Hey D,
I’m one of those guys that always has the worst luck with ANYTHING related to big purchases. I’d pay 5k for a car and the engine blows a month later. I prefer the safety net of a new car or something with a warranty.
That pot of gold I’m referring to is the userbase, everyone seems very helpful and I think that’s already showing in this thread too…definitely not my lease payments!
Thanks @max_g ,
Good to know, with what has been said here today I’m probably done looking for a new vehicle until the holiday season deals role around
Buying out the Jetta is, at 3.99% for 72 months
This Jetta is under warranty another 45k+ miles
I’ve been lucky I suppose. I have one lease and another I own. I’ll add when I went to buy the our first home we were short a few grand. Not much in the grand scheme of things but for young newly weds, it seemed like a lot. I had two cars so I was able to sell one and cover that gap. Most the time you can’t sell a lease and get a check in your hand. Good luck in whatever you end up doing!
Since @mllcb42 seems to be asleep at the switch…
You shouldn’t be reaching out to dealers for pricing. Talking to dealers is for finding one to do YOUR deal, not asking them how much they want you to pay. If you ask them for a good deal, you’re going to get a deal that’s good… for the dealer.
Only once you know reasonable numbers backed by recent research should you reach out to dealers to make THEM an offer. You can find these numbers by asking for current RV / MF / incentive information at the Edmunds forums, and searching these forums for recent deals on your chosen vehicle.
Hi @Martin3754 ,
Would I be asking for these numbers on my current car or the car I’m interested in? Thanks for this!
We always recommend the following method before you ever contact a dealership. If you do all of the work up front, you’ll have a stress free dealer experience and set yourself for success.
With a target price determined, you now have a deal to pursue and compare dealer offers against. More importantly, you have a solid foundation to work from.
Sorry to break it to you, but $200/month is not happening in the current market for the type of car you are looking at.
At the end of the day, buying/leasing cars is a numbers game. What info have you gathered after doing research on this forum? Are there any May deals for compact SUVs in your price range?
See my comment above. What pre-incentive discount is needed to get to your target monthly? Is it realistic in this market?
He lives!!!
After the comments I just want to let everyone know I’ll be looking at the possibility of refinancing to purchase the vehicle at a lower price per month. It seems like leasing isn’t the best idea according to everyone’s thoughts on the market. I appreciate everyone’s help!
Check out DCU, they have the lowest purchase refinance rates.
That’s the new reality for the foreseeable future.
You don’t need to justify this. Have you looked what a 4k-5k Civic/corrola looks like on CarMax/Carvana/dealership website. With a clean Carfax you are talking 10 years old and 100k miles. Anyone telling you to buy an old Corolla hasn’t looked at what they cost in several years - even before current inventory crisis. Absent credit issues you are way better leasing a low trim new model than buying a 10 year old used one. Edit - I was very very wrong. A 10 year old corrola with 100k miles on odemeter is a $10k vehicle. Just an insane price.
So now is a bad time to lease but I’ll give you my standard spiel. There are still cheap leases available if you are willing to drive less desirable models. If you want the absolute cheapest option a base corrola is likely under 250 after tax. You could also get a mid-trim Camry for about the same price as you would be paying buying out and financing the Jetta.
In this case a cheap Toyota sedan is a means to an end. It saves you money and assuming you can keep the Carfax clean you can likely sell it midway through the lease for something close to buyout when compact SUVs start leasing better.
Thanks @EC99 ,
I was pre-approved for a refinanced used car loan with my credit union at what I believe is a pretty good rate. This would bring me at about a $290/mo payment if I’m doing the math correctly as well as owning the vehicle rather than leasing. Is this a good play? That payment is much more feasible and I do LOVE my Jetta…just $417 a month for it was way too high.
If you like the car that is a fine option, especially with VWs longer warranty which means the car will be under warranty for most of the loan term. Having a VW with a active note out of warranty isn’t ideal but you won’t owe that much on car by the time the warranty ends.
It’s probably not what I would do but that really comes down to how much you like driving your car.
@EC99 I also reached out to my local Toyota dealer and they are the only dealer I’ve talked to so far who is willing to do a virtual appraisal of my vehicle. I’ll also look that route and see if I can get into some sort of Corolla hatchback for cheaper. Thanks again!
That’s not a fair way to assess the used car market, though.
Just remember, just because the payment is smaller, doesn’t make it cheaper in the end.
No but that is how most Americans do it. Used car prices are even more opaque and confusing than new car prices. No two cars are the same so apples to apples comparison is impossible.
But irregardless, find me a 5k corrola today and I’ll show you a car it’s not worth buying.
For reference, my baseline for Toyotas is @Jrouleau426 marketplace listing. He does a pretty high volume here with good reviews so you can be confident that anything he has listed can be leased for the stated price (with the caveat that prices can change at any time).
This topic was automatically closed 60 days after the last reply. New replies are no longer allowed.