Hello everyone!

So I mainly just browse the forum to gain knowledge and keep myself patient while I await my 2015 Mini Cooper S; however, now that the dealership general manager advised me that my car should be on its way this week, I wanted to pop the question and gain some input and advice.

This will be my second MINI (unfortunately my 2011 was bought back as a lemon, and got me hooked and willing to give MINI another shot) and since I anticipate delivery soon I wanted to really understand the pros and cons with purchase vs leasing. I have always loved rotating vehicles but that could be due to the fact that I left MINI and have never been content with the other vehicles. I do plan on keeping this vehicle a long time due since I loaded it with nearly every option. I have just never leased a vehicle before so I am unsure as to anything about it. I do also plan on purchasing the extended warranty through MINI in the event something happens out of warranty just as a precaution and as a safety blanket. Can anyone also chime in on the extended warranty and their experience? I have USAA for my insurance who also sells an extended warranty but I am not sure if anyone has advice on that as well or if it's best to go directly with the manufacturers warranty.

Anyway, I think I'm blabbing at this point and repeating myself so what has everyone done? Purchase? Lease? Pros and cons? And lastly advice on extended warranties?

Thank you so much and I hope to gain more knowledge through feedback and replies to hopefully assist me with my decision come financing.

-Michael

 

If you plan to keep it, I would buy it.

 

Hello,
I just signed up for this forum since I plan to take delivery of a 2015 HT this weekend! I elected to lease mostly because I'm keeping my 2003 Honda Element as my winter vehicle. I'm lucky to own that car, so I wanted to "rent" the Mini since I'm totally new to this brand. If I love the car, perhaps I'll buy it then, or upgrade to an S model. Maybe I'll turn it in and walk away. Those are my thoughts anyway. Good luck!
RH

 

Thank you guys for the feedback :-) Anyone else have any advice? Also, are you all financing for 60, 72, or 84 months? Only reason I can think of dragging it out longer is for a lower payment? Also anyone purchase any extended warranties? If so which ones and how did it affect your payment?

 

I am leasing my '14 MCS for the same reason. I am new to the brand and felt a 3 year lease would be better for me. It also lowered the monthly payment vs. what I would pay monthly on a traditional loan.

 

I would run your payments both way and decide from there. Depending on your state tax and title laws you may save money buying vs leasing. In Georgia up until last year is was always be cheaper to lease but not anymore. It sounds as you don't have to worry about the mileage limits of a lease if you don't plan to drive the MINI during the winter. Just make sure your aware of the overage charge per mile price... it can add up fast.

My lease payment was actually more in Georgia than a traditional loan. When the dealer gave me the lease price I checked with my local credit union and got 1.49% for 72 months. Dealer was offering 3.9% on a loan though BMW/MINI Bank of NA, would not budge on the rate. I normally would never go to 72 months on a loan but when I looked at the amortization schedule for the loan I found the payoff at 36 months into the loan was the exact same as the 36 month lease buyout (what the vehicle it worth at the end of the lease). In other words, I took the extra year on the loan to lower the payments and I could easily sell the car at 36 months for what the loan balance is... if not a just a little more.

I don't plan to keep it past 42-46 months as I did not take extended warranty so just before the factory warranty expires I plan to trade it for a new MINI. By this time I should be on the other end of the loan balance and hopefully make $1500-$2000 on the trade.

 

Thank you so much for the feedback. You really helped me come financing time. :-)

 

Personally, I think the longer you are keeping your car, the less sense it would make to lease.

I bought my 2009 MCS new. MSRP 29250. Got a $500 discount (the best you could due in July 2008). Sold car 5 years 8 months later for 13000. Could have taken longer to sell and got a higher price. But I was ok with the amount as I would have needed new brakes and possibly tires -- made clear to the purchaser that these were coming up soon (800 miles for brakes, less than 5K miles for tires) and that price reflected that. Sold at 100% of asking price in three days -- and I had a backup buyer that was hoping deal didn't close.

At least in CA, if you lease, you're still paying sales tax -- state wants its money whether its a lease of a sale. So, leave sales tax out of it.

So, my cost (paid - sold) for the 68 months I owned it was 15750, which is $231 and change a month.

Most car leases are 3 or 4 years, but you can go any term you want, i.e. you can go 34 months.

Try to find the Mini lease of a 28750 MSRP for 34 months for $231 a month. Don't forget to take that "cash at lease start due" and divide by the number of months and add to the "low lease monthly payment". Add add those fees too, lease acquisition and lease disposition.

Of course, if you did do the two leases, you'd be driving a new car again at the midpoint of the interval in my example.

When does a lease make sense? If you are always getting a new car every two or three years and don't want the hassle of selling your self [the 13K I sold my car was 4K more than offered in trade]. Or if it's a business and the payment's tax deductible and you don't want to tie up capital (you're paying the car off before you sell, and the amount you sell for is frozen cash until you sell it).

But, there is no right and wrong. It's what works best for you.

One final item -- another way to show a lease is not a good deal financially is to have them give you the full lease details ($ upfront + total payments + fees at the end) as well as the buyout amount at the end of the lease. Add these up and compare to what you would pay just buying the car instead of leasing. If buying is less $, you have your answer. And if by some crazy circumstance, the lease + end of lease purchase is less, than take that lease!!! [You get the best of both worlds, get to decide if it's worth buying at the end of the lease].

Enjoy the new car no matter which way you go!

 

If you lease, you have to have high coverage insurance. 100k/300k/50k with $500 collision deductible. I didn't know about this, and now I have to budget about $120 more per 6 month.

I think it'll always be cheaper to buy/finance than a lease since leasing adds acquisition fee of $725, and then there's another disposition fee at end of lease (maybe this is waived if you buy it), and the higher insurance cost. Only reason I'm leasing F56 is because I am not confident with the car's reliability, and I wouldn't like to get into the hassle of selling a unreliable car after 36 months if it turns out to be problematic. I'm definitely going to buy it after the lease if it is problem free, or get the newer model at that time with more add-ons.

If it's fun but not reliable, there's no way I'm going to keep it.

 

I suppose it depends on what assets you have to protect, but I wouldn't want anything less than what you call high coverage insurance.

 

Yeah, I guess it depends on what you're okay with on the insurance. I'm fine with the $500 collision deductible (I'd like to lower it to $1000 deductible though), but that personal injury 100K/ injury per accident 300K part is what I was surprised at. I wanted to do 25k/50k/property100k. I read that car manufacturers want this high coverage just in case they get sued by somebody since it's a lease and they own the car.

 

I am currently leasing my MINI. I have never leased before and I always tend to sell my cars once the warrenties are done. It was a little cheaper than buying for me and if I like the car at the end of the lease they offered me a decent amount to buy out the car. We will see if I want to keep it or if I get a new one at the end of the three years.

Good luck and do what makes sense for you.

 

Not to hijack the thread here, but anyone would have to be crazy to have insurance limits that low when a trip to the ER for a hangnail can cost $25,000. When insurance maxes out, they come after YOU. Bye bye car. Bye bye Kenny G CD collection. Bye bye everything.

 

I didn't know what I was considering was so low. Haha. I'll consider raising the limits a bit then. One time I've been to ER, rear-ended, I was billed $800 just for a visit. Unrelated, the most expensive treatment I ever recieved was 10 days in ICU was about 30k, so I thought 25k would be good enough. But yeah I guess it's better to be safe.

 

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