Is Leasing Killing Car Ownership?

"ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable)" (adabofoppo) 06/02/2014 at 12:53 • Filed to: Get Off My Lawn!

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Not in the sense that leasing a vehicle does not mean that you own the car you drive, but that our society is being pushed towards a model where one does not actually own anything and as a result ownership of cars; knowing when, where, or how to service your vehicle, the basics of how it actually works, why certain parts wear out or fail, how to maintain a vehicle, etc is in dramatic decline.

Ownership in the sense that people care about their vehicle, want to know how it works (even if only at a basic level), and make an effort to maintain it properly. The ideal that their car represents something for which they can feel pride, "This belongs to me. I want to keep it special." Instead of our current cultural trend of making payments for access to a product that suits our fickle desires, and that can just a quickly be changed when we want something else.

All this knowledge is being lost because people no longer care to know anything about, or properly maintain their vehicles. Is our culture of renting our products contributing to this declining knowledge through people leasing vehicles?

Party-vi > ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable) 06/02/2014 at 12:59

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You're assuming every new car driver is leasing a vehicle. The average age of vehicles on the road is something like 11.5 years old, and leased vehicles present a great certified pre-owned vehicle to people who want premium cars but don't want to take a hit on depreciation. If anything it's making the used car market awesome.

ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable) > Party-vi 06/02/2014 at 13:03

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Not assuming every new-vehicle purchase is a lease, just that the idea of leasing; renting for monthly payments and not needing to know how it works is contributing to the absolute lack of knowledge and appreciation for how a vehicle actually functions.

No argument on buying CPO. When done well, it represents a huge value.

mazda616 > ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable) 06/02/2014 at 13:05

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When my wife and I bought our Mazda CX-5 new in December of '12, the salesman and the dealer all but begged us to lease it rather than buy it. I found it odd.

Good thing we didn't, because thanks to my wife's employer's parking lot, we'd be in big trouble for the amount of dings and scratches the CX-5 has now. :-(

dogisbadob > ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable) 06/02/2014 at 13:07

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Leasing has been around for a long, long time. It isn't killing car ownership; the economy is.

Party-vi > ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable) 06/02/2014 at 13:08

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Ah got ya. There are Opponauts that lease vehicles and we know they genuinely have knowledge of their vehicles. Plus I think the majority of people that lease are doing so because their parents did it or they will never have an interest in their vehicles. If more parents would get involved and show their kids how to work on cars, or if they invited Jr. to help change the oil or check tires it might get better.

ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable) > dogisbadob 06/02/2014 at 13:11

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No, not ownership in the sense that people are buying cars.

Ownership in the sense that people care about their vehicle, want to know how it works (even if only at a basic level), and make an effort to maintain it properly. The ideal that their car represents something for which they can feel pride, "This belongs to me. I want to keep it special." Instead of our current cultural trend of making payments access to a product that suits our fickle desires, and that can just a quickly be changed when we want something else.

Nothing > ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable) 06/02/2014 at 13:22

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Not much difference in leasing or financing. Until I have a title, it's not mine. As far as maintenance goes, I'd say a significant portion of the population never had any desire to maintain or service their own vehicles, regardless of how they chose to obtain their vehicle. A car is an appliance. I don't care how my refrigerator works, I just want it to work. I'm reminded of some washing machine enthusiast spoof article posted a while back.

TheCraigy > ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable) 06/02/2014 at 13:49

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Hmmmm. I think both types of people lease cars and buy cars. Also many enthusiasts will own special cars, and lease their daily driver which is more or less seen as a consumable item.

I know guys who buy cars and flip them constantly. They might own a car long enough to do an oil change. Owning the car does not change this mentality.

I thought about leasing a car, but ended up buying. The idea that you enjoy a car while it's new and completely under warranty, and then don't have to worry about reselling is very nice. The type of car I considered leasing I ended up buying, but I don't intend to keep it forever or spend more on maintenance than I have to.

themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles > ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable) 06/02/2014 at 14:16

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You assume that leasing is done exclusively out of a disinterest in cars. The reality is very far from that truth. Some people are essentially forced into it. My grandparents only lease vehicles and always get the "lease special" because they only need one car but it HAS to work for the 3-4000 miles a year they use it and in your late 70s, breaking your back to do a "simple repair" can be life threatening. And between discounts and manufacturer money, it's often cheaper to lease than to buy for them.

For some people, a lease is a great way to have a vehicle that might be convenient for a brief period of time in your life, but might not be needed in the long run. Have 4 kids? I'm sorry but a minivan is an incredibly easy way to haul kids + cargo and get everyone into and out of it easy. But what if your oldest kids are heading off to college soon? You'll be down to two and do you really need the extra cost of filling up a minivan? Not to mention the younger ones will be driving soon themselves. The solution could be to snag a lease deal on a minivan for 2-3 years while things play out and then get whatever you want/need after that.

To spin your title the other way around - the hassles and burdens of car ownership can kill car ownership. And that's not such a bad thing. If you lack the ability or drive to care for your car long term then please don't buy one and try and put off maintenance and service just because you don't care.

ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable) > themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles 06/02/2014 at 14:23

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I made no assumptions, just posing a question. I did not say leasing was evil and no one should ever do it.

I'm also talking more about 'ownership' as a mindset; when someone takes ownership of a problem, they focus on resolving it, care about getting it done.

Owning a car can mean that you have the title and can freely sell it, but I am more concerned that our current cultural climate of renting means that people do not think about 'owning' their vehicles.

A car does not represent something for which they should feel pride, it does not belong to them, and they do not care anything about it, other than if it works.

McLarry > ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable) 06/02/2014 at 16:04

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I gotta say I've considered leasing, but not because I don't want to own...I just want to try out as many cars as possible. Ownership is crucial if you want to mod, but leasing seems like a good option if you like a lot of turn-over and don't mind keeping things stock.

jmgadget > Nothing 06/02/2014 at 16:10

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Completely agree. I live at a very busy intersection and the amount of cars that go buy that look bad, sound bad, (are bad) is astounding. I don't think it matters to many people how it works, just that it does when they want it too.

Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs > McLarry 06/02/2014 at 16:27

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I was amazed at this guy I met the other day, he is leasing his Explorer Sport (the one with the 3.5EB) and so far he's done catback exhaust, catch can, a fair amount of smoking/blacking out. Now all of this stuff can be easily returned to stock. But he also plans to run a tune, install downpipes and a bunch of other, quite costly stuff.

When he's done with the car he'll have to return it all to stock, so much effort! Also I question if all this is kosher with the lease agreement.

McLarry > Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs 06/02/2014 at 16:50

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Wow...Yeah I always thought anything you did like would void the leasing agreement and any warranty (another reason people like to lease).

Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs > McLarry 06/02/2014 at 16:51

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Yeah, a lot of dealers are willing to look the other way if your mods are within reason, but I dunno if they feel the same way when it comes to leased cars...