"SteveLehto" (stevelehto)
07/21/2016 at 09:00 • Filed to: None
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"SteveLehto" (stevelehto)
07/21/2016 at 09:00 • Filed to: None | 5
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I often mention that I’d be happy to do a podcast on a topic suggested by a listener/viewer and darned if someone didn’t ask me to do one about the pros and cons of automobile leases. Ask and ye shall receive.
I’ve leased cars and bought them, as have many of my clients. I’m not going to bash leases but I do think that many people misunderstand them. So, as I often say, do whatever you want with this. But just know what you are getting yourself into before you do it. Too often I hear from people who had no idea what they were signing - and have you seen what a lease looks like these days? Try 8.5 X 14 or so, two-sided, with lots of small print.
So, I do what I can to lay out the good and the bad. Hey, leasing might work for you and it might not. Just study it and then make an educated decision. Here is the audio:
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And the video:
And the pic at the top is a 1970 Hemi Cuda a friend of mine owns. Stay tuned. I hope to have video of a ride along shortly.
Follow me on Twitter: !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!!
Hear my podcast on iTunes: !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!!
Steve Lehto has been practicing law for 24 years, almost exclusively in consumer protection and !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! He wrote !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! and !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! .
This website may supply general information about the law but it is for informational purposes only. This does not create an attorney-client relationship and is not meant to constitute legal advice, so the good news is we’re not billing you by the hour for reading this. The bad news is that you shouldn’t act upon any of the information without consulting a qualified professional attorney who will, probably, bill you by the hour.
BringBackTheCommodore
> SteveLehto
07/21/2016 at 09:25 |
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I’ll definitely take a listen to this later on, as it’s a subject I’ve been curious about for some time. Thank you for your service to the auto enthusiast community, you are a gentleman and a scholar!
Also, looking forward to the ride-along video, because Chrysler E-body.
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SteveLehto
> BringBackTheCommodore
07/21/2016 at 09:30 |
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The owner said he’d let me drive it. Nothing crazy I’m sure, but another car I can add to the list (that already includes a Turbine Car and Bobby Isaac’s K&K Daytona).
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BringBackTheCommodore
> SteveLehto
07/21/2016 at 11:33 |
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The Turbine Car must have been quite the interesting experience! I’ll have to do a search on Oppo and take a look at that as well!
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SteveLehto
> BringBackTheCommodore
07/21/2016 at 11:37 |
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I am not driving the car in this video but - this is the one I drove. (Jay Leno’s).
jimz
> SteveLehto
07/21/2016 at 11:53 |
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saving the podcast for the drive home.
now, about that lede image- is there anything sharper than the ‘70-’71 ‘Cuda and Challenger? The ‘Cuda stayed pretty good looking up through ‘74, though the Challenger went sideways with the “frowny-face” grille. I’m just amazed they were able to comply with the ‘73-’74 5 mph bumper regulations without having to bolt on enormous battering rams.
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SteveLehto
> jimz
07/21/2016 at 15:09 |
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I’ve always thought the Cuda looked substantially better than the Challenger as well. This one sounds really nice. It’s got the super track pack and he put in 4.54 gears or some such. It came with a 4.11 and I guess that wasn’t steep enough for his needs.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> SteveLehto
07/21/2016 at 15:38 |
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There is always the issue that
car leasing is the most profitable way
for a dealer to sell a car, and it isn’t because they get a discount from the manufacturer, it is because the consumer pays more.
Then, on top of that, the brunt of depreciation on a car is in the first 4 years, so on a $30,000 car, you might take a $16,000 hit over three years in depreciation, so add another $444 to your “monthly payment.” Like tossing a $100 bill out of your window every week because you can bet the bank/leasing division factors that into the price and residual value calc.
It is like you said in the podcast, they focus on the payments because mentally, that is all that most people hear, so the down payment and depreciation figures don’t factor in to their decision.
Car leasing is about the
worst way to pay for a car
.
Standard_Deviation
> SteveLehto
07/21/2016 at 23:37 |
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Eons ago, shopping for my first new car:
Went to the Honda dealership to see the Civic Si. It was just too expensive for me to buy at the time - so the sales guy asks if I’d consider a used one. He then shows me a 4 year old Civic Si, with an asking price only $2,000 less than a new one.
I point out that the price is surprisingly close to the cost of new, and sales guy uses this as an opportunity to point out how well Hondas hold their value. I got him to confirm that he was saying the Civic Si only depreciated by $2,000 in four years.
So, I tell him I’ll lease a new one! (You probably see where I’m going with this...)
He quotes me ~$500/month as a lease payment, for 48 months. I ask how only $2,000 in depreciation could possibly turn into $500/month. Predictably, the numbers could never be reconciled and I didn’t buy (nor lease) the Civic. But it was fun to make the point the either the lease cost of the new Civic was BS, or the price on the used one was robbery!