For me - leasing has never been an option. Traded in my '10 six months ago with 75k on the odometer. My '13 already has 12k in six months. Plus, I take my truck from the dealer to the chop shop. Upgrade tires, exhaust, tint the windows, etc. I would hate not having true control over MY vehicle.

 

That is exactly why leasing is not for everyone. But, for those of us who do lease, it works well in our situation. That is why Tseekins presented the question in the first place...............

 

I deploy a lot. Many times I'm on the other side of the world and will be there for months. When/If the wife has car issues, I'm not there to help her fix it. And to be honest, she is a ditz with anything mechanical.

So I buy her new vehicles with warranties every 3yrs or so. It's a safety net so I don't have to worry about it.

Problem is, buying a new car every few years is outrageously expensive. This last time around I leased her 2012 Flex. We pay 1/2 the $$$ I would be paying if I had outright bought the Flex under a traditional car loan. 1/2 the $$$ is a lot of $$$ on a $44,000 car.

We have a 3yr lease with 10k/year allowance. She typically drives about 8k/year. Sometimes 9k/year. So the mileage works out nicely as well. If she gets close to the limit, we'll park the Flex and she can drive my Excursion.


best thing about the lease IMO is this: You turn it in and walk away. No obligation. To me that is awesome. I hate the game where you fight for trade-in value and other B.S. Trade-ins are the bane of car buying. After the turn-in, I'm free to negotiate a new lease, or just go and buy something somewhere else. The thought is liberating!

 

Dealers do manage to make the trade-in process pretty frustrating. I can't really understand it, since it should be so simple.

 

The last two vehicles I bought were without a trade-in. Great process, in and out in less than 2 hours.

We're considering an Edge to replace the Expy in the future. Truth be told, I don't even want to lift the hood anymore other than to check the oil twice monthly. Ford has a done a great job of enabling us to own a vehicle with the smallest amount of routine maintenance and I'm liking this a lot.

 

Check out the flex. They're awesome. And they can get the ecoboost

 

Whoa. Ellipsis overkill.

No, it isn't for everyone but when I see people posting on here that they park their leases when they get close to their annual miles, I cannot imagine being tied to a payment and unable to drive it. The people who can truly benefit from a lease are limited. Very limited. I don't pay any more a month on a purchase than I would a lease and in three years, when I'm tired of looking at it, I trade it with equity in it - a lease is always starting out from +/- 0! I specifically wait around for Ford Truck month (February/March) - get more for the trade in and great rebates. OP asked for input - why you do or don't lease. That's what I gave.

 

You can always drive it but then it becomes so much more expensive. Especially good if you have another car to fall back on if you happen to be nearing the miles limit.

I have done the same with cars I bought. Tires were getting very used so I decided to drive the other car as much as possible so I could wait for next summer before getting new tires at which time I was planning on changing car anyway.

 

I think the correct way to go about this is to negotiate an adequate number of miles and plan to purchase tires around the 30-40K mark as you would anyway.

The manufacturer puts the cheapest POS tires on these new vehicles anyway, nothing says that you can't mount the same POS economy grade tire before lease turn in. That's what I would do if I leased.

After starting this thread, i called my dealer and asked some questions about leasing. His advise to me was, after I've negotiated my best price, ask for a breakdown comparison on leasing and buying and go with which option works the best for you.

Sounded like honest advise.

 

fun fact: the down payment consists of 1st and last payment for the lease as well. so yeah, it's a bit of money up front, but you aren't just throwing that money out the window.

as far as parking the car, I'm not worried about it. I carefully considered the mileage we drive and picked an appropriate limit. We've got a "few" years of driving history that the decision was based upon. So far we've been well within our limits for mileage and my wife drives the car every single day anywhere she wants without any reservation.
no kidding. I can't remember what they are at the moment, but with <15,000 miles at the moment, the POS 19" rubber the Flex came with are already significantly worn. I'm not sure if I'll have to buy tires or not before turn-in. I need to find out what the minimum tread depth is oh well, pay to play and all that jazz

 

I have leased 4 out of 5 of my F-150's with no regrets. I have gotten out of my leases at least 6 months early on them, and have always have had some equity as well. I put little to no money down, sign and drive. I recently got out of my 2010 8 months early, and leased my 2013 with no money down on the D Plan. Leasing works for myself (and my wife) because I'm able to keep the mileage well within the 12000 miles a year, and I do like having a new vehicle sooner than later. To be completely honest I would have kept my 2010 lease to the end, but I salivated over the Ecoboost to the point that I couldn't hold back any longer.

 

you can turn in early if you re-lease?

we have really been wanting the Ecoboost Flex or Ecoboost Explorer

 

ive leased for years and have never regretted it..ive actually bought 2 of them at the end of the lease...always have a warranty so you don't have those unexpected surprises on those months when money seems short..and you can afford much more of a rig as opposed to buying

 

I feel very strongly about this having made the mistake of getting into a lease when I was young. First car was used and cost me a lot in repairs. I really wanted a warranty on the next one.

Here's and example using my truck; prices will seem high because this is from the website; no dealing
F250 lariat crew 4x4
two-tone paint,5th wheel prep,root lights,moonroof,remote start
MSRP 59,149$ (ford.ca)

Lease no down 36 months
1136$/month APR 6.89%
WEbsite is not well designed, not sure if this includes the taxes
Also 6.89%... Wow; can I help someone buy a truck at 6%; that would be a great investment for me

Finance 72 months
1090$/month APR 6.09%

So in the lease after 3 years you spent 40,896$ and got nothing to show for it. Give back the keys and over if you are lucky. Maybe something to pay if there are damages.

Finance after 6 years and 78,480$ the truck is all yours. 6% interest piles up over 6 years.

For 82k you get to rent a truck new every 3 years
For 78k you get to buy a truck over 6 years and keep a 6 years old truck


What I did?
Bought a 2011 for 35k almost all cash. Had 7k put into my 3.5% credit margin and will pay that back well within the year. I can resell that truck at any time at the same price or maybe losing 1-2k within one year. It's not new but it does everything a 2013 would do and will only last 3 years less before rust eats it.

You want new?
If you are too broke for a cash down and don't have good credit but must absolutely have the truck. Lease.
If you get put some cash down and have good credit. Buy it; pay it quick. Enjoy the quickly depreciating asset(quick vs investment, infinitely better vs lease)

You want to have as much of your money as possible for other things. Buy the old, ugly truck without options. Drive it until it drives no more.

 

I don't know where you are getting your leasing figures. I've leased for years and can talk from experience. 2012 Ford Explorer Limited : Sticker $53K. No money down except first month payment and the normal fees. 24 months less than $550.
Now, 2014 Explorer XLT : Sticker $45K. No money down, normal fees, less than $425 monthly for 36 months. Both were under Ford's Red Carpet Lease programs. Your figures are more than double for a truck that lists at $59K?