New car or used car? Forum

[waxloaf]

no, hard hats=cool, black leather suit=not

[jks289]

Buy a motorcycle instead of a Prius you'll get similar or better MPG and be less of a douchebag. With a lease you're paying your downpayment + 36 * 180 >= $6,480. You can buy a motorcycle for this amount of money that will not need to be returned after three years and you get enormous benefits that owning a car cannot provide. I.e. traffic is not so much of an issue anymore.

Right. Where I live in Chicago, you will find tons of people riding their motorcycles over the frozen streets as they weave through potholes. Motorcycle is really the most responsible option.

You can ride a motorcycle part of the year. Take public transit the rest, since you live in Chicago.

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Uhh yeah that's why you wear things like this: --ImageRemoved--

and this:

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And then you're almost certainly not going to be killed or even seriously injured except in the most extreme of accidents or unluckiest of circumstances (sliding into a tree, for example). At reasonable motorway speeds motorcycle gear does a PHENOMENAL job of keeping the rider safe in an accident. Trust me... I know firsthand.

This is actually very true. My dad had a motorcycle accident on the highway last fall. His jacket was shredded to bits, but he had almost all the skin on his body. He only tore his rotator cuff and had some abrasions on his hands.

Eeek. I'm not convinced of the safety by two stories of people walking away from bad accidents. On behalf of your wives and mothers, I forbid all of you from getting motorcycles!!

[kalvano]

A motorcycle is a great idea, until some douchebag in a Prius slams into you and kills you or cripples you for life. And I've seen it happen many times. It's not the fault of the motorcyclist, it's the other idiot drivers on the road.

I'm thinking about plopping for a 36-month lease on a new 2010 Toyota Prius (50 mpg!)over the summer. I priced it out on Edmunds and it showed I'd be paying around $180/month for the lease. Tuition was covered by my school, and I was able to wrestle away about 20K in Stafford loans. I don't have too much in the way of savings right now, so the lease payments will be made from my Stafford loans. Any comments on this approach?

That's a great payment. Do you have to put any money down to get to it? Never put money down on a lease.

[LawandOrder]

I mean yeah you have to ride like everyone is out to kill you and you are invisible. That's ok though. It adds some risk and spice to life.

[pleasetryagain]

I mean yeah you have to ride like everyone is out to kill you and you are invisible. That's ok though. It adds some risk and spice to life.

until the wheelchair..

[LawandOrder]

Negative Nancy over here....

[pleasetryagain]

Nancy:

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[LawandOrder]

Nancy:

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Maybe she had MS! You don't know!

[quickquestionthanks]

I once tried to convince a friend that he was unsafe on his Vespa. Went like this.

Me: Dude...aren't you worried?
Him: Nah.
Me: I've talked to a doctor friend of mine. They have a name for your guys...organ donors on a stick!
Him: That's cool. I'll be okay.
Me: Have you looked at the statistics??
Him: You know what? When they come out with some statistics for guys who drive like me, on a bike like mine, who live in my neighborhood taking the routes I take, then I'll take a look at those statistics.


I was like, damn, two points for you. If you're going to be buying a Ninja and taking it on the freeway...you're an idiot. Ask anyone over 30, they all know somebody who's died on a bike. But if you're going to get a scooter and keep it under 40 most of the time, it can make a lot of sense.

[LawandOrder]

If you're going to be buying a Ninja and taking it on the freeway...you're an idiot.

A Ninja is no more or less safe on the highway than any other bike...

[quickquestionthanks]

If you're going to be buying a Ninja and taking it on the freeway...you're an idiot.

A Ninja is no more or less safe on the highway than any other bike...

What I meant was, if you're going to buy a sporty motorcycle and drive it at high speeds...

[darknightbegins]

Go German. American cars are made on the cheap and still don't last. My 02 Audi has given me no troubles since I got it 5 yrs ago and neither has my dad's 07 A8L.

Get yourself a quality German car - they are made very well, last, and will fit in your budget.

Usually repair costs on Germany cars are pricey. Ford has turned its cars around and I believe are rated number one in quality or reliability by consumer reports, just beat out Toyota (and this was before the accelerator problems).

Go get an 05 or 06 Mustang GT bro. You can probably find one for around 20K. If you want to be more sensiable then you could try the Fiesta. However leasing a car may really be your best bet.

[kn6542]

I'm going with this. Even though I want the new car, I need to be realistic. Thanks for everyone's input!

good choice, make sure you get it checked out by your mechanic before you buy

Thanks for the advice, how do you go about doing this? Tell the seller (I'm imagining buying from a private party on craigslist), "hey, can I borrow this car for a couple days?"

Um, if they won't let you take it to your mechanic, don't bother. They should be expecting this request.

[03121202698008]

Whatever you do, don't lease. They are a terrible idea. Last time I checked into one, it was only $40 a month more to buy then lease. The only time they sort of make sense is if you want a new vehicle every 2-3 years.

[kalvano]

Whatever you do, don't lease. They are a terrible idea. Last time I checked into one, it was only $40 a month more to buy then lease. The only time they sort of make sense is if you want a new vehicle every 2-3 years.

Then you looked at a fucked-up lease.

Leasing would actually be perfect for most students. Easy and simple.



And if you're going to get a bike and splatter yourself on the road, do it right. Get a Hayabusa.

[03121202698008]

Whatever you do, don't lease. They are a terrible idea. Last time I checked into one, it was only $40 a month more to buy then lease. The only time they sort of make sense is if you want a new vehicle every 2-3 years.

Then you looked at a fucked-up lease.

Leasing would actually be perfect for most students. Easy and simple.



And if you're going to get a bike and splatter yourself on the road, do it right. Get a Hayabusa.

Who knows, it was a standard lease from Honda with Super Prefferred credit.

Granted, the lease was for 36 months and the loan was for 60 months, but if you sold at 36 months you would have at least some equity in the car versus none in the lease. If you want easy and simple, buy a reliable used car. Not a lease.

[oberlin08]

Whatever you do, don't lease. They are a terrible idea. Last time I checked into one, it was only $40 a month more to buy then lease. The only time they sort of make sense is if you want a new vehicle every 2-3 years.

hm... leases are almost always significantly cheaper per month. How much did you negotiate over the lease rate/finance rate....?

This also depends on the car too though. Some companies will make it harder to lease than others

[03121202698008]

Whatever you do, don't lease. They are a terrible idea. Last time I checked into one, it was only $40 a month more to buy then lease. The only time they sort of make sense is if you want a new vehicle every 2-3 years.

hm... leases are almost always significantly cheaper per month. How much did you negotiate over the lease rate/finance rate....?

This also depends on the car too though. Some companies will make it harder to lease than others

They are cheaper compared to a loan term for the same time as the lease. I think it was 4 or 5%.

Edit: They make sense for some people that turn over cars a lot. If you signed a 36 month lease you'd be trying to buy a new car right as you hit your first loan payments and have little to no income. Good luck getting a decent rate then.

[03121202698008]

Whatever you do, don't lease. They are a terrible idea. Last time I checked into one, it was only $40 a month more to buy then lease. The only time they sort of make sense is if you want a new vehicle every 2-3 years.

hm... leases are almost always significantly cheaper per month. How much did you negotiate over the lease rate/finance rate....?

This also depends on the car too though. Some companies will make it harder to lease than others

They are cheaper compared to a loan term for the same time as the lease. I think it was 4 or 5%.

Edit: They make sense for some people that turn over cars a lot. If you signed a 36 month lease you'd be trying to buy a new car right as you hit your first loan payments and have little to no income. Good luck getting a decent rate then.

http://auto.howstuffworks.com/buying-se ... lease1.htm

Edmunds did a study...the cost for a new $20K car with either leasing or buying (for 36 months on both).

Leasing: $32,140
Buying: $32,388

This was using the most attractive terms for leasing...and at the end of 36 months the buyer owned a car and the leaser walked.

At 10 years, you would have paid $43,000 for the purchase and $64,000 to lease cars for the same period. (Factoring in maintenance...) Granted, you are driving a 10 year old car.

[quickquestionthanks]

Whatever you do, don't lease. They are a terrible idea. Last time I checked into one, it was only $40 a month more to buy then lease. The only time they sort of make sense is if you want a new vehicle every 2-3 years.

hm... leases are almost always significantly cheaper per month. How much did you negotiate over the lease rate/finance rate....?

This also depends on the car too though. Some companies will make it harder to lease than others

It's true. Leases are almost as expensive as owning because the used car market is so f-ed up right now that companies can't bank on the vehicle having much residual value. Any company telling you 4-5% of F-O-S. Do the amortization schedule yourself to find out the real price.

The cheapest buy rate you can really get on a lease is like 7.9% effective. Better to go with local bank financing if you have a strong relationship with them. They can often get 6-7%. If you do end up getting 0.9% financing, that's offered by the manufacturer in exchange for paying full price (or leasing at MSRP rate).

Buy used, private seller, and NOT on craigslist. Recipe for a disaster (ie. stabbing). Go Autotrader.com or Cars.com.

[kalvano]

Leases all depend on the company. You can certainly get much cheaper than 7.9%. And financing / lease rates are independent of the cost of the car.

It just depends on the person and what they want. I need a cheap car to get me through school for a minimum of money and fuss. Hello Nissan with 39-month leases and $200 payments. I'll save $100-$150 a month over buying and not have to worry about what to do with the stupid thing when I'm done.

The smaller, compact cars make for great lease deals right now. Where the market gets murky is the more expensive stuff. Auto makers are wary of residual values. They stand to lose a lot more on a $40K car than an $18K car.

It's all well and good to do lease vs. buy comparisons, but what it really comes down to is the person. If you like to keep a car for a while, buy it. If you don't, lease it.

My favorite customers were the people who told me and themselves that they would definitely keep this car for several years, even though they had never before kept one for more than 3, 3.5 years. I'd try everything I could to get them to lease, but they had this stupid mindset that it's always bad to lease. Of course, in 3 years when they got bored with the cars and took a giant beating on trade-in, that's a smart decision though.

Leases aren't for everyone. But blanket statements like "leasing is always a bad idea" are false and ignorant. It depends on the person and what they want to accomplish.

[quickquestionthanks]

That's a good point. I can't even imagine having a car for less than 6-8 years. I've had mine now for almost 9.

[legalease9]

Don't get a motorcycle. Just Don't. How are you going to carry shit (groceries etc.) Plus the extra danger. Get a POS car instead. Money well (better) spent.

[mmmd]

it seems most people are on the "private seller, used" bandwagon.

why not certified pre-owned with a warranty? that's pretty big risk alleviation right there.

[im_blue]

it seems most people are on the "private seller, used" bandwagon.

why not certified pre-owned with a warranty? that's pretty big risk alleviation right there.

Used cars are a lot more reliable these days than they used to be, and you can easily find private-seller cars with full maintenance records. CPO cars have high dealer markups for those who are willing to pay more than they should for peace of mind.