Extreme newbie here. My daily driver car died and I must replace within six weeks.
I’m currently living off savings and not working. Fortunately, I have plenty saved. But not infinite, so I need to be careful. But paying in monthly parcels vs lump sums doesn’t matter to me, nor do I have a lot of income tax to deduct from.
I don’t want to buy new because of depreciation. I don’t want to buy used because of risk/uncertainty. Am I a good candidate for leasing?
Certified Pre-owned is another way to go
Cars in my price range (Camry, Mazda6, etc) don’t have white-glove CPO service. It’s just a regular old used car bought from a dealer. Maybe I need to step up a notch?
Go up to Lexus or Inifiniti - which is toyota and Nissan with “white glove”
One of the questions you’ll be asked during the credit application is your current income. If it’s zero, they would probably expect you to show that you have several times the cost of the lease in your bank accounts. Maybe a one pay lease would be a good option.
What are you talking about? The biggest part of CPO value equation is the extended warranty. Maybe you need to do more research on the CPO programs of Toyota, Mazda, etc.
jmac, I did not know about one-pay leasing, but, yes, I could do it. Is there any good rule of thumb to use for the discount to try for (as opposed to monthly)?
Thing is, whether I get a Mazda 6 or an Accord, at this point the new models are imminent, so it’s mostly a matter of what gets me the best deal on old 2017 stock
Max-g, when I previously researched, I noticed that the cheaper brands don’t even use the term “certified pre-owned”, and coverage seemed spotty, while more expensive brands offered a more prestigious, more fully-covered and aggressive package. Perhaps I’m wrong on this. I guess the only way to tell is by getting copies of warranty paperwork and comparing.
The other element is which brands would really come through on warranty repairs rather than prioritizing paying customers.
Don’t take this the wrong way but whats’ ‘white glove’ CPO? I mean I know what it is…I’m leasing a BMW but no way in heck I’d pay a premium for ‘white glove’ anything unless it came with it after the fact.
No job?
No income?
CPO all the way. At least you’ll have some kind of equity when its paid off. You’ll walk away with nothing when a lease is up.
BMW IS what I refer to as white glove CPO. Buying a used car from, say, a Mazda dealer, appears to be like buying any sort of used car from a lot. No extra confidence/service/coverage/anything. BMW, Audi, etc, seem to be higher-class deals…understandably (given their branding)
I want a new vehicle (probably high-end Accord) so I can enjoy carplay, adaptive cruise control, etc. I intend to sell in three years, anyway (and buy an EV once they’re more mainstream). Seems like leasing (perhaps one pay) would make sense for my situation.
I have plenty of money (though not infinite), that’s not the issue.
The question on a lease is whether the finance company will lease to someone with no income or employment. How much in assets would they require to offer as evidence of ability to repay? [The last auto loan for which I applied they asked for my total income and that was it - although income, etc. could have been determined through credit check, worknumber inquisistion]
IIRC BMW’s CPO warranty is actually less comprehensive than Mazda’s CPO warranty, it’s just longer.
Don’t buy into the 9000 point inspection crap, the most important part of a CPO is the actual condition of the car and the warranty. Many automakers like BMW pretend their CPO warranty is the same as the factory warranty when in reality they have significant less coverage. You need to research what the warranty actually covers instead of just reading the manufacturer’s advertisement.
Here is a link to BMW’s CPO warranty, note that long list of things not covered. It is only equivalent to their “gold” tier extended warranty.
http://cpo.bmwusa.com/Content/docs/BMWCPOWhatIsNotCovered.pdf
Getting a beater car is prob the most sensible thing to do for someone without a current income but it comes with risk of sudden repair costs etc and it doesn’t sound like you’re even considering that.
if your FICO is high enough and you can get past the current employment question on the credit app, go lease the buick encore for about $100/mo …brand new, reliable and hardly a burden if you have savings. Total cost of leasing that are is about $3000, you will likely lose more than $3000 on any cpo purchase, used car buy etc.
If your savings can handle it, i think it’s the safest and most cost effective thing to do over getting a CPO etc. Keep in mind leasing companies require you to have a certain amount of insurance coverage which isn’t cheap vs buying beater car and just having PIP coverage so that’s something to consider.
The encore is only an option if someone in your household leases a competitors car in order to qualify for all the rebates. Not sure about your situation but somehow i picture you still living at home so maybe someone in your household has a car. I could be totally off but i thought i’d throw out the Encore as an option for you.
Another thing to consider here, the annual mileage you’ll be putting on. eg if you only drive 5k per year, or drive much as up to 25k per year, then I doubt leasing would be good…
DDDDDDavin,
Interesting point. I also own a Miata, so I will indeed come in low on the mileage (prob 7500/year). How does that specifically impact the value equation for leasing?
Agreed with the Encore $100/lease. Or if you are in CA, try for one of those $0 leases for electric vehicles.
Guys, I really appreciate your help, but, as I said at top, “Fortunately, I have plenty saved”. I’m not much of a braggart, but I’m not talking about a few grand (and I’m not living in Mom’s basement…her cooking’s horrible, anyway!).
I can afford anything (in spite of no income), but it would be prudent to be thrifty, and I don’t want to waste money on depreciation (which is why I’m thinking lease).
The employment question is hard, but I can easily just do a one-pay lease, no problem, to eliminate the credit issue.
You need to stop making vague and contradictory statements and just be upfront about what your budget is for a one-pay lease or CPO purchase.
MB’s CPO warranty is an extension of the manufacturer’s warranty. So if it’s covered in the 4/50K initial warranty it’s covered under CPO as well. The “base” CPO warranty is 1 year, unlimited miles. But you can pay for extra years, I think up to 3.
But generally speaking your statement is true.
This is useful on the pre-owned warranties. Sounds like I’ve been misconceived based on marketing.
Max_g: 10 gazillion dollars. But I’d rather not spend my entire budget. So I’m thinking Accord.