Did anyone lease their mini. Any tips?

 

I was looking at leasing mine, but when I realized how much I really wanted it, I couldn't bear to keep that count in my mind for the day i'd have to give it back, or re-buy it. So I just went traditional finance.

 

Leasing is not a good thing to do financially. You're basically renting at a premuim price.

The good:
When the term is over you can bring the car back and get something new.

The bad:
Your investment is gone once the term is over. You have the option to buy, but you're not going to get a good deal.


Leases are really best for people on expense accounts and a lot of disposable income. If this isn't you, think twice.

 

Doesn't Owners Choice provided by MINIUSA in like two states give you more flexibilty from a lease.. ?

 

I listen to a couple of financial talk shows on the AM radio and they always refer to leasing as "fleecing"

 

Yeah, but you still have to give the car back at the end of the lease, or but it at >70% it's real value. We have that option here in CA, and I chose to use my money more effectively.

 

You don't have that option in CA.. You are thinking of MINI Select.. You can refiance the balloon or give it back..

Owners choice is only available in 2 states.. TX and IL and you can sell back your car for a predetermined price after the few years to get some money back..

this is all located from MINIUSA.com

 

I leased my 06' Cooper S. If I had to do it all over again, I would have financed the purchase. I was 21 (22 now) and needed to keep payments low so leasing was attractive. Reason I would do it all over again is because I will probably end up paying a hefty premium after I buy the car in about 12 months.

Some numbers...

MSRP: $21,150
Premium Package: $1,400
Sport Package: $1,400
Metallic Hyper Blue: $450
Vehicle Price: $24,700
Tax et al: $2195.38
Total Vehicle Cost: $26,895.38
Deposit: $1000

Lease Terms:
24 months/12k a year
Payment: $250.95

Total at Delivery: $5499.92 (Includes tax, bank fee, 1st month, down pmt)

So...

23X$250.95 = $5771.85
Total at Delivery = $5499.92
Deposit = $1000
11/07 to purchase the vehicle = $18,278 (total residual value at lease-end)

If I buy it outright at $18,278 on 11/15/07 (which I won't, I'll finance) plus lease payments, total at delivery, and deposit I come up with a total cost of:

$29,649.77

If I had gone with traditional financing...

MSRP = $24,700
Total Down = $5500
Amount Financed = $19,200
Interest Rate = 6%
Term = 48 months

$21,643.68 + $5499 =

$27,142.68

And just for fun, and insight into my financial future (because this is the first time I have actually sat down and figured this out ) on 11/15/07 I plan on financing about $14,000 of the remaining residual soo...

Total residual = $18,278
Cash = $4,278
Total financed = $14,000
Interest Rate = 6%
Term = 60 months
Payment = $270.66

60x$270.66 = $16,239.60
+ $4,278 =

$20,517.60 + $11,371.77 = $31,889.37
(Total financed) + (Least cost) = (Total Vehicle Cost)

$31,889.37 - $24,700 = $7,189.37 :impatient

For $32,889.37 I could have bought an optioned up JCW.

For the $7,189.37 I would have saved had I financed from the beginning, I could have modified my Cooper S to be quicker than a JCW .

Moral of the story, figure this out before you decide how you are going to pay for your MINI. If you plan on giving your MINI back in 2 years a lease is very smart. However, if you are like almost every other enthusiast on this site, you aren't giving it back. They would have to pry my MINI from my cold, dead fingers.

Another interesting fact in the Lease vs Buy argument...

I will own my MINI outright (no money owed) in 7 years from delivery if I stick to this plan.

If I had financed I would own it outright in 4 years at $7,189.37 less.

Hope this helps. Sorry about the length

 

SHRTSTAK lays it out pretty well.
Our financial adviser has always told us that leasing is for suckers. Now I believe him even more.

 

Little Peeps,

Obviously everyone has their own opinion and experiences with leases... My previous three autos were leased (including an '03 MCS)and it made a lot of sense for me. I did not "get fleeced". I financed my current '06 Mini, though, because 1) I wanted to keep it 2) lease terms on '06 were horrible.

I would not recommend leasing a Mini unless the terms have changed in the past 5 months.

And... calling the purchase of a car "an investment" is a joke. In everyday life, cars are an expense!

 

I = sucker.

Hindsight is 20/20 and the fact that I could finally get the car I had lusted after for 3 1/2 years blinded me to the fact that I was getting screwed six ways from Sunday on the price.

However, my MINI turns 1 year old on Wednesday, ironically when my new job starts, and I haven't regretted a minute of it. It's funny now but the car seriously lifted me out of a depression (whole 'nother thread ).

My advice is, consider what you want from your car. Lease an '06 and flog the hell out of it for 2 years and give it back and pick up a (hopefully) bug-free '08 turbo? Remember that if you lease and plan on giving it back you cannot modify with anything that is not easily removed. Most of all, enjoy it.

 

See I plan on leasing but doing Owners Choice.. For the 07 model I am getting. It is a first year model run and I will lease for 3 years 12k miles each year. I will then trade it back in with Owners Choice and probably finance my 2009 MINI and it should be bug free by then and mine to keep =]

I doubt I would modify any of my cars.. Never been into it.

 

This may be of some value. The Wall Street Journal has a little calculator that gives you some advice as to whether you should buy or lease. It specifically takes into account the fact that if you lease you can put a lot less down and invest that money elsewhere - and that investment might be better than the investment you make in an ever depreciating car.

http://online.wsj.com/page/2_0403.html

If you lease, my personal recommendation - only put the absolute bare minimum down. Your lease payments are higher, but you could invest the money you were going to put down and let it work for you for a while.

 

Well, I lease my '06 MCS, but for a slightly different reason. I own a company, and I use my Cooper primarily while on company business. (I love my job! ) In a case like this, leasing makes the company's financial books cleaner. In any case, my intention is to buy the car eventually anyway (I may extend the lease indefinitely, but eventually I will own the car.)

That being said, I do lease the other cars my family drives, and they are not company cars. The basic premise of leasing is this: if you want a new car every 2-3 years, leasing makes financial sense. If you want to buy a car and drive it any longer than 4-5 years, buying is probably the right way to go. Personally, I like new cars and I've been willing to "pay the price" so to speak to have new cars.

Most folks here are very passionate about their Mini's (hence the reason they are here.) It stands to reason then that most folks here want to buy the car and keep it for a number of years. So leasing will probably not make sense.

Another exception to the rule outlined above: if you really, really want (or need) to get into a new car but can't come up with the down payment for whatever reason. Most financial advisors will say that you should wait, but if you really can't or won't wait, then leasing is a viable option. Just make sure you understand the models that have been laid out in previous posts that show that, long term, leasing is more expensive...

 

This is a very good point. My lease advisor has suggested the same thing (putting the bare minimum down) for a slightly different reason...

The leasing company owns the vehicle you lease (hope this isn't a surprise to anyone!) You buy insurance on the vehicle. If the vehicle gets totalled for any reason, you may not recover your down payment! The leasing company gets paid off first. Chances are the car depreciation has eaten any investment you put into it. So you will be out the down payment.

 

Wow shirtstak did you lease your mini through BMW or another country? lol IMO a Lease is the best way to go if you are planning on getting another car within 3-4 years and don't want to pay a ton of money with a huge intrest rate. I have leased my mini for 2 years and have 1 1/2 more to go with no complaints at all. My purchase price was 22,800 for my mini and I only put $1,000 down which you had to do in order for them to give you a build slot and I added in the security fee, 1st month's payment and tax which for me came to only $1800. In reality if I wanted to put the bare minimum down I only needed to come up with $900, not $6000. Your basically wasting your money on a downpayment for a lease car. Just like ron said in his post, your payments will be slightly higher but you could use the money for other things. I have a 42 month lease or 3 1/2 years at 12,000 miles a year with 4.5% apr and i'm paying $314 a month. If I would have purchased the car it would have been around $398 - $415 a month so I'm saving almost $75-100 a month on my payment. I was planning on getting a new mini every 2-3 years anyway so I guess for me financing would have been a huge waste of my time and money. About a month before I made the commentment to purchase my mini I sat down with the BMW FInancial adviser and he went over every single number for the lease option, normal financing, and Mini select and once I saw the differences in the numbers I made up my mind real quick. Now that's not saying that a Lease is for everyone b/c it's not and It basically comes down to how many miles you drive a year, how much you want to spend a month, and how much modding do you want to do to it. I personaly have a 15% pulley and i'm getting a rear sway bar and an intake but that's the only plans I ever had for this mini so I'm saving the fun for my 08. Good luck with your decision!

 

I put alot down and tax here in NY (so compared to LA, ya, a different country ) is 8.625% which on my car works out to a bit north of $2k.

Like I said if I could do it over again I would have waited BUT I don't really regret it too much. I could still be driving my dad's '97 Nissan Altima

And I plan on modding the hell out of the car, so while when I work it out on paper I am somewhat dissappointed for rushing into it and not thinking it through...I have a MINI in the driveway and am happy.

I'm young still and while $7k isn't easy to swallow...I'll make that back along the line in other things.

 

And by the way, wildone, unless you revert the pulley back to stock, put the stock intake back in, and put the stock rsb back on, the dealer is gonna slam you on costs on lease turn-in.

Just a heads up.

 

Thanks all. I didn't know they had 42 month lease. That saves a little on the payments. I get a new car every 3 years. I get bored with them and by the time the 3 years are up I'm ready to give it back. I never had a mini, but I can always get a new one when I give this one back. I had a 2001 Jetta and it was almost totalled after three months. Someone ran a red light and crashed into me. I had it fixed and it was never the same. The engine light stayed on the rest of the 2 l/2 years. I was glad I was giving it back.

 

Little Peeps,

You already know the answer for several very good reasons... LEASE! Several cars ago, I leased a 3-Series BMW. Had driven it only 1.5 months before a guy attempted a left-turn and did a head on collision with me. Nearly totaled my BMW. Thankfully, when it was hammered, welded and glued back together, I did not suffer the $5800 loss of value with this rebuilt, near-totaled car. I continued to drive it for the next 2.8 years and handed the problem over to BMW Financial. No loss to me, other than making a few lease payments while the car was in the shop. Another reason for leasing is because you get bored every few years. And, let's not forget that with leases, you pay use tax for the portion of the car you use, unlike sales tax, which is a bundle up front for the entire cost of the car. And lastly, if you own a business, leases make for simple bookkeeping. Also, I would not want to lease a car that's off warranty. Another component of leasing, for me, is knowing exactly what each monthly auto EXPENSE will be. One more time, I see other folks in this thread talk about "investment". We're talking cars... cars are expenses--not investments! And, the point about low (or no downpayment) is very, very good advise. Had my BMW been totaled, and only 1.5 months into the lease, I would have lost the entire downpayment as gap insurance covers only what is owed on the vehicle... not what you have already spent. Besides, that $2-3K should be sitting in a real investment, not a machine subject to daily abuse at the shopping malls etc.

 

Yes, Dimini, you don't put any of your own money into repairs. Most repairs are covered and on the mini, all repairs are covered.

 

Hmm...my interest rate is 11.81% :( i wish it was 6%

 

well i leased but im 20 and i knew i wouldnt want to keep my mini for more than 4 years just in case i got sick of it.. i dunno im young and stupid lol... so i put nothing down i just paid tax, title, liscense, registrations fees and a few other fees they love to add on but towrds the car itself i put nothing down and am paying around $400 a month for my MCSc.. i love it so far!

 

oh and because when i leased my '06 MCSc it had a measly 500 miles on it i got the "pre-owned warranty" which covers me until 100.000 miles instead of the usual 50,000 so for 4 years ill be good!

 

6% is probably a little low. It's an estimate. I do have very good credit and would have my parents co-sign on a loan. Both would help.