12.18.07
Should I Buy or Lease a Car in 2008?
Sure, approximately 80 percent of auto consumers either pay cash or finance their purchase with a loan, but you’re considering joining the other one-fifth of intrepid consumers willing to forgo ownership for a new set of wheels and the short-term benefits that leasing provides.
Maybe you’re self-employed and can write off your leasing payment as a business expense. Or maybe you’re trying to get into a luxury model for less upfront cash. Or maybe you demand the latest safety and technology innovations and don’t want to be saddled with a 60-month loan term. Or maybe you just like driving a new car every couple years.
“The question you have to ask yourself is, ‘Is there a special reason I need a new car every few years?’” says Art Spinella, president of CNW Marketing Research in Bandon, Ore. “For most consumers, the answer is no.”
But maybe you’re in the minority. Maybe your answer is yes.
It’s true that leasing has diminished in popularity as automakers have offered low-interest financing and cash-back offers to buyers. Leasing rates dropped from 29.2 percent of retail car sales in January 2001 to 23.2 percent in February 2006. Read the rest of this entry »