Just wondering which is more popular amoungst thing astute RX-8 forum and which would be the better option if you were planning to put 7K down.

what the hell is the point of leasing anyways? i have always wondered about that. ur basically renting a car for like $400 a month and then if u go over a certain mileage, ur charged like 50 cents for every mile u go over. seems pretty damn stupid imo

Actually it is usually 10-15 cents per mile over the agreed mileage limit (depending on brand and vehicle). When you 'buy' a car and put miles on it you are also taking value off it (but probably not as much as 10 cents per mile of course).

Leasing is great when the depreciation on a car is a lot worse in reality than the lease rates are designed around (i.e. almost every lease for the last few years).

Example:
1. Person buys (fully finances) $30k car and sells it after 3 years. If depreciation is 50 % he has lost $15k plus interest paid on loan. Plus he has the hassle of selling it or trading it in and losing even more money.
2. Person leases (nothing down) same $30k car and returns it after 3 years where depreciation was expected to be 40% (i.e. car incorrectly estimated to retain 60% of value by the bank). He only loses $12k plus interest on loan. He is paying for the 'estimated' drop in value of the car over 3 years plus interest.


Of course it's never that simple as high lease interest rates and other factors (choosing wrong mileage limit, minor damage to car etc) can cost you dearly. But if you play the game right (intend to keep the car for under 4 years, choose the right car at the right time for the right money factor, stay within mileage etc) leasing can come out well ahead of financing (buying) a car. I screw up on that mileage limit every time, so I don't play the game too well.

Note over the last 4-5 years the banks lost an average of over $2000 per leased vehicle (mostly SUVs) as they guessed the wrong residuals (always too high). I think that getting a good lease rate from the banks on any non-luxury cars (i.e. MB, BMW, Lexus) will be tough going forward as they know they suck at guessing residuals on new cars, which is why I might buy (finance) the RX-8 and not lease as I did my last 4 vehicles. Heck I might even keep the RX-8 for more than 3 years...

BTW when I say bank I mean the auto finance company like Lexus Credit or Ford Motor Credit etc who in turn are usually supported by banks.

I typically keep my cars 8+ years before getting a new one, leasing just does not make any financial sense for me.

I thought that when a new model comes out like this, since there's no data on resale values yet dealers will simply assume the worst and rape you on lease rates. Does anyone whose planning on leasing know what they'll be paying yet?

Actually it's been my experience that the companies guestimate in the wronge direction and end up screwing themselves, not you. Though there is no way you can be sure. In several cases with my family, we have flipped cars at the end of the lease. That is, we bought the car because the value was higher that the price we set to buy it for at the end of the term. We then just turned around and sold them for extra cash.

I plan to lease the 8, or whatever car I end up picking, based on the fact that I move from car to car very fast. I dont plan to keep the car longer than 3 years anyway, so paying high monthly payments a large loan makes no sence for me. I only need to pay for the bit of the car I plan to use. I also work 2miles from my house, so I dont need to factor in daily driver miles.

Let's see... i've had my RX-7 for over 16 years now, and I can't bear with parting with it, so I'll have to carry insurance on an extra vehicle. Looks like buying is the better option for me. The only thing I'm bummed about is that I'll be taking a 5-year loan. I would rather finish it in four, but I have an upcoming home loan to qualify for!

I tend to hang onto things way past their usefullness! I guess most folks like me will be buying.

I will lease if i get it because i have always finance my cars . remember one thing after 3 years i will get the new body style and don't have to think of repair problems . i'm a rotary tech and what are you going to do when something goes wrong and no more warrt.have you seen were the engine is if something goes wrong or starts to leak rotary love to do that after 50 ,000 miles.what are you going to do pay arm or leg to repair it . nobody but mazda has the books for this new model.

That was exactly my thing. How reliable is this car going to be after the terms of many leases (3-5 years) are up? By that time you've racked up significant mileage and when you've hit 70,000-80,000 miles how reliable is it going to be? It is like when you finance, you are buying the rights to the car around the time it starts to have problems and repairs need to be made. Who needs it? Unless you don't want a new car every 3-5 years I don't see how buying a car is worth it. Unless of coure the lease rates are extraordinary.

Leasing because I will write it off under the business.. Otherwise I'd probably buy.

Where is Herc? I know he is the big time leaser.:)

Originally posted by cueball1029
Where is Herc? I know he is the big time leaser.:) Sorry was out on business all day today :)

Just got home.

I plan on buying this baby. I will pay it off in 4 years and put it in the garage like My weekend toy. I will pick up a truck or something lator. I want this baby to last years