xMRogers Posted February 22, 2007 Share Posted February 22, 2007 I'm a proponent of leases, and have leased 4 HOnda/Acura's in the last 11 years. Accord V6 (don't decide 4 vs 6 without driving both - every car is different in terms of the real driving impact, and when I got my accord, I COULD NOT deal with the 4cyl - i would have punched a hole through the floor in a month) Acura TL - greatest car i ever had, and when I gave back (for next one) they gave me 1900 as the residual they had was much less than the car was worth Acura MDX - good SUV - this is the only one I bought at end of lease - mileage issue, but more importantly was the only one I realized I wanted to hold onto Honda Pilot (for wife) - got this chrismas (yea, big red bow...good story) I lease for several reasons : 1) I like new cars - call me whatever you want, I simply like driving new cars 2) after 3 years or so, your just geting to break even on a new car for the most part...so when looking at lease vs buy, but over 36 months (realizing i usually want a new one at that point) , assume a 25000 car - you could have paid $15000+ and have an asset that's about worth 0 to you if you bought it, or pay about $11000 and have an asset that's worth 0 to you if you leased it - allows either lower payment on car you want, or better car if you had a payment in mind - now, this is much more true of a Honda/Acura than most because they do have high residuals thought about buying the Pilot this time, but in 3 years we'll be moving to the Odyssey most likely (and I'll be buying a race car at same time to offset...) and my wife puts zero miles on the car for the most part, so the Honda national lease made sense As far as car dealers, i've invariably known : what I wanted/how much I'd pay upfront and monthly. I walk in, tell the person :"this will be a 15 minute deal if you handle it right - can you do x car for y money, yes or no" - sometimes, i get jibberjabber, and I say "thanks - going elsewhere" and leave. For the four cars above, the guy (happened to be male all 4) said - give me 5, and came back with the deal I wanted - outside of the standard "sign the papers in teh office" and test drives, spent less than 30 minutes dealing with it all each time Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmarc117 Posted February 22, 2007 Share Posted February 22, 2007 dont let the closers sell you anything Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexgaddis Posted February 22, 2007 Share Posted February 22, 2007 As far as car dealers, i've invariably known : what I wanted/how much I'd pay upfront and monthly. I walk in, tell the person :"this will be a 15 minute deal if you handle it right - can you do x car for y money, yes or no" - sometimes, i get jibberjabber, and I say "thanks - going elsewhere" and leave. For the four cars above, the guy (happened to be male all 4) said - give me 5, and came back with the deal I wanted - outside of the standard "sign the papers in teh office" and test drives, spent less than 30 minutes dealing with it all each time This is how I would go about it...don't show any uncertainty that a salesman can manipulate...you have to go in thinking you have the sales guy by the balls and be prepared to walk out at any time... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmarc117 Posted February 22, 2007 Share Posted February 22, 2007 (edited) print off what u want from the internetand bring it with, then be firm. they will try to sell you anything they can. Edited February 22, 2007 by dmarc117 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caveman_Nick Posted February 22, 2007 Share Posted February 22, 2007 I'm with you regarding the fine print from specific dealers. However Honda does have a list of their corporately sponsored lease specials on their website (linked below). Honda's national lease specials are here As you can see they are offering the 6-cylinder SE model for only $10 more than the 4-cylinder LX model. I just leased an Accord last Friday. I went with the 6-cylinder. A little worse gas mileage but a much better engine IMO. The LX model does have more creature features however. I told them I wanted to put nothing down so I owed the first months payment and document fees at inception ($480 total). The lease payment with nothing down is $265 + sales tax ($280 for me). I'm very happy with that payment for this car. Good luck. How are the tires? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Swerski Posted February 22, 2007 Share Posted February 22, 2007 Every Honda owner I know is relatively satisfied with their vehicle. My mother and sister both have Civics and like them. My piece of advice to you is to avoid Nissan. I leased an '03 Senta Limited Edition (fully-loaded with an Altima's engine) and had a lot of problems with it. There were three recalls in four years, the computer that controls the engine died on me in the middle of a highway in dowtown Houston, I had trouble starting it at times in cold or cold/humid weather, the alarm would go off randomly once a month or so, the paint is soft and easily dents/chips, and the bottom of the car is too low to the ground (it's easy to scrape against curbs and parking blocks). The morans at their payment processing center couldn't process a simple change of address - I had to actually call them, rather than fill out the back of the payment stub. I'll never do business with them again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Azazello1313 Posted February 22, 2007 Share Posted February 22, 2007 Every Honda owner I know is relatively satisfied with their vehicle. My mother and sister both have Civics and like them. My piece of advice to you is to avoid Nissan. I leased an '03 Senta Limited Edition (fully-loaded with an Altima's engine) and had a lot of problems with it. There were three recalls in four years, the computer that controls the engine died on me in the middle of a highway in dowtown Houston, I had trouble starting it at times in cold or cold/humid weather, the alarm would go off randomly once a month or so, the paint is soft and easily dents/chips, and the bottom of the car is too low to the ground (it's easy to scrape against curbs and parking blocks). The morans at their payment processing center couldn't process a simple change of address - I had to actually call them, rather than fill out the back of the payment stub. I'll never do business with them again. well, i wouldn't BUY a nissan...but i wouldn't really hesitate to lease one, if that was the route i was going. honda's clear advantages in reliability and resale ain't worth that much if someone else owns the car and you're only driving it for the first 30,000 miles of its life. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Swerski Posted February 22, 2007 Share Posted February 22, 2007 (edited) honda's clear advantages in reliability I'll take Honda's reliability any day, even if it's a lease. I almost got into a massive wreck in Houston because my Nissan's engine died on me. You can't put a price on that. Trust me, you don't want to deal with Nissan. Their cars are cheaply-made and much of their company is incompetent. When I returned my lease, I had to wait 30 minutes because the person working there didn't know how to print out the paperwork that I had to sign. Edited February 22, 2007 by Bill Swerski Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idahov Posted February 22, 2007 Share Posted February 22, 2007 The wife and I have leased two rigs in the past, both Hondas. In each case we were over in miles, but the residual was still lower than what the car was worth. We ended up buying both, and then selling a short time later with a little money in our pocket. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rrobb Posted February 22, 2007 Share Posted February 22, 2007 Check out this web site for buying and leasing tips. I bought my Acura on NYE in 2001 and got a great deal. http://www.carbuyingtips.com/ RR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sugar Magnolia Posted February 22, 2007 Share Posted February 22, 2007 The class action suit is for Honda models 2002-2006, and the 2007 Honda Fit, so doesn't apply to most 2007 models. The leasing agents are supposed to allow for a 5% fudge factor on the odometer reading when you turn your leased car in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duchess Jack Posted February 23, 2007 Author Share Posted February 23, 2007 The offer was for **one** car - fine print and all. So... we're going to take a few days and see if we can buy one for a good price. Are there less scams and such buying on the company's website? I seem to remember reading this. I think that it was in that 40 page article that was posted a while back where a guy went undercover as a salesman. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big John Posted February 23, 2007 Share Posted February 23, 2007 The offer was for **one** car - fine print and all. So... we're going to take a few days and see if we can buy one for a good price. Are there less scams and such buying on the company's website? I seem to remember reading this. I think that it was in that 40 page article that was posted a while back where a guy went undercover as a salesman. That thread There are many dirty tricks they use and you fell to one of them. Another one I saw was an ad for a car for a cheaper price than at other dealers, then read the fine pring saying it was the price after a $3000 down payment (that you make). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duchess Jack Posted February 23, 2007 Author Share Posted February 23, 2007 Another one I saw was an ad for a car for a cheaper price than at other dealers, then read the fine pring saying it was the price after a $3000 down payment (that you make). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xMRogers Posted February 23, 2007 Share Posted February 23, 2007 Are there less scams and such buying on the company's website? I seem to remember reading this. I think that it was in that 40 page article that was posted a while back where a guy went undercover as a salesman. Depends - if you tend to think you are a wheeler-dealer sort and can do better with the back and forth, you may be able to. My long history with HOnda/Acura has told me that the national Honda deals are usually about as good as you'll do as the dealers get kickbacks from national to sell the deal (beyond the normal profits involved). One thing my last guy told me is don't ever bother to go when they have a national deal and try to get that deal but better - meaning if you want say a Pilot LX 4WD on a lease, and theirs a national deal on it at the time, they won't go below that deal. They may do it on a different model, but you'd need to wait to the national is done before tryign to get anythign better on that particular model. I also value the simplicity of : here's my printout off the internet, i want silver - we good? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duchess Jack Posted February 23, 2007 Author Share Posted February 23, 2007 sure... but all those bogus charges and taxes to pad their profit... do they trickle down from the top or are they on a dealer to dealer basis Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xMRogers Posted February 23, 2007 Share Posted February 23, 2007 most are from dealer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H8tank Posted February 23, 2007 Share Posted February 23, 2007 Trust me, you don't want to deal with Nissan. Their cars are cheaply-made You bought a freaking SENTA, what the hell do you expect? lol, saying 'loaded' sentra is like bragging about how full your moms beard is. I guess Nissan Maximas suck too? How about infinity, they crap as well? LOL, loaded sentra! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yo mama Posted February 23, 2007 Share Posted February 23, 2007 (edited) The one firm piece of advice I can offer is to put as little cash down as possible. Because chances are, you aren't going to buy the car at the end of the lease term. Secondarily, check out this page from www.edmunds.com. It will tell you about manufacturer rebates and lease deals the dealership may or may not tell you about. You may have to enter your own zip code. Edited February 23, 2007 by yo mama Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Swerski Posted February 23, 2007 Share Posted February 23, 2007 (edited) You bought a freaking SENTA, what the hell do you expect? SENTRA, you moran. Not bought, leased. And I expect the engine to not die in the middle of rush hour. I also expect the back window to not spontaneously shatter while I'm driving to work. I guess Nissan Maximas suck too? How about infinity, they crap as well? Given that they use the same poorly-made engines, I'd say yes. Not to mention the fact that their customer service is crap. Nissan/Infiniti will never get my business again. lol, saying 'loaded' sentra is like bragging about how full your moms beard is. So, I suppose you think that Altimas are decent cars as well? My Sentra had the same engine, but that didn't stop it from crapping out on the middle of a busy highway. You're an epic idiot. Do us all a favor get run over by a bus. Edited February 23, 2007 by Bill Swerski Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimmy Neutron Posted February 24, 2007 Share Posted February 24, 2007 My advice on leases - don't. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H8tank Posted February 24, 2007 Share Posted February 24, 2007 My advice on leases - don't. How many cars have you leased? Do us all a favor Who is us? I don't think you're winning any popularity contests around here either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimmy Neutron Posted February 24, 2007 Share Posted February 24, 2007 How many cars have you leased? Exactly zero - it is one trap I have avoided like the plague. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimmy Neutron Posted February 24, 2007 Share Posted February 24, 2007 Pros & Cons The lists below summarize the pros and cons of leasing versus buying: Advantages of Leasing Lower monthly payments Lower down payment You can drive a better car for less money each month Lower repair costs (with a three-year lease, the factory warranty covers most repairs) You can drive a new car every two or three years No trade-in hassles at the end of the lease You pay sales tax only on the portion of the car you finance Disadvantages of Leasing You don't own the car at the end of the lease Your mileage is limited to a set amount, typically 10,000 to15,000 a year Lease contracts are confusing, so it makes it difficult to ensure you're getting a fair deal Leasing is more expensive in the long run Wear-and-tear charges can add up It's hard to terminate a lease early if your driving needs change Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
irish Posted February 24, 2007 Share Posted February 24, 2007 Exactly zero - it is one trap I have avoided like the plague. My sister's BF is a sales manager and has had many discussions with me on the garbage that goes on at car dealerships. He's told me that if you don't kill a car with mileage and you intend on trading in your car every 3-5 years anyway leasing is a great option. I've leased my last 2 cars and would never finance again. So I was just wondering why you hate leases as I'd love to hear the complaints and then go back to this guy and ask him if they're legit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.