has anyone leased their z?
 

since i couldnt afford to pay for the car
i was thinking of the lease option..
if anyone in the forum has got a good lease deal on the '10 base coupe
how much downpayment did you guys put down and
how much are you paying a month??
thanksss

i got quoted
320 after tax
with 8000 downpayment
39mnth,,,

Do you even have $8000 to put down on the lease? If so, why couldn't that go to the down payment on a purchase? Which in return would net a decent car note. Or is that out of your range? Do what's smart. There's always more time to save more to get you where you need to be.

Have you read up on leasing -- say did a goggle search on leasing cars? This is a decent explanation of all the terms involved

Car Lease Guide - Free Guide to Smart Car Leasing - LeaseGuide.com

All said and done, without knowing your situation, since you already have 8k saved you might be better off saving up a few more thousand for a down payment on a purchase. If you've got good credit you can easily get 4 % - 5 %. If your Z is around 30K out the door, with 11k down your monthly payment on a 5 year loan @ 4.5% would be about $354.

A simple bit of math might help you make up your mind:

Lease
320 x 39 months = 12480 + 8000 down = in for 20,480 after lease period

Buy

11k down, 30k price = 19000 loan @ 4.5% = 354 MO

354 x 39 mo = 13806 + 11k down = in for 24,806 after 39 months

At first it looks like you are in for less after 39 months with the lease, but you have only around 7434 left on your loan if you continue payments. Assume the Z is now worth 15k. That means you actually have $7566 worth of value in your car -- a little more actually if you were to sell the car outright and pay off the balance of the loan.

So

Lease after 39 months = in for 20,480
Buy after 39 months = in for 24,806 minus the value of the car that you own 7566 = 17,240

20,480 - 17240 = 3,240 less after 39 months

Of course this is based on a residual value of 15k after 39 months which may or may not be reasonable.

I think your residual estimate sounds about right.

They don't give deals for Z leases, they are using the stock bank rates at 6.0% plus a little padding on the residuals.

If you purchase and get a loan at 3.49% your payments will be $400 with the $8K down provided you can come up with the extra cash for the sales tax. If you could put $11K down it would be $345 a month. $12.5 down and you hit the same number of $320 a month.

8000k down is almost 1/3 the value of a base model. That's a hefty amount of cash to throw towards a lease. AND thats a pretty substantial downpayment.

Just think of this: ANY downpayment in a lease is throwing money away. Like Zaggeron, I don't know your situation but if you can get a decent rate, you're well on your way to OWNING a Z rather than renting.

General rule of thumb

For a lease - put down as LITTLE as possible.

For a purchase - put down as MUCH as possible.

If you are going to lease just take the higher payment and hold on to your 8,000 dollars. dont throw it away.

:iagree:

NAMC is trying to stay liquid as possible and they are placing big Money Factors on almost all leases to steer the public to purchase, which will offset there portfolio to help there liquidity. Please don't lease unless you can right it off for business.
Lou

As I have said before, $1200 down------500 per month 39 months.

Unless you have some way to make money with the $6800 remaining from your 8k or you need the cash as a cushion in case of an emergency or something that's not a better deal than 8k down and 320 per month.

You are paying more for your lease with $1200 down & 500 per month ... not much more, but a couple of hundred dollars more.

In any case, I think the general consensus is that it is better to buy than lease the Z

For the time being Buy

Put a lot down on a lease and you will lose the entire amount if you total the car. The insurance co. is only covering the remaining lease payments. If you total the car, the insurance co sends the owner/lessee a check. You walk away with no car and no money. Financial advisers say put the minimum down on a lease as noted above. Set aside your down payment money to make up the higher lease payments each month

I did not know that. I assumed you would be insured for the replacement value of the vehicle. Is it the same with buying the car? Do they only pay the balance of the loan payments to the loss payee?

2700 down 440 a month .... base model

i finally got my z!
we got a decent deal
370 a month 5000 down and the residual value was 55% and at the end of 39mnths
the car would cost 17000
did a lil math here and there and there was not a huge difference btw buying and leasing
now that i gotta watch for my milege,,since its only 15000miles per year..

Ive always thought of leases as a way of driving high priced cars at lower payments and for only a couple of years and then you lease a new car again. IMO anything over two or three years should be bought. Lease the GTR.

I don't know, I have never owned a car in my life, I have leased for 17 years.
For me its like renting any car you want, and at the end of 3 years, I drive it back to the dealership, drop off the keys and say thank you for letting me rent the car. Then I go get a new car

I have avoided expensive maintenance, I abused the **** out of the car...........Now I can get a brand new car. I can always lease above my means. I have had Civics---to----Jaguars----to a G35-----to a 370----next the plan is a porsche.

I get why you all say buy, own, buy, own, Its just not for me. Maybe when I am 65 Ill buy my Cadillac, until them I will just have fun getting a new car every 3 years. Different for everyone I guess.

Grats on the Car!

But just keep in mind, that sounds like a good deal, but that is what its designed to do. If you plan on returning the car when the lease is over, that wouldn't be so bad. But if you plan to buy the car, will you have the 17K? If not, you will have to finance that... it will be like buying another car again(or better yet, the other half).

IMO I would not buy the car at the end of a lease its just not good money sense. Get another car. Leases are for people who want a new car every so often, so never think about buying the car afterwards. And Im not a big fan of putting that much down for a rental.

Do you have a crystal ball?

They put residuals on the end of the lease, and sometimes they are lower than trade values, where you could buy the Z turn around and sell it yourself and make a few bucks. You just have to wait until the lease is almost up and look up the value of the car against the residual buy out, then make your decision. To say not never buy a lease at the end is not good advice, until you know all the facts.

Putting money down on a lease; all you are doing is buying down your payment. That is it nothing more.