Lease to purchase better than purchasing up front?

[monstor]

Ok, so I got to talking with a few buddies of mine regarding the purchase of an FJ. They mentioned that by leasing first, I would be able to get a lower monthly payment, and at the end of the lease I could just buy it. Keep in mind that I plan to keep this thing til the wheels fall off.

I planned to put 10k down on a purchase of a new one ( to get a lower monthly payment ), but now it seems that if they're right then I might as well just put the minimum of the down and keep the rest of the money that I would use for something else. So long as the monthly payment is in my range, I don't see a reason not to lease. I can mod and drive it without worrying about going over the miles since I plan to buy it at the end of the lease anyways.

I don't know much about leasing. If I lease I don't need to get a loan right? Will it have to be financed through Toyota? Do I make sense or have I been smoking a lil too much? Please bring up any concerns you guys know about.

Thanks for the help!!!

[1911]

monstor previously said:

I plan to keep this thing til the wheels fall off.

I'm an old conservative guy; I wouldn't lease anything myself but lots of people do. If you're going to keep it forever then you're way better off to buy it outright in my opinion.

[rutherk1]

A lease is the same as a loan. They are both financed with interest. With a lease you pay down the depreciation.

Cars are bad investments so there is no way in getting around that but you can minimize the pain.

Your best option is to find 0% financing and put your money somewhere that will gain interest. Toyota is doing 0% right now.

Also, do not put money down on a lease.

Although, I am a firm beleiver in not owing anyone money regardless of weather it's the best financial decision. Paying off house and cars is a #1 priority. At the end of the day, if we go into a huge depression I will still have a place to live and a way to get around.

Good luck.

[Heavy-Dee]

rutherk1 previously said:

Toyota is doing 0% right now.

On FJ's? Is this regional?

[rutherk1]

Good question. I got 0% on the tacoma. I think its for everything.

[kokopelli]

Not on FJ's.. Ron

Heavy-Dee previously said:

On FJ's? Is this regional?

[Crotalus]

I would say that in general, for the same extended time period (five years), it is more expensive to lease a car or truck than to buy it. However, if you are just looking at the payment, are not rough on it, and plan on driving it only for a couple years before leasing another one, it might be a good plan for you.

Here are some things to consider. I think that you would be asking for trouble if you were to lease a FJ and plan on offroading it. Also, you would not be able to do any permenant mods to it without facing major costs or penalties. If you have $10,000 to put down on one, I would think that if you shop around, get a basic model, and a great deal, you could get your payments down below what a lease would be anyway. Just my 2 cents - I'm sure that there are folks on this forum that know way more than I do about such matters.

[Fishermedic]

Here's my $0.02,

The simple way to look a how a lease works is that you pay for the value of the vehicle that you use. If a $30000 vehicle is calculated to be worth $20000 at the end of the lease you pay the difference, $10000. The buyout at the end of the lease will be the $20000. If the above lease was over 3 years you would pay the $10000 plus taxes, security deposit etc. plus the interest on the lease. By the end of it you pay more than the $10000. When you buy out the lease at the end of the three years you finance the $20000 plus fees, taxes and again loan interest so you end up paying more than the $20000. If you pay off the loan in 4 years you have now been paying for the truck for 7 years and more importatly you have been paying interest for 7 years. If you buy the truck from the start you pay interest for 5 years and you are done. Hope this doesnt make things more confusing!!

I have gotten into trouble with a leased vehicle, I got laid off and my only wheels were leased, when the payments were too much I turned in the vehicle early and had to ride a bike everywhere. I swore right then that I would always own at least one vehicle. If the payments are too high to buy right now then save for a few more months until you can afford it! A lease is great if you only want the vehicle for a short time.

Just my opinion.

Oh BTW.... My gf and I now own the FJ and lease a minivan... I will NEVER own a minivan and since we cant afford to buy another SUV right now and will get rid of the van ASAP, the lease is a perfect option.

[rutherk1]

kokopelli previously said:

Not on FJ's.. Ron

I'm pretty confident you could get 0% on an FJ here. They have had 18 of the on their lot for weeks.

[Blown383]

0% financing...I'm assuming you're gonna have to leave a HUGE down payment?

-B