I live in Manhattan, so I usually lease because after three years of abuse from New York City streets and parking garages, you’re ready for a new car. I grew up in Oregon where you could keep a car for ten years, but it just doesn’t work here. When you lease a car you lose all the fun of Mods, as you must turn it in after three years as you bought it. How does everybody else feel about this or how have you turned out financially after selling a FX after three years with Mods?
Buy or lease? How much fun is it to do Mods?
- Thread starter scottej
- Start date
- Car
- 2009 FX50S
If there are 100 responses. at the end you'll get 50% that lease and 50% the buy for 100 different reasons.
I'll start...I bought mine. I plan to have mine for awhile as I tend to keep cars for about 10 years...about the 2nd year of rust or so or when I'm starting to spend every other month in repairs. I love to mod and if I leased, I would feel it wouldn't be mine. Financially, I feel this is better in most cases as well.
I'll start...I bought mine. I plan to have mine for awhile as I tend to keep cars for about 10 years...about the 2nd year of rust or so or when I'm starting to spend every other month in repairs. I love to mod and if I leased, I would feel it wouldn't be mine. Financially, I feel this is better in most cases as well.
Buy, Mod, Make it yours, be proud of your ride!
ThE Fx 45 BeAsT
Member
If it is just bolt on stuff like rims and a drop maybe some tint you can do that to lease vehicle, I prefer not to lease but I understand living in newyork, my bro is the same way he likes to lease but i look at that like renting an apartment. either way you choose just dont go mod crazy on the lease.
Koso Kustomz
Member
I leased my Magnum. I planed to do a buy out at the end. Some cars will lease better than others. I leased because it made my payment, about $200 a month less, I had GAP ins. added in for free. And my buy out was much less at the end of my lease.
^+1.
- Car
- 2017 QX70S
- Name
- Andy
+1. I too have the same feelings. After all those payments as Wayne said and ended up empty handed? I can't take that feeling.
- Name
- Sj
Here's my opinion from what I have learned:
Buying: Buy a car if it's going to be your daily driver that you're going to depend heavily on and tack on a lot of miles every year. If you plan to buy a car, you can proceed on with all the mods you want to do without the fear of tearing the car apart at the end. Since you are buying, you want the best car for your money so do a lot of research first. You will also have to devote a good amount of resource and time into taking care of it so if that worries you a lot or if time is something you don't have for your car, buying is not your thing. By buying with the intention of keeping it, you won't have to worry at all about the market value of that car in a few years.
Leasing: Consider leasing a car seriously if you drive less than 15-16k miles every year. I say this because: more miles= less value of your car = you owing the dealership on your lease return. Leasing is meant to be for a typical period of 3 years (though some do 5 years) so stay within that time frame and always lease it straight through the dealership and not some third or fourth parties. For me, the way leasing should go is that you drive a decent amount, keep it for the time of lease and then give the car back without having to pay any additional money out of your pocket. Then you go find yourself another nice car to drive and so one every 3 years. The value of car depreciates quickly now a days so avoid driving a lot. With leasing, you don't have to worry about major maintenance expenses since cars need major repairs or caring around the 3 year old mark. Manufacturers are throwing a lot of attractive leasing incentives out there so leasing is really not a bad idea.
Many more points but too lazy to type.
Bottom line: You're in NY, keep leasing.
Buying: Buy a car if it's going to be your daily driver that you're going to depend heavily on and tack on a lot of miles every year. If you plan to buy a car, you can proceed on with all the mods you want to do without the fear of tearing the car apart at the end. Since you are buying, you want the best car for your money so do a lot of research first. You will also have to devote a good amount of resource and time into taking care of it so if that worries you a lot or if time is something you don't have for your car, buying is not your thing. By buying with the intention of keeping it, you won't have to worry at all about the market value of that car in a few years.
Leasing: Consider leasing a car seriously if you drive less than 15-16k miles every year. I say this because: more miles= less value of your car = you owing the dealership on your lease return. Leasing is meant to be for a typical period of 3 years (though some do 5 years) so stay within that time frame and always lease it straight through the dealership and not some third or fourth parties. For me, the way leasing should go is that you drive a decent amount, keep it for the time of lease and then give the car back without having to pay any additional money out of your pocket. Then you go find yourself another nice car to drive and so one every 3 years. The value of car depreciates quickly now a days so avoid driving a lot. With leasing, you don't have to worry about major maintenance expenses since cars need major repairs or caring around the 3 year old mark. Manufacturers are throwing a lot of attractive leasing incentives out there so leasing is really not a bad idea.
Many more points but too lazy to type.
Bottom line: You're in NY, keep leasing.
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Can't you have the option of buying the car at the end of the lease? Usually the buyout at the of a lease is negotiated at the start of a lease-- the higher the buyout the cheaper the lease. My experience however has been that the dealership will often times try and negotiate a cheaper buy out price at the end of the lease if you tell them you plan on dumping the car. They usually don't want to go through the trouble of selling a car that has an inflated buyout price anyway. I leased a new $45000 jeep grand Cherokee for a dirt cheap lease payment and nothing down for 27 mo. My buyout at the lease was around 24-25000. Long story short, after many phone calls asking if I would like to buy out the car, they finally offered the car for $14960. I didn't bite , but if I did, I would have come out in a much better financial position than someone who financed. they even offered attractive finance rates at the lease end as well. My situation may be unique because it was a jeep--- makes like Infiniti may not be so desperate at the end---but im sure if you really wanted, you could negotiate a lower buy out at the end of your lease since most leases today are based on inflated buyouts and some manufacturers are becoming desperate to have leasees retain their cars in this flooded market of overpriced off-lease used cars that eventually just go to auction anyway.
ThE Fx 45 BeAsT
Member
15k is not bad for a 3 y/o jeep grand cherokee but usually if they have a new model by then you don't really want to go with what you had. I say lease the euro's... beat the crap out of em then give em back...
Squishymedic
Member
If I had to live in manhattan, I'd Rhino-line my vehicle.
My neighbor has a new F150 completely covered in Rhino lining.
Its impervious!
yeah those bumper guards you guys have going on over there are proof of a sad reality.
My neighbor has a new F150 completely covered in Rhino lining.
Its impervious!
yeah those bumper guards you guys have going on over there are proof of a sad reality.
- Car
- 2007 FX35 AWD
I live in Queens, NY and works in Manhattan. I opt to buy for a few good reason. A) Love to have the feeling of having a nice car you call your own B) Owning a car brings personal attachment and you tend to take care of it more - imagine what you did with those rental cars when you go for vacation C) oh, the MODS factor!
orion71483
Member
You still don't really own it until you pay it off. Somebody else owns it until you get the pink slip.
For me, I don't know why but I just don't really like the idea of leasing, not really sure exactly why but I just don't like it. It works for some people but not for me. That's probably because I don't know any one that has leased a car so I've never really heard anything good or bad about leasing.