it will be my first purchase.

i'm looking for a used car (value when new, from CAD$14000 to $30000, basically something from subcompact to mid/full size sedan)....but i was thinking....if you lease a new one, you don't have to care much after the lease term is over (usually 4 years).....the money you have paid is gone and the car does not belong to you....but at least, you had a new car.....

in the case of used vehicle....i'm looking to finance it.....so you'll probably pay as much as you lease a new car....but in the end you get a car and you can resell it for money....

is my thinking correct??

cos i have 2 friend who got used cars.....2001 IS300 and 2005 A4....they seemed to be in really good conditions.....so it is really tempting for me to get a used as well....

also....what should i watch out when i get an used car?....what should i check?.......brakes, electrics, engine, etc?

please don't bash.....i'm still learning to survive in the society....

If you get a lease then you have to be extra careful not to go over the allocated miles and also not get too many dings/ dents/ bumps since this will all be factored when you turn in the car.
For 2nd hand stuff... first shop around and see what kind of finance you can get. that way if the stealership is trying you screw you over, you just finance it through your bank. Since you live in funny land look out for rust .. that could be a beeotch to fix. P.S. if you are not getting any interest rates in single digits then get your parents to cosign for you..

lol....stealership....

my parents leased a CRV....luckily, everything went smoothly....we were careful about the mileage and all....ya....i forgot about those limitations too.....

for used vehicle, carfax report helps too....i believe??

I don't fully understand leasing but I guess I can see the appeal in getting a new car every few years (vanity). I don't like the idea of always having a car payment and never owning a car.

I think a good used car makes far more sense financially.

If you're willing to live without new car smell, DO NOT BUY NEW. It's a terrible financial option, whether you finance or lease, when compared to buying a 3-5 year old used car. New cars just lose too much value in the first two years for it to make financial sense. The one big practical advantage is the warranty if you're buying a statistically unreliable car.

...but one of the cars you're looking at is an IS300, which IIRC was the most reliable car Consumer Reports ever compiled data on. Those things are the sport sedan equivalents of old Toyota pickups. You just can't kill them.

Top Gear: Killing a Toyota, part 1

Not all Toyotas are bulletproof (i.e., the new Tundra), but the IS300 was one of the good ol' unkillable Toyotas.

I thought the Tundra was pretty OK.

I heard that there were some crankshaft issues which effected a small (in the hundreds) number of cars, and an issue with the tailgates, which also effected only a small number of cars...Compared to the competition, I thought it was doing pretty good.

CAMSHAFTS: News articles stated that 30,000 units were possibly affected, 20 failures having already occurred. I have not found out whether Toyota eventually recalled all 30,000, or what.

TAILGATES, Part 1: I have heard reports of tailgates bending or cracking even when bearing less than the rated load. I think these are pretty isolated events, though.

TAILGATES, Part 2: Toyota rates the tailgate as able to hold 200 lbs. 200 lbs! On a full-size pickup! Loading a dirtbike or ATV will dramatically exceed that. Heck, even a big muscular guy sitting on the tailgate could exceed that. To my knowledge, Toyota has never admitted that this is an unrealistically-low load capacity for a full-size pickup's tailgate, and so ALL Tundras are "affected."

TRANSMISSIONS: Admittedly small numbers, though if ten people post on TundraSolutions, I suspect hundreds were affected:



http://www.autoblog.com/2007/10/22/toyota-...quality-issues/

These may not be the only issues out there, because overall, the 2007 Tundra is rated at "below average" reliability by Consumer Reports. Source. If I recall correctly, that places it below the F-150, which generally comes in at "average," and far below the first-gen Tundra.

I wish someone had told me that. I mean, the car was paid for in full cash, but now I'm feeling the depreciation hit. I'm about ready to unload the 3, and I just don't want to let it go looking at the money I could possibly get for it. Even the most optimistic offers make me want to cry. Nearly new is always the way to go...

You think YOU'RE feeling a depreciation hit? Try unloading a manual-transmission Legacy wagon after 18 months (MT wagons are unpopular in the States and thus depreciate more quickly than ATs and sedans). I lost $5,200, or 25% of the value, in those 18 months. And like you, I had paid cash to begin with, so that loss is solely depreciation, not interest.

I'm glad I bought my car new because I get to know every last thing that's ever happened to it and in 4+ years it's probably only lost about a third of its original purchase price, though the MkIV GTI is insanely desirable in the used market and holds its value exceptionally well.

Leasing is something you have to be careful with. Basically, mathematically, it's way better than financing if you drive a lot of miles (at least, comparing new-to-new). If you drive 20,000 or more miles per year, your car will probably be out of warranty in somewhere between 2 and 4 years depending on the brand. For most people, this is before it's payed off if you finance, so you end up with a car that's out of warranty but still being paid off. Also increases the likelihood of being upside-down on your loan somewhere in the middle of your ownership experience, which is not good. Basically, if you put a lot of miles on a car, setup the lease so you return it right when the warranty runs out and you end up doing well by just paying off the depreciation and then returning it. And if you end up buying a million-miles-a-year lease and come way under on your miles, then you're in a good position to finance it and sell it yourself (to get more money for it) or keep it until it gets more miles on it, since the up-front depreciation calcs are based on the assumption that you will use every one of your allotted miles.

Also, leasing makes more sense on cars that keep their value well (such as BMWs, Audis, VWs, Hondas, Toyotas etc.) as opposed to those that lose their value quickly (most american cars, Hyundais/Kias, etc.) since you're paying for the depreciation. If you want a car that's going to have sucky resale, you're better off financing the damned thing and owning it outright.

Lastly, shop around for monthly payments. Once you pick a couple cars you want, go to your bank, maybe a couple other banks, and ask them what they can offer you for lease/finance payments on those cars, and then when you get to the F&I guy at the dealership you'll have some numbers to compare to the dealer-offered lease/finance payments (this is great because leasing in particular is so complicated that it's easy for the dealers to pack in extra profit for themselves without you ever realizing it).

So, in summary:
-Lease if you drive a lot of miles a year and are getting a car with good resale value
-Finance if you don't drive a lot of miles a year and want a car with poor resale value
-Whichever path you choose, shop around for a good rate. Check your credit report beforehand so you have some sort of idea of what sort of rate you should deserve.

@ Mitlov, I wasn't comparing myself to you. I'm just saying it sucks in general.

BTW, happy birthday Eraser!

I agree, I wasn't trying to "one up" you, I was just venting.

I bought my car a year ago for $8,000, five-years used with 28.8k miles. Edmunds TMV has it in the high $7k right now with 42.5k on the clock.

.5-3 years of age is the sweet spot generally. They will have depreciated their maximum amount (any car) while still being relatively new and under 50k miles. My parents' Accord was bought w/ 4800 mi for 18k, even though it was MSRP'ing for 22atm brand new. Good stuff I guess.

After owning nothing but used cars my whole driving life (coming up on 12 years) I'm getting pretty sick and tired finding out the hard way (and the expensive way) how badly the vehicles previous owner treated the car, and what a spectacular job the seller did of patching the car up with the minimum of effort.

My next car (fingers crossed for a MT diesel Legacy) will be new...hopefully I can finance, but I'll lease if I have to.

I prefer used cars under the scrutiny of good mechanics. My current mechanic has told me straight up he's about 1.5x expensive as others, but this way he won't tell me stupid things about my car. He owns a shop called Mr. Mazda close by and he really is great. He's close to 50 and has rebuilt Mazda race engines for 17 years. The Protege is a cake-walk for him. He also knows where OEM is jacked up and where not to cut corners. He reduced half the clunkiness of my transmission just by switching oil weights. The other half came from my SS kit and bushings.

My brother now takes his Civic to Acura-Honda Connection. They're very cheap but good too. We get our oil changes done at the Wheel Works nearby as you get oil change and tire rotation for $20 and my Mazda really likes the Kendall synthetic they use. However, they told my brother his steering pump needed to be replaced or his rack/pinion would fail. A-H connection said, just buy $4 Honda steering pump fluid and top off every few weeks or so--no need to replace it.

WW also tried to replace my brake pads with 20% left... I'll do them closer to 10! It's all about finding the right mechanic, I believe.

Even a great mechanic can't fully compensate for a negligent previous owner. I did my due diligence with this car...car fax was clean, mechanic (who was the Subaru equivalent to your Mr. Mazda) said it looked great and KMs were low, but I still gt me a Lemon.

Same story above with Honda...bought a brilliant off lease Civic with 40,000km's from Honda as part of their Certified used program...Honda swore up and down that the car had never been in an accident. After the warranty ran out almost the entire left side of the car failed. My Mechanic's opinion was that the drivers side was almost totally rebuilt. Went back to Honda, who swore up and down that they never said the car had never been in an accident...and it was my word vs theirs.

Like Clarkma5 said, I personally want to know the entire history of my next car from day one.

thx for all the comments!!

i see the good and bad in both leasing new and buying pre pwned.....

then i think it comes down to luck.....cos i just test drove my friend's IS300....7 yr old car with roughly 130k clicks, forgot the price but i remember it was something reasonable.....he told me it was his uncle's...who is in charge of Scarborough Toyota Lexus' service center....he followed all, if not, most of the recommended inspections.....no wonder why he got it....

and in the other case, the 2005 B6 A4 fwd....my other friend got it with the help of his relative working at Audi.....30k km, CAD$20k.....but i hated the CVT multitronic.....even though it wants to simulate a 6 speed transmission...but the 1.8T felt really good....

B7 A4 caught my attention....but i think i'll get an Accent as my first car to practice stick shift.....

I wouldn't buy a car from a friend. I have known too many friendships which were strained by a car which stopped working properly after the sale.

Many benefits of both.. . In today's economy I would lease any SUV or large vehicle.

I am going to lease a 1 Series or M3 if/when they come out with an employee program.

I can only speak for leasing, since I've been doing it for the past 7 years. I pretty much agree with most of what Clarkman says regarding leasing with only a few differences.

When you lease, you need to have an idea as to how many yearly miles you need. If you average about 10k a year, no sense paying for 15k. Like Clarkman says, you pay for depreciation, so less miles means higher residual value at the end of your term. It is actually okay to have a lease if you drive little miles per year, just don't turn in the car and the end of the lease, sell it to a dealer or just buy it out and flip it on a private sale. You can get back a substantial sum of your cars equity that way.

Lastly, shop for purchases the same way you shop for leases. Make sure the sale price is as low as you can get it for. Leasing rates are fix by banks and change month to month. The key is to find a car with high resale/residual value and a low Money Factor / Interest Rate. The math on a lease is much more complicated than a purchase, so it would be a good idea to learn the process if you don't want to be ripped off.