If i was you, I will buy a reliable used car, like Subaru or Honda, use it throughout the school, get a job, then consider any new car lease or purchase.
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Probably not for 24 months. I would hire a broker, could be well worth it.
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You missed out on last months Encore deals. Members from every state in the US had deals from $98 to $170 with only first month due at signing. 2 yr 10k mile leases and 12k miles were additional $12 bucks a month. 2 service visits included which would easily cover your maintenance. Tires are pretty good and doubt they would need to be changed after 24k miles as long as u rotated them on time which would be every 8k miles. Only thing would be the $495 dosposition cost at end but if you spread it between 24 months, thats about $21 bucks still well under your $200 budget.
If you have two months just jeep browsing through forums and see whats the next great sub $200 24 month lease.
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if you are going to a university in the city you most likely do not need a car. public transport there is very good, when I visited. also, parking is very bad, unless your school offers parking or you live in the suburbs.
a lot of people had buick encores and gmc terrain for dirt cheap. just get a base model with awd if you really need a car and are tight on money.
buying a used car will depend on how much money you have. if you only have 10k to outright spend, you will have to buy an old high mileage car, which has a much higher chance of costing a lot in maintenance. However, if you have 20k cash, you can buy a good used car. The problem with buying used with no cash is the interest rate is high, and I am personally always against paying interest.
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Thanks so much! I’m assuming those deals are compiled monthly? I’m doing research now, but I won’t be looking to buy until July.
Makes sense. Thanks for that. I remember reading somewhere that it was recommended to buy another set of tires to switch with the default car ones, and when it’s time to return the car, to put back on the original car tires. Does that still work?
Thanks so much! I actually really like hearing about personal experiences myself so it was really helpful. If leasing doesn’t work out to be the best option for me, I considered looking into buying CPO cars so that way I could avoid having to find a mechanic as well. Similarly, I’ll be moving to a completely new place, so I wouldn’t be able to find a mechanic I trust, so buying a CPO car would kind of be the middle ground/compromise.
Thanks so much! I’ll keep that in mind, it’s my plan B option if leasing doesnt work out.
Thanks for the insight. I’ll keep that in mind.
Dang how bittersweet! Thanks so much, I’ll be keeping that in mind. Sounds really great but even then I wasn’t planning on leasing until July as I haven’t moved to where my grad school is just yet. I’m still in my early stages of planning and research. I’m also trying to find a balance between getting a great deal for a car and finding a good car for my situation/needs.
Unfortunately it’s in the suburbs otherwise I wouldnt be having this conversation. I’ve looked up some dealerships around the area so I’ll be looking into both leasing prices and buying a used car and having to compare those. Thanks again.
what about this: lease a very cheap small fwd sedan. You can get these easily for under $200 a month, all taxes and fees included. then, when there is a bad snowstorm, use taxi or uber to get to school. this will be the most economical decision. driving in snow after a snow storm is not bad at all; only during snowfall does it get bad for non-awd vehicles. however, a fwd with snow tires will be very very good.
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Does anyone know if it is possible for my parents to put the lease in their name, but put my name on it so I am able to drive it? I ask simply because my credit history is not as detailed and expansive as my parents’.
If you mean they co-sign for you, that is fine. If you mean they buy/lease it under their name with the sole purpose of letting you drive it, I believe that’s a straw purchase/lease and is illegal.
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Yikes, had no clue that was illegal…my parents did that for me in 2014 and none of the dealerships we shopped said anything about it…I had zero credit history so my parents just leased it in their name. That car got stolen once and my mom had to fax a notarized letter since I wasn’t on the title to retrieve it from the tow lot but never had any issues other than that! Does the age of the child have any bearing on it being illegal?
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The more you know am I right? Glad I asked ahead of time. @Jon If one of my parent cosigns with me, do you know how a dealership calculates my financial and credit history? Would they take like an aggregate/average or would did use the financial history of the parent?
FWIW, I just leased a car in April and my dad co-signed for the same reason - my credit history is extremely short. The dealership ran both our credit scores.
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Ah I see. Thanks so much, that’s helpful! Much appreciated.
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FWIW, I think a lot of parents lease cars for their young driver kids because it’s a more predictable expense than a used car.
The circumstances I’m thinking of are when said kid still shares a primary residence with their parents and is likely covered under their insurance policy. My guess is this scenario is not the straw lease/straw purchase scenario that the captives would be concerned with…
It’s a gray area. I leased a car for my dad after he filed Ch 13 due to medical bills at the time. I went into the dealer, not realizing it was a big deal (actually, didn’t know what a straw purchase was at the time), was upfront (they asked me why I was leasing a 3rd car, when I already leased 2), and they told me that was a straw, and not to mention it again. They gave some excuse to GMAC, at the time, to appease them.
They said if they knowingly leased a car as a straw, they could get into a heap of trouble, so they pretended they didn’t hear that, and played dumb. We weren’t living together at the time, however, they did mention that even if we were, and the situation were reversed, it would be murky. Whether or not they were 100% accurate is another story.
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Interesting data point. Thanks for sharing.
This was super common at my high school, which is why I guess my parents didn’t think twice about doing it for me even though I was in college at the time. My permanent residence was with them and I was (and still am) under their insurance policy. Maybe that’s why the captives didn’t care?
Especially since until they are 18, I don’t believe a person can legally own anything.
Is the situation different if the vehicle is financed and a 3rd party pays for it? E.g. parent buys vehicle for child and pays monthly payments on it instead of child.
I guess it wouldn’t be under 18, or the parent could always say it’s a gift. I’m no attorney though…just going by what I was told 20 years ago.