leasing a car? Please give your opinion

[Cook911411]

Very interesting forum...... Go on!

My Case... I have always purchased the two year old car, until 2004 in which I bought a brand new car... 2K down 0% interest.... Payment = $397 I pay $400

According to KBB I am ahead by $2700.. (I know my car is only actually worth the market)

At 0% interest I have stayed very close to depreciation!

My Wife Leases... Minimal Payment like $200ish (so she can shop and save more)

^Not a bad concept.... I am pretty sure, unless I buy an old classic car for fun, I will always have an Auto payment.

....so why not minimize the car par payment and invest the rest......Or use the extra to put into your 1930 Ford Coupe!

[millennica]

Hopefully you'll be able to continue to do so as long as you wish. I will caution you, however that as time goes by it may become increasingly difficult to keep an old car running. Manufacturers are not making parts for as long as they used to, and some parts for cars built as recently as the mid 90s are impossible to find new or remanufactured.

Thank you for your warning and unsolicited advice, jm1fd. I am not at all concerned, however. If and when the time comes and I deem the cost of repairing my car is no longer worth it, I have no problem purchasing a new car with cash. So far, finding parts has not been a problem. It has been my good fortune to have an excellent car repair person, who manages to find any parts she needs to repair my car. Could be that the car gods have blessed me with their largesse. Should the car not be repairable, that also isn't a problem. For one thing, I don't have to have a car since my spouse has one and I have always managed and been perfectly happy using public transportation to get to work, into town, to the airport and other places. This is probably because as a young adult, I lived in East Coast cities that had good public transportation that I relied on to get around, so now no matter where I live, I always seek out and use whatever public transportation is available to get around since if I have to spend time traveling, I'd rather keep my eyes in a book than on the road. Second, not having spent any money on car payments for the 20 years, I am in a wonderful position to any car I desire with cash. Of course, being the person I am, it will not be the most expensive car I can afford.