I'm a car salesmen, Go ahead and ask me anything

[DementedReality]

Originally Posted by Sliver

...

Let's take a look at a fairly typical dealer ad. It offers a popular new model for $13,998 with 1.9% financing or a four year lease with $1,000 down and monthly payments of $249.


Suppose he chooses to buy the car instead. He'll spend $13,508 over a 48 month period. That assumes a $1,000 down payment and the 1.9% financing. His monthly payment would be $281. Not much more than the lease.

first off ... this math isnt right ... a car costing $14k, should have a lease payment of around 160/month ..

secondly, dont bother with the downpayment, its contrary to the point of leasing. it wont save you money, i would rather give you $1000 in 1/48 increments.

anyhow ... follow my math with the above example


OUT OF POCKET $$$

leasing ...
48 payments x 160 per month = $7,680.00 out of pocket

purchase
48 x 280 per month = $13,440 out of pocket

end of 48 months
leaser has $5500 in capital and growing, but not car
buyer has $7000 in a depreciating asset but no capital ... one can say he does have the 280 a month to invest, but of course he now also has no warrenty. a 4 year old car is a good time for a transmission or a ball joint or some other expensive repair

not only that, say he does have a $2500 repair, his $7000 asset is now worth $4000 if he doesnt put that $2500 into it!

and each year that $7000 asset become worth less and less ...and still a risk for more repairs.

in the meantime, the leaser is driving a new car, within their budget and continues to grow their capital with no risk of a sinkhole in a depreciating asset.

i guess it works for me ... to each his own. i dont want to ever own a car.

by the way, if leasing is so bad for the consumer, why did Chrysler discontinue it as an option?

[DementedReality]

Originally Posted by Sliver

.... But everything doesn't always go according to plan. A lost job or sick child could make that car payment too big to handle. If he should need to get out of the deal early, it's harder to terminate a lease.

so if Mark purchased and HAD to sell, most likely he is upside down due to depreciation, if he cant afford a $280 car payment, how is going to afford the lump sum (thousands $$) to discharge the lien on his car?

surely he isnt going to be able to sell the car for what he owes, unless of course he got an outrageous discount on the car to begin with, but if thats the case there is no lease vs buy argument to begin with. clearly if you can buy the car for $5000 less on the mSRP than leasing, its an easy decision. this analysis supposes that the MSRP is the same in both cases and therefore not an issue.

[Winsor_Pilates]

Originally Posted by DementedReality

first off ... this math isnt right ... a car costing $14k, should have a lease payment of around 160/month ..

secondly, dont bother with the downpayment, its contrary to the point of leasing. it wont save you money, i would rather give you $1000 in 1/48 increments.

anyhow ... follow my math with the above example


OUT OF POCKET $$$

leasing ...
48 payments x 160 per month = $7,680.00 out of pocket

purchase
48 x 280 per month = $13,440 out of pocket

end of 48 months
leaser has $5500 in capital and growing, but not car
buyer has $7000 in a depreciating asset but no capital ...

So by this example, the owner could sell the car for $7000, have a net cost of $6,440 and $7K in capital.

Owning still wins

[blankall]

Originally Posted by Winsor_Pilates

So by this example, the owner could sell the car for $7000, have a net cost of $6,440 and $7K in capital.

Owning still wins

Depends on your situation. Some people might not be able to afford the extra payments. Some people might have better investments with the extra payment money.

It's also a major hassle to sell a vehicle.

Leasing allows you to change vehicles easier and lets you stay in a new car under warranty. Some people might not want to stay in their entry level vehicle for years on end.

All it takes is one major repair (or a couple small ones) beyond the warranty period to make the lease better economically in the long run.

There are obvious advantages to both situations. You can't say that financing is always the better option.

[Sliver]

Well you're right...to each his own. But I think you'll be very hard pressed to ever win an argument that it is a wise financial move.

Admittedly, I can see how tempting it would be to lease a car when I look at what cool cars you can get for pretty cheap.

[The Fonz]

Will the Pontiac G8 hold it's value better than other GM models simply because of the fact they were only available in Canada for 1 year?

[blankall]

Originally Posted by The Fonz

Will the Pontiac G8 hold it's value better than other GM models simply because of the fact they were only available in Canada for 1 year?

Unless it becomes a collectors item, for example the Delorian, I doubt it.

In fact, it's more likely to have the opposite effect, as people will assume there was a reason it was canceled and it won't have any brand recognition.

[The Fonz]

Originally Posted by blankall

In fact, it's more likely to have the opposite effect, as people will assume there was a reason it was canceled and it won't have any brand recognition.

I'm sure everyone is well aware of the reason it's no longer being made. It's because Pontiac altogether is finished.

There's a lot of speculation that they'll be slapping a Chev logo on the front of the G8 and re-releasing it, as it's a car that had a lot of great reviews and high demand in the one year it was available.

[stang]

I got a question...

My mom bought a new vehicle last week (Thursday) from the local chev dealership (used) She got her price she wanted with some work done to it, (safety, new rear bumper as it had a little crack, and a new winshield) and they said the work should be done by today (weds) because of the long weekend.

So she takes the morning off work today so she can go down and pick it up and get to the insurance place and get it registered. But they call her this morning and tell her that it wont be ready until just before noon. So around 11 she is getting ready to go down and they call her again and say it wont be done until tomorrow, but she can still come down and get all the papers and that they will leave them at reception for her so she can get it insured.

So she goes down and there are no papers for her, and they cant track down the guy who is on lunch, so she goes to work empty handed.

She took half a day off work, and didnt get her new vehicle, OR get her papers so she could get it registered. Now she has to skip out of work again tomorrow to try and get this done.

I told her she should raise a stink about this crappy service, and maybe get some free stuff out of it. The deal is done and the vehicle is paid for ($20,000 after taxes)

Is it worth making a huge deal out of? Woudl they throw on free oilchanges or something?

[Ironhorse]

Originally Posted by The Fonz

There's a lot of speculation that they'll be slapping a Chev logo on the front of the G8 and re-releasing it, as it's a car that had a lot of great reviews and high demand in the one year it was available.

Isn't the Pontiac G8 just a re-badged, nose-jobbed Holden Commodore SS / Vauxhall VXR8 anyway?

[Winsor_Pilates]

Originally Posted by blankall

Depends on your situation. Some people might not be able to afford the extra payments. Some people might have better investments with the extra payment money.

It's also a major hassle to sell a vehicle.

Leasing allows you to change vehicles easier and lets you stay in a new car under warranty. Some people might not want to stay in their entry level vehicle for years on end.

All it takes is one major repair (or a couple small ones) beyond the warranty period to make the lease better economically in the long run.

There are obvious advantages to both situations. You can't say that financing is always the better option.

Yes, I agree. All good reasons a lease works for some people. I'm not anti-lease by any means, it has it's pros and cons for sure, just that overall money saving is not usually a pro.

[Sample00]

Originally Posted by stang

e.

I told her she should raise a stink about this crappy service, and maybe get some free stuff out of it. The deal is done and the vehicle is paid for ($20,000 after taxes)

Is it worth making a huge deal out of? Woudl they throw on free oilchanges or something?

Things happen at a big dealership to cause delays.

Having said that, the salesman was in error in not meeting his obligations to either a) have the paperwork ready for her or b) not being there to meet her and show her why there is a delay.

Should you raise a BIG stink. No. I dont think so.

Should you ask for some free stuff? Never hurts to ask. worst case scenario, they say no.

just IMHO.

[You Need a Thneed]

Originally Posted by Ironhorse

Isn't the Pontiac G8 just a re-badged, nose-jobbed Holden Commodore SS / Vauxhall VXR8 anyway?

Yup.

[Bill Bumface]

Leasing vs Buying:

Pretty simple. Compare the rates, calculate how much interest you pay.

The rest of the equation is in the residual. The leasing company has to take a guess at what the resale value will be at the end of the lease. If they guess high, you win. Give the car back, and you haven't paid for the full depreciation. If they guess low, buy out your lease, sell privately, and you'll recoup whatever the gap was.

If you are going to keep the car for X years, it's a straight interest calculation. Leasing isn't renting at all.

The real mistake of all of this is buying a new car. THAT is the dumb financial decision.

[stang]

Originally Posted by Sample00

Things happen at a big dealership to cause delays.

Having said that, the salesman was in error in not meeting his obligations to either a) have the paperwork ready for her or b) not being there to meet her and show her why there is a delay.

Should you raise a BIG stink. No. I dont think so.

Should you ask for some free stuff? Never hurts to ask. worst case scenario, they say no.

just IMHO.

Just quite a piss off to take half a day off work and have then have nothing ready. I understand about the truck taking longer (they had to safety it) but for her to go down there and not even be able to get the paper work is just terrible.

[The Fonz]

Originally Posted by Ironhorse

Isn't the Pontiac G8 just a re-badged, nose-jobbed Holden Commodore SS / Vauxhall VXR8 anyway?

Can you get those in Canada? I've never seen one...

[STeeLy]

Pretty sure you can, I've seen a few of them.

[SeeGeeWhy]

What are the best resources for vehicle research?

[Draug]

Originally Posted by The Fonz

There's a lot of speculation that they'll be slapping a Chev logo on the front of the G8 and re-releasing it, as it's a car that had a lot of great reviews and high demand in the one year it was available.

I hope so. I rented a G8 this summer. I was very impressed with the car.

In the week I drove it, I couldnt really find much I didnt like except for maybe that it didnt get great mileage. But, then again, I had my foot fully in it most of the time. Generally, I will always trade power and performance for mileage. I'd love to take the 400+hp version out for a spin.

[woob]

Hey Tim,

Question for you. I've scoped out a 2003 Mazda Protege5 with 35,000KM on it - Auto, A/C, PW/PL, Alloys, etc. The vehicle is listed at $12,995. Am I crazy to try and haggle on price or am I right in guessing that's a pretty solid price and there's not going to be much movement. Vehicle is on a dealer lot.
Thanks!