Well said.
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I think you are arguing a correct general principle and some other posters are thinking very specifically about this example All things being equal, of course the shot at equity is preferable to no shot at lease end equity. That situation will rarely occur but it isn’t impossible.
People here dislike the Accord because it’s never going to have a great leashackr score like a 530e or c300 or whatever the hot lease de jure happens to be and therefore are missing your point.
As I like to say, you’re trying to reduce multivariable calculus to algebra. You know that RVs change monthly, and black book on the 2 year old version changes monthly.
Here is your homework:
- pick two comparable exact make/model cars
- show me the captive rate sheets (not just a post on edmunds for different zip codes) from the same region, Jan-Jun 2017, for both
- show me the Jan-Jun 2019 auction reports from that region for the exact 2017 makes/models
I won’t pretend I’ve done this exercise for every make and model forever, but I’ve done both sides: tracking changes in RV/MF on same make/model for 1+ years, and pulled auction reports on same for resale, for the cars I was interested in.
As someone who owned 3 Honda Accords, I’ve looked at all the book values and auction reports many times when I had them: the exact same year/model/condition/with +/-5000 miles can sell at auction for very different prices, in different regions, at different times. To pretend it’s always going to be worth 60% of MSRP at 2yr whether it’s in spring, fall, the NE or SW, during a current body style or when it refreshes is a crude reduction. Sorry. 
If that were the case, I agree. I’ve only been watching up close 15 years so show me the data to prove otherwise.
No, it really is algebra. No one is attempting to calculate precisely what a vehicle will be worth in 3 years and you’re spending a lot of time engaging in a straw man argument with yourself. I’m not spending any more time on this very simple concept beyond this post.
The point is that some vehicles have very conservative RV’s like Civic Si, most Accord trims, WRX, Etc. Odds are that they’ll be worth more at lease end than the RV. Some cars have artificially high RV’s to incentivize leasing and there’s zero chance they’ll be worth more than RV. That’s all. It’s not really difficult to figure out which vehicles are which.
My fiancee’s terrain is worth less than the RV 8 months and 8k miles into the lease.
My Accord is worth more than the RV would have been (I purchased) after 2 years and 40k miles.
RV (buyout) is printed on the contract. The market value is higher than the RV+Remaining Balance.
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The only time you’ll really have positive equity is if the RV is too low…sometimes, however, the sales price will be so heavily discounted that it ends up being a really attractive lease.
That happened to me with a 2009? E Class…last year of the model, and MB was blowing them out for more than 20K off MSRP.
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Bugattis seem to increase in value. Thus, in theory, the monthly payment should be within reach.
I did have a unique experience with a 2017 Subaru Forester XT. Following a bad accident about 18 months into a 36 month lease, the car was declared a loss. The market value determined by the insurance carrier was significantly higher than the payoff amount, which covered much of the lease payments. Of course, the best opportunities never appear when one needs to get into a new vehicle ASAP, and the next lease was not especially a bargain. Hardly an experience that I would want others to go through.
stealing my content are we.
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Lease Bugatti. Carry note for a year, sell car. Drive Bugatti for free or profit?
Hope nothing breaks.
$2500 oil change anyone… oops I meant 25k
Once you factor in the 25k oil change and the 25k insurance, the Bugatti is not such a great deal. Unless you are self-insured and do your own oil changes …
I’ll bet there’s a $40k wrench one needs to change oil in the damn thing . . .
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or you don’t even change your oil like a select few on this website:rofl:
. knowing a bugatti the car probably won’t even start if you miss your service date haha.
perhaps you should consider the 100k prepaid maintenance package which covers 4 oil changes and tire rotations (125k value)?
Don’t forget VIN etching.
Is that residualized?
I’ll give you $10k for it, if you throw in a hat and two insulated travel mugs.
Sorry a Bugatti hat costs more than a payment on an R8, so no deal …
Fine. Fine. But the wife says we aren’t bringing it home without one of those Swarovski vagazzled license plate frames. So have your service guys throw it on there and we have a deal.
I don’t disagree that it (the possibility some equity) is something to consider, but whoever above you constructed the Accord vs Fusion comparison either inadvertently or intentionally built a strawman.
The choice is not between two equally high payments where one has a possibility of equity at lease end, i.e. Accord vs Fusion.
The choice is between the higher payment with the possibility of equity (Accord) vs something with a lower payment that actually realizes some of that theoretical equity (payment delta * term) in exchange for almost no possibility of equity at the end (the actual car to use as an example here varies from time to time… it has been the Malibu, the Sonata, the Camry and the Optima in the past).
Cars =/= Savings accounts.
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