[DRKS1D3]

Originally Posted by Snoman

This is a perfect example of generally why they don't teach personal finance in schools any longer. Unless you own a business (or 1099/Sched-C) to lease the vehicle under and write off 100% of the lease, insurance and mileage, what you are describing is a unicorn. Most don't have the free cash flow to justify purchasing a new car every three years either, this is simple snake oil of something the industry has convinced consumers they falsely need to do. Furthermore, 90% of the public doesn't qualify for the lowest money factor advertised on TV. $599/mo for a Merc E350 for example, will be $650+/mo before you leave the dealer. There exists no dealer in the world qualified to talk to you about financial stability. At the consumer level, leases solely exist for dealerships to make money off the money factor and a bazillion other reasons, leases do not exist to save the consumer money.



The easiest and simplest way to show how leasing works is managed assets. The owner of a rental property pays a management company 8.5% to run and operate said rental properties instead of managing their own assets. Within that 8.5%, is a factor of time and convenience whereby it is 'cheaper' for said owner to go do something else. The owner of a leased vehicle is paying someone else to manage the maintenance and upkeep instead of doing the work themselves. This payment carries a cost that most justify by tossing words like 'convenience' around, or "keeping up with technology" every 3 years. More direct in point, a lessee pre-pays their mileage and there are no refunds for any reason. In rare cases, it is cheaper but these are extremely rare and not the norm.



A few years ago I purchased a loaded sedan at 50% MSRP; clean, untitled and with full warranty off the showroom floor. I'll drive for 4 years then do it again and my payments are far less than any lease. I know others that drive 2 year old CPOs for three years with full warranty, repeat the process and pay less than any comparable lease as well.



Many still believe Rainbow Unicorns exists, though I'll advise everyone the same that still believes in them, go hire a tax attorney and seek professional help before signing any lease. 99x out of a 100 you are getting screwed.

Managing money is easy. I don't know why people choose to make it so difficult. I'm 37, my wife is 36 and without getting into specifics, we both went to college, landed great jobs and we have the world by the ass.

If you have $50 in your pocket and you spend $60...you're broke. It's not difficult.

55 and retirement can't come soon enough.