What’s the monthly payment? Also 999 dealer fee? Try to get that removed

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My philosophy on cars is that I would never lease. If I can't afford to buy it, I'd rather purchase an older/used vehicle, versus dealing with the lease end issue (mileage, damage, etc.).

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Seems to me that a reliable car like a Corolla would be great to hold onto after 3 years. I'd buy it versus leasing it, and drive it for the next 5+ years.

I have always heard leasing a car and buying a timeshare are about tied for the worst financial decisions one can make.

Leasing a car is generally a bad financial decision as everyone here is saying. You can find a number of new cars in the $20-23k out the door price range with 5+ year warranties, so I'd either go that route or purchase a cheap used one.

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what if one is upsidedown because of market values at the time of the 2nd or 3 year mark?

This is paying $16,000 to rent a base-model Corolla for 3 years. Not good.

What other brand do you recommend for lease?

It's going to cost you $15,000 to rent this car for the next 3 years.

I don’t recommend leasing. If you can afford a $1000 fee at the time of sale, you can likely afford to buy a Carolla.

What other car brand lease would you recommend.

We don't care about holding it. We are planning to buy something nicer in 3 years

What other car lease brand would you recommend, we just need transportation for 3 years and not want to worry about repairs, and or being heavily upside down

We don't care about holding the car. We are planning to buy something nicer in the next years. We just need a car that we don't need to worry about repairs and not having to be upside down at the end of the 3 year mark

None of them are good. They are varying degrees of terrible, bad, and less bad.

If you're trying to improve your financial situation, buy a less expensive car to drive for a few years. Doesn't have to be a piece of junk. It can even be new, especially since used prices are high.

But if you put nothing down and hold it for only 3 years, yeah you're probably going to be upside down unless you just get lucky.

Would selling it at that point still be better? That's the speculative part of your calculation.

We just care about payment, the lowest possible we can get for temporary transport with no worry of repairs or upside down. Lease seems like the best option so far as I can sale the car back to the dealer

I'd suggest a Honda or Toyota, but as far as 3 year leases go, you're safe with most choices that aren't luxury brands. I used to check out common issues on carcomplaints if you want to dig deeper.

Market is extremely high right now, most likely my car will be upside down if I decide to buy... If market goes down, which i think it will

What do you recommend, market is high, and I don't want to worry about repairs. If I buy most likely i will be upside down in 3 years as I strongly believe the market will drop. What other leases or cars could I look at. I don't care for Toyota if is a lease. I doubt any car will break in 3 years

Yeah if that's all you care about, sure. It's just the most expensive way to drive a car other than literally renting one.

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Just running this through a quick loan amortization at 6%, putting $1000 down I come up with a $425 payment and with with you owing $9500 on this car at the end of year 3. Being as this will then be a nice 3 year old corolla I would expect it would still be worth about 13-14k, especially if you only had 36k on it (the lease terms). Do yourself a favor and just finance it and own it. When it's been 3 years trade it in or sell it. It is a very rare case (like 2020 when covid hit) where you'll do better leasing than buying. You can also read Clark Howard's advice on leasing:

https://clark.com/cars/lease-car/

I couldn't get past the fact that I would be paying tax on a vehicle that wasn't going to be mine. Leases are horrible.

My family's got 660 credit i doubt a 6 percent is possible. They also want to do 0 down. I know buying is probably best, but with the market going down most likely I'm afraid we won't need the car no more and we are upside down. Where as with the lease we can just walk right off.

I got my previous car manager working on some prices for that credit. The post above is tier 1, but the person I'm helping get the car just told me they have a lower credit

Consider buying a used Corolla. Still very reliable. Shouldn’t have mechanical issues, especially if you get one in the newer side.

You are planning on buying a nicer car in 3 years so the plan is to spend 16k on a lease just to avoid being upside on a car. 16k spent and no asset at the end of that time period.

Is there a better way you can utilize that money to set you up for your next purchase? I think that is the argument people are making by saying you should consider buying.

Something like a Hyundai Accent SEL model is $19k and comes with all essential features. Looking at probably ~$22k out the door with a bumper-to-bumper 5 year warranty (likely no significant problems before 10 years) and roadside assistance. The Kia Soul is also a great little vehicle at about the same price point with an incredible amount of interior/storage space (more than some small SUV's), and a similar 5 year warranty. These aren't the only two options in the price range, just two that come to mind with probably the best warranties.

what mile range? any used corolla I see around my area has 22-40k miles and they go for around 20-23k dollars. Thats a over priced used car with more miles for basically the same price, which I'm most likely going to return in 3 years. what do you think? I'm not sure what to do.

its just tough to make sense of a used car when I bought (2019 se) 3 year old corolla with 21k miles for 15k dollars one and a half year ago

thank you, you are probably the only person that has actually helped me and paid attention to my question

what other lease can I get thats lower in payment. I'm trying to help my girlfriend's father buy a car for her. He will take care of everything. My plan is to be able to take care of her and buy her a better car once the 3 year mark is over. Just want to have the lowest possible payment possible on a new car so that she can be safe and we dont have to worry about repairs or time at the shop or headaches. Everything is just convenience for me. Yes I could save more money if I buy a used car with low miles, but the reality is that I don't want to be worrying about maybe buying a shitbox thats gonna cost me more headaches or money once I'm done with it.

Yeah the chip shortage has definitely screwed around with the used car market. What happened to your old Corolla?

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put 15k miles on it, made 1,500 profit on it and bought TRD Camry with a 369 payment, 72 months.

Do you need 2 cars?

my financial situation change a little, I'm hoping and working on making it better so that I don't have to trade it in. If I do trade it in I can probably just buy a new corolla and pay 150 a month

Yes, you can just walk away and the lease company will be thrilled when you do. You will have paid them about $16,000 dollars and instead of you owning the vehicle at the end, they will.

what if I financed and the market drops, and I still owe more than what its worth? If I don't need the car, that would mean I'm going to have to pay to get rid of it. how much do you think the price of a 2023 corolla le with 30k miles will be 3 years from now?

Nah, timeshares are far worse. Leases do have an end. Timeshares are often for life.

I traded the corolla for the Camry. Part of me regrets getting the camry as I could be payment free on the corolla now. Life changed and my vision changed. At least I have a plan, if everything goes well in the next year or so, I can keep the camry and my living situation should be way better than before.

You seem fixated on not being upside-down. This is very easily avoided with Toyotas. And if that’s not enough, you can put down a down payment and finance it.

Leasing a car virtually never makes financial sense. It’s a waste of money, no matter what your preferences might be. This sub won’t give you the kind of back-slapping supportive advice you might wish to see.

Your leasing arrangement seems mathematically sound. But that doesn’t make it a wise thing to do with your money.

Sorry I think I’m confused. Are you trying to buy a second car? Or trying to upgrade the quality of your current car?

>Your leasing arrangement seems mathematically sound. But that doesn’t make it a wise thing to do with your money.

Thank you, I'm on a mission to provide my family with the best life possible. I know I will give my wife a better car once I'm doing well so I just don't want to lose unnecessary money when I know I won't keep the car for long. Thats why in my post I ask what are some other brands I could look at. I just want transport for her with no need for repairs or headaches. I might look at kia or hyundai as Toyota is higher quality=higher price.

That's because you are asking a question about car prices on a finance forum. Everyone is telling you it is a bad financial decision to lease, if you don't care that you are making a bad financial decision, then maybe you be better off asking this on a car forum or car leasing forum.

>I don't want to worry about repairs

If you buy a new car as you seem to be fixated on, you likely won't have any repairs in the three year period you are talking about. Just my opinion. Nothing wrong with buying a new car if that's what you want to do.

this car I'm asking everyone about is not for me. my girlfriend's family is buying her a car. But I know I will get her a better one once my financial situation is better. I just hate the idea of loosing money in the future. I know eventually Before the 4 year mark I will buy her something nicer such as an audi or bmw.... Knowing how prices for cars are so high, and knowing 2 years ago you could get 4k under msrp I have a feeling I'll be upside down if I Finance the car

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the other part of me feels like I'm just worrying too much. If I do decide to get her something nicer I doubt a few 1-3 grand upsidedown will bother me. lol

its mainly about convenience, piece of mind and knowing I won't lose unnecessary money at the end. If I could get the deals we were getting a few years back I would finance In a heartbeat and sale the car after 3 years as Toyotas hold their value

And that’s admirable. We’re not trying to insult you.

But we ARE trying to encourage you to broaden your thinking a bit. You can give your wife a good car AND make a smarter financial choice than leasing. You can find a gloriously pristine and very gently-used car that still has a solid warranty and won’t give you any trouble for three years. These cars are tough to find, but they are worth all that effort when you find one. Good places to start might be cars that were leased and returned, or something Certified Pre-Owned. CPO cars are deeply inspected, and are basically as close to new as you can get for a solid used car. Other people have good luck with former rentals, which tend to be maintained meticulously by a corporation (with records to back it up).

Get your wife a solid car, and it will last her a lot longer than 36 months. You know what feels even better than a “nice” new car? One that’s paid-for, clean, and runs like a top. That way, you two can start building your real future, and not be bogged down by endless payments on a rolling depreciating asset. Spend your money on a house, on vacations, on a life. Give her THAT kind of nice.

And whatever you do, stay away from Nissan and Fiat-Chrysler. They won’t even last you 36 months.

haha yeah, I figured once everyone started lecturing me this wasn't the best forum. Just trying to get some quick info

Well, even if you owe more than what you can sell it for, it's just a factor to consider; not like you go to jail for it. If comment OP's math is to be trusted, by leasing it, you'd be betting that 30k mile 3yr old corollas are worth less than 10k in 3yrs. And that's just you breaking even on going either way. For leasing to actually be financially better, you're betting it's going to be worth meaningfully lower than 10k since you're also giving up all upside (i.e, the chance that it's worth more than you owe on it in which case it cost you even less to use it for 3yrs not to mention the lack of lease restrictions). And say it is actually artificially depressed b/c the market tanked, just keep paying the loan off and you'll have the car, it's yours! You can sell it when the market recovers (cars are usually not this volatile so i'm just humoring your beliefs here) and buy the fancy car. If you just completely don't care about optimizing for a few thousand $s, I don't see this as a personalfinance question.

My guess would be 12k at the lowest. The lease company is betting it will be worth at least 14k. Can you buy a 3 year old corolla now for less than that? What I would be thinking about if I were you is what this payment and the guaranteed loss of 16k does to your budget over 3 years? You mention paying cash for a car later. Do you make enough so you will still pile up cash in parallel to paying this lease? Maybe this is the only path for you to have a decent car. But if you do this, at least map out your future budget and see where this fits, if it fits

Terrible financial decision but it seems you’ve already made up your mind.

A new car which also happens to be a “Toyota” is not going to cause any problems for 3 years. If you bought a bmw or jeep brand that’s known to break down as soon as you drive off of the dealership, that’s another story. The better choice would be actually buying it. In the end, you will own an asset that can be used for any kind of improvement in life. Not just a better car. In three years, your priorities might change as well. Maybe, it will become a house downpayment? Who knows?

Also, if a leased car breaks down, you will still go through not having the car for a bit and all that trouble too. So, that is not going to disappear magically. There will be some kind of discomfort either way.

a car is a liability, I just want to see the best option to get a new transport for a short period of time.

This answer helps clear up the concern about being under water on the financing in 3 years. Do you really think the market is going to tank so greatly that in 3 years a used Corolla similar to the one you have will be worth half what they currently are?

Listen, I’ve leased many a car (generally only where it was an insane deal and the buyout price was good) but what people are telling you is sound. Just finance the car and sell/trade in when you’re ready. Financing also gives you the flexibility to do it 2 or 4 years as well.

Not yet, Nobody seems to recommend me other cars I could look into for a lease. I just need a low payment on reliable new or not overpriced used car... if cars already depreciate, they will even more now when the market crashes and everything goes down in price.

the same corolla I bought for 15k 19 SE with 21k miles, was worth 18,500 and had 34k miles when I sold it a year ago. they are still at those numbers and some even have higher mileage. You think the prices are gonna hold for the next 3 years? I honestly doubt it, and we seem to be approaching a huge crash in the next year or so. That's what im speculating on. If the market tanks and I decide to finance the corolla, I would be owing around 14-15k at the end of the 3rd year, I'm worried I won't be given my payoff amount for the car at the least...thats what is making me consider leasing.

This car is not for me, My girl's father is paying for it. She does not have a car and needs one asap.

That's my point Part of me believes I will be upside down. I strongly believe everything will crash. especially with Gold going up like crazy in the past couple of months. Plus If I purchase I would be tied to a contract with a high interest rate. where as if I were to keep the lease I could purchase at the end at a way lower rate If the market tanks... Still I want to get my girl a way better car in 3 years from now. The only reason why I'm considering leasing is because I fear an 2023 LE corolla with 30-40k miles will probably be bought by dealers or auction around 12-13k like you mentioned to be sold at 14-16k (dealers gotta have that 1-2k mark up most of the time lol)

Financial decisions should be made based on future planning not on fear. Fear is driving your decision here. Nobody knows for sure whether a crash will definitely happen and if so how bad it will be. It cannot be predicted. You plan around your budget, your future and don't try to predict what will happen. It's like timing the market, it seldom works.

buying a new car is a bad financial decision. But is probably a bad one as well to buy a used car thats 2 or 3k less than a new one, Which is the case for all fairly-new used cars right now

what do you think?

its going to be fairly the same as if I were to finance the car (at the end of the 3rd year) plus I would be tied to a higher interest rate, Whereas with the lease I can refinance with a 3-4 percent IF rates tank in the next 3 years. Most likely whatever we do We will get rid of the car on the 3rd year but uncertainty of the market is whats making me think leasing could work

It was never intended to be. It was mainly about current lease prices and if what I was sharing in the post made sense to what's in the market out there for leases. The other thing that bothers me is the rate, rates are crazy high right now. I could be betting that the rates go back to that 3-5 percent on a used car. But maybe I'm wrong

"And whatever you do, stay away from Nissan and Fiat-Chrysler. They won’t even last you 36 months." Hahahah that cracked me up

Thanks so much, I do believe the last part you said. That's our plan. To be honest a lot of it is speculation and future income hopes. I know how it sounds.... However I did pretty well financial selling cars and I decided to go in Different path. If everything goes as planned I will be able to give her that life and more with a way better car, even if I have to do payments (I can say I know how to control my budget and do "wise" purchases when it comes to cars) Buying a car right now out right is the best decision, unfortunately I don't control interests and I don't feel comfortable gifting her a car right now.

A new car is generally not recommended but if you buy cars for the long term (keep them 10-15 years) I don't see it buying new as always the worst choice. The goal of most on this sub is financial freedom. Making payments forever, car after car, always paying interest doesn't fit with this plan. It's all numbers. If you bought new, financed even for 5 years (I'd recommend less) and then kept the car for 15 years you'd get back that front end depreciation as you owned the car without payments for a number of years. And being a corolla, likely without problems until you hit year 10 or so. It's all a balance. As I've said a few times now, have a plan is really what's most important. Where do you want to be in 3 years with cars, with income, with everything? Does this fit? This is the question you need to answer.

Even if it's not Toyota Corolla finance. What else can I look at that's way better, in the chance I want to change the car 3 years from now, to hopefully get a lower payment now (new)

To be honest, I feel like I'm worrying to much, I don't think I would care much about 2-4 k loss in a car a few years from now

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Because everyone is telling you not to lease. FINANCE THE CAR.

You sound like a broken record and this seems like a troll post. Buy the car and drive it until it breaks. Avoid getting another in 3 years with lifestyle creep. If you’re relying on her dad to help her with the car then you guys aren’t ready to dump a Toyota for something more expensive.

This is a bad personal finance decision. Leasing is the most expensive way to get a car. You would be better off buying a lightly used car, then selling it (if you are foolish enough to upgrade in three years just for the sake of upgrading, which is another poor personal finance decision). You can get a 2020 Toyota for pretty much KBB from Hertz or Enterprise car sales, no haggling.

I mean… you could just buy the Corolla and resell it in 3 years, and the amount you would be upside down on the loan would probably be less than $16,000-payments made. This is a bad idea.

Hyundais and Kias are looking like they will be uninsurable due to their high incidence of theft.

But will it be $15,000 upside down? That lease has a guaranteed loss of 16k. I doubt the car loses that much value in 3 years.

If you're paranoid about being upside down on your Toyota after 3 years, you're gonna be in a worrrrrrld of pain when you get that BMW or Audi past 30k miles lol.

It sounds like you've made up your mind. Choose a car to lease for 3 years, give it back to the dealer, get that beamer, instant buyer's remorse, sell it back at a fraction you bought it for, and then buy a used Corolla.

Nothing anyone says here will change your mind.

I never understood why people leased cars. It's like being in an HOA. Someone gets to give you guidelines on what to do with something you're paying for!

Oh well.

This seems expensive. You should use the website leasehackr.com for check the value on this lease and see what others are paying.

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Even before car prices went completely nutso, Toyotas were pretty good about holding their values. And at the end of the day, at least you have an asset worth something.

If it helps make it more clear why everyone is recommending you not go through with a lease, here’s a mental exercise. Purge the word lease from your vocabulary. The word you’re looking for and will be using is now “Renting”. That’s why it’s such a bad idea.

The other poster did the math on it and you wouldn’t owe more than $10k on it via financing. Also, if you use a local credit union financing, you might be able to get 6-8%.

A big crash of the used market would still make it worth $12-14k used (instead of $20k).

There is almost no scenario where leasing makes more sense for this specific set of circumstances.

> its going to be fairly the same as if I were to finance the car

How exactly? $16,000 for the lease, plus a $14,000 residual, plus interest on the car note means you would likely pay $33,000 or so for a car you know to cost $23,000…

Do the finance math as well

Thanks

How about changing the interest rate once the contract is initiated. What if rates drop by the 3rd or 2nd year, how can I get a lower rate on my current loan

Thanks

Ok thanks

Thanks

I had no clue they sold cars, thanks

Assuming that $999 down, $23,000 at 6%/60mo would have a $425 payment and a total cost of $28,400. Change it to 2.9%/36mo and you get a payment of $639 and a total cost of $25,900.

Most credit unions consider "new" vehicles as anything within a certain number of model years - for example through December last year my CU that I have for my auto loan considered a new vehicle to be 2021 and newer - even when 2023 was coming out. Actually, even looking at older car loans, they have held interest rates across them at the same rate.

Definitely do NOT use dealer financing unless it's an amazing deal. Go to local credit union and get preapproved for an auto loan. Don't say anything about the financing while looking at a vehicle, just sort of say thinking about financing, etc.. Then negotiate the price of the vehicle and say you'd like to use your own financing.

This is just a new's blurb for those who don't bother reading any further or understanding any of the relevant details. First, all Hyundai and Kia vehicles after Nov. 1, 2021 (and some makes/models before this date) come standard with the anti-theft immobilizer, and thus any new vehicle OP might be considering won't be affected. Additionally, insurability is dependent largely on location, as well as carrier. "Uninsurable cars" made headlines because it is good clickbait, but even for the model years affected it was limited to a handful of areas (most with high vehicle-crime rates and higher insurance premiums to begin with) and/or specific carriers.

What I often see is people who think their time window is 3 years like you are thinking here, it turns out to be 4 or even 5, or longer. It happened to me with a house we bought. We figured it was temporary and we'd upgrade, we stayed 12 years. You are imagining the worst case but not thinking of the best case. You should think of BOTH. Plan for the worst, but hope for the best. You don't mention the current income or potential future income in this scenario. All of this matters in personal finance. And again, fear should not drive a decision, planning should.

Yes, and it’s the best car buying experience I’ve had, by far. I didn’t know until a friend told me about it. It’s pretty great.

Are they solid on price though? Do they try to charge you extra fees or is it straight taxes and plate fee

It seems like they tried to sell an extended warranty, but that was it. And they aren’t high pressure. You can look online to know exactly what their inventory is. And since they don’t negotiate prices, it’s pretty low key. I walked in, said, “you have x car on the lot; I’m going to test drive it, and buy it if I like it.” They were a bit taken aback by my bluntness, but perfectly happy to just go with it for obvious reasons.