Lease or finance? - Page 2 - NS4Sale

Bo Bo · 01-29-2007, 09:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HaLiGoOn

This guy leased and paid the hard way.

http://www.hfx4sale.com/index.php/topic,25558.0.html

He did'nt lease the car. He bought the car after it was returned from a lease.

There is nothing wrong with leasing a car unless you think you are going to go over the mileage.

Should have gave that advice to my wife after she leased her car. She is way over the allowed mileage. Looks like she will own it soon.

hrosv · 01-30-2007, 08:21 AM

We have 20,000 kms per year on the lease. Do you think that's enough? We'll basically be bumming around the city, with the occasional trip to Greenwood, Moncton or Parrsboro. I did a rough figure in my head and it seemed to be sufficient.

Too bad about your lemon car, Peter. It's unfortunate that they didn't even give you a discount, or anything. Totally unsympathetic. Sorry you had to deal with that.

Krissy, here's the story:

Quote:

The story is much, much too long to go into here, but I can sum it up this way:

NEVER EVER EVER EVER buy a car from these people. [Steele Clearance Centre]

I bought a used car (3 year lease-return), and was assured by the sales guy that certain repairs (things that were wrong with the car then) would be done upon delivery. They later 'forgot' and refused to honour the verbal agreement (my bad for not getting it in writing).
They sold me an aftermarket warranty that wasn't worth the paper it was written on (cost me $1300 over two years, nothing was covered).
I've put $1800 worth of repairs (all not covered by warranty) into the car over the past 18 months.
After two sincere and cooperative attempts to get some sort of help from them with the lemon that they sold me, I have had nothing but the equivalent of 'sucks to be you'. (And that's right from the sales rep to the GM).

I would recommend staying far, far away from this business if you want a reliable car from a company that will stand behind their product and service.

PeterM · 01-30-2007, 11:44 AM

20,000 is not bad for a km limit, although 25,000 is more common. I can tell you that just commuting from Bedford to downtown (plus a few meetings through the day) and shopping trips etc, I put between 70 and 100km on my car every day (=700/wk, =36,400/yr). You can rack them up pretty quickly. One possibility you may want to look into is purchasing 'extra' kilometers up front. Essentially, you pay a little more on the lease, and it raises your limit. It's a lot cheaper to do it that way than paying for them at the end.

All that said, you may not need them. Just do the math, but leave yourself more room than you think you'll need. Good luck!

hrosv · 01-30-2007, 11:56 AM

Wow, I guess the kilometres do add up quickly. Let's do a rough calculation.

Grocery store, mall, shopping trips: 20km/week = 960km/year
Trips to Greenwood: 140km/ 2 months = 840km/year
Trips to Parrsboro: 180km/ 2 months = 1080km/year
Trips to Truro: 110km/month = 1320km/year
Vet: 25km/year
Sisters: 50km/week = 2400km/year
Other unexpected trips: 100km/month = 1200km/year
TOTAL: 7,825km

Mind you, these are estimates. So I'll lean to the high side and say 10,000km/year. Even so, that's far below the limit. It also helps that Joe and I can bus to work and school, and that we live in the downtown core and can walk most places. Once we move to Clayton Park, we'll have to factor in that drive. Which shouldn't be a problem.. So, I think we're good?

PeterM · 01-30-2007, 01:32 PM

Living and working/schooling in the downtown core is awesome, you're lucky .... my baseline commute alone (door to door and back, including days my wife works on the weekends) accounts for about 7,000km per year.
You'll be fine with 20,000km.

hrosv · 01-30-2007, 02:49 PM

Great! Thanks Peter, and everyone else. I love this place. You give so much help for someone you don't even know. I appreciate it.

Krissy · 01-30-2007, 02:50 PM

Heather, when I first bought my car last April I was thinking I would lease because all I really needed her for was to travel around the city, and I live really close to pretty much everything in Dartmouth. I've used almost 18,000 km's so far and it hasn't even been a year, so sometimes we really consider everything. However, if my car had been a lease maybe I would have been a little more careful of how much I drive around.

Good luck...and thanks for posting the story....

novascroller · 01-30-2007, 07:33 PM

more importantly, get the extended warranty. actually, if you don't mind having a car payment forever, lease is
the way to go. if you want a period of time with no car payment, go with buying the car.

hrosv · 01-30-2007, 09:14 PM

Yes, we have a warrantee for an INCREDIBLE discount, thanks to my connection. Makes me feel better about driving it!

acheyne · 01-31-2007, 11:00 AM

I would qualify the "get the extended warranty" with "since it's an American car."

I'm not knocking the Pontiac, and I really like the look of the G5, but it is pretty much a fact with cars that American cars break down more. It's actually another reason to feel good about the lease option you're taking - you will be driving that car for the first 4 years on the road, and from the sounds of it, it wont actually get much mileage, so you should be fine. If it turns out to be a problem car, you don't own it, the warranty should cover most of the problems, and you can get a new one at the end of the lease term!

I've only ever had 3 cars - 2 Toyotas and a Cavalier Z24. The Cavalier was by far the most fun to drive, but most of the time, I was driving it to the shop.. but, I bought it used and didn't really know what I was doing when I bought it, I guess.

Anyway, enjoy the freedom - I know how exciting that first car can be. I still have mine - a '98 Corolla, and everytime my wife suggests we should trade it in for something bigger, a tear comes to my eye (well, maybe that's an exaggeration, but you know what I mean.

)

Andrew

novascroller · 01-31-2007, 09:31 PM

that's what i meant about the extended warranty. i was young and stupid once and bought an american car. i learned from my mistake and drive a Honda now.

hrosv · 02-01-2007, 01:41 AM

I'd love a Honda!!!

Maybe in my next life - or once I'm through Nursing school.

novascroller · 02-01-2007, 07:32 PM

new, there's not much difference between honda vs american. its the used honda's hold their price so much more than GMs, Fords etc so they just seem expensive. its not that the honda is expensive, its the fact the others are so cheap (in more ways than one)

InDepth · 02-17-2007, 10:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PeterM

Actually I didn't lease. And the car in the story is a perfect example of why leasing can sometimes be good. The car (lemon) I got stuck with was someone else's problem - a car they turned in after their lease. I made the mistake of financing it and now I have a car I couldn't give away if I tried.

Here's the simple breakdown, Heather:
Financing: Higher payments, but if you're confident in the quality of the car, is a preferable option because you will own the car after a few years.
Leasing: Lower payments, but you get to walk away from the car after 3 years and into another one. The downside is you never stop making car payments this way. And watch out for the km limits - the per-kilometre charges are high if you go over.

My opinion is that if your young, you prob. drive around alot so the km. restriction might be a concern to you, also if it turns out that you don't like the vechicle in ques. it will cost you money to get out of the lease early(been there, done that). If you decide to lease, make sure you get in writing on the contract exactly what they mean by "normal wear and tear". I know the feeling of driving a new car can't be beat, but they way the value drops as soon as you drive it off the lot might make you look at something a couple years old, that way most of the probs. might have been fixed............This of course is just "my opinion" and each and everyone's opinion may be different lol