Car leasing vs. Car Buying

[TheOhioStateUniversity]

Hello, I have a quick question on a car conundrum I am currently having and maybe some of you here may be able to offer some advice. Firstly, the lease for my Pontiac g6 is coming to an end in July so I am in the market for a new vehicle. I have fallen in love with the Dodge Challenger and went to the dealership today to look into a lease given the employee pricing will make my remaining payments a wash. Much to my chagrin the salesmen there informed me that the economy has changed the leasing terms and the best offer they could make me on a lease was 397 a month if I put 2000 down. Mind you I am paying $267 now for an at the time similarly priced vehicle 48 month lease with only 1000 down. With the numbers they presented it seems like it will make more sense to buy the car with financing at rates of 48 months for $438, 60 months for $407, and 72 months (which I think is too long) for $375. My question is has the economy totally screwed up the type of terms I can get on a lease, is this dealership screwing me, or could I still get a 20k or so car (G6, Mustang, etc..) for around 267 a month? Any help would be appreciated.

[cartman]

Yeah, with the current state of the finances of auto companies, leases are not going to be like they were in the past.

[Mike Lowe]

Buy a used car with less than 40,000 miles, no older than 2006. It's just a vehicle and in the words of Dave Ramsey (whom I've read but do not follow as scripture but do agree with him on a lot of principles), don't bother trying to keep up with the Jones's because the Jones's are flat broke and living check to check most of the time. Buy what you can afford and try and pay cash for the car to avoid silly interest.

And even with 0% interest on a new car, you're still paying double what you'd pay on a perfectly fine used car (that someone else probably leased).

[TheOhioStateUniversity]

Probably right, I guess with cars its easy to get caught up in the aesthetic appeal, especially at 23 years of age

[dawgfan]

Originally Posted by TheOhioStateUniversity

Probably right, I guess with cars its easy to get caught up in the aesthetic appeal, especially at 23 years of age

Just remember - cars are not an asset, they are a rapidly depreciating collection of metal and plastic. You would be far better off at your age not spending a lot of money on your car and putting your money towards real investments. If you have the credit and can swing the down payment and mortgage, now is a fantastic time to buy a home (house or condo). Interest rates are incredibly low, and the housing market is probably close to bottomed out.

You'd be waaaaaay better off putting money towards an investment that will grow long term than a flashy car that does nothing but lose you money. If you're smart with your money, you'll have plenty of time later in your life to get nice cars.

[rowech]

I learned this the hard away. Leasing a car, in your early 20s is a TERRIBLE mistake. Don't do it.

[Raiders Army]

Originally Posted by rowech

I learned this the hard away. Leasing a car, in your early 20s is a TERRIBLE mistake. Don't do it.

ditto. You have nothing to show for it at the end. When you go to buy or lease another car, I hope you have saved up some money for the next downpayment. If you buy, you don't necessarily have to save up for that next downpayment.

[Anthony]

buy the car. leasing is for people who always want to have a fairly new car every so often. you have nothing to show for the money you paid every month, you're basically renting a car every month.

[Hammer755]

What everyone else said. You can buy a perfectly good like-new car with 20 or 30,000 miles on it for FAR less than a new one. Then you drive it until the wheels fall off.

[Anthony]

i would think leasing is an option for people who are looking for a second car. but to spend $200+ a month on something that you don't own, plus you're restricted to x amount of miles per year...no thanks.

[Icy]

Agree with the others, at least in Spain, only companies lease cars for their employees to waste them (also companies can discount that leases from their taxes), but leasing as individual is never a good idea as you are paying almost the same of a new car but at the end you don't own it.

[TheOhioStateUniversity]

With the way cars depreciate are you really losing much with a relatively short term lease?

[Tekneek]

Never understood the attraction with leasing cars. For a business, it makes sense (as long as you have the revenues to cover it), but for individuals it has always seemed like a terrible idea.

Given your age, do what others have suggested and buy the best you can really afford (and by best, I mean by factoring in all the other expenses like gas mileage, routine maintenance expenses/schedules, etc). You will be happier later on if you don't make a bad financial decision right now...and ahead of your peers as well.

[Tekneek]

Originally Posted by TheOhioStateUniversity

With the way cars depreciate are you really losing much with a relatively short term lease?

At the end of the lease, you have no value in the car. Also, you could end up paying a bunch of extra fees when you turn it in as well. I don't know how these lease contracts currently work, but I know that some out there have mileage restrictions, maintenance restrictions, and so on. In the past, some people have been stuck paying a bunch of extra expenses at the end that they did not expect.

[Noop]

Get a Nissan Maxima it's a great car(I am bias I own one) and is very customizable if you wanted to go that route. I have never leased a car but I know someone who did and the idea that you can't go over a certain mileage is weird to me.

[dawgfan]

Originally Posted by Tekneek

At the end of the lease, you have no value in the car. Also, you could end up paying a bunch of extra fees when you turn it in as well. I don't know how these lease contracts currently work, but I know that some out there have mileage restrictions, maintenance restrictions, and so on. In the past, some people have been stuck paying a bunch of extra expenses at the end that they did not expect.

To play devil's advocate here - if you're going to get a new car, is leasing really any worse than buying? Compare what you are paying and what the car is worth after the lease would be over - have you really lost money going the lease route considering the depreciation of the car and the lower payments going the lease route? I don't think it's at all a cut-and-dried win for buying.

[Mike Lowe]

Originally Posted by dawgfan

To play devil's advocate here - if you're going to get a new car, is leasing really any worse than buying? Compare what you are paying and what the car is worth after the lease would be over - have you really lost money going the lease route considering the depreciation of the car and the lower payments going the lease route? I don't think it's at all a cut-and-dried win for buying.

Just stay away from new cars all together. If you MUST have something very new, just buy something a year old. Let someone else absorb that huge hit in value from driving it off the lot. Use vehix.com for a good start to your search.

[Raiders Army]

Originally Posted by dawgfan

To play devil's advocate here - if you're going to get a new car, is leasing really any worse than buying? Compare what you are paying and what the car is worth after the lease would be over - have you really lost money going the lease route considering the depreciation of the car and the lower payments going the lease route? I don't think it's at all a cut-and-dried win for buying.

Leasing is almost like living beyond your means. You can get "more" car for the monthly payment, but you'll have nothing to show for it in the end. The mileage fees, etc. also can bite you in the ass. The only reason to lease is if you need to project an artificial image of yourself wealthier than you really are. If your job does not demand that, then I wouldn't know what else to tell you.

Run, don't walk, away from a lease.

[rowech]

Originally Posted by dawgfan

To play devil's advocate here - if you're going to get a new car, is leasing really any worse than buying? Compare what you are paying and what the car is worth after the lease would be over - have you really lost money going the lease route considering the depreciation of the car and the lower payments going the lease route? I don't think it's at all a cut-and-dried win for buying.

Yes it is. Because at the very least, you have a trade-in when you finish buying your car. At the end of a lease, you most likely have mileage/damage fees because if they're anything like mine were, you'll have nitpicking beyond all recognition.

[dawgfan]

Originally Posted by Raiders Army

Leasing is almost like living beyond your means. You can get "more" car for the monthly payment, but you'll have nothing to show for it in the end. The mileage fees, etc. also can bite you in the ass. The only reason to lease is if you need to project an artificial image of yourself wealthier than you really are. If your job does not demand that, then I wouldn't know what else to tell you.

Run, don't walk, away from a lease.

You didn't address my point - if you are going to get a new car, is there really any difference between leasing and buying in terms of your financial outlay?

Let's say you are looking at a car that is $30,000, and you will put down $2,000.

If you buy that car and you get a 4 year loan at 7.16% (the current national average), you are paying $672.84 per month to finance that $28,000 you are borrowing.

Let's say that car is worth $15,000 after that 4 year period. You have paid $32,296.32 and now have an asset that can be sold for $15,000, so your net loss is $17,296.32. If you can pay less than that over a 4 year lease for the same car, you've come out ahead financially.

Obviously there are a lot of variables here, the principle ones being what are the differences in monthly payments between a lease and a purchase on the same car, and how much is the car expected to depreciate over the life of the lease. You also have to factor in lease restrictions and the likelihood that you may exceed any of them and have added fees tacked on.

But to say that after leasing you have nothing to show for it is to ignore the reality of losing money on a car when you buy it, and the possibility that you'd actually spend less money leasing a car than buying it.

[dawgfan]

Originally Posted by rowech

Yes it is. Because at the very least, you have a trade-in when you finish buying your car. At the end of a lease, you most likely have mileage/damage fees because if they're anything like mine were, you'll have nitpicking beyond all recognition.

The nitpicking is a valid point. But the trade-in value is not - yes, you have some amount of value in your car when you own it, but the question is how much money have you spent on that car when you consider what you spent in monthly payments buying it minus the value in the car at the end of your loan vs. what you spent in monthly payments on a lease.

If the difference in the monthly payments over the life of the lease vs. what you'd pay monthly in a car loan is greater than the difference between what you'd pay over the life of the car loan minus the value of the car at the end of the loan, the lease wins from a financial perspective.

[lungs]

I'd buy it, in case you end up having to live in your car for a while. Then you can say you own your home.

[dawgfan]

Originally Posted by Mike Lowe

Just stay away from new cars all together. If you MUST have something very new, just buy something a year old. Let someone else absorb that huge hit in value from driving it off the lot. Use vehix.com for a good start to your search.

I would agree, though you do have to factor in maintenance costs for that used car since (more than likely) the car will no longer be under warranty.

[Young Drachma]

When I bought my latest vehicle, it was the first time I'd gotten a completely new car. I did it on purpose. I knew I had to finance whatever I purchased anyway and I needed something dependable because at the time my commute was quite far and I couldn't afford to have breakdowns or anything like that.

So I did my research and it's paid off well. I mean, if you're paying cash it's one thing, but if you have to finance it, I say get something where when it's over, you own the vehicle and that it still might have some value.

But then, it's all a matter of preference, I think.

I do agree with the sentiment that if you're young and don't have many bills save for student loans or whatever else, that leveraging yourself with a car is a bad idea, but then, a car that doesn't work well would be way worse.

So choose wisely and don't settle for a payment that's "well, I can do that," make sure to get a payment that's doable enough that if you went unemployed for six months, you could still manage to pay it. Once you start getting over $300/mo for a car payment when you're young, it's just asking for trouble to strike.

[Raiders Army]

Originally Posted by dawgfan

You didn't address my point - if you are going to get a new car, is there really any difference between leasing and buying in terms of your financial outlay?

Let's say you are looking at a car that is $30,000, and you will put down $2,000.

If you buy that car and you get a 4 year loan at 7.16% (the current national average), you are paying $672.84 per month to finance that $28,000 you are borrowing.

Let's say that car is worth $15,000 after that 4 year period. You have paid $32,296.32 and now have an asset that can be sold for $15,000, so your net loss is $17,296.32. If you can pay less than that over a 4 year lease for the same car, you've come out ahead financially.

Obviously there are a lot of variables here, the principle ones being what are the differences in monthly payments between a lease and a purchase on the same car, and how much is the car expected to depreciate over the life of the lease. You also have to factor in lease restrictions and the likelihood that you may exceed any of them and have added fees tacked on.

But to say that after leasing you have nothing to show for it is to ignore the reality of losing money on a car when you buy it, and the possibility that you'd actually spend less money leasing a car than buying it.

While this article doesn't address what you're asking about, I think it presents a pretty good argument for buying a car:

Should You Lease or Buy Your Car?

The key here is:

So, like many things, leasing looks great in the short run. But if you take the long view of economics, you will see that leasing will eventually be more expensive. It is more costly because once you begin leasing, you wind up leasing again. This means you will always have a car payment and never own anything.

I think that for the same car, leasing is cheaper in the short run, but the bolded part above is the key to me. Not having a car payment is extremely nice....even if you have to occasionally get repairs. We have one car payment out of three cars right now. We took out a three year loan on our Lexus and paid quite a bit down (over half). Also, when you're looking at the long run vs. the short run you should also calculate in how much the car will depeciate. A GM car will depeciate much faster than a Lexus or even a Toyota.

[stevew]

The original lease seems like it was a decent deal. Assuming all you had to do was change the oil and don't get screwed with any fees. A new lease at a lot more money would be a mistake

[dawgfan]

Originally Posted by Raiders Army

I think that for the same car, leasing is cheaper in the short run, but the bolded part above is the key to me. Not having a car payment is extremely nice....even if you have to occasionally get repairs.

The frequency and cost of repairs once your car is no longer under warranty is part of the equation. While you no longer have car payments once your purchased car is paid off, you still pay money for the car in the form of maintenance and repair. If you get a dependable car that isn't terribly expensive to repair, then yeah - you are paying (on average) a lot less on a monthly basis than a leased car. But the difference isn't as stark as $X amount for lease payment vs. nothing.

I would agree that if you lease, you are going to become rather likely to continue leasing indefinitely and always have a car payment. If you buy a new car, you will likely leverage some value by keeping it a long time and enjoying the years with no car payment, so long as repairs aren't particularly frequent or expensive. But then again, the longer you keep the car, the more it will depreciate, so you also have to factor that in.

[Raiders Army]

I would also agree that frequency and cost of repairs once the car is no longer under warranty is part of the equation. I would submit, however, that the cost of repairs is probably far less than paying for a lease. We've had to get our window repaired in one of our cars (the motor stopped working) and it was (I think) about $400. It was still less than the cost of a monthly payment.

That being said, if something really bad were to happen, it would cost a lot more, but I believe Hyundai or Kia has a really good transmission warranty.

[dawgfan]

Originally Posted by Raiders Army

I would also agree that frequency and cost of repairs once the car is no longer under warranty is part of the equation. I would submit, however, that the cost of repairs is probably far less than paying for a lease. We've had to get our window repaired in one of our cars (the motor stopped working) and it was (I think) about $400. It was still less than the cost of a monthly payment.

That being said, if something really bad were to happen, it would cost a lot more, but I believe Hyundai or Kia has a really good transmission warranty.

Yeah, it really depends on the car. Even with reliable makes, you get the occasional lemon. And if you own a make that isn't so reliable, watch out.

My previous car was a '94 SHO, and while it was a lot of fun, it started to get way too expensive to maintain - I spent $2500 one year on maintenance and about $5000 total in the 4 years after it was paid off, and 2 years later was facing a $3000 repair bill, which is what prompted me to say "fuck it" and buy a newer used car.

[CU Tiger]

some of the new leases have crazy terms. Due to some special circumstances we have one vehicle that must always be in my wife's name, and not under our company program. I lease all my trucks because I can deduct 100% of the lease payment from tax basis, but only the depreciation % on purchases. then I can buy them at the end of the lease and drive them another year or so... That said for a personal vehicle a lease makes no sense to me. Read the fine print, GM can penalize you up to $100 per service performed at a non GM owned shop. Window Tint, that will cost you $1000...even if you remove it before you turn it in. One of my sales guys pimped his company car a bit and at turn in it was buy it at $5800 (which we intended not to because it had been a POS) or pay $9200 in penalties to give them the Tahoe.....yeah..

[Cringer]

I like buying, but I also like to hold onto things so it makes sense for me. Our van, bought used but with only 6000 miles on it, is now 8 years old and has been paid off for a long time. Runs good, could use a new windshield though. I am not sure what will happen to our 300, but I just don't see us moving away from it anytime soon. The van could be moved sometime soon I guess. I would like a second car that is a little more reasonable on gas and have been watching the used car places for a while now for something I like.

[digamma]

Originally Posted by dawgfan

The nitpicking is a valid point. But the trade-in value is not - yes, you have some amount of value in your car when you own it, but the question is how much money have you spent on that car when you consider what you spent in monthly payments buying it minus the value in the car at the end of your loan vs. what you spent in monthly payments on a lease.

If the difference in the monthly payments over the life of the lease vs. what you'd pay monthly in a car loan is greater than the difference between what you'd pay over the life of the car loan minus the value of the car at the end of the loan, the lease wins from a financial perspective.

There is another factor....and that is how much value you put on having to either negotiate a trade in or sell the car yourself. Time and opportunity costs involved. For some it may be minimal, but I definitely know others who place real value on being able to simply turn in a car and be done with it.

[Anthony]

i know i can get more money for my Elantra if i sell it myself - do i wanna waste the time? not at all. i'm gonna be buying my new car as soon as Uncle Sam breaks us off our tax return (we'll get the check in about a month). i just wanna give them the keys and accept whatever they wanna give me for it.

[lynchjm24]

Originally Posted by Anthony

Elantra

That's how cocky and funny rolls.

[Flasch186]

Originally Posted by Anthony

i know i can get more money for my Elantra if i sell it myself - do i wanna waste the time? not at all. i'm gonna be buying my new car as soon as Uncle Sam breaks us off our tax return (we'll get the check in about a month). i just wanna give them the keys and accept whatever they wanna give me for it.

make sure the Tax incentive rolls out before buying

[Anthony]

Originally Posted by lynchjm24

That's how cocky and funny rolls.

i own REAL ESTATE muthafucka. i'm a landowner. i lived within my means and can now enjoy the fruits of my good decisions. buy land, own your own home, pay off your car, get married and have a baby - use your ensuing large tax return to build up emergency security funds and spend the rest on home impovements and/or other necessary items. this year its a new car. so if that means i gotta drive a crap car for a few years till i bide my time for the nicer set of wheels we're gonna get so be it. i know you were just kidding, but this is a message to those like the threadstarter - choose wisely so that past good decisions will result in future benefits. i have my cake and eat it too.

besides, we were barely out of college when we bought the Elantra. just two kids starting out and renting an apt, i certainly didn't want to hamper our lifestyle with a big monthly car payment. and not for nothing i haven't ever had a problem with this car, and its STILL under warranty for another 3 years or 35K miles.

[Anthony]

Originally Posted by Flasch186

make sure the Tax incentive rolls out before buying

i haven't looked into that, you referring to the tax incentive for buying a car in '09 per the finalized stimulus package? i haven't paid attention to the stimulus package cuz when i briefly skimmed over it it didn't appear to have enough to entice me. the stuff that directly impacts me isn't enough to make a dent or overly affect my way of life/quality of living. i guess i'm both fortunate that my quality of life is high enough that i'm not dependent on this stimulus bill and unfortunate that my cost of living has gone up so much that the paltry stimuli in this bill won't make a difference too much. shit, free money is free money, i'll take it if you put it in my hand but don't expect me to do a pee-pee dance over $10. i think the tax incentive for buying a car this year is you can write off the taxes on the car or the interest on financing, something like that.

[Flasch186]

that last sentence.

[dawgfan]

Originally Posted by Anthony

i own REAL ESTATE muthafucka. i'm a landowner. i lived within my means and can now enjoy the fruits of my good decisions. buy land, own your own home, pay off your car, get married and have a baby - use your ensuing large tax return to build up emergency security funds and spend the rest on home impovements and/or other necessary items. this year its a new car. so if that means i gotta drive a crap car for a few years till i bide my time for the nicer set of wheels we're gonna get so be it. i know you were just kidding, but this is a message to those like the threadstarter - choose wisely so that past good decisions will result in future benefits. i have my cake and eat it too.

besides, we were barely out of college when we bought the Elantra. just two kids starting out and renting an apt, i certainly didn't want to hamper our lifestyle with a big monthly car payment. and not for nothing i haven't ever had a problem with this car, and its STILL under warranty for another 3 years or 35K miles.

Yeah, this is basically the point I tried to make in my first post - be smart with your finances when you are younger and it will pay off in a big way as you get older.

Don't buy a new car, buy a dependable used car (and ditch it if it starts to become expensive with repairs). Set up a Roth IRA and max out your 401K contributions at work. Buy a home as soon as you can reasonably afford to do so (now is a fantastic time to do it given the ridiculously low interest rates and near bottomed-out market). Avoid credit-card debt - aim to always have your credit-card bill completely paid off at the end of the month.

As you get older, you will find that these decisions will allow you to start indulging yourself.

Don't get swept up in trying to impress people with a fancy car and toys you can't afford when you're young - you'll have plenty of time to do that as you get older.

I'll step off my soapbox now...

[sterlingice]

Originally Posted by Anthony

i own REAL ESTATE muthafucka. i'm a landowner. i lived within my means and can now enjoy the fruits of my good decisions. buy land, own your own home, pay off your car, get married and have a baby - use your ensuing large tax return to build up emergency security funds and spend the rest on home impovements and/or other necessary items. this year its a new car. so if that means i gotta drive a crap car for a few years till i bide my time for the nicer set of wheels we're gonna get so be it. i know you were just kidding, but this is a message to those like the threadstarter - choose wisely so that past good decisions will result in future benefits. i have my cake and eat it too.

besides, we were barely out of college when we bought the Elantra. just two kids starting out and renting an apt, i certainly didn't want to hamper our lifestyle with a big monthly car payment. and not for nothing i haven't ever had a problem with this car, and its STILL under warranty for another 3 years or 35K miles.

What he said (not necessarily in those words, but the idea is very sound)

SI

[Danny]

Originally Posted by dawgfan

I would agree, though you do have to factor in maintenance costs for that used car since (more than likely) the car will no longer be under warranty.

This is helped when your wife's dad and brother are mechanics . Buying parts for my used Infiniti is pretty cheap, but the shops kill you on labor.

[Anthony]

i really don't have a prob with my Elantra. for a small car with only 130, 150 horsepower it has a lot more get up and go than appearances suggest. and its a hatchback so it fits TONS in it. i have no probs whatsoever with this car. i feel bad having to trade it in cuz i feel i'm betraying it despite all its good years of service. it's not respected on the road and because of that i think it puts my family at risk. people don't fuck around as much with larger trucks than they do with small hatchbacks. we simply *have* to trade it in though so we don't add unnecessary $$$ to our monthly car payment. i'd have no problem continuing to drive my Elantra as my own car and letting my wife drive a new car if we could afford it.

don't buy cars for image if you can't afford the total package. a nice impressive car is only your foot in the door - eventually you're gonna have to have other funds to keep up with the Jones'. that is, if you buy a sick Mercedes but that sucks up all your funds you're gonna wind up looking like a chump with other high rollers who can afford a high lifestyle and a chump with the girls who assume people who drive sick cars got money to afford to splurge on girls. if you live at home or have a meager apartment then your car is the least of your worries. these are your two options in life: between buying and leasing you buy, cuz ownership trumps all. when you have to choose between buying a really sick car or using that money as a down payment for some type of home, you choose the home, cuz ownership in property trumps owning a car. everything in your life should revolve around the question "how can i own my own home/property?". once you answer that question everything else fits into the spare spaces (ie, how much surplus you have after putting funds towards owning your home determines how nice of a car you drive, etc).

and not for nothing, i'm not living like a king or anything so don't take my advice as if i'm bragging. i just have no prob taking baby steps towards my overall goals and i have a keen sense of prioritizing what's important and what isn't. i got credit card debt just like anyone else does (nothing that will impair my lifestyle), my outflow of funds is just as much as my income of funds. but i have nice things, i got things to show for all my hard work at the end of the day so a little debt here or there which will disapper sooner rather than later ain't no thang but a chicken wang.

[CU Tiger]

Originally Posted by Anthony

i really don't have a prob with my Elantra. for a small car with only 130, 150 horsepower it has a lot more get up and go than appearances suggest. and its a hatchback so it fits TONS in it. i have no probs whatsoever with this car. i feel bad having to trade it in cuz i feel i'm betraying it despite all its good years of service. it's not respected on the road and because of that i think it puts my family at risk. people don't fuck around as much with larger trucks than they do with small hatchbacks. we simply *have* to trade it in though so we don't add unnecessary $$$ to our monthly car payment. i'd have no problem continuing to drive my Elantra as my own car and letting my wife drive a new car if we could afford it.

don't buy cars for image if you can't afford the total package. a nice impressive car is only your foot in the door - eventually you're gonna have to have other funds to keep up with the Jones'. that is, if you buy a sick Mercedes but that sucks up all your funds you're gonna wind up looking like a chump with other high rollers who can afford a high lifestyle and a chump with the girls who assume people who drive sick cars got money to afford to splurge on girls. if you live at home or have a meager apartment then your car is the least of your worries. these are your two options in life: between buying and leasing you buy, cuz ownership trumps all. when you have to choose between buying a really sick car or using that money as a down payment for some type of home, you choose the home, cuz ownership in property trumps owning a car. everything in your life should revolve around the question "how can i own my own home/property?". once you answer that question everything else fits into the spare spaces (ie, how much surplus you have after putting funds towards owning your home determines how nice of a car you drive, etc).

and not for nothing, i'm not living like a king or anything so don't take my advice as if i'm bragging. i just have no prob taking baby steps towards my overall goals and i have a keen sense of prioritizing what's important and what isn't. i got credit card debt just like anyone else does (nothing that will impair my lifestyle), my outflow of funds is just as much as my income of funds. but i have nice things, i got things to show for all my hard work at the end of the day so a little debt here or there which will disapper sooner rather than later ain't no thang but a chicken wang.

one of the more logical and sound posts in your history....spot on

[TheOhioStateUniversity]

Do used car dealerships generally offer warranties comparable to the bumper to bumper 3 or 4 year and lifetime power train warranties often offered with new cars?

[cartman]

Originally Posted by TheOhioStateUniversity

Do used car dealerships generally offer warranties comparable to the bumper to bumper 3 or 4 year and lifetime power train warranties often offered with new cars?

They do, but you are usually better off going with a 3rd party warranty service. In almost every instance, they will be cheaper than what the dealer will offer. If you have AAA, they can help point you towards one, and both Sam's Club and Costco have options as well.

[Swaggs]

HA -- General inquiry for you.

If you are expecting a ton of money back for your tax returns, why not adjust so that you get some of the money back month-to-month?

You are essentially lending money to the government without interest. And, if you are expecting enough for a downpayment on a new car AND for some peace of mind cash, then it sounds like you are lending them a significant amount of money that you could be using during the year to keep your other expenses in line and/or keeping your credit card (which you presumably pay interest on) debt better managed.

I get that people do not like to pay at the end of the year. But, again, if you are paying at he end of the fiscal year, you have essentially gotten an interest free loan from the government for the year (which is better than carrying debt w/ interest on your credit card).

P.S. I may be totally wrong in my thinking (wouldn't mind hearing CU Tiger, QS, or others' takes on this), but I think the psychological impact of getting a tax refund is far greater than the actually financial impact.

[Anthony]

certainly understood, Chazz. my thinking, as is my wife's, is we're fine with letting the guv'ment hold our money for us so that we don't spend it. all this does is prevent us from gaining interest on that money month to month, sure, but that's all dependent on that money actually sitting in an acct collecting interest and not being spent because its available. or money that we should otherwise save that goes towards an even nicer car. i have a spendaholic wife, so its best we get a lump sump once a year that we earmark towards savings/emergency fund/annual big purchase/annual renovation than cross our fingers and pray we're mindful enough to not touch that money.

this is due to be our first big tax return since we've been married (house plus baby=$$$), so i'd like to see what we get back. i'll reexamine this after Uncle Sam sends us our check to determine if we should keep more of that ourselves throughout the year and just settle for a smaller return. but with what banks are paying in interest these days it kinda makes sense for us now to just have the IRS hold it for us so that we don't get tempted to spend it. we all know the old "a bird in hand..." saying.

[CU Tiger]

Originally Posted by TheOhioStateUniversity

Do used car dealerships generally offer warranties comparable to the bumper to bumper 3 or 4 year and lifetime power train warranties often offered with new cars?

they do but why bother.....most warranties will be in the $100 per month range, that equates to 1200/year or replacing a transmission or engine every year..if your liuck is that bad perhaps driving isnt for you

[CU Tiger]

Originally Posted by Swaggs

HA -- General inquiry for you.

If you are expecting a ton of money back for your tax returns, why not adjust so that you get some of the money back month-to-month?

You are essentially lending money to the government without interest. And, if you are expecting enough for a downpayment on a new car AND for some peace of mind cash, then it sounds like you are lending them a significant amount of money that you could be using during the year to keep your other expenses in line and/or keeping your credit card (which you presumably pay interest on) debt better managed.

I get that people do not like to pay at the end of the year. But, again, if you are paying at he end of the fiscal year, you have essentially gotten an interest free loan from the government for the year (which is better than carrying debt w/ interest on your credit card).

P.S. I may be totally wrong in my thinking (wouldn't mind hearing CU Tiger, QS, or others' takes on this), but I think the psychological impact of getting a tax refund is far greater than the actually financial impact.

being a business owner my whole deal is different...I generally owe every year

[Swaggs]

Originally Posted by TheOhioStateUniversity

Do used car dealerships generally offer warranties comparable to the bumper to bumper 3 or 4 year and lifetime power train warranties often offered with new cars?

Car warranties, by and large, are a gigantic rip off. If you talk to enough people, you will probably find someone who has anecdotally benefitted from one, but research suggests that it is a sucker bet.