Lease or Buy a G35?

[frapjap]

I'm stuck at a point in life where I've got good job and am still going to school, and well, my transition car (Mazda Protege) is leaving me unfulfilled. I have completely fallen in love with the G35 Coupe and the reviews and specs are outstanding to me. Muuuuch better than the 350z(in my opinion). I've got the cash and the means to spend, but I'd like some advice, since this IS the first time I've given any serious thought to this type of matter...

I am at a point where I dont know whether I should purchase a used coupe, or lease a new(er) one. I've got the pros and cons all stacked up, but I'm looking more towards leasing, just because, in all essence a vehicles *useful life* is only 5 years, which is when I'd rather trade it in for another anyway. I do care about performance, speed, and what not, but it is not a necessity, since there are very few places you can use it legally in the first place...Modifications are nice, but in the end, it doesn't matter much to me seeig how its more difficult to sell a modified vehicle then a stock one. For those with experience in this field, I'd really appreciate your guidence, given that I'm younger than most of everyone else. What is more in my court: lease or buy? I'll be happy to help you help me in any way possible. Thanks much!!!

[J-Owner]

I think you would have to weigh what it is that would make you happy first. what I mean is I have an '05 coupe which has the redesigned interior. I personally have never liked the interior of the pre-'05's so my choice on which one to go with was easy. If the little things like that don't bother you then I would just buy a used coupe as leasing will likely put your payment in upwards of the high $500's monthly with no to little cash down. If you lease then you don't want to put any cash down if you can help except the money for TT&L. I wouldn't roll the TT&L in on the lease if I were you.

A bigger concern would be your insurance. I am not sure how old you are but if you are still in school insurance might be an issue, especially if you lease as the requirements are 100/300/100 which was cause a spike in your insurance.

The insurance on mine is about $106 monthly for full coverage and a $500 deductible plus towing, rental and all of that other crap and I am 30 years old. The insurance was a short-term shock for me as the full coverage on my J30 was only $54 a month.

Anyway, there is my two cents. Others will chime in I am sure.

[rydwhite]

I am kind of in the same boat. I am now 25 and have had my coupe for nearly 3 years now. I went the lease route, mainly beacuse I didn't want to pay the larger payment that would have come with purchasing outright. I also figured that once my lease was up if I still wanted the car I could buy it for a reasonable price and know exactly how the car was maintened and used or I could get something new. Since then, the G35 has held it's value better than almost all new cars which will make the lease option a little more palitable. I can outright buy it for 17k in year, it looks like used prices will still be higher than that at the time.

When it comes down to it, the question usually comes down to a financial one. Do I have enough cash for a large down payment to reduce car payments if I buy? I didn't have that kind of cash available because it all was going towards the down payment on my house.

I think you've made a great choice by going with the G coupe. You won't be dissapointed, especially after having driven the Mazda Protege any amount of time.

[frapjap]

Thanks for the responses so far, every bit is helping A LOT. I educated myself with http://www.leaseguide.com and I've learned a lot and have about a page worth of notes. So, I'm familiar with the language, but I've still got a few questions.

Heres a little more backgroud to help: - I'm 21, my insurance has already taken that drop, but I'm no stranger to complete full coverage. - I haven't had insurance issues in the past and have VERY good credit,(800s) so I'm confident walking into a dealership. - I can comfortably put down 3-4,000 for whatever comes along without rustling my nest egg, but thats not really enough to get lower monthly payments, which is why I'm considering leasing. - In another two years I'll have my BA and be a radiographer with a hospital, but for now, I have very steady income. Some questions I have though(please bare with me as I'm VERY new to this):

1) " If you lease then you don't want to put any cash down if you can help except the money for TT&L. I wouldn't roll the TT&L in on the lease if I were you." Could you make this a little more consise for me? Do I want to put a downpayment on a leased vehicle? Also, how is it that I don't end up winding TT&L in with the cost of the lease, isn't it normally paid upfront anyway? I don't want to ask a dealer as I would hate to get screwed or not get the whole story...

2) When you lease vehicles, does the dealer take care/absorb the cost of the maintence intervals under warrenty?

3) Also, my car now is close to being paid off, but isn't yet. Is there anything a dealer will do to compensate that? Some sort of trade in or other incentive?

Also, if you'd be so kind to share what your payment is a month on your lease, and tell me how you got there IE: how many tries/dealers/techniques/down payment, etc...


Modified by frapjap at 8:19 PM 8/22/2005

[J-Owner]

My '05 stickered for $40K. I got it for $32K as I had sent a little over $300K in business to the dealer and I used that to my advantage. So I paid the TT&L (tax,title and license outright) which was about $2,200 if I remember correctly. I put down $16K cash and financed the remaining $16K through my employer on a two year note as I have never in my life paid for a car over a five year period and never will. (I work for a bank). My monthly payment is $709 monthly.

My situation is a little different as I put down more cash than most people.

The dealer will tell you that you can just roll in the TT&L into the car lease. I personally would not as this is just not a smart thing to do but most people do it anyway because it is convenient or they don't have the $2,200 or whatever to pay the taxes so they roll it in.

NEVER put cah down on a lease. You should be able to drive off the lot with the first payment or even $0 it all depends but putting cash down on a vehicle that you would basically be renting just to get a lower payment is not a good idea.

also, if you decide to lease don't let the dealer know that initially. FIRST the two of you need to settle on the sales price of the car. That way you both have a clear starting point and the sales guy can't change that. He will probably start off by saying "What range do you want to keep your payments at" follow up to that with "Let's settle on the price of the car before you concern yourself with my payments" I hate that line, they bank on people getting the payment where they want it and then they screw you on your trade and you wind up leasing a car for a certain amount monthly when they have never once told you the actual price of the car.

There are probably some car salesman on here I am sure and I may start WWIII by saying this but I loathe car salesman. I would rather pluck my eyeballs from my head than buy a car. No matter what you always leave with a sore a$$.

Now I am sure there are ligitimate hardworking honest car salesmen out there but I live in Dallas and can honestly say I have never met one. that is just me personally.

Next question, the dealer doesn't absorb the cost of anything maintenance wise. It would be nice if that were true. If you prefer that then get a BMW as I think that is becoming standard with them but there is fine print at the bottom of their ads and my eyesight isn't what it used to be.

I bought the maintence program they had, which I like as it is ease when I go in for oil changes and stuff but Infiniti didn't do me any favors as I am still paying for it. But I guess I would recommend it.

I don't know about the trade. If you still owe on it I doubt the dealer would help you. You won't get anything for a trade. Before I got the G I had a '95 J30t and they offered me $2K so I sold it to a friend for $5,400.

Anyway, again my two cents.

[rydwhite]

I sent you an email frapjap.

[jmeas]

I have to agree with everyone's support of leasing the coupe. I also agree with putting zero or little down. You might not want to hand somebody your even $1000 on a car when you know full well that the car is going to depreciate. Pocket that $1000 and start to learn how to leverage it and make it grow (investing).

I also agree about not letting the salesperson know whether you are going to lease or buy until you have successfully negotiated the selling price. What proved to be very helpful was to deal directly with the finance manager. He's not in the selling "game." He only deals with numbers, specifically your monthly payment. That's the guy you want to work with.

This was the technique I employed when I went to lease my 05 altima 3.5se. I went in and bought the car within 20 minutes.

You yourself can determine your monthly payment. You only need to know four things:1. term of the lease2. total mileage throughout the lease3. the final selling price and the value of the car at the end of the lease4. the money factor (the most important thing you'll want to know)

After that, it's a piece of cake.

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[Forte]

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