Hi guys,
I need to lease a car for my teenager. I need to select 2 or 3 models and then find an attractive deal. Any suggestions on which cars lease good? I need a lease below $400 with 36 months/ 10k miles. I am open to any suggestion or brokers. I am located in FL and based on my experience, it is usually it is better to buy out of state. Thanks.
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There are over 1000 posts here on why you shouldn’t.
Check the Marketplace for Nissan deals. Still very few cheap leases, most are short term Nissans.
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Mazda’s a great new car - and we’re at 10% off in FL.
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See if a Volvo fits that budget. Safest car there is
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<$400 Volvos was barely possible 2 years ago. Not possible now in FL (speaking from personal experience 
).
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Agree. They will get in a wreck (or have fender benders/scuffs/etc from school parking lots). Find a 10 yr old beater that you don’t have to worry about scuffs and scrapes and most importantly don’t need to pay for collision insurance.
Also, there is an old adage to have your child drive a big car while they are a teen to keep them safe. That didn’t work out too well for me as my kids drove my old expedition. Oldest son had 2 parking lot wrecks - no real damage to Expedition, but $5k of damage to the 2 cars he hit. Daughter killed the Expedition when she rear ended someone 2 years ago and the airbags went off. I guess the vehicle did its job and kept them safe, but if they had smaller vehicles, the accidents would have been avoided all together.
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Agreed with all that. And full coverage on a newer/more expensive car is higher, and even with low copays a couple dingers will raise overall rates significantly. And you can find something “safe” that is still 10+ year old with a lower repair/replacement cost.
The days of $99/mo Cruise leases are long gone.
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I see this from a different perspective and have “been there, done that” with the teenagers driving bit.
The proverbial “10 year old beater” was almost as much from an insurance perspective as a new car when leased. Prior to Covid and today’s awful deals, we were able to swing 7.5k and 10k mile leases that were well under $300 per month on well-equipped and new Honda Civics (including a 6 speed Si) that were safe, reliable and under warranty.
Would do that again in a heartbeat. Now it would be an AWD Altima, Rogue or a Murano for $300 or less per month depending on the deal and Nissan incentives. Maybe a Frontier or Pathfinder as well.
Check with your insurance agent on the cars and the cost. I would expect that you will hear that the liability is the larger issue and not so much the collision coverage.
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Buy a used Mazda 2 stick. Should be able to get one in decent condition and reasonable mileage for 10k (crazy times, I got mine new in 2011 for 11k).
Pros:
It’s a mini tank. Reliable as hell. Had one for 10 years in a terrible climate and had nothing go out except a battery and routine maintainence.
Incredibly fun car to drive, turns like a go kart, engine loves to rev.
Amazing car to learn to drive stick on. Plus if your kid is driving stick they’re not texting.
Dirt cheap to insure.
After you put 5 years and 50k miles on it you can probably sell it for not much more then you bought it for. It’s like a carolla that doesn’t suck.
Cons:
Not the best highway cruiser due to wind/engine noise.
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We were also looking for a used car but the problem is, if your teen (and their parents… ahem) are not mechanically inclined… it may not be worth the savings.
Some other reasons for leasing a relatively cheap car:
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Has all the newest safety features (and while that may be a crutch… stuff like automatic braking, cross traffic detection and blind spot monitors could prevent an accident).
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Depending on the RV/buyout at end of lease, we can decide if it’s a keeper.
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Interest rates too high.
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Don’t need a down payment.
I mean… sort of the same reason why we lease for ourselves. 
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One example: the 2010 XC90 is an IIHS top safety pick +, it (the old body style) and the newest MDX were the first vehicles to achieve that. Granted older cars don’t have all the nannies, but plenty do when you come to 2013 and newer.
Assuming it still has a clean Carfax. Most in-n-out placemats are cleaner after dinner than those actuarial tables, but “mY kIdS aRe DiFfErEnT” so maybe
The MFs on most vehicles are higher than comparable finance rates. What’s the actual spread we’re hypothesizing here?
You are applying the logic used for experienced drivers with A Tier credit and auto history, to collateral that will be driven by inexperienced drivers with neither credit nor auto history (the owning kind nor driving kind). You’re trying to project yourself into someone else and cashflow the utility. It might work out, the odds are drastically against you from every angle.
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Well… the OP did say “they” are leasing a car “for” their kid.
It all depends on the situation… just telling you why we did what we did. Not saying we made the best decision… just stating the reasons why we made that decision.
I think people really underrate the safety nannies here, parking sensors, BSM, cross-traffic, emergency braking… those things really help inexperienced drivers. Sure, there’s the whole, they should learn to use their mirrors and look over their shoulders… but something has to be said about not having to dial a rotary phone any more.
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Username checks out 
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Buy a gently used Honda CR-V. Reliable, safe, lots of cabin space, not flashy, and not too quick for your kid to get in trouble.
Absolutely, all about that value… 
You bring up a good point and this is something to be considered. I currently have 5 drivers and 4 cars in my household. I have 2 newish cars, 1 lease and 1 own, plus 2 older cars. Ideally, I’d have 5 older cars, but don’t have the time to maintain/repair all of them and feel obligated to be the one to work on them.
Also, the used market is crazy. I’ve been looking for an older truck for my middle son (20). When they want $10k for a 15yr old beater with 200k miles, it makes you pause. I’ve been looking for over a year, and haven’t found anything that I think represents a good value. He also puts tons of miles on cars due to distance from school and work. So he shares a vehicle with me for now.
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C40 is.
101010
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Thanks for your input. Can you explain?
Check what brokers offer and maybe ship or negotiate locally. “Core” trim, 24/7,500 miles, MSDs and $7,500+$5,000 incentives and $500 for loyalty/affiliate/a-plan if you qualify.
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