Buying vs. Leasing

If you are in the market for a new car you may be wondering whether to buy or lease.

Ask yourself a couple questions.
1.    Do you drive 15,000 miles per year or less?
2.    Do you want to get a new vehicle every 3 or 4 years?
3.    Do you keep your vehicles in very good shape?
If you answered "yes" to these questions, a lease may be for you.

When you lease a vehicle you decide the length (usually 36-48 months) and amount of miles (usually 10K, 12K or 15K miles per year). The monthly payment is almost always lower than a loan because you're only paying for the vehicle’s depreciation during the lease term. With a lease, you can drive a higher priced, better-equipped vehicle than you might otherwise be able to afford to buy. Depending on the term of the lease, the car is covered under warranty for most or all of the time you have it, so no need to worry about any repair bills (with VW's Carefree Maintenance Program, which comes with all 2009 and 2010 VW models, even your regularly scheduled maintenance is free!)

At the end of the lease you have 3 options.
1.    Turn the vehicle in and walk away
2.    Buy the vehicle outright for its residual value
3.    Turn in the vehicle and lease another

There are some drawbacks to leasing, however. You can't customize the vehicle in any permanent way (i.e no body kits, paint jobs etc). At the end of your lease, you have no equity in the vehicle to put towards a new car. You will also have to pay penalties for excess wear and tear when you turn it in. You only have a limited number of miles in your contract and will have to pay extra if you go over.

You should consider leasing if you if you want to keep your payments lower, if you can predict the number of miles you drive annually, and if you like to drive a different vehicle (and be covered by a new car warranty) every 3 or 4 years.  With Volkswagen's Carefree Maintenance Program, your 3 year/36K mile new car warranty even includes all regularly-scheduled maintenance, further reducing your cost of ownership. 

Call Katie @ (781) 361-9955 to schedule an appointment. We can work with you to explore your options and help you to decide which option will suit you best.