i know you can say its up to the individual, but i was curious of opinions. would it be better to lease a new 06 ss/sc, buy it, or buy a used 06 thats exactly the same? i have no experience leasing but you cant lease a used car can you? just looking for a low monthly payment (who aint) thanks for the help

 

never lease, buy and its up to you on if you want it used or new

 

Leasing my car with buy-out included came out cheaper to own than financing it. Its hard to say wich is better. I would consider thinking about how many miles you plan on driving your car. I knew that I wasent going to use it for work, just for fun. I don't regret leasing it at all. If your not sure than just finance it. Leasing is a hastle anyways. Its nice to know you can just sell it without breaking any agreements.

 

No you can't lease a used car, if you have excellent credit and know how many miles you put on the car and are very responsible where you can actually take care of the car then lease, its good for people who change there mind every two years on new body. If not go used i've seen 05/06 ss s/c for 15gs not bad at all.

 

Not to hijack this thread but would you mind explaining me why leasing should never be done?

 

There are some serious questions you need to ask yourself:
• How much is the dealer asking?
• How much is financing in the long run?
• How much is the used one (assuming you found one already)?
• How much will my other important expenses cost me while I'm paying for my car?
• How much do you have in your pocket right now?

If you can afford to get a 2.0 Cobalt fresh out the box, you may want to consider buying new or barely used. It's really up to how much you have and how much you want to have left over.

 

Get a used one if your looking for the cheaper car payment. you may be able to extend the length of your loan on new but it will cost you more in the long run. i wish i'd have bought a used one but i'm stuck with a $405 dollar payment for 7 years. Everyone flame me now it is a high payment for 7 years! I financed 100% + 1000 negative Equity.

 

the exact same car:
new is 22,125
used with 19,400miles the lowest they went before i walked out was 17995

just reading some peoples stories leasing the new one sounds the best. but why would they lease a car and give you a buyout cheaper than buying it outright?

 

I leased my last 2 cars, I like it that way

 

Because you won't get the chicks if you lease!

 

because on a lease you pay $200 a month for 3 years and after the 3 years you have nothing... where as if you buy you pay 300 a month for 4 years and you have a car paid in full


.

 

hmm... I got a program car with only 7,000 miles for 17,975

 

$300 a month for 4 yrs equals $14,400, roughly a $13,000 car. You aren't going to touch a new SS/SC for that price.

And you're wrong about having nothing at the end of a lease. You have first dibs to buy the car at a pre-negotiated price. Or you can hand over the keys, turn around and walk away debt free.

With a (now common) 72 month contract/lien, after 3 yrs you'd still owe +$10,000 before you're able to obtain the title.

The two biggest things that shy most people away from leasing is modifications and mileage.

I love to modify my cars. And I expect a lot of other people here do to. Anything you do to the car in a lease can't be permanent or you've broken the contract.

And I have just over 8,200 miles on my car and I bought it with ~250 miles on it on Sept. 16, 2006. That's roughly 20K miles a year. That just wouldn't work well for me, or anyone else who drives a lot of miles.

There are a lot of misconceptions about leasing a car. Don't fall victim to them. Leasing can be a great alternative to borrowing money to buy a car, as long as you're fully aware of the terms of the contract.

 

I would make payments on a car and go for owning something instead of "leasing."

if you lease, when your done, you have nothing to show for it, unless you buy it out.

 

You can also say if you lease.. you only pay for what you use.. if you wanna trade in ev ery 4 yrs to stay new and in warrentee why pay for the entire car.. just pay for what you use then trade it in...
Or.... lease it for the lower monthly payment.. then buy it out at the end.. you will only end up paying a few hundred more in the end if that.... and the money I save on each monthly payment gets invested and makes compound interest so i actualy end up saving money leasing..

 

own, but i bought used

 

As an old saying goes "buy somerhing that appreciates - lease something that depreciates". I leased the LT because it's a DD and I know after 3 years I'll be sick of it and want something else.

Leasing is a great way to go if:

- you always want a new car with warranty
- tire of a car after 2-3 years
- don't put a lot of mileage on a car
- base your car budget on a montly basis, not the overall vechicle cost

It all comes down to your own preferences/financial situation. Personally I buy my toy cars and keep them for a long time, and lease daily drivers.

 

IMO you lease if:

• you don't plan on modifying the car
• if you do plan on modifying, you're going to save all the original parts and put them back on when you turn in the car
• you don't drive a ton of miles in a year

for these reasons, my wife's next car will probably be a lease - and i'll never lease a vehicle

 

I've had this debate before with many co-workers, and working for a major financial organization, everyone has their analysis well thought out. THe main point I've heard is that it takes the risk out of owning a car. The major question most people have asked here is how long do you intend on keeping the car? If it's more than 3 years, than you should think about owning it, but if every 3 years you want to buy a new one, or you expect your life situation to change, then lease.

When I was looking for cars it just so happened that the SS/SC was 0% financing and I took the 72 month option and am paying around 340ish a month. Now if I thought about it before hand, I probably would have leased primarily because at the end of 3 years, I'll have the car half paid off which means in 3 years it will be worth TO ME 12,000 however I highly doubt that it will be worth that much to someone else, meaning no one will want to pay 12,000 for a 3 year old car that has a reputation to be beat on with over 36k miles. Now if I leased the car, I could have had a lower monthly payment and no over head in three years when I plan on possibly starting a family and getting a bigger car.

The other good thing about leasing is your paying the depreciation value of the car, no more, which is where the risk comes into play. If you buy you are basically betting that in 3 years the car will only depreciate so much, but if you lease, that price and depreciation factor is already mapped out and there is no risk involved in losing any money.

It's true that after a lease you ahve nothing to show for the money you paid but if in the middle of your financign you go to trade the car in, chances are you'll have less to show.

 

Great points, Scott.

I'd like to add to your analogy about the car depreciating. If the lease company says the car will be worth $10,000 after 3 yrs., but the market says it's worth $8,000, then you hand over the keys and it's not your problem.

But let's say the car turns out to be worth $12,000 at the end of the 3 yrs. You get to buy that car for $10,000 (depending on contract). You could (if you didn't mind the hassle) buy it for $10,000, then sell it the next day for $12,000.

Either way, you're up $2,000 over buying the car.

 

did you happen to do any math in this purchase? or i hope you mean 5 years!

 

Your gonna be payin $32020 for a Cobalt
I hope my math is off or you arent payin that much for 7 years cuz if u are, u got raped

 

Do you have to pay property taxes on a leased vehicle?
That's another important Q to ask. For those os us that live in states that charge annual taxes on property

 

I don't know about property taxes, but I do know IL is one of the few states that you have to pay sales tax on the entire purchase of the car even though you're only leasing it.

I found a site that has all the info...
http://www.leaseguide.com/lease09.htm

NKs07CobaltSS,

I hope you meant 6 yrs. 7 yrs is possible, but most banks only finance for that long on either RV's, boats or conversion vans.