I hope this isn't inappropriate to ask, but there was a thread about how much people paid for their HCH, so I thought a thread about how much people paid to lease their HCH would be okay too.
I heard about someone paying $360 a month for a HCH (no money down)
This sounds ridiculous to me. How much are you guys paying per month for leasing?
2007
Civic Hybrid Featured Special Lease $199.00 per month for 36 months. $3,439.00 total due at signing.
Includes down payment with no security deposit. Excludes taxes, titles and fees. For well-qualified buyers.
Show Details
FEATURED SPECIAL LEASE: Closed-end lease for 2007 Civic Hybrid Continuously Variable Transmission (Model FA3627EW) for $199.00 per month for 36 months with a $2,645.00 capitalized cost reduction available to customers who qualify for the AHFC Super Preferred credit tier. Other rates/tiers are available under this offer. $3,439.00 total due at lease signing (includes first month's payment, AHFC upfront acquisition fee and capitalized cost reduction; with no security deposit. Total net capitalized cost and base monthly payment does not include tax, license, title, registration, documentation fees, options, insurance and the like). Not all buyers may qualify.
Subject to limited availability. 12/01/2007 through 01/02/2008, to approved lessees by American Honda Finance Corp. Closed end lease for 2007 Civic Hybrid Continuously Variable Transmission vehicles (Model FA3627EW), for well qualified lessees. Not all lessees will qualify. Higher lease rates apply for lessees with lower credit ratings. MSRP $23,235.00 (includes destination) less the capitalized cost reduction resulting in actual net capitalized cost $18,884.72. Dealer contribution may vary and could affect actual lease payment. Taxes, license, title fees, options and insurance extra. Total monthly payments $7,164.00. Option to purchase at lease end $12,546.90. Lessee responsible for maintenance, excessive wear/tear and 15 cents/mi. over 12,000 miles/year for vehicles with MSRP less than $30,000, but for vehicles with MSRP of $30,000 or more, mileage cost is 20 cents/mi. over 12,000 miles/year. See dealer for complete details.
The monthly sounds good, but the down is kinda CRAZY!!! I rather just put that much down, or a little more, and own the car. When you want to return it, you are going to owe them much more anyways.
Another post asked about this lease, and I debunked it. Here's a re-print:
Lease -- $3,400 down, $200/mo x 36 months = $7,200 ---- total $10,600
Buy -- $0 down, $650/mo x 36 months = $23,400 ---- total $23,400
The price difference looks tempting, but buying saves you $3,400 up front. That covers the first 5 car payments. And remember, the lease's $10,600 price only covers 36,000 miles over 3 years. The buyer enjoyes unlimited miles over unlimited years.
At the end of the lease, you have nothing. You either have to give the car back to the dealer, or buy it at an inflated price, or lease another car. At the end of a purchase, you own a car, which you can either keep or sell.
If you keep it, the cost per mile drops dramatically. If you sell it, you re-coup a large percentage of your outlay.
Say that you sell your 3-year-old Civic Hybrid for $14,000 the day after you pay it off. That reduces the $23,400 cost to $9,400. That's less than the lease, and it leaves you with 14 grand in the bank, instead of no car and no money.
Now, certainly, if you leased the HCH and put that $400/month that you saved vs. the purchase into a bank account for 3 years, you'd have $14,000, too. But, first of all, no one here does that, because if they did, they'd all be millionaires, and would be leasing Lamborghinis, not Hondas. Second, the guy who leased would have driven much less than the guy who purchased, which goes to value.
The proverbial bottom line is that leasing is rarely a good deal. It's best for expensive or exotic cars that are difficult to sell on the used market. And leasing a hybrid is pointless because you need years and miles to justify the extra cost, anyway.
Look at it from the dealer's point of view. To him, leasing is great! He gets you to pay him 11 grand to rent a car for 3 years. Then, he gets the car back with low mileage and in perfect condition (otherwise you pay him a fortune). Then he gets to re-sell the car for full market value -- about $18,000 in this case. So he winds up making $30,000 on a $20,000 car.
That's why dealers are always pushing you to lease cars.
Leasing is not for everyone. Leasing works best for people who have a business to run. Leases are tax deductions that are greater than a purchase. You need to depreciate a purchase over the years of the car where as it is a straight deduction if you lease it.
Some people also like to just have a new vehicle sooner every three years or so.
But again, leasing is really only good for people who own a business.
PS: another way leasing works out is if you are carrying a negative from another car into your new car. If you roll 5,000 into your new car, you actually never get rid of it until the last year of the purchase because you are paying interest on the negative and the car.
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1987 Chevy Spectrum - 200,000+ Miles -Junk Yard
1994 Honda Civic DX Coupe - Truck Hit it
1998 Acura 2.3 CL - End of Lease
2002 Acura TL 3.2 - End of Lease
2004 Acura MDX - End of Lease
2007 Mercedes ML350 -Lemon
2007 Honda Civic Hybrid w/Navi - Active
Hybrids: '06 Civic Hybrid Magnetic Pearl w/Navi (as of July 1, 2006)
Posts: 1,124
Re: HCH Leasing
Good for the LEASNG companies, that is.
Possibly good for you - if you trade in cars every 1-4 years anyway (which is usually a bad strategy also, unless you drive a ton of miles and NEED a more reliable vehicle by then). And if you drive a ton of miles, most leases are not made for you.
Buy and HOLD - it's a pretty good strategy for vehicles (as long as you buy a reliable one).
IF I upgrade my HCH2 before 100K miles, it'll probably be ONLY for the upgraded technology of the newer-breed of hybrids or maybe even for the PHEV (let's hope).
Steve
STOP terrorism - Drive a HYBRID
Vehicles:
350 miles a week ------------ 2006 HCH II, Magnetic Pearl, w/NAVI (born on May 25, 2006)
350 miles a month ---------- 2003 Mazda Tribute ES-V6
350 miles a year (for now) - 1986 Mercedes 560SL
HCH Leasing
