

healthservices

You can add (pre-pay) miles to the lease at a lower rate than the penalty rate for excess miles. And for people who have more than one car, 15K is more than enough miles. This is good for the guy who has to have the latest car on the market or keeping up with the 'Jones'

Oh, there is normal wear and tear. You do not have to return the car with brand new tires, you do not have to fix every ding or scratch on the car either as minor chips, tears, curb rash, and scratches are ok. Mods can be sold to recoup part of the cost back as you would never get full value back even if you bought the car. You would still have to fix the damages to get full resale value if it was a purchase. Face it if you buy and keep a luxury car for more than 4 years you will have major depreciation. There is not a lot of people that keep luxury cars for very long and as soon as the current body style is considered old many would not be caught dead driving a 'old car.'

From what I understand, if it is your 'company car' you can write off of more on a lease vs. a purchase.


No it is not for everybody and I don't lease either.

jm545i

I think that if you want a new car all the time, generally you will be better off leasing, as the big companies *generally* subsidize their leases in the form of inflated residual values, which artificially reduce payments somewhat.

That said, the general rule is that this effect pales in comparison to the fact that whether you buy or lease a new car, you're still paying for the steep end of the depreciation curve. The cheapest way to buy a luxury car is to buy it and keep it a looooong time. Generally the amount you'll have to pay for maintenance pales in comparison to the depreciation hit you take by buying a new one.

The means, of course, that you just have to get over the emotional issue of driving last years model.

The way I look at it, we all drive used cars, even if we bought it new.

healthservices

Cheapest way to buy a luxury car is to buy it slightly used. Let someone else take the hit.

There are many that cannot and will not do that.though.

jm545i

You're right, should have clarified my statement.

People have all sorts of curious reasons for the things they do. I've known one friend who refused to buy a used car because they had an image of whomever owned any car they might buy having sex in the back seat. I said, when looking at lightly used 335i's that a $200 detailing along with some Lysol might make that a little easier to forget about - instead they went out and bought a brand new M3.

jrsamps

Take care of the car and it will take care of you. Now keep in the mind that the man who said that was driving an Audi. (and a nice one at that)