well i had fun owning my rx8 but this summer, its gonna be given up. i made a mistake on my lease and i dont like how it turned out. in the end, i learned my lesson about leases and i can probably negotiate better. i am gonna be heading to the "sandbox" for around 3-4 months. i will come back with enough cash to end my lease and look towards getting something else cheaper. my wife and i are considering a used WRX or even a Mazda 6. I know we can get a turbo WRX for around 15k or so (2002 or 2003) used. we will see how things go by this summer.

Sorry about your failed lease. Best of luck on your new purchase. A WRX would be a nice choice. :)

Sorry about the lease. Good luck on your next car, and I hope things work out.

yeah, i can make the payments cuz my wife and i work but the payments just dont add up in the end. i personally dont know why i agreed to the lease but oh well. i wont make that mistake again.

screw the cars man. Good luck in the "sandbox"

lol at least someone knows what i meant :) i wont be going to the main sandbox, just a smaller one a bit further down from it. still gonna be a hot sandbox though!

Sorry to hear about the fate of your 8, but you always have to do what's best for the family. Be careful out there...(I gather the sand box is the middle east some place...)

Not sure what you mean by "the payments don't add up in the end"? I'm a 20-year plus veteran of leasing cars. Can I help you understand what you got into? If you're interested, please PM me with the following info:

1) Name of leasing company
2) Type of lease (closed-end, open-end, other)
3) All costs of your lease inception (down payment or "cap cost reduction", fees, taxes, etc.)
4) Lease term (months)
5) Monthly payment
6) If you know it, final capitalized cost of the lease.
7) If you know it, residual value of the car at lease term ending.
8) Allowed annual mileage

Perhaps with some better knowledge it may make more sense to keep the car. Terminating leases early is godawfully expensive and you're just tossing the money away. Can i help?

For example, my case:

Leasing company: US Bank Auto Lease
Term: 48 months
Lease inception costs: $952 - first month's payment, security deposit, plates - covered by a $1000 coupon offer from Ford, so I actually didn't pay them anything, and got $48 back in credit.
Payment: 48 x $372.40/month
Residual : Don't know off the top of my head.
Capitalized cost: $28,778 (that's a sticker price of $33,400 (approx), reduced to $26,250 (approx) plus sales tax))
Annual Mileage: 12,000/year

I drive the car for 48 months, which takes me to July 2008. At the end of the term, I give the car back. I'm RENTING the car from them - the cost of which, is about half or less than if I purchased the car. If I choose to purchase the car (which I won't), I can buy it for the residual value which, if memory serves was about 61% of the capitalized cost, or about $18,000.

Let me help you. Perhaps you can keep it.

61% is very good. My residual is much lower, less than 50%.

61% on a 48 month lease sounds fishy to me.I got 65% on my 24 month lease at 12K per year.I am putting half the miles you are and only retaining 4% more than your value.My residual on a base 6 speed is $17680 of a car that had a window sticker of $27200.I am guessing the real residual is more in the 50%ish range for your lease,but I have been wrong before.At the time I leased they told me the 6 speeds had a 65% res,and the autos had a 63% residual on 2 year leases.That was August of 04,when Mazda was offering $4250 in lease incentives for 2 year leases.The MF is a bit high(.00305 or 7.32%)on mine,but it was the best Mazda was offering at the time with the highest credit teir.

To the original poster.Good luck in what ever you chose to do,and thanks for your service in protecting our way of life.

Good luck in the sandbox...sounds like you will be "Doin the Deid" or somewhere close to there. If it is the Deid enjoy your 3-a-day!

It could well be more like 50% ... I haven't taken the time to look. I seem to remember the residual being in the low 18's however. That could be against sticker, not against Cap Cost ...

The payment, the term, the mileage and the inception costs are what it's all about anyway. And in my case, it's a nice low payment for not a dime handed to them to pick up the keys. Just sign and drive!

They weren't too happy when I popped that $1000 Ford thing on them. Sucks to be them! :p

Yeah good luck out there, I just got back from there in April, going back as a contractor in a couple weeks to make some good money (and be able to purchase my new Rx8 outright!!) this time (E-6 doesnt pay all that well compared to KBR's 10k/month)

Did stewc625 help you out?

Good Luck Man in whatever your final outcome is...

PS: Ironmedic's Winning Blue is forever immortalized in the Mount Saint Helen's Run movie I made. It would be a shame to see it go.

well i did some homework on a new evo 8 and wrx and i can afford that more than a damn rx8 payment im making right now. thats how bad i screwed myself.

Yeah, I remember you being bummed about it. Get the new car and well do St. Helens again!

yes! and i can actually keep up with u guys if i get an evo or WRX! :D

that sucks you have to get rid of the rx8. go looking for your '96 cobra!

Hey IronMedic, if you don't mind me asking, how much are you paying a month for the lease? Also, how long did you lease for? I want to know if I got screwed somehow.

The sticker price on my 8 was $34,000. I pay $350.00 a month for 2 1/2 years. I put $1200.00 out of my pocket. Along with Mazda's incentives. Somehow I think I got the car down to $28000.00 with tax. I have the paperwork on it but I am too lazy to double check. Either way, I wouldn't trade my 8 in for any other car! :D I think I did pretty good???

Hey ironmedic, I feel your pain. I am in the same position you are in. I am paying way too much for my lease. Everyday I kick myself for agreeing with that slimeball salesman. I lease an 8 for 500/month for 48 months. It sound bad, but there are some other factors involved. The car was 33 thousand and change. I was 3500$ in the hole on the car I traded in. I owed 13,500 and it was worth 10,000. I also get 17,500 miles a year, as compared to most of you who only get 12,000. I bought the car in January 04. I didn't put anything down. So now I want to trade in the 8 just so I can get a bettrer deal on something else and not have this feeling like " I am an idiot." I love zipping around in the 8 though, and this car cuts down my commute time. So what do you guys think about my lease? Is it really that bad?

Just my own personal opinion:

You should NEVER lease a car. Lease's are a cash cow for the dealers. The only good thing about a lease is that it allows someone to drive a car that they would not normally be able to afford to purchase.

Always purchase.

I don't know about that... they are a cash cow, but I don't know that you are losing anything in a closed end lease. As long as the value is somwhere near where it should be, you should be too bad off.

That being said, I ALWAYS buy my cars. I just like knowing that in 3 more years the damn bank wont have any stake in my car.

Joe Paterno:

Considering your mileage and the $3500 in negative equity that you're now paying down in your lease, $500/month isn't too bad. $72.00 of your payment is simply the negative equity - roll finance charges into that and you're more like $100 of your payment is the negative equity. At that point, you're at $400/month for a 17,500 mile lease. That's not that bad. Although, that's probably part of what you paid for with your 1200 down payment.

Riggs:

Well, I trade my cars every 3-4 years. I NEVER keep a car longer than four years - is it the best financial decision? No. But it's a reality. I like new cars.

OK, so that said, in MY situation, leasing makes perfect sense - here's why:

1) Why spend 4 years paying for a car just to trade it in? In other words, why buy the depreciation of the whole when you're only going to use part? I just pay for what I use.

2) I never exceed the mileage restrictions of my leases. I have 20 years of driving habits and leasing history to fall back on. My car is always leased for 12,000 miles/year, my wife's for 15,000 a year. Actually, on my last car lease (a 2001 Acura TL), I didn't use more than 6000 miles, so I actually cheated myself a bit on that.

3) Leasing gives me some financial advantages that I don't have with buying a car. With a car lease, you can deduct the total expenditure of your car - payment, insurance, fuel, etc. at the business use percentage, less reimbursements. With ownership, it isn't a straight deduction, and you have to depreciate the asset, which in my situation yields a lower tax deduction.

4) Leasing protects you from market forces. The first car my dad ever leased was a 1986 Audi 5000S Turbo - a nice $30,000 car (which would be more like a $60,000 car now) that after the 60 Minutes "unintended acceleration" story broke (which was later found to be bunk - the drivers were hitting the gas instead of the brake), was suddenly overnight worth just a few thousand in trade, IF you could find someone to take it. When his 4 year lease on that car ended, the leasing company (VW Credit) BEGGED him to not turn it in and finally offered to let him buy it for $4800 against a residual of more than $17,000. At that price, he bought it, drove the car ANOTHER four years and at that point, the "used up" factor equaled the depressed market value of the car.

An alternate to that story was my most recent Honda Odyssey minivan. At the end of it's four-year lease, the residual ("buy it") value of the car was at least $4000 UNDER the retail market for the car. I bought it from the leasing company, then sold it the next day to a friend for a $2000 profit. He got a car for about $2000 under market (a very well-cared-for minivan at that - I take meticulous care of my cars), and I got a $2000 windfall.

So, leasing isn't bad. But you need to go into a leasing negotiation knowing what the market is for the car.

And some good rules of thumb:

1) NEVER put a down payment on a lease - Cap Cost reductions are simply handing them cash to buy down the starting numbers.

2) NEVER use a lease to result in driving a more expensive car than you can afford. That's a "sales tactic" used by dealers.

3) Never lease a car if you drive more than 15,000 miles a year. Most leasing companies won't write leases for more than that, which means that all you're doing is then buying down the residual and pre-paying the mileage fees at full price (15 cents a mile or more).

4) Always look at EVERY term in a lease - residual, inception costs, cap cost, allowed mileage, per-mile overage charges, etc. All are negotiable items. Negotiate every one of them.

5) NEVER roll negative equity cost into a lease if it is at all avoidable. The finance charges you pay on that negative equity are far more than if you just financed that negative equity on a credit card.

6) Only add items to the car that can be residualized (that is, are considered permanent additions to the car). For example, if you buy a special car off the sales floor that has special wheels and tires, or an aero kit, most of those items cannot be residualized (value considered in the ending value of the lease) and therefore will drive up your payment costs.

The only things that can usually be residualized are factory options.

So, if you lease, lease intelligently, as I have done for 20+ years. Why own a depreciating asset, unless you are going to own it until it has no more value.

StewC625

Thanks for the really great information. You have certainly provided me a greater eduacation on the leasing system.

Even though I stated it was just my opinion, it was admittedly a blanket statement which obviously does not apply to some people, such as yourself.

And you gave me an idea for a new thread...

Just my own personal opinion:

You should NEVER lease a car. Lease's are a cash cow for the dealers. The only good thing about a lease is that it allows someone to drive a car that they would not normally be able to afford to purchase.

Always purchase.

People that make statements like this are just plain ignorant and STUPID. Never lease? WTF are you talking about? It is simple math you moron. I don't feel like explaining the entire thing, but if you have a brain, all you have to do is a little math, and you will see that leasing can be just as good as buying. WAKE UP PEOPLE. This isn't brain surgery.

Joe Paterno:

Considering your mileage and the $3500 in negative equity that you're now paying down in your lease, $500/month isn't too bad. $72.00 of your payment is simply the negative equity - roll finance charges into that and you're more like $100 of your payment is the negative equity. At that point, you're at $400/month for a 17,500 mile lease. That's not that bad. Although, that's probably part of what you paid for with your 1200 down payment.

Riggs:

Well, I trade my cars every 3-4 years. I NEVER keep a car longer than four years - is it the best financial decision? No. But it's a reality. I like new cars.

OK, so that said, in MY situation, leasing makes perfect sense - here's why:

1) Why spend 4 years paying for a car just to trade it in? In other words, why buy the depreciation of the whole when you're only going to use part? I just pay for what I use.

2) I never exceed the mileage restrictions of my leases. I have 20 years of driving habits and leasing history to fall back on. My car is always leased for 12,000 miles/year, my wife's for 15,000 a year. Actually, on my last car lease (a 2001 Acura TL), I didn't use more than 6000 miles, so I actually cheated myself a bit on that.

3) Leasing gives me some financial advantages that I don't have with buying a car. With a car lease, you can deduct the total expenditure of your car - payment, insurance, fuel, etc. at the business use percentage, less reimbursements. With ownership, it isn't a straight deduction, and you have to depreciate the asset, which in my situation yields a lower tax deduction.

4) Leasing protects you from market forces. The first car my dad ever leased was a 1986 Audi 5000S Turbo - a nice $30,000 car (which would be more like a $60,000 car now) that after the 60 Minutes "unintended acceleration" story broke (which was later found to be bunk - the drivers were hitting the gas instead of the brake), was suddenly overnight worth just a few thousand in trade, IF you could find someone to take it. When his 4 year lease on that car ended, the leasing company (VW Credit) BEGGED him to not turn it in and finally offered to let him buy it for $4800 against a residual of more than $17,000. At that price, he bought it, drove the car ANOTHER four years and at that point, the "used up" factor equaled the depressed market value of the car.

An alternate to that story was my most recent Honda Odyssey minivan. At the end of it's four-year lease, the residual ("buy it") value of the car was at least $4000 UNDER the retail market for the car. I bought it from the leasing company, then sold it the next day to a friend for a $2000 profit. He got a car for about $2000 under market (a very well-cared-for minivan at that - I take meticulous care of my cars), and I got a $2000 windfall.

So, leasing isn't bad. But you need to go into a leasing negotiation knowing what the market is for the car.

And some good rules of thumb:

1) NEVER put a down payment on a lease - Cap Cost reductions are simply handing them cash to buy down the starting numbers.

2) NEVER use a lease to result in driving a more expensive car than you can afford. That's a "sales tactic" used by dealers.

3) Never lease a car if you drive more than 15,000 miles a year. Most leasing companies won't write leases for more than that, which means that all you're doing is then buying down the residual and pre-paying the mileage fees at full price (15 cents a mile or more).

4) Always look at EVERY term in a lease - residual, inception costs, cap cost, allowed mileage, per-mile overage charges, etc. All are negotiable items. Negotiate every one of them.

5) NEVER roll negative equity cost into a lease if it is at all avoidable. The finance charges you pay on that negative equity are far more than if you just financed that negative equity on a credit card.

6) Only add items to the car that can be residualized (that is, are considered permanent additions to the car). For example, if you buy a special car off the sales floor that has special wheels and tires, or an aero kit, most of those items cannot be residualized (value considered in the ending value of the lease) and therefore will drive up your payment costs.

The only things that can usually be residualized are factory options.

So, if you lease, lease intelligently, as I have done for 20+ years. Why own a depreciating asset, unless you are going to own it until it has no more value.

Thanks. But I said I didn't put anything down. I still think I got beat though b/c right after I leased my 8, the dealerships started with all these great deals. i think I could have done much better.

Stay safe

Not sure what you mean by "the payments don't add up in the end"? I'm a 20-year plus veteran of leasing cars. Can I help you understand what you got into? If you're interested, please PM me with the following info:

1) Name of leasing company
2) Type of lease (closed-end, open-end, other)
3) All costs of your lease inception (down payment or "cap cost reduction", fees, taxes, etc.)
4) Lease term (months)
5) Monthly payment
6) If you know it, final capitalized cost of the lease.
7) If you know it, residual value of the car at lease term ending.
8) Allowed annual mileage

Perhaps with some better knowledge it may make more sense to keep the car. Terminating leases early is godawfully expensive and you're just tossing the money away. Can i help?

For example, my case:

Leasing company: US Bank Auto Lease
Term: 48 months
Lease inception costs: $952 - first month's payment, security deposit, plates - covered by a $1000 coupon offer from Ford, so I actually didn't pay them anything, and got $48 back in credit.
Payment: 48 x $372.40/month
Residual : Don't know off the top of my head.
Capitalized cost: $28,778 (that's a sticker price of $33,400 (approx), reduced to $26,250 (approx) plus sales tax))
Annual Mileage: 12,000/year

I drive the car for 48 months, which takes me to July 2008. At the end of the term, I give the car back. I'm RENTING the car from them - the cost of which, is about half or less than if I purchased the car. If I choose to purchase the car (which I won't), I can buy it for the residual value which, if memory serves was about 61% of the capitalized cost, or about $18,000.

Let me help you. Perhaps you can keep it.
Your residual seems high, Stew. I'm on a 36-mo. and my residual is 16,800 thereabouts. I actually am strongly considering purchasing at the end of my term.

well my payment tops all of yours and im just plain out screwed. im gonna go work on getting rid of this thing rather quickly. i feel leases are for certain people but not all.
how do you determine the current value of a car during the early termination process?
do they go for the resale value based off a book or something? i know u have to get the car appraised by someone and have mazda accept it.
my car has very low miles cuz i keep most of my cars that way. i only put on 9k miles on it in 1 year.

I inquired with mazda about an early termination. They told me that I could turn the car in if i payed, get this, the 16,000 that I still owe on the lease. So basically, there is no early termination. My buyout price is something like 26,000 at this point. Kelley Blue Book value is only like 24,000, even though sticker was 34,000 when I bought it one year ago. Your best bet will be to trade in the car and the dealership will buy it from mazda and you will take a hit of a few thousand dollars on your next purchase. So basically, you are screwed either way you go. A lease can be a great thing, but obviously not if you agree to bad terms.

i'm sorry to hear about your situation, hope it turns out fine. Been a HM myself i've gone to the sandbox a couple of times, so be safe budy. :)

People that make statements like this are just plain ignorant and STUPID. Never lease? WTF are you talking about? It is simple math you moron. I don't feel like explaining the entire thing, but if you have a brain, all you have to do is a little math, and you will see that leasing can be just as good as buying. WAKE UP PEOPLE. This isn't brain surgery.


I inquired with mazda about an early termination. They told me that I could turn the car in if i payed, get this, the 16,000 that I still owe on the lease. So basically, there is no early termination. My buyout price is something like 26,000 at this point. Kelley Blue Book value is only like 24,000, even though sticker was 34,000 when I bought it one year ago. Your best bet will be to trade in the car and the dealership will buy it from mazda and you will take a hit of a few thousand dollars on your next purchase. So basically, you are screwed either way you go. A lease can be a great thing, but obviously not if you agree to bad terms.

BWAHHHH!!!!!

SELF Owned.

I did the math. You are getting screwed.

If you cannot afford to buy it, don't. Leasing is good ONLY of you can write it off. Leasing is just like renting a car. It only makes good financial sense to the dealers, they can sell the car twice.


Your best bet will be to trade in the car and the dealership will buy it from mazda and you will take a hit of a few thousand dollars on your next purchase.


Did you take basic math in High School? Do you realize that if you do this, you are financing a financed amount and you still paying for a car that you no longer have?

Keep your day job and please stop giving out piss poor advice.

Hey ironmedic, I feel your pain. I am in the same position you are in. I am paying way too much for my lease. Everyday I kick myself for agreeing with that slimeball salesman. I lease an 8 for 500/month for 48 months. It sound bad, but there are some other factors involved. The car was 33 thousand and change. I was 3500$ in the hole on the car I traded in. I owed 13,500 and it was worth 10,000. I also get 17,500 miles a year, as compared to most of you who only get 12,000. I bought the car in January 04. I didn't put anything down. So now I want to trade in the 8 just so I can get a bettrer deal on something else and not have this feeling like " I am an idiot." I love zipping around in the 8 though, and this car cuts down my commute time. So what do you guys think about my lease? Is it really that bad?


Looking back.

You are not telling us something...again.

$500 x 48 = $24000.00

You claim nothing down and you had a upside down amount of $3500.00 and you had a milage extension from 12k to 17.5k

If the car was 33k + $3500, you would be financing 36.5k with no money down which is $760.41 per month.

If your payment is $500 per month, then you are paying $24000 over 4 years to RENT a car with nothing to show for it.


what a waste of money.

and you are lying.

I already said it was a bad deal. Why would I lie about a bad deal? What do u think I am lying about?

Please somebody explain leasing to this clown Samsonite. I pay 20,500 over 4 years (2400-3500) and trade a car in with 70,000 miles on it. What don't you understand. If I would have financed, i would have paid alot more money, and in the end, be left with a car that is not worth much. HEY MORON CARS DEPRECIATE. You obviously aren't too smart. It almost comes out the same in the long run, trust me. Aren't you a municipal court traffic lawyer? What did you get on your SATS old man?

BWAHHHH!!!!!

SELF Owned.

I did the math. You are getting screwed.

If you cannot afford to buy it, don't. Leasing is good ONLY of you can write it off. Leasing is just like renting a car. It only makes good financial sense to the dealers, they can sell the car twice.




Did you take basic math in High School? Do you realize that if you do this, you are financing a financed amount and you still paying for a car that you no longer have?

Keep your day job and please stop giving out piss poor advice.

The guy already said he is getting rid of the car. Didn't I say he was screwed either way. I gave him the best advice possible. And who cares WTF you are financing? It all comes down to total cost in the end. There are plenty of people who are more intelligent than you that lease cars. YOU ARE A TRAFFIC COURT LAWYER, THE LOWEST OF THE LOW. You say I am renting. OK, let me break it down for you moron style. Say I financed 34,000 for 5 years. After 5 years, the RX8 has 100,000 miles on it. How much is that car worth? Not more than 10,000 dollars. So I either get rid of it or keep it and end up paying for repairs. People who can afford it usually get new cars. So you sell the car, get 10000 for it, and you ended up paying more than 24,000 to "RENT" the car for 5 years. Meanwhile, the bank owned the car the entire time. So tell me what your math is.

Oh, and I can afford to buy the car. I made 80000 dollars this year. I'm 24 years old.

guys state your positions politely or not at all. thanks.

And I also have damage insurance so that I dont get charged if I turn it in with some dings on it

we all make mistakes in life. in my situation, i can afford the car and payments. i have made my insane payments for almost a year now without missing them. i am also living comfortably with enough cash left over. my wife and i arent spendy and we save our cash as we go. i personally feel that if i am gonna have a 30k car, it should have a turbo or something. i could have bought an 04 cobra or an evo/wrx but i settled with an rx8 cuz that is what my wife wanted.
my wife and i saved over 14k in 1 year being stationed in england together. when i get back this summer, i should have over 14k in my bank account so ending this lease is no problem. i plan on selling the lease to the dealership and pay off the excess to clean my slate. or i will pay off 50-75% off of the excess and just take a 25% hit on my next car. i have nothing against rx8's but owning an automatic 8 just takes away all the fun in owning a sports car. this is the last time i listen to my wife when it comes to buying a sports car.

i am looking to get an evo8 for around 30k and at least i will have more leg room and a factory turbo. im sure someone is gonna flame this post but who cares. it is what i want to do and what i want in life. :)

No car is worth sacrificing your financial stability. Get your house in order, then make a plan to get the things you want. There are probably a lot of people making $80K a year with worse finances than the guy working at McD's down the street because they make senseless decisions with their $$$.

I agree with Iron Medic. I guess I get what I deserve for getting an A/T 8 but my past cars worked great with Tiptronic. Aside from not having enough power, I think having four gears really hurts. Most of my city driving isn't that fast, so the tall 2nd gear is, I believe, part of the issue.

With all the money I'm spending on the car, and all the gas, it just feels like it should have more power. It's a shame because it handles and looks great and is fairly comfortable.

I was considering trading in for a used 6speed version. Or perhaps, I can try my hand at a Z again or... just go the more econ route and do the Mazda 3. I hear that's a fun little car to drive.

Without reading this whole thread I think some really need to read this
http://www.edmunds.com/advice/buying/articles/42962/article.html

I paid 24,600 for my 04 sport package with spoiler, spare tire and 6 cd changer brand new. Once I received the best price after working with 5 dealers i then presented my trade and ended up financing 19,100. Seems some are paying much more then they really have to. I am not trying to come off as an expert by any means but the price some have paid is mindboggling to me. Did some even pay sticker?

dude lets start the "i hate a/t sport car club" LOL! having an auto is great for stop and go traffic. its just not fun for me anymore. when i went on the mt. st helens cruise, i felt rather left out cuz i had an auto. i was at the back of the line and couldnt keep up with the others. it was fun but just not what i wanted.
if i am gonna spend 30k, im just gonna get a nice evo with a turbo. or even a wrx!


I agree with Iron Medic. I guess I get what I deserve for getting an A/T 8 but my past cars worked great with Tiptronic. Aside from not having enough power, I think having four gears really hurts. Most of my city driving isn't that fast, so the tall 2nd gear is, I believe, part of the issue.

With all the money I'm spending on the car, and all the gas, it just feels like it should have more power. It's a shame because it handles and looks great and is fairly comfortable.

I was considering trading in for a used 6speed version. Or perhaps, I can try my hand at a Z again or... just go the more econ route and do the Mazda 3. I hear that's a fun little car to drive.

Heh, I'll join that club. :) I'll chalk this up to a learning experience.

which learning experience do u mean? driving a/t's or leasing mania?

Without reading this whole thread I think some really need to read this
http://www.edmunds.com/advice/buying/articles/42962/article.html

I paid 24,600 for my 04 sport package with spoiler, spare tire and 6 cd changer brand new. Once I received the best price after working with 5 dealers i then presented my trade and ended up financing 19,100. Seems some are paying much more then they really have to. I am not trying to come off as an expert by any means but the price some have paid is mindboggling to me. Did some even pay sticker?

Both Ironmedic and myself know we got bead deals. That doesn't mean that leasing is a bad idea. You can negotiate a bad purchase just like you can negotiate a bad lease. Also, when did you buy your car? Like I said earlier, I got mine in January 04. After that they started having good deals. And what is the price difference between sport and grand touring?

mine was picked up in april 04. i think i understand my lease just a little bit more after reading. the only thing that made it harder were the other financial stuff placed in there.

im doing my homework on either a used or new evo8 right now and ill work from there. im gonna do it right and get it financed and get all my homework done. im gonna go talk to the dealerships today and let em fight over me LOL! mitsubishi has some financing options of their own but im gonna talk to the evo drivers and get their opinions. the majority of the evo guys get like 4% interest rates for their cars which isnt too bad in my opinion. the highest i saw was like 8% (bleah!)

Both Ironmedic and myself know we got bead deals. That doesn't mean that leasing is a bad idea. You can negotiate a bad purchase just like you can negotiate a bad lease. Also, when did you buy your car? Like I said earlier, I got mine in January 04. After that they started having good deals. And what is the price difference between sport and grand touring?


I don't recall me saying a lease was a bad deal.

Why get an evo? If you are worried about going fast from the line just get a motorcycle. You will smoke every cheesy evo out there. But I do understand wanting to get rid of an automatic. The benefits of the rotary can only be enjoyed with a manual.

Both. My story is a bit different. I meant to get off the leasing bandwagon finally so I actually went and bought a used Z from Culver City Nissan (I do not reccommend buying a car from them). I really liked the Z but my plates never came and my registration ran out. Turns out, they didn't have the title when they sold me the car. I am not the litigious type so I made a deal to trade in the Z, take the loss and get into an RX-8 lease with no money down.

I regret not suing, leasing and I miss the Z, because the auto 8 just doesn't come close to comparing.

So, to sum up, I regret all the above.

im gonna start the BLAH guild!

BLAH= Bad Lease + Automatic Haters

Aren't you a municipal court traffic lawyer? What did you get on your SATS old man?

no and 1430

Oh, and I can afford to buy the car. I made 80000 dollars this year. I'm 24 years old.


I made that in in the first 5 months of the year...NET and I'm 33

I WIN

p.s., and yes, that is my driveway. Other board members will verify if you like.

The guy already said he is getting rid of the car. Didn't I say he was screwed either way. I gave him the best advice possible. And who cares WTF you are financing? It all comes down to total cost in the end. There are plenty of people who are more intelligent than you that lease cars. YOU ARE A TRAFFIC COURT LAWYER, THE LOWEST OF THE LOW. You say I am renting. OK, let me break it down for you moron style. Say I financed 34,000 for 5 years. After 5 years, the RX8 has 100,000 miles on it. How much is that car worth? Not more than 10,000 dollars. So I either get rid of it or keep it and end up paying for repairs. People who can afford it usually get new cars. So you sell the car, get 10000 for it, and you ended up paying more than 24,000 to "RENT" the car for 5 years. Meanwhile, the bank owned the car the entire time. So tell me what your math is.

Joe, I think it is ironic that you insist on calling ME stupid yet you got taken on your lease. What Math are YOU using.

Just my own personal opinion:

You should NEVER lease a car. Lease's are a cash cow for the dealers. The only good thing about a lease is that it allows someone to drive a car that they would not normally be able to afford to purchase.

Always purchase.


Would have to disagree on that. Leased fully loaded 8 with NAV for a trade in of 01 corolla with 101k miles @ 290/month for 2 years. I beat this car like a red headed step child. I don't get the oil changed as much as I should (I change it myself), I don't care about scratches (before you flame me I am fully aware, I mean rock chips and wear and tear, my leasing company allows for them), every ride is a hard ride, no break in period for me not enough time. Get my point? If they offered a buyout of 12 k when lease is up I still wouldn't buy it unless it was to turn it over for a profit.

I always wonder about a mentality that says that just because it's not mine, I don't have to take care of it.

Would have to disagree on that. Leased fully loaded 8 with NAV for a trade in of 01 corolla with 101k miles @ 290/month for 2 years. I beat this car like a red headed step child. I don't get the oil changed as much as I should (I change it myself), I don't care about scratches (before you flame me I am fully aware, I mean rock chips and wear and tear, my leasing company allows for them), every ride is a hard ride, no break in period for me not enough time. Get my point? If they offered a buyout of 12 k when lease is up I still wouldn't buy it unless it was to turn it over for a profit.
How proud you must be.

if i told u guys how much my lease is running me right now, u guys would ban me and brand me stupid for life. i am $10000 upside down on this lease due to different factors. i am still gonna get rid of my RX8 and just pick up an STI or an Evo8. at least ill have a factory turbo under a warranty. why pay 28k-32k for an RX8 loaded up when i can get the same price for an Evo8 with more power and a damn turbo. im just not into this automatic crap anymore.

at the end of my lease, i would have shelled out near 30k in rental payments. thats too much for me on a lease. that is straight up financing right there. if i shell out 30k on a lease in 4 years, i might as well drive a hummer or something.

Well, my car is leased on very short term and, since used as my company car, fully tax-deductible. Very short term lease (12 months) means very expensive of course, but that was the period of time I could easily predict concerning my financial status. And I prefer not to make bets I can't cover.

Funny thing is, my financial status looks even better today than it did back then, but I nevertheless have a 50:50 opinion on keeping the car.

Don't get me wrong, I love the car. It's two hours of fun each day and I don't want to miss those two hours.

But on the other hand my situation has changed from being a single with no need to care about anything than my own business to being about to start a family type thing with my girlfriend, who by the way has a car on 3 year lease and we don't need two cars. Being tax deductible, the car costs me a mere 50% of what it would cost me as a private person. But anyway, I don't it need it desperately anymore - unlike last year when I was totally hooked on it.

My plan is basically to drop my current car, save some money and get a 2007 Mazdaspeed RX-8 (2007 should be enough either for a Mazdaspeed RX-8 or a new RX-7) and pay it in cash. Girlfriend OK'ed the plan, well, in fact she'd OK'ed a Porsche Turbo after we saw one with a child seat in the back. ;)

I could keep the car with no problems, but on the other hand the most important thing is that I had it when I really wanted it. So I may take a rest.

Or may I don't.

In your situation I'd clearly drop it, because "it's just a car" (we all know it ain't, but other things are even more serious) and focus on getting another one later on, if you still want it then. Sports cars are about fun, thinking about money is not - so if the latter spoils the first, drop it.

This is all very illuminating. My lease is going to cost me about 25k over four years on a fully loaded A/T, which isn't that great I suppose. I don't thrash my car though like the other poster though. This really does make me reconsider the idea of ever buying a used sports car, unless I knew exactly who had driven it before hand and how they treated it.

I definitely don't plan on keeping this A/T but will wait a bit longer before dumping it. Seeing what happens at work over the next few months and depending on that, I'll either get better performing sports car, a Z , maybe an 8 with a stick, an STI, not really sure... or just get something easier on the wallet.

cool the anti-AT group is forming already here. i just wish my wife would be willing to drive a stick otherwise i wouldnt consider dropping my 8. this time we buy a car, she will be driving a stick whether she likes it or not. she can do it but in the end, she says she is scared.