So I ordered my Mini but in the meanwhile I'm deciding between leasing or buying. However I have a question about leasing. I know from past leases that wear & tear can be an issue.

I tend to baby my cars like a new born baby. But I street park and dings will happen. Ford was very cool about my Explorer on return. Mitsubishi wasn't so kind. I didn't have any major wear & tear on either vehicle but Mitsubishi seemed to be spiteing me for not leasing another car on return. I paid $120 for a crappy ding about the size of a quarter on one of the quarter panels.

Anyway, anyone now how strict MINI/BMW is with "wear & tear" on lease returns. That could be a major factor in my decision. I have no plans of beating the car up but life happens.

 

The general consensus on NAM seems to be that buying is better than leasing a Mini.

 

Yeah, I'm getting that sense here. However I've always leased. So I'm just trying to find out what the Mini Lease Experience is like.

 

Here's the thing... with any other car you would be happy to keep it stock. With the Mini this is near impossible... There are so many options that you WILL want to add later on that it is almost senseless to lease.

If you don't believe me just go to a mini meet... you WILL mod

 

NYCrooner here is a link to miniusa.com regarding the lease programs,etc.

Link:
http://www.miniusa.com/#/financialSe...easeCheclist-i

If the link doesn't take you directly to the Lease Return Checklist then click Mini Financial Services->Then Lease Programs->Then Lease Return Checklist->Then click Launch The Checklist.This will give you some idea as what is normal wear and tear and excessive wear and tear.

I hope that helps some.

Jim

 

A MINI is a special car that deserves to be owned.

You can rent Toyotas and Hondas. MINIs are a different story.

Sorry I do not believe in leasing.

 

Since the Mini is one of the least depreciating cars sold in the US one would think that the residual would out of this world and lease payments would be peanuts. Reality is that they aren't the greatest lease plans. If you were to buy outright you could pick up a $24k Mini, pay 300 per month for 36 months and you've paid 10,800 in. Interest, fees, whatever, now you're loan is roughly $14k on a 3 year old car.
In 2007 I paid $18k for my 3 year old Mini.
Do the maths and you might see that being right side up on a loan is something that the Mini can offer. I'd rather have positive equity rather than turn it in and throw all that cash away. I've leased 3 times now and all were good deals. When I turned them in they were worth less than what I would have been left with if I purchased.
Leases can be great, but in the case of the Mini, I have'nt seen a formula that would steer me in that direction.

 

i leased and i dont think its that bad of a deal for me. i was a little worried about the reliability history of the mini. if i have problems i get rid of it, if not i keep it. 42 month lease 13000 buyout car price 21900. not a great deal but not getting ripped off either. my wife will be going to a 2 year graduate nursing program for the last year and a half of the loan and she makes more money than i do. we cant afford car repair issues on the budget we will have.

 

Depends on your lease payment. $212 is your rough break-even point. Anything more and you'll be tossing money out the window. ($13k does sound like a decent buyout for the car after that length of time as long as you haven't been paying too much for monthly payments)
I don't quite understand the repair comments though. Whether you lease or own you're covered for the first 4/50. The difference with the lease is that you just hand back the car after making the alloted 42 payments.

Miles are always a concern... 10 years ago I leased a Honda Accord for my wife. She drove it 18k in the 3 year period we owned it. Lease payment was $133 a month and they took her 93 Sentra in as the cash down. Ended up being a decent deal for us.
My BIL leased a Dodge Ram around the same time for something like $400 a month. His buyout was ridiculous at $22k on a $28K truck. He ended up racking up $7k in penalty miles and had to buy the truck at the end. So he paid $400 a month for 36 months ($14,400) then had to buy the truck for $22K so he ended up paying $36K for a $28k truck. I don't think he's ever recovered from that mistake.
I'm just saying... do ALL the maths before making a decision.

 

I baby my cars but I am driving nearly 18K-20K miles per year. I take pride in ownership and tend to pay off my vehicles early and keep them for 7-10 years.

I am not convinced leasing is a good thing for the vast majority of people. The cheapest way to car ownership is to buy it outright and keep it for as long as possible. Then,you can fully justify the initial purchase cost and depreciation over the life of the vehicle.

Modern cars are design to last 250K miles, perhaps even more. Proper maintenance is the ticket to longevity. I always keep enough funds for the unlikely event of a major component failure (Engine, Tranny, etc). When the car, due to age and wear, begins to nickel and dime you (Meaning the cost of repairs begin to approach the monthly payment of a new car) then I let go of it.

Rich people didn't become millionaires by borrowing money at 18% or renting cars.

 

Leasing only makes sense as a business expense and whether you can deduct use and mileage of the vehicle as such.

 

CHPSK8, i have little confidence in bmw honoring their warranty commitments, so thats where the comments came from. i have heard story after story of people who have had evey mod under the sun blamed for every auto maladie. or people are told "well, that shouldnt happen so you must have done something wrong." i am also on a monthly budget but will not be on one in 4 years. so for me i would rather lose some money now and keep the payments where i want them than get the best overall price long term but pay 450 a month.

 

Well, back to the original question - he did not ask for opinions on whether leasing was a good idea - but about wear and tear.

I've leased a lot of cars and trucks over the years and have found that not only do the manufacturers vary in their interpretation of allowed wear and tear, but so do the regions. What's OK in one is expensive in another.

In general, I've found that making sure you've done all the required service is most important (not much of an issue when the MFR pays for all the maint like BMW and Audi do - but surprisingly some people just can't be bothered) and that a couple hundred spent at a detail shop just before you turn it in will pretty much mean no after lease wear and tear costs.

I've also found that if you lease another one, they get very lenient on both over miles and wear and tear like dings, dents, and bald tires and chipped windshields.

 

JCR1960's link to the Mini lease checklist was really useful. Seems Mini is a bit tougher than I might be comfy with.

 

Don't mod a leased car... you'll really have problems when you go to turn it in.

 

CHPSK8, i agree about not moding the car. i put wheels on it and thats all. as long as all goes to plan i will be buying a new mcs in 42 months time.

 

Well I leased my first car yesterday when I brought Coop home last night. I have never believed in leasing, ClubmanS makes a good point and I still think it's cheaper to just buy vs. leasing...but everyone has different circumstances, so you do what you think is right for you.

I currently own (7 more payments to go) a 2004 Silver Xterra SE (supercharge) w/ 31000 miles. Last September I accepted a position where I support 9 districts (Melbourne down to the Floriday Keys and over to the West Coast to just South of Tampa down to Naples) and while I receive a car allowance and mile reimbursement, the cost of gas was killing me. When I took this position, my Xterra had miles in the low 20s (I traveled via airlines for my previous employer so my poor Xterra sat in Long Term Parking), but as the miles were adding on and Premium Gas went past $4.00 I decided to lease a Mini. Now again, my payments are the same for my Xterra, I took the 36,000/3 Year Lease, the car allowance will pay for 75% of the payment but the gas reimbursement/mile that make me smile....My Xterra holds almost 18gal and I was getting about 242 miles/tank (combined highway & city) so based upon my calculations I will come out ahead with the gas reimbursement/mile (less fill-ups?) which will go toward the rest of the monthly payment. As for the original question, the sales person at the dealership told me that they would mainly focus on the exterior upon Coop's return. I am more nervous about that than going over the miles (I plan on driving my Xterra on weekends), but have decided to not worry and just enjoy the ride. Follow JRC1960's link for the lease return checklist, it's basicially what they said to me at the dealership.