Hello,
I recently found this site and have enjoyed reading and learning.
I want to get a vehicle for my 17 year old son and may lease new rather than getting a used vehicle.
A local dealer advertises 2017 Cruze LT for $139 month sign and drive for 24 moths with 10k miles. The offer is supposed to end 1/3/17. Msrp $22,325
Another local dealer offers $158 month on 2017 equinox for $159 with same terms. Msrp 26,405. I know many have scored much better deals on equinox.
I have 8.85% tax on cap cost (buffalo ny area).
I submitted quotes on truecar, cars.com, autobytel tonight and plan on going to dealer tomorrow.
We do have a Honda lease in household for conquest.
I would appreciate suggestions and advice.
Thank you.
Bad idea to lease as a first car for a child, IMO. You are responsible for all the dings, scratches and damage that you may ignore when you own a used car. Just buy him a 3-4 years old dependable car and let him learn.
Not only what everyone else has mentioned, mileage… when I first got my license the first year I drove almost 30k miles… I was so eager to explore lol… My recommendation would be to get him a used or CPO Toyota, they run forever and the repairs and/or parts don’t cost much IME.
If you have a Costco membership, you could recoup $700 through their current program. A recent thread gives a very detailed computation of how $109/mo was achieved on a $27K MSRP car. The discount off sticker seemed to be more than most people are achieving - but a great illustration of the available incentives. If you go for the Cruze, it might be worth exploring the upper end premier with the expanded driver confidence package - could pay dividends for a young driver. Perhaps the competitive lease incentive might get you close to the advertised deal on a higher level car. I don’t recall any recent threads on the Cruze - but you can find some in the Edmunds forums. I tend to agree that leasing one of these cars for less than $150/month with virtually no maintenance might be less costly that purchase and upkeep of a used car - in addition to potentially being safer. Good luck!
Glanced at a few and thought the prices were ridiculous…$15K for a 100K+ mile Tahoe with hubcaps? No thanks! Most people wouldn’t recognize it as a former cop car anyway.
Regardless, I’ve read in quite a few forums where people have posted about driving the most conspicuous former cop car (Ford Crown Vic) and because one can’t legally use sirens/flashing lights people just assume it’s an offduty or cruising cop…therefore everybody just slows down, in all lanes.
Who said getting a Tahoe? I’m talking about a used 2013 Taurus. Beast 3.5L V6 engine that has upgraded suspension, oil coolers, radiator, starter, etc. and it can spank most sports cars on the road in short order. Asking price 7-9k
If you are leasing, opt for the wear and tear package from GM Financial. Dealers set the cost, but I believe it’s capped at $1500. I’d negotiate the cost to be around $800 for it, which only runs about $33 more a month and that should ease a majority of the fears listed above. As for the Equinox vs Cruze, that’s all a matter of preference. The current Cruze is a brand new model, and the current Equinox is being phased out, so the deals should be better on the latter. Also, based on your current info, the rebates would be better. Good luck with your search!
Disagree…why teach a new driver that it’s OK to damage/ding your cars? That Daddy will pay $800 or $33/month for it? Nothing in life is free…damages come out of someone’s pocket.
IMO when considering cars for your kids, safety & reliability become as important as anything else.
From R&T:
It appears that Ford Police Interceptor sedans have a problem. And it’s not a little problem, either. They reportedly like to shut off randomly, and if they do, there’s no way to restart them. But Ford issued a recall today to fix that.
CBS Detroit reports that more than 88,000 cars and SUVs are affected, including every Ford Police Interceptor sedan built at the Chicago plant between 2013 and 2015. The automaker says the fuel pump control modules can fail, causing the cars to stall unexpectedly. And if that happens, you can’t turn the car back on.
That’s definitely inconvenient if it happens while parked, but on the road, it could be incredibly dangerous.
I’m not here to say what’s right or wrong in his parental decision in leasing vs. buying used for his kid. I’m only offering an extra form of protection shall he move forward with the leasing option that he may or may not have been aware of. This is a leasing website first and foremost where we are trying to help people, right? It’s none of our business how he wants to teach his kid about automotive/financial responsibility anyways.
Thank you to all who commented on my original post.
I ended up getting the equinox ls 4wd for $159 all in for 24 months. I share your concerns about a new car for a teenager, but the value of the lease was compelling.
They offered me “dings and dents” coverage for $7/month so I bought that, even though I almost never buy extra insurance.
I was concerned about the small size of the cruze. The equinox gets decent to good safety ratings.
Sounds like a solid deal. Congrats to you and your son! My dad made me drive a $1k junker until I graduated from college and to this day I’m extremely thankful for it!
