I never would have considered leasing a car, but after seeing some very expensive out of warranty repairs that may occur, and the massive relative expense of the extended warranty, it seems to make a little more sense to lease a MINI for 3 years and then just lease another.

Has anyone done this, and what are your experiences?

The one thing I am concerned about is going over the paltry 10K per year mileage. I assume they have higher mileage leases. Does the warranty protection fall under this mileage even if it is above factory warranty?

I am coming from Hondas, where one should expect a car to last a long time and the idea is to pretty much drive it forever until it's dead or the residual/trade-in value is a non-factor.

 

I realize you are asking about the MINI specifically (I don't know).

Speaking in general financial people/shows/planners will say to
never ever lease a car (under certain circumstances can be OK, like
it is a 100% business deduction).

They really seem to hit you hard when you go to turn it in.
(dings/scratches per panel, general wear, mileage etc etc)

It seems most likely you are just trading the unknown [possible]
repair costs against the unknown [probably] end of lease charges,
which can be extroidinary.

I realize everyone wants the S, zoomzoom, but after being on this forum
3 years now I can say the justacooper has about 1/100 the problems
as the S. That might be a thing to consider. Or, set aside each month
a certain amount for repairs into a special savings account.

It seems the extended warranty was about $2800 at the time.
Considering a couple trips to have the "head decarbonized" on the
S exceeds that. It might really just be worth the peace of mind
to get it and then plan to dump the car at 100,000 miles.

But from all I have heard from people, read, and listened to financial
shows you should not lease a car you will be sorry at the end.

 

Under your scenario it probably makes more sense just to buy it, drive it for 3 yrs and then sell it outright or trade for a new Mini before your warranty expires.

 

Leasing has its pros and cons. I know from personal experience so I will share what I have learned and my personal insight.
Pros:
Always have a new car that will most likely never be out of warranty.
No big repair bills.
You can always find good lease deals to keep your payment low.
It can be a 3 year test drive.
Cons:
Always have a new car payment that will never go away.
You will never own the car
If you want to keep the car, you end up paying for it twice if you buy it out at the end.

Now, those are what I personally see as pros and cons, I am sure others will have things to add. My last car was a Honda Accord and when the lease was up, I turned it in, and walked away no extra bills there. I take good care of my cars. I was able to step into a 10 MINI for a really good rate because of my credit, and since the test drive made me WANT a MINI, I ended up buying it, not a lease. However, if I had been iffy on the test drive, I would have leased a new one, to see the longevity of it. Then at the end, ordered the car I wanted.

As for mileages, I am pretty sure you can get a 10K, 12K, or a 15K a year lease. I would have gone with 10K if I leased since my Accord only had 19500 on the clock when I dumped it, and its a 2008. So the mileage wouldn't have been an issue for me. The warranty coverage is total miles on the car, not how many you sign the lease for. So a car with 3 year 36k coverage would be coverd for 3 years or 36k, no matter what mileage you sign for.

Hope that helps, and hope I didn't fog it up more lol.

Matt

 

NEVER lease a car for longer than the warranty period. If you do it may cost you big time. You will be responsible for any repairs out of warranty.

If you lease make sure to buy the extra mileage up front. Turning in a lease car with more mileage than allowed can be very expensive.

My wife leased an Audrey A4 that turned out to be a nightmare. At the end of the lease it was not our problem, it was Audrey's. If we had bought that car we'd have lemon lawed it. Some cars are better to lease for that reason.

 

I was wondering about leasing as well since I've never leased a car. Is there an option to purchase more miles during your lease in case you come near or feel you will exceed your original mileage plan?

 

My wife has leased two so my knowledge is limited. Both times were had the ability to buy more miles up front at a rate much lower than what it would have been at lease return. My wife does not put many miles on her cars so we did not have to buy extra miles for her.

 

I actually just leased my 2011. I came from a honda as well. As I'm sure you've seen advertised, through Nov 30th, they were leasing 2011 cooper hardtops with auto transmissions and premium package for $199/month. So I went up to the dealership to find out the specs and wound up signing the paperwork a few days later. The salesman gave me (what I considered to be) an amazing deal. They gave me the vehicle with the specs advertised, plus a couple of options, bumped my mileage up to 12k/year instead of the advertised 10k (one of my deciding factors), knocked $1900 off of the sticker price, threw in free floor mats and I was sold. They gave me half of my $4000 deposit for my '01 civic, and I put the extra 2k down, and I drove home that night in it. Leasing can be a better option like you figured with the maintenance, because mini has one of the best maintenance plans for the 3 year/36k mile term you can lease it for where everything is covered including brake rotors and pads. My plan is to either buy it out when the lease is over, or just lease another one so I can have maintenance covered again. So my advice, find a dealership and push the salesman to work you a good leasing deal

 

Have you ever leased a car? It's easy to criticize it when you don't really "get" it.

I've leased a few cars from BMW/MINI myself, and my family has been leasing BMWs for a long time. In over a dozen leases, we have never been charged a single dollar for excess wear and tear. BMW/MINI is actually reasonable on what they charge for, and they will not charge you for anything that is considered "normal". What you do give up is the ability to overlook "excess wear" that you might choose not to repair if you had owned the car, but eventually (at trade in or private sale) you'll end up "paying" for that wear anyway as your car will be worth less.

The cheapest way to own a car is to buy it, pay cash, and drive it until it dies. If you listen to the finance pros, they are probably telling you the same thing. The only problem is that most people don't have cash lying around, and most people don't like driving a car for 10+ years. If you have to borrow to buy a car, and you think you might want a new car in 2, 3, or 4 years instead of 10+ years, leasing might not be as bad as you think. You should compare your alternatives side-by-side to see what works best for you.

I've personally saved THOUSANDS by leasing. On my MZ4, I saved over $10,000 from what it would have cost me to buy the car and then sell it or trade it in at the actual market value when I finally got rid of it. On my MINI, I expect to save thousands as well since I know that MINI's estimate of what my car will be worth at the end of lease is much higher than it is worth today.

Bottom line: Does it work for everyone? No. Is it always cheaper? certainly not. Can it save you money and give you more flexibility? In many cases, yes.