I am wondering what people here think of leasing. I have never leased a vehicle before but I'm considering leasing a Z next year. I will be under 12,000
miles a year for sure. I think it's a good way to get the car you want but my wife is not convinced yet. Any feedback would be appreciated.

 

im not fond of leasing...it's basically just renting the car for a few years and you gotta give it back

 

What do you think you're doing when you pay a bank for your car? You don't own it, the bank does, and until you pay it off, you're "renting" it from the bank.

Most people end up trading their car after 3-4 years anyway, and thus are doing precisely the same thing as leasing, except they pay more for it.

Most people are better off with a lease.

 

Unless you have a unique situation such as a business expense, leasing is bad news. Its sort of like a rental: at the end of the lease, you don't own the car.

 

Lease is good if you know you aren't keeping the car. If you plan on buying the car at the end, leasing is the worst thing you could do. You won't get a lower payment than a lease in most cases. When I worked for nissan i remember the lease program for the z to be very bad and in most cases it was just a little more to buy. But it is worth looking into.

 

Sorry, but its not the same as taking a loan from a bank. You do own the car, the bank merely has a lien...but your payments build equity. On a lease, your payments cover the depreciation.

There are ups and downs to leases, like there are ups and downs for financing and just like there are ups and downs to paying cash for a car via a variety of means. It all depends on your particular situation.

The real issue in any lease is how you structure it.

 

A lien or a lease makes no difference. As far as making payments and building equity in a loan situation, if you are financing the whole amount and for a long term, don't plan on being in an equitable situation for quite awhile.

Like someone has already said, the bank is the owner of the car, miss 3 payments and see if you still are driving it. Depending on the strength of the leasing programs, sometimes its a no brainer, for example the current leases on 2005 Altima, Murano and Pathfinders, actually pretty much every nissan except the Z at this point.

Right now you are better off buying a z than leasing IMO, the money factor is too high for the lease. Its about the only car I don't even pitch the lease on at this point.

One thing you have to remember about a lease is that it is the only absolute way to know exactly what your car is going to cost you in a specific term.

 

Buy.

 

I would say buy also, unless it is for a qualified business where you will get the write off. I always thought that a lease was a way for people to drive a more expensive car than they could normally afford to buy. Lease payments cover the tremendous depreciation the car has in the first three years. Lease payments normally have a higher interest rate. But I would agree you have to see the costs associated with both laid on the table to make a final determination. Ken

 

..again, it depends on the car

I have no idea what the residual is on a lease or the money factor Nissan uses...I imagine its not so great as they don't sell a TON every year

Some cars are set up to lease, and at various times during the year, leases are more attractive than loans. There is no "better" or "worse" - there is different, and it varies car to car, person to person.

An there is a big difference between ownership of a lease vs a loan....the title on a loan is in my hands, the title on a lease is in someone else's hands.

 

See what i have done, is use hp, thus for business use, claim depreciation etc back

 

only in a few states does the customer keep the title during a bank loan.

 

I would only ever buy a car outright. Then it is mine, no one can take it away from me and I take enormous satisfaction from that.

 

Nissan has awesome leases. you could lease an altima with 0 i mean absolutlely nothing due at signing for 300month with tax for 24 months and 15kmiles a year. like i said earlier only a few cars dont lease that great

 

Lease is the way to go.. FOR ANY CAR BUT THE Z. I was leasing mine, up until yesterday when I got a loan for it and now I'm buying it. I didn't know I was going to enjoy it as much.
If you do decide to buy it when your lease is up, you have to pay a residual which is usually more...
Hey Jackie Chan, I think he's looking to lease a Z, not an Altima.

 

yeah i know, but some people were stating a lease was never anygood

 

I would buy, but like everyone else has said, it depends on the car and Nissan does have great leases.

I bought mine and wouldn't have it any other way. With other cars I have leased and I am glad I did. With the Z, I like the satisfaction and confidence of knowing that it's mine. Even if it has been through 3 trannies.

 

Private ownership of property. America was built on this foundation. Nice going.

 

Howabout breaking a lease? (Say for example the Altima after 12 months of the 24)

 

just like a loan, a lease has a payoff. So all you would do is call and get the total payoff and trade that in, or you could pay the remainder of the payments and walk away(300X12=3600). Say you were in a lease you wanted out of early, you would weigh those two options out and see which one would give you the most inequity(sp?). I have had quite a few altima leases traded in lately where the car was worth quite a bit more than the residual(mainly 3.5se). I had a lady that had 2g in equity and I was putting her into a new maxima for the same payment as her altima and she decided she wanted to wait. By the time her lease is up she probably wont have the same equity and the programs will change and I bet her payment will be $50 higher and she will think i am trying to rip her off....its science(ron burgundy)