Leasing the BRZ
 

Anyone here leasing their BRZ ? What should I look out for when the end lease inspection comes around? I plan on keeping the car and hopefully they don't give ms sh** when I take it in for service.

If keeping the car there is no end of lease inspection. They don't care what shape it is in since they do not have to resell it.

If you are keeping it there is no reason to lease, and there is usually no good reason to lease anyway.

I leased my frs with the intention to buy it. 3 year lease, $14,500 total paid by the end of the lease (plus $1,500 total in state/county tax) and the car was valued at $16,500 at the end of the lease. Needless to say I wasn't going to purchase a $27k car for $31k, plus interest on the $16,500. My state charged me about $500 a year for personal property taxes all 3 years even though it was a lease :(

Lots of good reasons to lease. Because you can not afford the buy payments is not one of them though. Also leasing to keep the car is a bad, bad financial call.

hmmmm.... why is that Tcoat? Leasing it got me the car with 0 down. My plan is to keep it. I have a 2014 Corolla that I drive to work to prevent excessive wear and tear on the BRZ. That was another reason why I leased with the option of buying it. Idk, it's my first lease ever and I'm already kinda regreting it.

That's what I do, however there is a difference between leasing a car from one brand to another.

BRZ's for example, are horrible leases because of the higher lease rate. Corolla's (and bread & butter Toyotas in general) are usually the best leases in the car industry because their lease rates are almost non-existent. When I say lease rate...I mean the additional money you are paying besides the MSRP and residual differential.

In a perfect world, leasing to keep a car afterwards would make way more sense if every single lease was like a Toyota Corolla--with a non-existent lease rate. It's essentially the same as 0% financing.

Edit: I thought you were leasing the Corolla. I have it the other way around...

Only good reason to lease. The vehicle is a busness expense and you do not want to deal with depreciation. Since you do not own the vehicle your lease payment is tax deductible.

What most people use a lease for is to get into a car they can not afford and should not buy. You would not beleive how many $30,000 Milionaires we have here in the DFW area.

Zero down is nice but what are the interest rates? When you lease and then keep the car you are paying off the depreciation at first but then paying the full value of the car at the end anyway. Unless you have the cash the rate you pay after you buy the car out is going to be at a used car level which is usually more than new. Leases usually add a few thousand dollars to the overall cost of the car.

Another reason to lease is if you wish to have a new car every 3 or 4 years. It seems counter productive to always have a payment but if you are going to trade in anyway you don't end up eating the full value of the depreciation with each trade as you would trading in a bought car. This all only applies if you are getting a new one each time and goes right out the window as soon as you decide to keep it. The whole "a car is an investment" thought process makes this seem more costly but since a car is a depreciating asset not an investment it really can make sense to lease in certain situations. You are not going to get any money back from buying a car. If I didn't put so many miles on my car I would lease and get a new one every three years.


I completely agree that most are leased to get into a car that they can not afford. That is the trap that buying out at the end of the lease creates.

Not completely true, there are a number of reasons why leasing could be better option for you. There are individuals who love the lease concept, they get a new reliable car every few years and pay a low monthly rental fee to use it. (

If you have the cash to buy the car outright you should still lease or get a low interest loan. Stick the cost of the car in your long term investment portfolio and come back in ten years. The low interest rates and in some cases the depreciation will easily be out-matched by a managed long term investment. (If you don't believe me do the maths).

Electric vehicles should always be leased, the combination of the tax incentives, low resale value and changing technology makes leasing the only sensible option.

I agree if you don't have the cash in the bank and you keep cars for more that 5 years then then a low interest loan is the way to go.

In the interest of full disclosure I have never leased a car, I keep my cars too long.

My wife leased a 2013 Subaru Outback. In 2016 it had 5600 miles on it. We bought it at $3000 below blue book. She now has 8900 miles on it. I figure we can keep it for another 20 years. Her last car was a 1995 Subaru Outback.

Not true 100% of the time. No one has the ability to see the financial future. Throw in a market down turn in the first couple of years after purchase. Then it would be better to have your money in your car and then putting the $600 a month back into your portfolio.

Yes I have lived through multiple market down turns and have been able to capitalize on this.

Fair point, however in the medium to long term the stock market will increase. Like most things in life nothing is guaranteed, for the inexperienced investors I should have included the following:

DISCLAIMER:

Futures, stocks and options trading involves substantial risk of loss and is not suitable for every investor. The valuation of futures, stocks and options may fluctuate, and, as a result, investors may lose more than their original investment.

Or to put it another way. You need to keep an eye on your investment/gamble to minimize the risk.

With the deals in Canada, leasing is the best option for keepsies.

Leasing and Financing was the same interest rate when I bought mine. @0.9% I'd rather defer as much payment as possible because...0.9%. Though there is a $495 lease paper work, the fact that if I got into a major accident during the lease that significantly decreased the value of the car, I have the option to give the car back at the residual (option is always better than no option). Lastly, if I do give it back or transfer lease, I only paid tax on the depreciation, not the full amount. I would rather lease than finance given the above trade offs.

At the time, there was a $1000 cash incentive which meant the informational rate was I believe 2.64%. That is still fairly low, and like someone else mentioned, I'd rather have my cash in the stock market or for a rainy day.