Quote:
avi8tir said:
hello all! So my TT will be here in about a month. I am quite perplexed on what I should do for payment. I usually pay cash for cars or put a substantial amount down and finance.

This case is a bit different for me. I have never bought a car this expensive. As well, I have many cosmetic options (ie, stitching, painted exterior and int pieces, leather etc) that have really jacked the sticker price of my car up towards 140k. I very well know that these options, although costing money, will do NOTHING when it comes to resale value. This is why I am so tempted to lease, as I will likely not feel as much of an impact.

I have never leased a car before so I really dont know the inner workings of those types of deals. I know that you dont pay the full tax or gas guzzler taxes like you would if you pay cash or finance.

So, I am asking peoples opinions based on your experiences. I have enough cash to buy the car, but would obviously not do that as my cash earns me money through my investments, and a car is a depreciating asset. (if a car is 40k I dont mind paying cash, but this being 140k is a different story!). I could finance, but I owe the full tax and gas gizzler up front. plus, I take the depreciation hit on the "Extras" that really add no value.

Can someone explain the pros/cons of a lease for this type of car and clarify any errors I may have in my understanding of what I spoke of above?

thanks!!



One thing you have to watch for with leasing is the MRM--Maximum Residualizable MSRP. Basically if the car has a 50% residual, $100k MSRP, and $90k MRM, then the residual will be $45k ($90k * 50%). In essence, you are paying for a lot of the depreciation of these options on the lease. Is your car a Tip or Manual--they have different MRMs that will change the amount of depreciation you are paying.

The new Turbo doesn't have a Gas Guzzler tax, so you don't have to worry about that, but if it did, this would be included in the MSRP calculation. Regarding taxes, it depends on the state. In Illinois, you pay the tax on the purchase price of the car, even if it is a lease (then if you buy it at the end, you pay the tax on the purchase price at that time!).