|
This may sound like a reiteration of previous posts, but I thought I might as well toss in my insights on leasing (eventhough I'm buying):
New cars will always depreciate (lose) value. No matter if you're buying or leasing, you will be spending money on your car's total value every day you have it (excluding gas and upkeep).
A simple way to look at leasing is you're only paying for your car's depreciation for the period that you drive it.
As compared to buying, where your paying for your car's depreciation, plus the total value of the car.
These simple numbers are what convinced me a while back:
Total cost new: $36,000
Term of lease: 3 yrs
Estimated value 3 yrs later (blue book): $24,000
Depreciation over 3 yrs: $36,000-$24,000 = $12,000
Monthly depreciation: $12,000/36 months = $333 / month = base payment
Of course all situations are different and there are a billion other factors/fees involved, so its just a matter of what fits best. This is what worked for me at the time (going against people saying leasing is stupid), and I never regretted it.
I'm not leasing anymore because I made a ton of cash in Real Estate (because of value "appreciation" obviously), so I'm buying now (which leaves me more options with the Bimmer).
|