Quote:
Originally Posted by Tt3Sheppard
Is it really ever worth it to lease a car? Lower monthly payment?
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Sometimes it is, and sometimes it isn't. It's basically calculating in the depreciation of the car over the lease term, and essentially that is what you pay for. Instead of trading it in at the dealer for money towards a new car, you just paid less for it all along.
So, you pay $25k for an FR-S. Totally financed, it would be $417/mo at 0% interest for 5 years. If you want a new car in 3 years, then at that point you've paid $15,000 for the car. The dealer is going to give you $20,000 for the trade-in, and you pay off the remaining $10,000 on the loan.
A lease would take into account that the car is coming back to the dealer, and they are going to give you $20,000 for it after 3 years, so what you're actually "financing" is $5,000 over 3 years, which would be $139/mo (again at a ficticious 0%).
After 3 years you are in the exact same place on what you've paid for the car, but with the lease it was pre-factored in. That's the basic idea. In reality, you will probably pay out more for a lease than if you bought the car and sold it on your own after a few years, but it isn't too rare for the lease to work out in your favor either.