Stansy

Question: If you put money down on a lease (aside from normal OTD costs) to lower your payment/prepay depreciation costs, is that money at risk?

Do you lose that money if the car is totaled or stolen? Or, can I get it back regardless of what might happen to cause me to lose the ability to drive the car?

I'm still trying to decide if I'm going to lease or buy

DiamondGCoupe

iTrader: (4)

Yes, everything is at risk.

If you were to total your car at any point in the lease you will receive the market value of your car given it's mileage/options etc.. and you will be responsible for the difference between what the selling price was (lease or buy) less your payments plus the market value.

My suggestion to you if you are going to lease it to put as little money down as possible. If you don't like your monthly payments without putting down a substantial ($3000+) down payment then it's not a good idea to get the G, now.

Most importantly when you are deicing to lease/buy/how much to put down, DON'T FOCUS SIMPLY ON THE MONTHLY PAYMENT, it might be worth it to pay a few bucks more a month than owe several thousand in the unlikely event that your car is totaled or stolen (you don't live in NY do you, LOL!). Say yes to GAP insurance if your carrier does not provide it to you automatically.

Some suggestions to help you decide on a lease or not:
- Monthly payments
- Do you plan on keeping the car more than 4 years?
- How many miles do you drive a year?
- Do you have other vehicles in your household?

PROFLYER

Wrong, you don't owe the difference on a lease if it's totaled or stolen. The acquisition fee that you pay to Infiniti covers GAP insurance which pays the difference. The $$ you put down, however, is at risk. If you total the car you just walk away, you don't get that money back, that's why you don't put money down on a lease. If you can't swallow the payments get another car, but don't waste 3k in liquid cash on a lease.

Also, people seem to forget that whether you buy OR lease you OWN the depreciation either way. With a lease Infiniti GUARANTEES me that the car is worth X when the lease is up. If it's worth less, it's their problem, if it's worth a lot more I can sell it and pay the lease off and keep the change...with a purchase YOU WILL BE UPSIDE DOWN FOR 4 YEARS MINIMUM. Unless of course you put tons of cash down. Why OWN a depreciating liability? It's a tool, look at it as one.

DiamondGCoupe

iTrader: (4)

Hmm didn't know that.

RIDEwithG

He's not necessarily 100% wrong. I think DGC was referring to leasing in general. If you are talking Infiniti specifically, GAP is included. Honda does the same thing. Not very lender will provide you with GAP coverage.

+1 Very well put. It may be tool, but it's a FUN tool

Stansy

These replies are very helpful to me, thanks!

I think I've reached the conclusion that the smart thing for me to do is lease, because:
1) I own another nice vehicle free and clear
2) Payment <= $600/month is no worry
3) I don't like to risk my cash to fate
4) I'd rather use my ca$h on non-depreciating assets
5) I regularly drive only 14K miles per year and some of that will need to be with my existing vehicle.
6) I like to drive new cars, so I can get another new one in 2 yrs.

The only thing I'm worried about is what if, 2 yrs from now they no longer make manual transmissions for these cars? I think in that case my fallback is to buy my leasewd car.

DiamondGCoupe

iTrader: (4)

They will definitely make the 6MT for years to come!

PROFLYER

I didn't mean 100% wrong, sorry Diamond, it does read kinda like that. Every car I've ever leased came with gap, I was told that it's law here in CO, can't speak for other states...