is there any point to buying anymore?

1192 Views 16 Replies 15 Participants Last post by JastorVW, Jul 2, 2003

sssnice

Discussion Starter · Jul 1, 2003

I've financed my jetta but I'm starting to have real questions if I wouldn't have been better off leasing. Seems to me the used car market is going to be run by the car dealers in a couple of years because they give that one year warranty that private sellers can't do. So you'll always have to trade in your car and get way less for it than it's worth. This coupled with the fact that most car companies are pumping out cars so fast that the average age of a car (in ontario anyway) is like 6 years old which means depreciation is going to occur that much faster. If you're going to keep the car for 10 years that's different. I hate not owning what I have because maybe it seems like I don't actually have possesion of it but if you're like me and seem to flip every 3-4 years and driving under 24K a year what's the point? Anybody?

1 - 17 of 17 Posts

JoshmkII

· #2 · Jul 1, 2003

Re: is there any point to buying anymore? (sssnice)

interestingly enough, I saw a bit on the news the other night about how car dealers (and manufacturers) in NY are going to stop offering leasing in NY due to some old school law that makes the lease company liable if the car is involved in an accident. A couple manufacturers have already had to pay out large sums over lawsuits.

vr6y

· #3 · Jul 1, 2003

Re: is there any point to buying anymore? (JoshmkII)

why do you "have" to flip every 3 or 4 years? is it b/c you have clients and need the spiffed up newer car or just change in taste?

Obin Robinson

· #4 · Jul 1, 2003

Re: is there any point to buying anymore? (vr6y)

Quote, originally posted by vr6y »

why do you "have" to flip every 3 or 4 years? is it b/c you have clients and need the spiffed up newer car or just change in taste?

i was wondering the same thing. the point to BUYING is that you don't have ASTRONOMICAL INSURANCE PAYMENTS.
think about it.. that $6,000 or so you'll dump into insurance and possibly NEVER need while you owned that car... it could have BOUGHT you a car.
obin

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Spaghetti_Part2

· #5 · Jul 1, 2003

Re: is there any point to buying anymore? (Obin Robinson)

the misconception with leasing is that "you dont own the car". well, maybe not a misconception, but a poor argument. the truth of the matter is, until you make the last payment on your financed car,....you dont own that either buddy. And in most cases, those finance payments last 5 years. the other thing to consider is, depending on your payments, down payment, and depreciations rate of you vehicle, you probably are gonna owe more than its worth for a good 2-3 years. so at least with leasing, at the end, you can just walk away if you want. after 3 years, its completely possible that you are still completely upside down on the car you "own".....

maskedSONY

· #6 · Jul 1, 2003

Re: is there any point to buying anymore? (vr6y)

Quote, originally posted by vr6y »

why do you "have" to flip every 3 or 4 years? is it b/c you have clients and need the spiffed up newer car or just change in taste?

you can buy the car at the end of the lease. my friend did that with his BMW. not sure how the numbers work out, but im sure that one way to put an end to extra dealer expenses after spending so goddamn much in the first place.

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DownShift

· #7 · Jul 1, 2003

Re: is there any point to buying anymore? (maskedSONY)

I think leasing works out alright if you get sick of cars every few years and always like driving something new. And if you don't drive over 15k miles a year or something.
If you BUY the car (finance), and want to flip it in 2 years, it will probably cost you more in ownership costs during those 2 years than if you were going to lease.
Also leasing makes it easier to own a more expensive car for less, ask me how I know

.
-Ash

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cratz2

· #8 · Jul 1, 2003

Re: is there any point to buying anymore? (DownShift)

I always feel good about reading other's insurance rates... In about April or June 1999, the wife had a brand new Jetta GLS and I had a brand new Civic Si and still had the Monte Carlo beater/racer. Our insurance for all three of them was about $280 every six months for both of us on all three cars.
My 22 or 23 year old friend that had Mustang GT was $400 a month for insurance and my other friend that got a Contour at the end of 2000 was paying $300 something for insurance A MONTH!
It's good to be over 25, own a house, married, a couple kids, no tickets etc...

sssnice

Discussion Starter · #9 · Jul 1, 2003

Re: is there any point to buying anymore? (vr6y)

Quote, originally posted by vr6y »

why do you "have" to flip every 3 or 4 years? is it b/c you have clients and need the spiffed up newer car or just change in taste?

yah I guess it's just personal. I get bored easily plus I guess for the cars I've owned sorta fit the needs at the time. 89 acura - first car, won't have to worry about it much cheap to fill, 95 nissan 200sx se-r - cool little hatch, total sleeper but 2 door, jetta - four door more practical for shuttling client and stuff but now has a blanket in the backseat full time because of the recent addition of a dog into the mix. So now I'm thinking jetta wagon or the like. I mena these are all the cars I've owned from 18 to 28 and I guess you change a lot durning that time so maybe I'm flipping more than I would later on in life. but yah from what you guys are saying from the way I see car ownership I'd be better off leasing.

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whatsacorrado2

· #10 · Jul 1, 2003

Re: is there any point to buying anymore? (sssnice)

few reasons to lease:
1) Get into a better car than you could get with regular finance. (lease is lower payment) Say you could only spend $400 a month on payments... instead of a 20,000 car you can get a 25,000 car.
2) Able to switch cars every few years
3) no worry of the value of the car being less then you owe for it three years from now. Average person does a 5 year loan, but wants to trade it in after 3 years. this leaves you with a negative position. a lease is a way to stop this.

Modified by whatsacorrado2 at 10:22 PM 7-1-2003

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FatSean

· #11 · Jul 1, 2003

Re: is there any point to buying anymore? (cratz2)

Quote, originally posted by cratz2 »

It's good to be over 25, own a house, married, a couple kids, no tickets etc...

Hahaha...why so you can save a few hundred on car insurance?! Yeesh....

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GoFaster

· #12 · Jul 1, 2003

Re: is there any point to buying anymore? (FatSean)

I do 60,000 km per year because of my job. This tilts the balance towards "buy used" - let someone else take the initial depreciation hit. The strong incentives for new cars have depressed the used car market, which is bad if you're trying to sell something that you bought new a few years back but GREAT if you're on the buying end of that deal.
I've found it best to buy a 3-year-old off-lease vehicle. (My Passat was like this.) Monthly payments on a loan to buy this used car are about the same as lease payments on a new one over (say) 4 years, but at the end of the 4 years, I now have a vehicle that's still running and still worth something (if not much - worth more to ME in that I'm not paying for something else), whereas if I had leased, I'd have to pay a fortune in excess mileage charges to get something else or pay a buy-out at the end that doesn't exist in the case of buying used.
Actually, I didn't make any monthly payments on my Passat ... I despise monthly payments, and paid cash to buy the sucker outright 4 years ago. It's mine, it's long since paid for, it's still running, and will be kept until it's not worth keeping ...

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TwoUptons

· #13 · Jul 1, 2003

Re: is there any point to buying anymore? (whatsacorrado2)

Of course, if you lease, you _have_ to switch cars every few years (or buy out your lease)...

hawc

· #14 · Jul 2, 2003

Re: is there any point to buying anymore? (TwoUptons)

I've go the Royal Bank Buy Back. It has the benefits of leasing and financing combined. It's like financing in that the car's in my name, but it I'm not making financing payments on the entire value of the the car, just the 4 year depreciation. The buyback is guaranteed at $15,000. It works out to be much less that financing.

anarchyx34

· #15 · Jul 2, 2003

Re: is there any point to buying anymore? (Spaghetti_Part2)

Quote, originally posted by Spaghetti_Part2 »

the misconception with leasing is that "you dont own the car". well, maybe not a misconception, but a poor argument. the truth of the matter is, until you make the last payment on your financed car,....you dont own that either buddy. And in most cases, those finance payments last 5 years. the other thing to consider is, depending on your payments, down payment, and depreciations rate of you vehicle, you probably are gonna owe more than its worth for a good 2-3 years. so at least with leasing, at the end, you can just walk away if you want. after 3 years, its completely possible that you are still completely upside down on the car you "own".....

Great point. That's why i just buy pre-owned cars. Let some other fool take the depreciation hit.

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FatSean

· #16 · Jul 2, 2003

Re: is there any point to buying anymore? (anarchyx34)

Plus, when OBD3 comes out and your car is reporting your speeding habits to the police...

JastorVW

· #17 · Jul 2, 2003

Re: is there any point to buying anymore? (FatSean)

Isn't it possible that in a lease buyout situation you could end up spending much more than it's worth? For example, if the dealer artificially inflated that residual to get you that low monthly payment you wanted?

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