At one point about six years ago I looked at all of the money we were wasting and reallocated it to higher purposes.
After addressing our financial priorities, we regrouped and I decided that I didn’t want to drive my “good enough” cars any more, but I also didn’t want to spend what it appeared to cost to get what I wanted.
So I found LH, which led me to a great deal on my first lease.
I’m by far not the most seasoned one here, but I stay to help when I can, and also because observing consumer behavior is fascinating to me. Not the rational, wise decisions, but rather the delusional ones.
Since I joined here I’ve learned:
You need a three-row SUV to transport groceries and a Yorkie;
People want $200 payments, even if it means putting $10,000 down;
Some couples clearly don’t consider each other to be co-equals, with men constantly acquiescing to dubious automotive decisions only to appease a wife/girlfriend;
You cannot persuade some people not to pay irrational sums of money to mitigate microscopic risks;
“Peace of mind” is something you can buy in the finance office at a car dealer;
Too many people serially lease cars to drive more than they can afford, and will only see the financial trade-offs decades later when Meow Mix is a splurge at dinnertime.
I found it just googling lease deals. I stayed because I love being an informed consumer and this site empowers you to learn how to get the best deal yourself.
I enjoy the “teach people how to fish” mentality of this site.
I have paid it forward. All my friends and family now read this site and have learned how to get better lease deals.
Someone threw a comment on Jalop about LH in a Tom McParland article and he went in on it about be careful about ‘demo’ deals. Checked it out and voila.
Since then @Benedetto listed it well. I still miss the auto-nation deal dumps. The 500 f types, posting a g90 deal with 16k in incentives and getting slapped for not making my dad sign up for Uber to get 500 more. No place like it.
I don’t recall exactly how I stumbled into LH, as it was awhile ago now… I assume I had done some sort of google search, and the rest is history. I purchase/lease a new vehicle every year or two, and have helped numerous friends, family, coworkers, etc…I haven’t kept track, but I’ve been involved in dozens of deals.
LH has helped me in many ways, whether it was assisting with a purchase/lease of a vehicle or discouraging/stopping the purchase/lease of a vehicle. I would like to say that I’ve made leaps and bounds to where I am today, compared to where I had started years ago. I continue to learn from the experts on here, and that also keeps me intrigued. The hail marys from the newbies, the (usually) friendly banter between members, the memes, sharing success/failure stories & photos… all in good fun.
I LOVE the hunt of a deal, helping others, and participating in the various discussions on here (whether it is related to a car deal or not). I have a great passion for everything with vehicles, so I naturally enjoy discussions that follow suit. I’ve always had the fantasy of being in management at a high-end dealership, BUT unfortunately I don’t want to those hours, don’t want to live in/near a city, and I’m not sure that I would enjoy taking the innocent to the cleaners every day.lol. Can’t have your cake and eat it too, I suppose. So I have “settled” with management in another sector, but I still get to drive nice things.
I can’t believe it’s been over five years! I don’t recall exactly how I found the site, it was either through a Google search for lease deals or I think I saw a post on Jalopnik at some point. I was really just looking for some affirmation that I got a good deal on the lease I had just signed. I’m one of a handful of people who did that and didn’t end up getting roasted over signing before asking. I got lucky since I was essentially using my dad as a broker of sorts. He couldn’t tell you much about leasing programs and he doesn’t use a computer but he’s got a knack for knowing what he should be paying. I don’t get it but I’ve never seen him get hosed. The community here showed me how much there was to learn and I wanted to absorb as much of it as I could to be able to make some deals of my own though. The phrase “you learn something new every day” really sums this place up well and that’s why I still check in every day, even though I’ve got nothing lined up lease wise for the foreseeable future.
This was long ago and way before this account, was looking for a lease calculator, which is how I found the site to begin with. Was considering getting out the last lease early so made an account to talk to a few brokers, but nothing was striking my fancy so extended my lease instead of getting out of it. Since account was already made, stuck around for the forum. But clearly any and all dissenting opinions on the forum are illegal and apparently as of yesterday “nonsense”. I had one trusted hacker delete a post with a news article link so “not to start shit”, and then another TH posting the same link a few hours later. The entire forum is apparently a bunch of same people posting things to boost each other egos and liking each other posts (I don’t know when the system started showing who liked the posts publicly, but it’s hilarious to see the “circle jerk” between TH and supporters).
A BMW dealer who wouldn’t work with me on a lease price suggested I go to Mazda, which led me to LH. There were fun unicorns popping up every few months that kept me coming back.
I was researching deals on cars, then i was like hmmmmm are there any leasing deals? After sifting through ads of manufacturers LH popped up. I haven’t gotten around to actually leasing a car yet, i was close twice but ended up purchasing them. I’m staying for the MEMES and the excitement of seeing other get great deals.
I was linked here a couple times back in 2016 or so when I was shopping leases, but only did a precursory read while lurking around. My sister-in-law was in need of a car around the time Volvo S90s were going for stupid cheap, so I invested some more time learning then. Got her one, then became obsessive in getting one for cheaper for me. Been around since as I enjoy the math aspect of working through some of the puzzles, observing consumer behavior, and going on a personal crusade against the 1% rule.
I came because @Bostoncarconcierge paid me to join and give a good review. I stayed to sell my phone number and find out how best to carry groceries in a 8 series trunk.
I don’t remember exactly how I found the site. I had been starting to look into leasing in late 2018 b/c I had owned my last 2 cars and didn’t want to own a car outside of the warranty anymore. I hadn’t been lurking for long and then my car suddenly died (and needed an $$$ repair, and I got a VW b/c of the 6-yr warranty.
Stuck around b/c there’s so much to learn and such an active and characterful community here!
I think this is the thing I have found most shocking of all here! Seriously, actually.
Started with the $99 Fiat 500e fire sale (net lease cost about $3500 + $504/year in Enterprise rental car credit). Then used this website and several other to snag a $160/month Chevy Volt. Then managed to find a $30 Chevy Cruze after several days of hunting.
Wasn’t in the market for a car again until 2017, but then started to get interested in EV hunting once I qualified for the San Joaquin Clean Air Rebate.
I would like to say that I’ve made leaps and bounds to where I am today, compared to where I had started years ago. I continue to learn from the experts on here, and that also keeps me intrigued. The hail marys from the newbies, the (usually) friendly banter between members, the memes, sharing success/failure stories & photos… all in good fun.
