Hey all,
What would be the pros and cons be, if I leased a coupe, with the intent of buying it and the end of the lease ?

Im thinking about leasing then buying a the end of lease, for the fact smaller payments and I get exactly what I want.

I know that doing it this way, Ill be paying for the car for a long time, but I do keep my cars until they day, lol my last car was a 1999 toyota 4runner, (hence my screen name) which had 230K miles, and the ball joint went out when driving, 3 yrs agao, thankfully I always carry full coverage, but the ins. totalled it out, now driving an 04 4runner, and really want a G coupe.

So whats your thoughts (pros and cons) on leasing, then buying it at end of the lease ?

heres one question, "if" I did this, and went over, the mileage at the end but bought it, would I still be charged for going over the mileage ?

Thanks in advance for any thoughts/advice.

 

You already mentioned the only con i could think off. If you bought the vehicle back at the end, they would likely not penalize you for exceeding mileage. I don't know have any personal experience with this but it's what a friend of mine who did this told me. Not sure if that's something she negotiated or if it's common practice.

 

Good to know, thanks for the reply

 

There's a few people who work for dealership on the board too so I'm sure you'll eventually get a definite answer.

 

cool, thank you

 

Not a bad idea at all. In fact, because of the interest rates right now it makes sense. The money factors (interest rate) on the Infiniti leases are mostly under 1% and that is a lot less than you'll get on a 72 mo loan. Unless Infiniti was offering 0% for 72 what you are doing will be the better deal.

 

I'm assuming you can discuss a buy-out option with the dealership as well, maybe they'll give you a nice deal/discount if they know you might buy it at the end, they'd be killing two birds with one stone. I'm not 100% sure how this would play out so maybe wait for someone else on the forum to make sure this is true, but I doubt it would be an issue.

 

I don't see any problem in your plan. You may end up paying slightly more than if you just borrowed the money to pay for the car now, but not a whole lot. If you're going to return it at the end of the lease, I would put as little 'down' now as possible.

By leasing, you're basically playing a hedge with Infiniti's money. If at the end of the lease, the car is worth more than the residual, buy it out and they've subsidized your lease/purchase. If it is worth less than the residual, give them back the keys and buy a used one while pocketing the difference. Of course that scenario doesn't work if you drive way over the miles, do excess damage to the car, or want to make unremoveable modifications.

If you buy the car at the end of the lease, it doesn't matter how many miles are on it. Similarly, it doesn't matter if you smoked cigars in it every day and parked it under a bird and bat sanctuary while never washing it.

Keep in mind though, that there's likely to be a redesigned coupe by the time your lease is up. If you're on this forum, you likely have something of a passion for cars in general and your new G specifically. In my experience, most of us who waste our time on the intertubes BS'ing about cars also lust after new ones. One of the great things about a lease is the ability to step right into a new car at the end of the lease, often with very little change in monthly payment. Infiniti will often give you some incentive to do that - either by way of waiving a certain amount of $$ that would have been charged for excess mileage or wear/tear, or other incentive. If flipping to a new lease is something you expect may appeal, then take care of your car and try not to drive too many miles over the allowance (or build in the miles up front).

Ideally you can drive exactly the number of miles you put down in the lease. But keep in mind that the mileage cost up front (writing miles into the lease) is around $0.10/mi vs. $0.25/mi on the back end.

Does that answer your question? Borrowing money via a lease is probably a little more expensive way to borrow, but the flexibility and options make it very appealing to a lot of people.

 

Thanks for all the replies all, and please keep them coming..

Sencure,
I didnt even think that there might be a redesign buy the time the lease would be up, good info. I do generally keep my cars for a VERY long time, my last car had 230K miles in it, my 4runner now, has 110K and I will keep it, Im getting a G in addition to the 4runner.

Again, I really appreciate all the thoughts and comments, keep them coming

 

I think it wouldbebetter. If you lease then you donthave to take out a loan for the car youwouldbe paying every month. You going to put a down payment on it?

 

If you lease at the end if you Buy the car, or trade the car in you aren't penalized for miles. The only time you are responsible for anything involving the lease terms is if you complete the lease and turn it in.

 

I leased my QX4 and bought the lease out and it worked out great. Now Im looking to get either an ipl coupe or conv. and may lease again if the payment is right. I worked my deal by putting 1500 down which covered any excess mileage and extended the warranty to 100,000 miles. I never put alot of money down and you have alot of room to negotiate your payment---dealers know they will make double their money on the car with a lease. If you plan on getting a new car in about 3-4 years a lease is the best way.

 

depends. how long will your loan be for when you buy it? having a lease rate of under 1% APR is great, but then if your "lease buyout" loan is for another 5 years at 4.5%...... all of a sudden it's not so great

 

Or by trading in at any other dealership or Carmax, you also avoid any fees. The buyout on my lease is pretty low, and going by the current used car market, i would have no problem trading in at the end of the lease and possibly even getting some positive equity back.

 

Something to note, and I learned this at the end of my last lease. I had a car that was worth more than the lease buyout, BUT my buyout price was less than dealer buyout prices. I could buy the car for $24,000 the dealerships buyout price was at 28,000. Sometimes it doesn't make sense.

Also if you're going to lease NEVER get the extended warranty. Even if you're going to buy it later....they offer you the warranty and usually cheaper than it was when you bought.