Question on leasing a car:
Is the Tire & Wheel and Excess Wear & Tear coverage they try to sell you worth getting? I let them talk me into it and my brother (who has leased cars before; my parents haven't) says it's not worth it, so I'm wondering if I should see if I can cancel them.
I just got it yesterday, it wasn't exactly planned, but I took my car in for service and discovered it had several serious problems that would have cost more to fix than the car was worth. As it is, I got $1000 on the trade (yesterday's bill would have been $1800, and that was with the service guy giving me $200 off, and I would have had to get the front brakes done in the next couple months, too). So I really didn't have time to sit down and figure out what I could really afford or do any real research. I was planning on looking at getting a new car in the next year or so, anyway. My old car was 10 years old and clearly getting crotchety.
(The car is a Hyundai Elantra GT, one of the new body types that just came out for 2013; so far I like it. I wanted the regular sedan - my old car was a 2002 Elantra and overall has served me pretty well, and the newer ones have gotten even better ratings, so I was definitely going to consider it when I was ready. I first looked at a certified pre-owned 2011, but the monthly payment with $5K down was more than I was comfortable with, especially not having time to really crunch the numbers. Leasing is cheaper per month and after 3 years I'll have the option of financing the balance if I want to buy it. I was limited to what they had on the lot and they didn't have much in the sedans; then they said they could give me the same deal on the GT which had a few extra features, and as a bonus the hatchback prevents me from resting things on the trunk and scratching it all to hell like I did with the last one.)
So anyway, opinions?
Is the Tire & Wheel and Excess Wear & Tear coverage they try to sell you worth getting? I let them talk me into it and my brother (who has leased cars before; my parents haven't) says it's not worth it, so I'm wondering if I should see if I can cancel them.
I just got it yesterday, it wasn't exactly planned, but I took my car in for service and discovered it had several serious problems that would have cost more to fix than the car was worth. As it is, I got $1000 on the trade (yesterday's bill would have been $1800, and that was with the service guy giving me $200 off, and I would have had to get the front brakes done in the next couple months, too). So I really didn't have time to sit down and figure out what I could really afford or do any real research. I was planning on looking at getting a new car in the next year or so, anyway. My old car was 10 years old and clearly getting crotchety.
(The car is a Hyundai Elantra GT, one of the new body types that just came out for 2013; so far I like it. I wanted the regular sedan - my old car was a 2002 Elantra and overall has served me pretty well, and the newer ones have gotten even better ratings, so I was definitely going to consider it when I was ready. I first looked at a certified pre-owned 2011, but the monthly payment with $5K down was more than I was comfortable with, especially not having time to really crunch the numbers. Leasing is cheaper per month and after 3 years I'll have the option of financing the balance if I want to buy it. I was limited to what they had on the lot and they didn't have much in the sedans; then they said they could give me the same deal on the GT which had a few extra features, and as a bonus the hatchback prevents me from resting things on the trunk and scratching it all to hell like I did with the last one.)
So anyway, opinions?
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