It's never made sense for us - not to say it doesn't for you or others. We do usually keep late model cars although we are not interested in having a new car all the time. Love my toyotas and no car payments. I agree - with leasing you do not own anything. We don't trade either - with my last two cars I have sold them at very good prices (over bluebook value). Our cars are kept garaged, hubby is religious about maintenance, etc. Actually, the same person bought my last two cars and has asked me about this one! This is the longest I've kept a car -it's 6 years old (bought new).

How about buying a late model used car instead of leasing? Have you checked out that option?

We sound like we are like tinam...we buy and then sell the car ourselves. We are very Careful with our cars and keep them clean and in good running order. We have bought new and we have bought used. Have had no problems with the used, late models.

One thing I do know about leasing is to watch your mileage...those fees at the end of the lease can get expensive.

Silvia Porter use to write that the best way to own a car is to buy a 2 year old vehicle, drive it for 2 years, sell it and start over again.

I might not be much help, but I would replace the money pit first.

You say "buy or lease a cheaper used car/suv." I don't know of any company that leases used cars. ???

The only reason leasing would be better is if you can write off the expensive under your business.

The main reason people lease is they want to drive a vehicle they can't afford to buy.

I would pay off the Pontiac, and start putting that money away each month to go towards a larger down payment or pay cash for the next car. I would never finance a car for more than 3 years. 2 is even better.

We always pay cash for our vehicles, but when DH decided he wanted to add a car to the garage earlier this year, we financed since MB was offering a very low interest rate.

With all the sales and competition, some places offer 0% financing to those that qualify.

What is wrong with having a 10yo car as long as it doesn't have extreme mileage?

Another idea, what about the car(s) they have the manager(s) drove but hasn't been titled yet? You get it for K's less and still get the full warranty since it has not been titled. They usually don't have more than 3K miles.

Like I said, I may not be much help since I don't believe in financing. And I've never been one to have to have a new car every 3-5 years. We don't put much mileage on our cars, but DH puts a lot on his truck.

I also wouldn't buy a brand I hadn't researched to see about maintenance issues, etc. I've owned numerous Mercedes and Lexus vehicles (cars and SUV). My first MB required more maintenance the more mileage, so I sold it. The Lexus' seem to never have problems. But the newer MB don't seem to have the maintenance issue. I would never buy a BMW - too many horror stories.

Allison brings up some good points:

"The only reason leasing would be better is if you can write off the expensive under your business." True and it might be worth your while if you can do that.

I'm totally with her on the financing issue. Finance for the least amount of time possible. Like she said, and someone else here mentioned not long ago about the 0% interest rate. You might research that option along with researching reliable/maintenance free issues. The most we've done to one of my cars is water pump. Other than regular maintenance. We put a fair amount of miles on both vehicles because we travel a fair amount and most often drive the car. We own a camper and a boat and use those and of course that means using hubby's truck. He also travels some in his truck for work. The maintenance issue is a HUGE factor for us.

Hope this helps!!

First of all, I think the equity in a vehicle is negligible and would never count on it since they depreciate and require money to maintain and operate.

The experts say the best choice for owning a vehicle is to pay cash due to depreciation. The second best choice is to finance for just a couple of years or to get a loan for 0% financing. Realistically, a car is a massive expense for most people and financing (usually longer than four years) is the only way to have one. We choose only purchasing vehicles we can get for 0% financing and keeping it for at least 10 years. My car is eight yo right now and I could easily keep if for another two to four years - baring any mechanical issues.

I don't think leasing is that bad of a deal if you know your the kind of person who likes driving a new car and don't mind always having a car payment. Also, you can only drive the car for no more than 10 to 12k miles per year without having 10 to 15 cents per mile over the limit tacked on to your lease-end cost.

Keep in mind, they usually entice customers with really low payments but the down payment is pretty hefty. Besides a down payment, lots of leases also require first month's payment, security deposit, acquisition fee and TT&L due at signing. I wouldn't want to shell out a couple of K upfront for something I wasn't actually buying. So if you can't afford the monthly payment with all that rolled into the final price (no money up front) then my advice would be to go another route.

Thanks so much guys for your opinions!!!

Yeah-
It seems like the better option to get rid of the 10y/o Jimmy
* With normal 100k-120k recommended services now due, I could throw $1,000 at it, and it would vanish!
* Also...this fall I'll HAVE TO get the heater-core replaced. An $800 job!!! The whole dash has to be torn out. I've been "band-aiding" it for 3 winters now by getting it flushed out, but it does less good each time.
* No heat up HERE is not an option!!
* Sooooo, now we're up to ~~ $2,000 that would vanish as well...
* PLUS- It wouldn't be worth a nickel more.

I've been reading-up on leases now too.

However...
I DID find a 2005 Black Caddy Escalade in Watertown, SD that caught my eye!! 88k miles...a little higher than I'd like for that year, but the Carfax is clean. Big 6.0L V8, and grey leather, with lots of gadgets!

Yeah-
I can see Faron drivin' that!
This would be primarily "My" car, since DW would keep her GP. I have a HARD TIME getting into the GP, and, since the windshield curves down so far, I can't see the stoplights AT ALL....unless I lean way forward. I like the car, but can't stand how it fits ME.

With it's price and probable trade-diff., I'd like this in my driveway!! $$-wise, it would fit OK.
Gas Mileage?! I could care less about that, but many people can hit 18mpg in the big thing i guess! It's better than the Jimmy believe-it-or-no!!!

Does anyone own/"have a friend with one" ?!
Here's the link....whad'ya think?!?!?

Faron

Here is a link that might be useful: Escalade for Faron?!!??

I see a lot of Escalades around town, usually owned by punks! (seriously, they're just kids, and rumor has it they're drug dealers, but who knows) and I've seen some NBAers in them. That being said, they seem to get good ratings. I can see you in one.

The miles are a bit high for that rig, but not too extreme, I guess it would depend on how those miles were put on it.

I see your point on the Jimmy, now that you describe what it's gonna need...yeah, at that point, it does start to nickle and dime you and frankly, Jimmys aren't that popular in the SUV world any more.

With a Caddy, you'd be getting a rig that is pretty easy to get serviced, so I'd say go for it! But if it doesn't work, I don't suggest a lease...I've heard that they really sock it to you in the mileage part. They give low miles and you hit it really fast, and then you're paying up the yingyang.

pesky : "I see a lot of Escalades around town, usually owned by punks! (seriously, they're just kids, and rumor has it they're drug dealers..." .
and then: " I can see you in one." ha ha ha! Sorry, I couldn't resist, though we know it's not what pesky meant, but still :>):>) Kinda flattering/kinda not :>)
We get good cars( like Allison, Lexsus and Toyota's are proven never-to-the -shop winners), and then keep them for a loooong, loooong time. Pay cash and keep. We are not into the excitement of new cars, though lots ( mostly guy) are, I know.

16K+ for an almost 6 yo car with 88K miles?

How many miles a year do you put on a vehicle?

Allison-
I maybe only put on ~ 12k-14k/yr.
If I divide the 88,000 by 6 (model years old) = 14,500/yr.
My 10 y/o Jimmy has 125k on it. Over 10 years, that's obviously 12,500 miles/yr. overall.

12k-15k/yr. is considered average at most dealers I've ever talked to.

Pesky-
Up HERE...the Escalades, Denali's, Yukons, Suburbans, etc., are ALWAYS...ALWAYS being driven by Women or Men in their 30's/40's/50's. Not kidding at all!!
I can count on one hand the # of times I've seen a "Kid" driving one!

Obviously, leasing a used car isn't done!

Faron

We always buy our cars as well. I understand the draw to leasing, low payments and yes a new vehicle more often, but like others have said unless you're leasing to use it as a business write off, the benefits for the general consumer are much more beneficial to the auto dealer than the consumer, that's why they promote them so much. If I were to consider leasing, my concern would be the what if's. What if I needed to get out of the contract early? What if I didn't want to lease at a later date or buy the car I'd been leasing at the EOC? What if financially I can't afford the large payments required at the end of the lease period? What if the automakers change the leasing guidelines again? Last time they did that so many people got screwed by having to buy the vehicle(s) they were leasing. In our area the majority of the ex-auto workers got great deals and leased ALL their vehicles. Also, the part that scares me too is I've heard a lot of complaints about dealers dinging the lessee with excessive costs for damages, some they say didn't even exist.

Our car situation is very similar to yours, my 2006 Jeep will be paid off in 2 months, (Yeah) and my husbands Nissan Truck has been paid off for 3-4 years. Right now it's in the shop getting adjustments on a new tranny we invested in. That's the first time it's really ever needed anything major. I personally can't wait until we have 2 cars with no payments. There are so many things I'd rather do with that money. We've bought new several times but my Jeep was a demo model with enough miles on it that they had to sell it as used. We saved on depreciation that way and the car still had the new car smell. A winning option in my opinion.

I will willingly admit I'm biased. I worked in finance for many years as did my Mother (I did mortgages, she did auto loans). Our perspectives are conservative but we've always believed that unless the expense to rent can be written off, it's always better to own. Here's an article though that sort of gives the pro's and con's from a more unbiased perspective. I hope it helps!

Here is a link that might be useful: Leaseguide.com