batman5273

yes and no:

yes part is the 1500 bonus money on any trailblazer.

no part, you only get the 1000 bucks if you are a GM employee, dealership employee, or supplier employee. if you are one of thoise things, then make it a yes

final no. theLS trail blazer with the sun and sound package is the only one that comes with a 1250 lease rebate. all other ones come with a 650 lease rebate.

so thats how i got to take advantage of all the money.

like i said im paying 288 for a trailblazer LS, with a sunroof, 6 disc changer, bose, 4WD, with 600 bucks down, 15 k milesx 27 months. plus i even got tire and wheel protection (6 bucks a month) my payment would have been 282.

batman5273

yes!

I am currently in a 2005 Equinox lease. and i love it. Its under full warranty, I only put $1000 bucks down, I pay $307 (compared to $415 to buy) and when my 36 month lease ends, i give it back and wont ever deal with negative equity for the rest of my life.

here is the reason to lease:

you get more for less money!!

I can drive two vehicles in 6 years and spend less money than buying a vehicle in a 5 year loan and going an entire year with out making payments.

how does that work??

let take my equinox as an example:

Equinox LS AWD MSRP=$25000
GM Discount=$22000
Rebate=$1000
paid $21000 (i put the tax money down)

on a 60 month buy payments are $420 a month ($20 bucks for every $1000 you finace)

420x60=$25200 (now that doesn't count extended warranty)
6 year 72k mile extended warranty =$2000 (can go up or down depending how much you want to pay for deductable)

now we are at $27200

now let cover cost of tires and brakes for 6 years and 72k miles
lets be conservative and say $1500

now we are at $28700 (LET KEEP TRACK OF THAT NUMBER)

My lease is $307 a month for 36 months

307x36=$11052 thats three years now double it to make 6 years=$22104
i dont have to buy a warranty, because its under manufacturer, i have full warranty, road side assistance, rental car coverage, everything that comes with a gm vehicle.

and as for tires and brakes, i'll be turning in my vehicle before i even really need to replace them.

so i am paying $22104 to drive Two vehicles.

now lets go back to the top equinox number of $28700. how much do you think an equinox that is 6 years old with 72k miles and no warranty on it is worth? maybe 6 grand? maybe even 7 grand. let now subtract that 7 grand from our number (28700-7000=21700)

so the normal person will spend 28 grand to drive a vehicle that does have a 25k msrp, but only paid 21k for it. that 7 grand (wow that what the vehicle is worth at the end of everything)

I will pay the same amount of money but be driving two vehicles with the same result, they aint worth anything in the end. my payments will be lower, and i'll never have to worry about anything going wrong with my vehicle. and hell we all get bored with out vehicles anyway. but the main thing, i wont over pay and i'll nver deal with negative equity. that means i only pay the first payment title and tax on rebates (which will cost 500-1000) when i get a new vehicle.

so thts why you lease. you lease new cars, you buy used cars. and you buy used cars because if you go to a good dealership the price of the used vehicle will cover the depreciation.

and for those guys who are like "I drive too many miles!" believe it or not, you are more of a canidate to lease than someone who drives 12k miles a year. miles destroys the value of vehicles. and lets say your payment is the exact same to lease as it is to buy. you wont have negative equity. when the lease ends. and if you choose to buy, you will have 60k miles on a three years old vehicle. Imagine how buried you'll be in that one.

moral of the story, leasing is better: You get choice. You get freedom. and you get a new car all the time!

batman5273

of course I'm sticking with chevy...I sell them!!

I belive in the Chevy Brand, and I beliee in GM.

My grandfather retired from GM at the Parma plant in Parma Ohio.

And I have alot of family thats works for Ford. I will always stick with American Cars from here on out.

but for the money, I couldnt pass on getting a better vehicle for less money.

stevflo

How do you figure leasing is better for someone who drives a lot of miles? By the time they add the extra mileage charge on, the cost of the lease can be quite expensive. I drive between 25,000 to 30,000 miles a year in my personal auto and there is no way I can afford to lease and pay the extra mileage charges on 13-18000 extra miles a year. Lease or buy, my warranty is up in at least a year and a half and the repair costs will be the same to me. The normal service costs will be the same also. Most cars now a days have more miles on them than they did a few years ago and if they are taken care of, they are in as good of shape, if not better, as something with very low miles that didn't get driven much.

When GM or any other automaker can show me that leasing is more beneficial and cost effective to me, then I might re-consider. Lets face it, the car manufacturers are in it to make money whether they sell or lease and they aren't going to give anything away.

PerryHallHHR

I'm the kind of person who likes getting a new car all the time, like, every year or two years. I'd love to lease my next vehicle, but I wouldn't want to do so for any more than 24-27 months. I wouldn't want to be "locked" into a leased vehicle for 3+ years and not be able to get out of it without penalty. At least if you traditional finance, you can trade the car in when it's 2 weeks old or 2 years old, etc. It wouldn't be the most financially responsible (the 2 week trade-in haha), but traditional financing will always give you more freedom in that sense. At least in my opinion.

But now I'm curious. Batman, you said that leasing HHR's is a bad deal... if they have such (supposidely) strong residuals, wouldn't that give you an even lower lease payment? Unless the dealers just try to gouge you because of their popularity.

Snoopy

Your last line probably says it....HallHHR

As a former licensed CFP, I'll add one thing for people to think about.

MOST CERTIFIED Financial planners will tell you that leasing a vehicle is a bad deal for most people. Except for those that have no money for a down payment, those that can "write off" the vehicle as a business expense, or those that do not maintain a vehicle properly (just above the lease deduction thresh hold).

Inframan

Well I have both my HHR and a 4x4 trailblazer LS and I do love them both. Only prob wtih the TB is the horrible gas mileage. I average 12-13 mpg all the time. The sticker had shown 15-19 (I believe). I have never hit that. Also the insurance is (slightly) more on the TB than my other two cars. I'm looking forward to the new GM suvs like the GMC Arcadia. Suppose to be almost as big as fullsize but with better handling and mileage. But we'll see.

PerryHallHHR

People say that leasing is good if you don't have a lot to put down... but in my personal experience, leasing has always required more cash upfront vs. financing the same vehicle. Maybe it just depends on the bank/car dealer itself, but if you finance, you don't HAVE to have (any) down payment, and can roll the taxes, etc. into the loan. You could drive off the lot without putting out any money at all. But with leasing, often an "acquisition fee" is required, plus any security deposit(s) which may be requested by the dealer. And that's before you even pay any of the cap cost up front.

As a random example, Mercedes' special lease offer on the C230 right now is $349 a month for 27 months, with $3,894 due at signing (includes $2,750 cap cost reduction, $795 Acquisition Fee, and $349 first month's payment). This is also before the ~$2,000 in tax (for MD anyway). So to really get that $349 lease payment, you'd have to write a check for nearly $6,000 before you drive off with that car. Not to mention their scenerio accounts for a "dealer contribution" of $1,100.

You could drive off the lot with that same C230, financing it, without paying anything upfront. Now, however, you'd have a substantially higher monthly payment (I was quoted ~$690 even before the $2,000 in tax).

Rickh

Leasing is SELDOM the right way to go for a typical purchaser. People love to look at the "my monthly payment" only and forget to factor in the up front costs (unless you are lucky enough to hit a lease which has none..RARE). Also lets take a look at the end of the lease. Leases generally now are running beyond 36 months to keep payments low. At the end of that time you have nothing..you turn the car in. Zero equity towards the downpayment on your next car/lease. So now the next lease comes up, you will need generally $2000 down (where does that come from..you have no trade, so factor that over 36 months thats another $55 per month). This thread started by someone who got a very nice deal going with a Trailblazer over an HHR...but don't forget he also got a nice employee discount thrown in too. Factor that 1000 he got off, for you and I who would not that would be another $28 per month. Factor the cost of car insurance of a trailblazer over an HHR, gas (probably another 25% increase). In his case it feels like a nice move because he is driving a 30K car for less than the HHR..but in my opinion that is just because he was OVERPAYING HUGELY on the HHR. It is almost ALWAYS cheaper to buy. The best route is to buy new every 3 years. If you stay in the same class of car each time you trade, you will 99% of the time, get away with it costing you less than $300 per month. And the best of all...if for whatever reason at the end of a 3 year period you have a life event which keeps you from being able to afford a new car (lost a job, had another child, illness, etc.) you just keep what you have, a nice 3 year old car..with a lease, the repo man pays you a visit. All in all it is like ice cream, there is chocolate and vanilla because we all have different tastes.
Any Financial Planner will tell you to buy. Any Finance Manager at a dealership will light up a big smile if you say you want to lease :).

Snoopy

Another man with valueable insight !!!

Oh.....IMHO