Anyone Leasing a Mazdaspeed?

[Stone]

I'm about to graduate from college, and my mom's offered to pay a lease of about $350 or less a month for me for about 3 or 4 years. I live in CT, so I'm going to be looking for a car around there

Anyways, I'm looking at the Mazdaspeed (along with a few other cars: SE-R, Saab 9-3, GTI 1.8T). Is anyone leasing it here, any opinion on the deal they gave you?

So far I've talked to two dealers who quoted me lease prices of around $380-$390 a month, which seemed way too high - it was because of dealer markup, though, I guess. One guy referred to it as something like "dealer's inclination inclusive optional price modification" when I asked him why the lease seemed so high relative to the MSRP. Both of the dealers were near New Haven, CT.

I spoke to another dealer in NY state who said that he wasn't charging above MSRP for the Mazdaspeed, but he couldn't give me lease information - he said that none of the leasing companies he used offered residuals or money factors or any of that stuff yet.

 

[Draghkar]

Well, I am leasing mine, but I am in Canada so it's tough to compare. For what it's worth, I pay $499.26 CDN per month on a 48-month lease with nothing down (initial payment of about $1500 for 1st month, securtiy deposit and BS charges). Residual (buyout) value is $13524 CDN at the end of the 48 months. The original price I was quoted was over $530 per month with all other numbers the same. I went through someone I know who owns a leasing company. He couldn't get me as good a deal on Mazdas as on some other cars, but he spoke with the lease/fleet manager at the dealership and got me a better deal than Mazda was originally offering. So I would say that you should be able to get them a bit lower than what they originally said. Try talking to some leasing companies and/or other dealerships and see if you can get a better deal.

Oh and $1 CDN is currently worth about $0.68 USD

 

[2K3 MSP]

Just a little insight to you who are thinking of leasing your car...You can BUY it for the same monthly payment. The only thing is you have to make payments for another year or two. I paid $20,500 for mine, and I got a pretty good interest rate. My payments are $356 a month. I just don't understand paying for a car for that long, and then just walk away with nothing after 4 years, and have to lease another car, and come up with another down payment...Not to mention having to worry about the condition you bring the car back in, and not going over the mileage(that gets VERY expensive!!). Most leases only allow you 12,000-15,000 miles per year. I've had my MSP for two months and already put 5,000 miles on it. That equals out to 30,000 per year. How much is it per mile if you exceed their set mileage???

 

[Draghkar]

It takes more than another year or 2 at the same payments. Someone told me I could buy the car over 5 years for the same payments as a 3 year lease, so I checked it out and it was not accurate. I'm not sure how much longer it would have taken, but it's definitely more than 2 years longer.

Having said that, there is no question that leasing is more expensive in the long run. There is a good article on leasing here:

http://www.edmunds.com/advice/leasing/articles/43093/article.html

Basically I leased so that I would have more money in the short-term to pay down some debts. There are other reasons as well, for example at the end I don't have to worry about the hassle of selling the car (which I just went through with my Camaro and it was a huge pain in the ass). Basically it is a matter of convenience and personal preference. If you want to drive a new car every 3 or 4 years, you will be making payments anyway.

Yes buying is cheaper in the long run but thats not everything to everyone.

 

[sleeper_]

also, the interest rate for cars is a lot less than on cc's for example, so instead of paying more and owning the car after a term, use the money you don't spend on the monthly with a lease and use it to pay off higher interest debts and when these are gone, you can choose to buyout the rest of the vehicle instead of continuing with the lease.

 

[Newf]

leasing doesn't work if you plan on

a. driving a lot, and building a lot of kms on it
b. keeping the car the entire term, and buying it later, or just walking away

Leasing only works for people like me who trade cars every 2-3 years. I get 4 yr leases, sell them at around 2 yrs, and I always have a new car. Never pay for Maint.( Maint. Deals), and heck, I don't even buy tires anymore, I'll just trade it when I need new tires

 

[Daemos]

leasing doesn't work if you plan on

a. driving a lot, and building a lot of kms on it
b. keeping the car the entire term, and buying it later, or just walking away

Leasing only works for people like me who trade cars every 2-3 years. I get 4 yr leases, sell them at around 2 yrs, and I always have a new car. Never pay for Maint.( Maint. Deals), and heck, I don't even buy tires anymore, I'll just trade it when I need new tires

LOL..that seems like such a waste of money though....I'd personally rather just buy a car straight out, and not have to worry about anything else (yey finally in a semi-better mood...damned work...damned b**** as counter kid....)

newf...that quote...just made me laugh thanks when you need new tires...just get a new car...hehe...

 

[Draghkar]

Leasing only works for people like me who trade cars every 2-3 years. I get 4 yr leases, sell them at around 2 yrs, and I always have a new car. Never pay for Maint.( Maint. Deals), and heck, I don't even buy tires anymore, I'll just trade it when I need new tires

Yes, this is a good way to do it. Especially if you lease/buy another vehicle from the same dealer because then they have an incentive to let you out of the lease early without penalties. I know of at least a couple of examples of this happening.

Otherwise, you can buy it out early and probably sell it for significantly more than you paid, as the buyout rates tend to end up below what you can get selling the car privately, especially for cars that hold their value well. At least that is definitely the case here. My dad bought a car from someone who was leasing it. They guy made a couple of grand on it after buying it out, and was still able to sell it to my dad for a pretty decent deal. Also, a friend of mine just bought out his Civic SiR after a 4 year lease and he should be able to sell it for $3000-$4000 more than he paid. For anyone in BC, if you sell a car within 7 days of buying it you get the PST back, so you only end up paying GST.

Anyway, no guarantees of course, but it can work out well.

 

[MSpeed]

your payin 500 bucks a month for a protege?!?! i just went to find out how much a wrx would lease for and it was 540/m taxes freight and everything in with 2K down. i dont know about u but a wrx is alot better

 

[Grimace]

leasing doesn't work if you plan on

a. driving a lot, and building a lot of kms on it
b. keeping the car the entire term, and buying it later, or just walking away

Leasing only works for people like me who trade cars every 2-3 years. I get 4 yr leases, sell them at around 2 yrs, and I always have a new car. Never pay for Maint.( Maint. Deals), and heck, I don't even buy tires anymore, I'll just trade it when I need new tires

Exactly. That's why I'm leasing my MSP. In 2 years, I may want a "Mazdaspeed 3", or a Miata, or ??
Life's too short to stick with one car for too long, so I like to change cars every 2 years or so (sometimes as little as 8 months!)
Newf - how do you work it when you see after 2 years? Do you sell the car, then pay the dealer what it is worth, then you're free and clear of the lease?

 

[Stone]

Well, this is going to be my first car, as well as the first manual transmission car I've driven at any length. So, I thought it might be wiser to lease, if I'm going to be a bit harder on the car (necessarily) than the average person.

I know it makes more sense to buy something like a 1990 Toyota Corolla if I'm selecting a first car, but I'd rather avoid that and get a car with a warranty.

Well, actually - since you guys have the car: would you recommend this car for someone who hasn't ever owned a car before? I've been driving for about a year, and I've spent maybe five or six hours driving a manual. Almost all of my driving time has been in a VW New Beetle or a Volvo 240, both extremely slow cars.

I wonder, sort of, whether the Mazdaspeed might be overdoing it at first - that I'd be better off trying to get something like the Saab before moving on to a more focused driver's car.

 

[MSpeed]

NO, start with a different car

 

[chuyler1]

Leasing is for the mathematically impaired. If you can't figure out why you should buy instead of lease on your own, then you need to learn how to use a calculator.

 

[chuyler1]

The best way to learn to drive standard is on a less powerfull car. I learned on an 89 Ford Probe, then I just bought my P5. Look into a buying a Protege Sedan or P5. Buy one on a 4 year loan and let your mom pay for the first 3 years. Then after 3 years if you think its time for some more horses under the hood, sell it and transfer what you owe over to a new car.

Saabs are just as much a "driver's car" as the MSP. Don't forget about paying the insurance, or is your mom covering that as well?

 

[Draghkar]

your payin 500 bucks a month for a protege?!?! i just went to find out how much a wrx would lease for and it was 540/m taxes freight and everything in with 2K down. i dont know about u but a wrx is alot better

That extra $40/month over 48 months is over $1,900. Plus the $2000 down payment makes it almost 4 grand more. I agree that sounds like a reasonable deal for a WRX, but it is a significant price increase.

Stone: I think the MSP should be fine as a first car, seeing as you say you have been driving for about a year. I used to drive a Camaro Z28, and the MSP is much easier to drive. Plus, as far as manual transmissions go, it has a good one. I learned on a 1988 Nissan Pulsar which was pretty easy, but the MSP shifts much better than that.

Chuyler1: As I said before, leasing is more expensive in the long run. However myself and others have provided some of the other reasons people lease cars, as well as ways that the costs can be reduced. It is still more expensive over the long term, but it isn't always just about money. Go see that article on the Edmunds web site that I posted the link to if you want more reasons why people lease. It's not right for everyone, but it is for some people.

 

[Newf]

A loan doesn't work for me, so buying isn't an option. First off, my bank just won't give me a rate where my payments per month are reasonable compared to a lease, so I'd be living a lot less confortable every month, which is not good to me. 2nd, I'd have to get a 5-6 yr loan so the payments are reasonable, but nowhere near a lease still, and keep the car the entire time. If your making enough money to pay off the car withing 3-4 yrs, fine, but I'm not. I have a damn mortage. If I traded cars every 3 yrs even 4, and I wanted to buy each one, it's almost impossible to do sobecause I'd still have part of the loan from the previous car(s), and it seems when we used to try this, we could never get enough on a trade in to completely pay off the existing loan, so we always ended up having a loan that was never paid for, and just kept getting bigger and bigger.

A lease, will suck you dry of you don't do it right. With lower payments every month, I live a lot better, and can buy more toys I can also save up more money much easier for anything, including say for another car in 2 yrs time. Coming up with a grand or two is nothing when you have the extra cash flow every month.

BUT, if you don't get rid of the car at the right time, your screwed. Now isn't really my best time with the MP3, but, I want a Speed, and I have no will power . I did put some money down on the mp3's lease, which I will get most of it back when I sell the lease. GEtting someone to take over your lease, and pay you some cash on top of it, ain't easy, but possible. usually the people tha take over leases, can't afford a car on their own anyhow, so selling the car, just as any car, is easier.

Everybody's situation is different financially. Student loans, mortage, tax's you owe, bad job, great job, kid(s), parents to take care .... anything. What works for one person, doesn't always work for another. So far leases work for me, much better then loans did, and I haven't lost any money....well technically I have as I don't own the car. But with a loan, I'd still have payments every month anyways, just much higher, and much longer.

But, I would never....NEVER......NEEVVEER keep a lease the entire term, and buy it out afterwards, or even just walk away from one after 4 yrs. The trick is to sell it before end of term, get some money back , and use that as a downpayment on an existing lease.

I find loans only work for people that have started their lives off really well. Or they have great jobs, great income, and low expenses. Let's say, Mom and Dad buy you your first car. You now have the rest of your life set, at least concerning getting cars. Why, you now have an excellent down payment on your next car, free, and with no attachments. You can then get a much smaller loan on your next car, payments will be much smaller then typical, and you'll have the car paid off in no time.

Lets say your single, no kids, have decent job. GET A LOAN DON'T LEASE! You can pay it off faster compared to mom/dad with 3 kids a mortage, and average jobs, as your expenses should be much lower.

I could go on and on all day...someone stop me!

 

[chuyler1]

Ok, I see what you're saying.

But, I will never be a person that wants a new car every two years. That is a luxury that I do not need. In fact, this is my first car that is less than 10 years old. I have a friend with an Audi, it is way above his means and he owes more than the car is worth right now. When I chose the P5, it was because it was functional, good looking, and below my means.

This whole thing with trading in the leased vehicle and getting money back seems a little fuzzy to me...and I don't see how trading in a purchased car isn't the same deal, as long as you don't buy a more expensive car. Unless of course you have a really bad APR. The way I see it, the only way to actually save money with a car, is to drive it to the ground, or at least a few years after its has been paid off. In that time though, you should be making the same payments to a savings account so that after 2-3 years, you have the cash to put down on a new car. You can also draw from that account to make after-warrantee repairs. If that account starts to drop below a decent downpayment (meaning repairs are killing you) then the car is becoming more expenive than it originally was...that is when it is time to sell.

 

[yashooa]

Smart

Ok, I see what you're saying.

and below my means.

Very smart....Most live up to thier means...which is ok but below allows for investing, for failures and unknown expenses.

I bought my car with nothing down, no out of pocket at all not even tt+l. I got a 5.9% loan (on the day I bought the average was over 7%) and my payment is around 430.00$ a month.
I did get a bit of a discount and I did buy the 75000 mile warranty. I drive 27000-30000 miles a yr and my daughter will be 15 when this car is paid off so leasing is not an intelligent thing for me to do. As-well-as the fact I want to mod it a bit.

 

[mazdadan]

When I bought my ES, I put down taxes and tags (about $1000) and got a 0% apr loan for 4 years. My payments are about $340 a month. I couldn't think of any situation that a lease could be better than this....

 

[chuyler1]

I got a new job in January and have been living at home saving to move out...I was nursing along my 1990 Grand Marquis but I managed to save $1000 a month to put down $2000 the first of March on my new P5. With the 100K warrantee and 0.0% my payments are $290 over 5 years. I know the computer industry has its ups and downs so buying an expensive car would have been a big mistake. I also considered used but the 0.0% was too intimidating.

Anyway, $290/mo, and a decent insurance payment (I live in MA so I would be killed with a sports car) works out great when I bring home about $2700/mo. That leaves money to pay off a little more on my student loans and to save for an apartment. With all my bills I can easily save over $1000 a month.

Which brings up something...I highly recommend Quicken 2003 or any other financing software! It reminds me of all my bills including the ones that don't come in the mail, allows me to track my spending habits, and save for future purchases. For example, I can bring up how much money I spend on gas a month, which will drop considerably now that I'm not driving a gas guzzling Grand Marquis. I can also figure out how much I will save in interest on my student loans (spread of 30 years) by paying an extra $100 a month! That was a huge incentive not to spend the extra $100 on a more expensive car.