FastInATL

Even with out the calculations I almost always use the same barometer for a deal like leasing. How hard are they pushing it? If someone who wants to make money off me is pushing something pretty hard, there is a reason for it, and that reason 99 times out of 100 is that they make more money off it. If they push financing through the dealership, they're not doing it because they like your signature and just want it on a few more pieces of paper for posterity sake. They're doing it, wisely, because they make a cut off getting you to do it through them.

Most dealerships, not all, but most push leases. It makes an easy sell, “You pay less per month, and don’t have to put as much down, look, look, it's so much easier to get this car now”. Well yes, that's true, it is easier if you look in the short term, which is what often happens. But they would not be doing it if they weren't making more money on these deals in a consistent manner. Otherwise they would stop. Companies, successful ones at least, don't do things that earn them less money if they have a choice.

Likemystoppie?

Yes it's true that a majority of the time dealers push where they are going to make more. But not always the case. Sometimes it just makes better sense to go with one financial product verses the other.

And sometimes people have unreasonable expectations, put in their head by either previous transactions, by their buddy, or by what they THINK may be reality.

I think leasing is an excellent tool when done correctly, and it leaves you with minimal exposure. If you purchase a new car every two years or less, and/or drive very little.....unless you REALLY are going to keep the car for awhile........LEASE. Why shell out all that money ??? Just to say you can? I personaly will Lease my 997S when I'm ready to pull the trigger.

why? B/c I can't afford to just stroke a check. Financing will be too expensive, and with considerably less money down, and less monthly payment.....for me.....(even though it locks me in for 36 months) it makes better finacial sense. Less financial exposure, just hand in the keys, and plunk some money down on another one.

docjackson1

i think you will now find that leases are as expensive, as far as your monthly payment, as a loan. leases no longer, as far as porsche is concerned, have as atractive a monthly payment. leasing companies have seem to had a problem with having their residuals unrealisticaly high, so when the car comes back to them, they would be upside down on the value of the car. the current leases seem to reflect both lower residuals, and higher money factors. as a result, if you try to lease a new carrera s, your monthly payment, with tax, is going to be close to $1400/month for 3 years. if you take a loan for the price of the car ($86,000), your monthly payment for a 72 month loan would be $1400. after 3 years, you could sell it, keep it, etc. and if you buy it by taking a loan, and you want to get out after 1 1/2 years, you wont have to pay all the penalties of early lease terminations. my point is, check out some lease prices, they are not like they used to be, making buying more attractive.

fast1

... leasing companies have seem to had a problem with having their residuals unrealisticaly high, so when the car comes back to them, they would be upside down on the value of the car. the current leases seem to reflect both lower residuals, and higher money factors

I think you touched on the most important factor when considering a lease, and that is the residual. In 2002 I considered leasing an M3 but even though the residual was attractive, I thought that I could easily exceed it when I sold the car myself. So I wrote a $55K check for the car and I was able to sell it two years later for $47K. Not counting the lost investment opportunity for the $55K, my two years and 17K miles driving the M3 only cost me $4K a year.

I have a friend who bought a C6 Z06 a couple of months ago, and he also considered a lease, but the residual on a three year lease was extremely low, so he also paid cash. Time will tell if he made the right move.

docjackson1

i agree with you. i have gone to various dealers, and have found that the monthly lease payment on a 997s for a three year lease (12k miles) is about $1400/month-a year or two ago, that payment for a car of that price would have been a couple hundred dollars lower, at least. i would be interested to find out if other people are getting similar lease prices. it seems to me that unless you have to lease for tax reasons, that the best thing to do is to negotiate the best price you can and to buy it.

boolala

Unless you can deduct the expense it is always cheaper to buy than lease. At the end of the lease you have zero equity in the car. At the end of a purchace (if financed) you at least have the "residual" value.

The only other senario where I would lease is if I wanted to just turn the car in at the end of 3 or 4 years without the hassle of a private sale if I were not replacing it with a new car (as when going from having 2 to having a single vehicle).

exotics4fun

Just a side note, as a long time former dealership guy (sales & mgmnt) I always promoted leasing. It didn't make me or the store more money on each deal but it kept customers from getting buried in negative equity by purchasing their cars. Customers who call roll from car-to-car through leasing every few years don't face being upside and down never have to be told that their car is worth 10k less than they think and are thus more likely to be return clients. They also tend to always be in warranty so you avoid service complaints, it's a huge win-win.

Porsche FS money factors are not competitive and offset their decent residuals. These cars don't typically lease well unless you've negotiated a huge discount off the selling price (which is like a huge down payment) early in the current model year (when residuals are high before the approach of the next years product when residuals start to plummet). Stick to promo BMW and Benz products if all you want is a lot of car for your leasing buck.