CRUISING by david vera
To EAcH
clue as to what degree of repairs a car of paid-off age might invite. Stick with the
top resale picks on “car mag” lists for the best odds in finding a true keeper.
HIS own
So which one will cost me less: a lease or a purchase?
That’s an easy one too. Buy a car with cash! *smirk* Of course, since most of us do
not have the fiscal means or metaphorical huevos to pull that one off, we must rely
on financing plans. Depending on your interest rate (or “money factor” if you’re
To own or not to own? That is the question that most of us will be grinding on leasing), it’s a bit tricky to determine which will save you more bucks—and subse-
for the majority of our lives. But unlike the ill-fated Prince Hamlet, the choice is quent headaches. In the long run, however, buyers do tend to incur less monetary
thankfully ours to make. When it comes to our cars, do we really know what mutilation than lessees do. Regardless of how low their monthly payments are,
we’re entitled to when weighing between the convoluted paper-ruled realms of they’ll always have them.
purchase and lease? Still, buying a car with a loan has often been compared to throwing money into
The act of paying off our mobile chariots cannot be compared so easily to real a declining-value savings account—you’ll never see increased results, portions
estate. Yes, in the larger scope of both cases, buying equates to owning…eventu- of every payment are lost to depreciation and finance gouging and what you
ally. But depending on your individual needs as the primary operator of a vehicle, ultimately have to show for your investment when your loan is paid off is a rolling
leasing it for a fixed amount of time might not actually equate to renting an apart-
ment. Besides, the numbers are completely different. Have you ever considered
taking a 30-year loan on a car? (The correct answer is no, by the way).
How should I know what payment plan is right for me?
That all depends on what you want out of your steel horse, cowboy! If you want a
consistently new model every few years with
less chance of mechanical breakdown and
substantially lower monthly payments with
no obligatory down payment, then lease
your vehicle. Just don’t get too attached
to that particular car; you’ll have to either
give it back and lease a new one when the
contract is up…or make the decision to buy
it for the remaining value that you would’ve
paid if you had bought it—plus a few cruel
fees. And above all, watch your mileage! Your
contract allows you only a certain amount of
road-use. If you exceed what you agreed to at
the dealership, expect a surcharge!
If you’re looking forward to owning your
wheels with free reign on mileage, and you
can handle the steeper payments of a pur-
chase finance plan, by all means buy it! Just
realize that, like all hardware, driving an older
car means a greater risk of needing repairs.
Should today’s ice-thin market
affect my decision?
Banks will always be the bullies of the playground. Even in times of plenty, they’ll
still take your milk money and punch you in the gut for your troubles. But regard-
less of where your checks end up, you’ll have an interest rate (or similar corporate
tactic) to worry about no matter where the economy goes. The best thing you can
do to bend variables in your favor is research a vehicle’s depreciation in value, as it fuel evaporator, a flimsy pink piece of paper and some imaginary number known
plays different—but equally important—roles in either payment plan. as a “good credit score.” Of course, it beats out a lease, which in the end leaves you
In a lease, you’re paying the dollar difference in the car’s value between the with—quite literally—nothing.
time you sign away your soul until the time the lease is up (plus the usual finance If they didn’t provide us with such utility and juvenile joy, I’m sure we’d condemn
charges and other fees). If you’re buying the car, its depreciated worth will be one cars as the worst kind of investment. But since we’re bound by necessity and ruled
of the strongest influences you’ll have in deciding whether (or when, rather) to by nostalgia, it looks like buying is the lesser of the two evils of death…I mean
sell your car once you’ve paid it off. Luckily, depreciation (or resale value) is a good debt. Maybe Prince Hamlet was actually talking about finances in his monologue.
78 RAGE monthly | APRIL 2009
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