Location : VA
I am in need of second car. I drive around 70 miles per week day. I am new to leasing. I need a car below 200/month with zero down including taxes. Please advise.
Thanks
That’s gonna limit your options, especially since VA taxes the entire price of the car up front on a lease. I would toss out the Spark EV as an option, but VA residents can’t lease one. Plus that would be pushing up against its range with your 70 mile commute.
Maybe something like a Chevy Cruze/Corolla would fit your budget.
18,200 miles per year and you want to lease? Not sure that is the best idea.
A Jetta or Cruze may work if you qualify for the plethora of GM incentives and have GM credit card points.
A used 4-5 year old car in the $10k range might actually be a better option. With a 4 year loan, you are looking at around $250/month. I know a guy that’s selling a 2011 Volt with 80k miles on it for $10k. Free delivery to anyone within 1,000 miles of PA.
So realistically you drive over 20k miles per year? I really don’t think that can be done for 200/mo. And you’ll be paying for a lot of maintenance items on a car that you don’t actually own. You should consider buying something used with low miles or new with a great price and financing terms. Aim for a short loan term, because you’ll be underwater pretty fast on a 5+ year loan at that mileage.
Or buy a $500 beater and hope it lasts for more than 2 months!
Step 1, look at lease trader/swap sites, look for something with about a year left with 20K miles remaining…Got to be quick since they don’t last long…
Step 2, Blitz local dealers and ask about cars with low MSRPs that were demos…
Step 3, Strongly consider the advice here and looking into used…Heck, even a Nissan Versa can be had for cheap and gets fairly good MPG…
If you must lease something new:
As others have said, VA, high miles and under $200/mo is quite a challenge…There’s roughly 260 weekdays in a year so I’m getting 18,200 miles a year…Several lenders will allow you to go up to 20K/year, but you’ll be out of warranty by turn-in for the majority of models…Now the cost of the miles by the lender are a factor…Subaru has one of the best, you start at 12K/year, if you prepay up front, they’re only $.10/mile…Many other mainstream automakers charge $.25/mile…For Subaru you’d probably want a non-WRX Impreza but OTD sub-$200/mo will still be impossible…
An additional question is are you paying your own gas or do you get reimbursed by a company? That’s a huge expense…
Maybe you could pick up a 2017 Volt from your neighboring state of MD which has better lease incentives…Guessing with the mileage and tax you’re at $250-$300/mo, but if you’re paying for your own gas and plugging in at night (and maybe you can charge at work) you’ll save a boatload as up to the first 53 miles are from electricity so it’s like shaving at least a hundred off your fuel bill…You also get $34K car that’s fairly loaded with push button start, rearview camera, etc…
Otherwise I doubt even in pure base form, you’ll be able to find anything due to tax/high miles under $200/mo unless it’s a demo…
In VA we also pay property tax. 30% on the first $20K at $4.57 per $100, then - full tax on everything over $20K.
I agree with everyone. High mileage needs, VA tax upfront makes this the classic case of when NOT to lease.