• Welcome to OGBoards 10.0, keep in mind that we will be making LOTS of changes to smooth out the experience here and make it as close as possible functionally to the old software, but feel free to drop suggestions or requests in the Tech Support subforum!

Do you buy or lease your cars?

Which option do you use, and why?

  • Finance through the dealer

    Votes: 16 20.5%

  • Finance with a loan from a bank/credit union

    Votes: 29 37.2%

  • Buy with cash outright

    Votes: 35 44.9%

  • Lease

    Votes: 3 3.8%
  • Total voters
    78
If you decide to finance, whether it's new or used, I definitely recommend having your own financing locked up before you set foot on the lot. Then once you've negotiated the price with the dealership ask them what financing they can provide. Take the best financing option of the two.
 
One other thing to consider, financing an automobile reflects better on your credit score than paying cash outright. If you are paying a home mortgage, this is a moot point. But for people living in an apartment who have not created much credit yet outside of student loans and credit cards, financing an automobile can really help your credit score for when you want to buy a house, etc.
 
I bought my current car, paid off the loan 2 years early (on a 4 year loan).

Next time I get a car, I'll probably start leasing. I love getting new stuff every couple years, so why not? I'ma be rich by then anyway! :tard:
 
ChrisL68 said:
How can your resale value as a percentage of purchase price be better on a new car than a used one?
Click to expand...

If are you looking at the same model, then the price of a used car X years old should be about the same as what you'd be able to sell a new car in X years, while the value of a used car in 2X years is likely going to be pretty minimal, unless X is very small, maybe 2 years or less -- and I'm always skeptical about anyone selling a new car within 2 years of purchase.
 
I'm probably going to pull the trigger on a 2012 model car. My Jetta's radio knob broke off today :mad:
 
!!hDY2hg!mE~$(KGrHqMOKkEE0ePJHpVIBNSryB1WOg~~_4.JPG


!!hDY2UQ!2E~$(KGrHqUOKiUE0qg8GGGuBNSr)8i9sQ~~_4.JPG


These two pictures show the damage on my car when I bought it. That stuff has almost completely been fixed. The car looks brand new.
 
TWDeac said:
I'm probably going to pull the trigger on a 2012 model car. My Jetta's radio knob broke off today :mad:
Click to expand...

EL OH EL.


At least your radio even works; my poor jeep has been driven into the ground... 152,000 miles on it, the radio doesn't work, the freon leaks (so basically there's no AC), 2 of the 4 power windows don't go down anymore, the power locks only work on 2 of the 5 doors, the back hatch won't stay up w/out a broomstick propping it -which I keep in the trunk- and it doesn't like to change gears.

fixing any one of these problems would practically total it (Kelley blue book value: $850 trade-in, $1,500 max if privately selling).
that said, it still gets me from A to B so I will continue to drive it, but damn as soon as I have steady employment you better believe I'm getting a new car.
 
I'm a pretty firm believer that the fewer transactions you can do with a dealer, the fewer opportunities they have to screw you, so I generally try to resell my prior vehicle myself and pay cash or arrange my own financing. In my limited experience the dealer has never been able to beat the financing available through my credit union.

Then again, I'm a "buy (relatively) recent/drive it into the ground" kind of guy. I've had my truck for seven years. My wife has had her car for three years. I paid cash for her car and have not had a car payment in 3.5 years or so. I've been lucky insofar as I've not had to put thousands of $ into any of my vehicles.
 
DeacAlum2001 said:
If you decide to finance, whether it's new or used, I definitely recommend having your own financing locked up before you set foot on the lot. Then once you've negotiated the price with the dealership ask them what financing they can provide. Take the best financing option of the two.
Click to expand...

This. If new, first figure out what you want.

Then negotiate price only, including all taxes & fees. Shop multiple dealers and play one against the other. Get the terms in writing via email. They hate it, but fuck 'em. There are plenty of other customers that they can ass rape under the guise of "earning your business". Don't let 'em do it to you. My latest cyber-negotiating on my wife's care went about 2.5 weeks before there was only 1 dealer left standing with the best offer.

Once you have the best price, then see what they can do on financing compared to outside financing you've already lined up.
 
TWDeac said:
I had it narrowed down to a Mazda 3 Grand Touring or a VW GTI. We'll see what 2012 brings, though.
Click to expand...

This is another good site that gives you pretty good updates on dealer incentives http://www.realcartips.com/news/

Not sure what your timeline is, but I think the best plan would be to wait until the 2012 models start rolling out and buy a leftover 2011 model -- you can get really sick discounts on those -- the manufacturer will offer huge incentives to the dealerships to get rid of them to make room for more 2012 models. I tried to do that but got in a bit too late in the game.

Definitely never do a trade-in with a dealership though.

As far as financing, I think there's a pretty big difference between dealership financing for a new car (which is the way to go, imo -- pretty easy to get 0.9% or better) and a used car, where you probably want to go through a bank or pay in cash if possible.
 
Last edited:
lbE08 said:
EL OH EL.


At least your radio even works; my poor jeep has been driven into the ground... 152,000 miles on it, the radio doesn't work, the freon leaks (so basically there's no AC), 2 of the 4 power windows don't go down anymore, the power locks only work on 2 of the 5 doors, the back hatch won't stay up w/out a broomstick propping it -which I keep in the trunk- and it doesn't like to change gears.

fixing any one of these problems would practically total it (Kelley blue book value: $850 trade-in, $1,500 max if privately selling).
that said, it still gets me from A to B so I will continue to drive it, but damn as soon as I have steady employment you better believe I'm getting a new car.
Click to expand...

Yeah... my car is a disaster waiting to happen. It burns oil like mad. I have to replace almost all of the oil at least once between oil changes. One headlight barely works. The power steering belt is about to break, I'm positive. It idles so rough that it routinely stalls at stoplights. All the windows work though :)

:foreveralone:
 
IAppreciateIt said:
This is another good site that gives you pretty good updates on dealer incentives http://www.realcartips.com/news/

Not sure what your timeline is, but I think the best plan would be to wait until the 2012 models start rolling out and buy a leftover 2011 model -- you can get really sick discounts on those -- the manufacturer will offer huge incentives to the dealerships to get rid of them to make room for more 2012 models. I tried to do that but got in a bit too late in the game.

Definitely never do a trade-in with a dealership though.
Click to expand...

Sounds like a plan. I would probably go through my dad's credit union's auto buying service. They were going to give me a helluva a deal on a 2011 GTI. We'll see what happens though.
 
Always negotiate your best price before you talk financing or trade with the dealer. Always line up your own financing through the bank or credit union first. Always get an offer on your used car from Carmax.

I've tried buying new, buying CPO, and leasing. I haven't settled on any strategy yet, but I feel pretty good about the 10-year old Suburban with 110,000 miles on it that i bought new and the 2006 BMW that I bought CPO with 20,000 miles on it and $20,000 of depreciation that I missed.
 
IAppreciateIt said:
If are you looking at the same model, then the price of a used car X years old should be about the same as what you'd be able to sell a new car in X years, while the value of a used car in 2X years is likely going to be pretty minimal, unless X is very small, maybe 2 years or less -- and I'm always skeptical about anyone selling a new car within 2 years of purchase.
Click to expand...

But depreciation as a % of value flattens as a car ages.

depreciation.jpg
 
TWDeac said:
Sounds like a plan. I would probably go through my dad's credit union's auto buying service. They were going to give me a helluva a deal on a 2011 GTI. We'll see what happens though.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I started with an auto buying service, then played those guys against each other, then took the best offer to my local dealership who matched it (and threw in some accessories). In the end, I paid over $600 less the truecar.com "Great Price," and even about $500 less than the supposed dealer cost.
 
ChrisL68 said:
But depreciation as a % of value flattens as a car ages.

depreciation.jpg
Click to expand...

And and that point we are talking well under 10k in terms of value, even lower if you are trying to sell it to the 3rd owner. Like DCDeac said, it depends if your plan is to drive your car until it dies or not.

I guess the key question to ask is how much do you value a 10 year old car -- that is, five years after you initially bought the 5-year old used car. In my specific case, it conservatively came to about $4000 when accounting for the difference in interest rates and inflation. And I think a lot of that is washed away when you throw in increasing maintenance costs.
 
In the past I have bought only with cash, but I have also bought only very used cars. Right now I have enough cash to buy a replacement if need be, but it wouldn't be a very nice replacement. As I graduate and begin my career I'll build up my savings up to about $25k or so and pull the trigger when the cost/benefit math of my current ride no longer works out. How much cash I have will dictate what I buy (new versus used mainly); interest rates will dictate whether I use cash or finance.

The math on leasing would most probably not work out for me. I am thinking 200k+ miles for the next ride.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top