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Old 07-01-2008, 02:36 AM   #1  
Can't wait till 170
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Default Leasing and Buying (car)

I'm looking into trading my car in and either leasing or buying a new one...Problem is right now, I drive about 350 miles per week...so leasing sounds really expensive because of the mileage. But I've never traded in a vehicle, bought, or leased a car on my own. The car I'm driving is my second car in the U.S., and first one was my ex's, and the one I'm driving right now was his aunt's that we bought from her. I want something bigger than what I got-either suv/cuv. Right now I have 2001 Dodge Neon. Well, what do you ladies drive and what do you think is better? Leasing or buying? what do you prefer?
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Old 07-01-2008, 04:42 AM   #2  
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Leasing is NOT an option if you put a lot of miles on a car. You will pay out the nose for those extra miles.

Buying new is the way to go if you are the type of person to drive a car for a long time and really take care of it. When you buy new, you get the benefit of hte warranty, and if you keep your car for a long time, then you're not losing so much money from depreciation (A car loses something like 40% of it's value the minute you drive it off the lot - so if you only plan to keep it a short while and then turn it in on another, you're really losing a lot of money by buying new.)

Another option is to buy a 1 or 2 year old car directly from the dealer (not from a lot or a place like CarMax). A lot of dealerships will sell their demo cars, their staff cars, and their courtesy vehicles that are about a year old and have maybe 10k or 15k miles on them ... and you'll save a ton of money. When you buy from the dealer like this, you still get the warranty and the benefit of the "new" car purchase, but you're saving money by accepting a car that is about a year old.

I personally drive a Subaru Forester. It's classed as an SUV, but it drives more like a car to me, and it still gets good gas mileage, as opposed to a lot of other SUV type vehicles around.

I've also driven the Honda CRV and love it too, although I personaly really like the older body style over the new one.

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Old 07-01-2008, 10:28 AM   #3  
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I'd highly recommend buying a pre-owned car, they are generally cheaper and a good value. The only exception I believe is Toyota. Toyota cars tend to keep their value and there isn't much difference in price from new and pre-owned. This may be the case for Honda as well but I've only heard about Toyota.

I'd agree, if you put a lot of miles on a car, do not lease.
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Old 07-01-2008, 10:44 AM   #4  
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Leasing is the most expensive way to buy a car. You might get a smaller payment, but at the end of the lease, you owe a lump sum for the car. Most people will trade them in instead of buying it, so in essence leasing is like renting. You never really own the car, unless you can pay off the balance at the end.
Buying used makes more sense than buying new, because of the depreciation factor. I've heard that the price of SUVs is really coming down now. Are you sure you want to put the gas in an SUV? My husband has a Toyota 4Runner and it costs him $75 to fill it up. My car is half of that. I drive a really tiny car though--Scion xD-34 mpg.

Good luck
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Old 07-01-2008, 11:18 AM   #5  
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Definitely buying is better, IMO.

Last April I bought a used (2005 with 19,000 miles) Toyota Matrix on ebay. It was sold by a dealership, and I spent about a week researching before I took the plunge and bought a car on ebay (keep in mind, I bought my wedding dress on ebay too!!). I LOVE MY MATRIX. I get about 33 mpg, and you wouldn't believe what I can fit in there! And, I got a great deal :-)
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Old 07-01-2008, 09:15 PM   #6  
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I'd say definitely buy, and pay close attention to gas mileage when choosing a vehicle!

I also drive a Neon, so I know that you have been spoiled with pretty good gas mileage (27-29 mpg city/33-36 mpg highway) and a small gas tank to fill at the pump (12.5 gallons). Most SUVs, unless they are a hybrid, will be no where near as fuel efficient as what you are used to, and the gas tanks are bigger. I just don't think I could stomach spending over $100 to fill my tank!
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Old 07-01-2008, 09:22 PM   #7  
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Yeah, I would think carefully about an SUV. Ecological considerations aside, you'll get about 1/2 the mileage you get with your Neon and a huge tank to fill.

I"m happy with my Subaru - it gets around 24 per gallon, but it still costs me $60 to fill the tank every week or so.

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Old 07-01-2008, 09:24 PM   #8  
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I agree. BUY.

We're almost at the end of the one and only lease we've ever done and it will be the LAST. I've never in my life watched the mileage on a car so close.
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Old 07-01-2008, 09:43 PM   #9  
Can't wait till 170
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I have a 2 year daughter so with the car seat and her stroller in the trunk, there's no room for anything else whatsoever. I don't have room at home to put the stroller because I live in an apartment. Also my Neon. Not sure if it's because it's getting old or what. I've never filled over 11 gallon no matter how empty it is. It's been always below 10.5 gallon...and even when it's full, I get less than 250 miles...and most of it is highway miles. I know...no where close to 27-29 mpg city/33-36 mpg highway.

Thanks for your inputs, though. I will be looking at newer used vehicles..
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