My ford dealer is pushing this Red Carpet Lease program that ford has. I wanted to finance but they make the red carpet lease sound better. Is it better, should I go with it????

 

Can you say "hot potato?"

I'm tired of getting in arguments with people on this topic (as opposed to open-minded and intelligent discussion). While other people here tell you how much leasing sucks, I'll keep my mouth shut. Blue SCab, if you have specific questions, please feel free to private-message me; I'll be glad to answer them. In the meantime, if people are going to rip it to shreds, I do wish they'd give us their own personal experiences with leasing. I suspect those that hate leasing the most have never leased a vehicle in their life, and are basing their opinions on what their brother-in-law's cousin's sister's ex-boss had to say.

 

I used to lease exclusively. It works great as long as you don't go longer than 36 months, get best sale price (cap cost), low interest rate (factor), and high residual. With a low sale price and high residual, you pay less per month to "rent" the vehicle. Add to that a short term and and low interest rate and it can be a good deal.

Unfortunately leases have gotten more expensive and the gap between leasing and financing has narrowed. If you're into getting a new vehicle every few years then I would consider it depending on the deal. The most important thing is to buy on price and terms, not the payment alone.

Joe

 

Dog gone it! My opinion may not be worth much but my brother-in-law's cousin's sister's ex-boss is a real phart smeller... I me smart pheller.

All I know is that when I priced a 4yr lease on a Ranger, it came out to about $2k less than the selling price. I told the dealer that was like me buying the vehicle and giving it back after 4 years. Her response was, "I didn't say it was a good deal".

 

My brother-in-law always says BUY your car. Don't lease. When you buy, you will eventually own a paid off car. With leasing, you are always going to be making payments. They never end.

 

Isn't the rule of thumb something like this. .

1) If you plan on keeping the car 5 years or more, go ahead and buy.

2) If you like getting new cars/trucks every 3 years or less then lease?

I guess it just depends on your situation, finances, what you want, etc. . .

What may be a good idea to lease for me may not be a good reason for you and vice versa (or however you spell that).

 

Just make sure that your lease term doesn't exceed the length/mileage of the factory warranty protection. Would really hate to lease a 3-year warranty vehicle for four years, and have the tranny take a nap in month 42.

 

Well I have lease my last 2 trucks and my last car. I feel like I got a very good deal. I get x-plan pricing and my lease payments are way less than buying ( I do check to see what the different is ). My last truck I turned in early and they offer me $900 more than the contract stated, as long as I left on the step tubes, the bed cover, and the bug guard. All together I paided $300 for them 2 years early. The truck I got now is for 36 months, 45,000 miles. They offer to extend the full warrenty for $5 a month on my payment. $5 x 36 = $180 more. Hell thats only 2 to 3 hours of labor at my dealership. I hate working on cars or trucks in the Winter so I like to have my trucks under warrenty. I also lease a Saturn Ion 1 this spring for $135 (38 months, 36,000 miles) a month to help in my gas mileage back and forth to work.

Leasing is not for everybody but it is an option to look at. I have purchase cars and ran them to the junkyard 12 years later and paid various amounts for repairs almost every year. So do what you want to do its a free country, at least till next week.

dly