I've owned all my previous cars and never had experience leasing. Although my intention when I ordered the MCS is to buy, I've been considering a lease. Two questions for the group:

1) If I lease an MCS for 3 years (instead of traditional financing for 5 years), would I ultimately save or lose money should I decide to buy out the lease at the end of its term?

2) Also, would the monthly payment still be lower with the 3-year lease as compared to that of the 5-year traditional financing? (I'm terrible with math and a hopeless money manager if it weren't for my wife. She's just not here to field my questions.)

Thank you in advance for your help and insight!

 

I seriously considered the lease before buying my Mini, did a lot of web research and found that the overwhelming view online is that buying the car is the way to go if you believe there is even a chance that you'll want to buy it out at lease end.

My understanding is that because Minis are in such high demand the leasing money factors are disadvantageous (raising the monthly payment), and since the car's preserve so much value, the balloon buy out expected at lease end is even more frustrating after you've put three years of money into the car. Your insurance is also usually more expensive if you lease than if you buy (which may affect your decision calculus as you compare your monthly payments apples to apples). Finally, considering the high re-sale value of Mini's you are probably much better off building your equity with the car and if you decide you don't want it later on, can always sell at a comfortable price.

So I, who in contrast to your case had only ever leased cars, decided to buy my car.

If you decide to buy the car and need a loan, make sure you do your research into the different financial institutions that can offer you credit. I found that Capital One had the lowest rate online (but there are a bunch of competitors online so look around) and that the rates online were generally better than those offered by banks. I was glad I had done it because the finance mgr at the dealer refused to talk interest rates with me until I was picking up the car hoping to stick me with a high rate - fortunately, my sales guy had tipped me off and suggested that I came prepared.

 

Hey there,

This has nothing to do with the $$ side of leasing -- But if you lease your MINI and you add any mods to it, cold air intake, 15% pully, exhaust, etc..., you will have to have them removed from the car and the orig. patrs put back on before you turn it in OR MINI will charge you for returning the car back to factory specs. This even applys to non-factory stripes ( bonnet & boot) -- ANYTHING not offered by MINI USA.

One more thing to consider IF you plan on modding the MINI


Good luck

 

another lease "issue".................you'll probably love driving your MINI so much that you will go well over your lease miles. My lease miles is 48,000.
I have 20 months to go on lease and I have 6,000 miles left. Let's see...6000 miles divided by 20 months =300 miles per month..AIN'T gonna happen!

So my best shot is buying at lease end and keep it, or sell at a profit(I have a low buyout).

 

lease to buy is a great way to get your car early
without paying for the entire car initially. but you
end up paying a lot more.

loan is a better deal given that you can get a decent
APR. You can also pay off early so you don't pay
all the interest and come out closer to a cash deal.

I usually put my hobby cars on a 60months loan and
pay-off within 36months. during the first few years
of ownership, i spend on mods so i like to have the
extra spending power. after im pretty much done
modding the car, i pay it off and just enjoy it for
however long i please.

Ofcourse if i had ooodles of cash in my car hobby fund
(which is completely dedicated to my hobby cars and
nothing to do with mortgage or any other expenditures
for living) i would buy it cash, but not there yet.