55fanatic

Ok folks as many of you have seen the ML55 is on the chopping block and up for replacement. I cant deal with the worries of not having a warranty anymore!!!

I have looked at and am pretty comfortable with the idea that I will be purchasing either an infiniti G35 or FX35... Now I dont want to have to put down any money and I know this means some uncertainties get factored in such as the value of my ML and what final price on the infiniti comes to.

Would you all suggest I lease? or Purchase? Right now I dont think I could pull off the payments on it without putting money down. Is it smart to lease and plan on buying it out in the end?

I know my cousin did this with a 99 A4 and now she is still paying it off and its worth next to nothing.

Should I look at leasing the car and then at the end just go right back in to another lease?

How can I figure out if I am getting a good deal on a lease payment? Are lease payments negotiable?

Sorry for asking so many questions, for someone who usually is pretty knowledgable in most car related things im kinda lost here!!!

Gregs210

Hey, 55.

You'll have to change your forum handle if you get rid of the ML55!

Seriously, though, if you are considering a car that you plan to own for several years (and certainly past the lease term), a lease is almost never a good option. And if you're concerned about warranties, then keeping a car for several years isn't a good idea anyway, although hopefully the "I" brand would be better down the road than the MBs unfortunately have become.

The only thing the lease with later purchase would do for you is allow you to double-finance a car that you really can't afford to purchase, and as you noted your cousin is still paying on a car that's worth next to nothing. You'd be in the same boat years from now.

The best use of a lease in the non-business sense is if you have to have a new car every 3-4 years and want the stability of payments and lack of repair issues that a lease can offer. And you can bank enough money during the lease term to have the buy-in for the new lease.

IMHO if you're going to keep the car, the better thing is to put enough money down that you can afford the resulting payments; for most of the higher-end cars you can now get financing for 84 months through manufacturer financing packages (so long as you have good credit), so that should knock the payment down enough that you can get into it.

Another option: if you own a home, rates are still low enough that you could refinance and take some money out of it to put down on the car, and that way you retain your savings and have an interest deduction for the "filtered" car loan, too.

Good luck and enjoy the ride,
Greg

LeaseCompare

Greg makes a lot of good points.

I'll add that yes, lease payments are negotiable but you need to know what parts.

The best way to lower your lease payment is to negotiate the cap cost (purchase price) and the rate (money factor).

Here is how these two items affect your lease payment:

Cap Cost - Residual Value / Term = Depreciation
Cap Cost + Residual Value X Money Factor = Interest

Depreciation + Interest = Base Monthly Payment (before sales tax)

You will also want to compare what the dealer is offering to other lenders at LeaseCompare.com.