I think we are in the exact same situation LOL. I want to put a downpayment just cause I don't want a large monthly payment even though not putting a downpayment makes more sense

My thoughts exactly! I'm not too fond of having to pay off the car for longer than a year. I currently pay $160/month for insurance and I'm going to assume that's going up to around $200 for the Twins. $500 car payment + $200 for insurance = crying wallet. I make a decent wage but my Asian genes kick in when it comes to money. :P

LOL! Asian genes=thrifty, aka: "Pake" (local chinese/hawaiian slang meaning thrifty).

my asian genes are telling me the same thing lol. although I will just have parking insurance during the winter for the car.

haha i threw down $7.5k at 2.75% apr back in 2012 - almost done! <$3k left
but yeah i'd rather rush to pay off the car first
asian genes man, too strong

Cool, I'll hop in the potential buyer thingy.

I'm thinking of either leasing a 2016 with a down payment of 5,000 plus the college rebate. That would give me a $210/month lease for 3 years. If I can catch an 0.9% special, I'll be at $450/month for a 4-year finance. Either way I'll probably end up trading it in for the 2018 or 2019 model, or any special edition/release-series FR-S. If I go the BRZ route, I'll trade in for the tS model. I'm planning to work at a Subaru dealership so it may make more sense to go the Subie route.

BREAKING NEWS!!!!
2016 FRS SPY PICS!!!


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http://i.imgur.com/wX9MX57.jpg

Well the good news would be that crickets will no longer be an issue!

You probably already know this.. but please don't put money down (cap cost reduction) on a lease.

Putting money down on a lease depends on the situation. If you have the money, then do it. The 5,750 incl. graduate rebate will go toward reducing the monthly payment by approximately $159 a month. That reduction will allow some breathing space for insurance payments.

Now, this part makes it unique. I can ensure myself that I will not be driving 12,000 miles a year. I'm looking at about less than 5,000 miles a year.

At the lease buyout, I'm supposed to have a car worth $16,XXX with 36,000 miles. But I'll have a car with less than 15,000 miles, so I'm going to carry over an equity that would allow me to get the newer model with no down payment as I'd use the equity in this case.

I disagree, i've never come across a situation where putting money down on a lease was a good idea. Too much risk. You total the car pulling out of the dealership and that money is gone. Put the money in savings and use it to pay your monthly lease payment. Its the same thing except you are holding your money instead of TFS.
Sorry to get off topic.

Yeah that's a good a point I actually never thought of because I don't really total cars but it's a good point since anything is possible, God forbid. Especially with Scion offering the 0 down lease special that actually sounds pretty good even though that special ends in July.

But, people do put money down on leases and get a better deal when they finance their next car, sometimes even getting lower payments than what they were paying during their lease. Sometimes the risk is worth the reward!

Haha, who knows how they do it.. :D

I think there are too many variables in the scenario that you aren't considering. if you total a leased and the car is gone and any money you have invested in it is gone. Maybe you don't total cars yourself, but you don't have complete control of your surroundings. You are probably assuming the car will be worth more than the residual when the lease terms are up, which it may or not have. Show me the math where you will lease a car, put $3k down, have a much lower payment and somehow end up with more equity?

You can buy down the lease with cash or trade, but as it was pointed out earlier this is not sound logic because you can't control all of your surroundings. You could literally drive right off the lot and get t-boned and you would lose thousands. You would be better to either pay the higher payment with your savings or put that money to work investing than paying down a lease. Also, be mindful that you should carry GAP insurance on a lease in case someone does total the vehicle. The last thing you want is to have to pay cash and be out of a car. Honda leases include GAP but I believe you need to buy them on top with a Toyota lease.