Life Hacks

Lessons learned

Leasing or Buying a Car? (August 2020)

Leasing:
⁃ If you monthly payment works out 1.25%/month of the purchase price, that should be a good deal; at 1.5%/month it’s okay; over 1.5%, walk away; 1% is a great deal
⁃ Edmunds town hall prices paid will tell you price range car should be in (https://www.edmunds.com/)
⁃ Autopia & Carvana are useful tools for sampling lease options before you speak to any dealers so you have a price range starting point (also strong alternatives for executing the lease)
⁃ Leasehacker calculator can help you understand your “money factor”/score — the higher the better (https://leasehackr.com/calculator)
⁃ DSR leasing is a good resource for sample lease options (https://dsrleasing.com/)

⁃ Inquire about buying a service package with the lease and understand the potential costs to service the car over the life of the lease relative to the fixed cost of the service package

⁃ Consider lease to buy as a strategy if you are concerned about the commitment of buying

Buying:

⁃ Look for a version of what you want that is ~ 3 years old — since this is an abundance of cars coming fresh off leases, they’re often attractive deals
⁃ Be careful/aware of the service requirements, availability and convenience on international or luxury cars — can be hard to find locations and become prohibitively expensive
⁃ Certified pre-owned is another alternative worth considering, depending on the extent of the warranty and number of miles

– Regardless of leasing or buying, introduce lots of competition and don’t compromise on your budget