maybe I'll just lease the BMW 325i for my wife tomorrow for Christmas

Leasing a vehicle is for business. Buy a 3 year old BMW and finance it over 4 years. If you've got $3000 to put against a car you'll never own, you damn sure have it for one you can drive the shit out of. I can't stomach that - $3000 to pay just so you can have a lower lease payment. What a racket.

 

more like a driveway ornament

 

go put $3k down on a $32k car and see what kind of payment you can get...

 

http://www.hendrickauto.com/car/car_details.asp?VehiclesId=9464


For one, you shop around.
And two, you're talking about driving a two year old BMW, best case scenario. That makes the above car $23k, or $24150 if you get a generous 5% loan somewhere.

that's about $500 a month. $400 if you go 5 years. Which leaves you, in five years, with a $15,000 car.

But if you really want to rush into it, and throw $3000 at them just to make a payment you'll never get anything back on? I can't stop you.
Shit's like a PSL. Forcing you to pay for the right to consume their goods and have nothing at the end.

 

So they've already gone up $500 on the down payment and $30 a month?

 

Or here's one for 19,9...

http://www.hendrickauto.com/car/car_details.asp?VehiclesId=9466

let's say you can get that down to 19 even, and then put your $3k on it.
4 year loan, $350/month.

 

I'm not defending a lease...I've leased once, but it was a special situation...

but to answer question, the advantage of a lease, drive an '05 for $300/month or drive an '01 for $350...plus with the warranty and the free maintenance plan on the '05...

 

sure. I'm not saying it's totally stupid. But you get nothing for your effort in the end. They call it "living above your means", no offense. I can't afford a BMW and I pay $350/mo on my Spyder. But I've paid it down to where it's worth more than the loan, and in two years I'll own it.

 

Leasing sucks. Paying someone elses payments. Buy a 2-3 year old one and actually drive it to work instead of having to try to keep the miles down

 

shit man, my '98 Blazer is $167/month...I owe like $2k on it...needs tires & brakes right now, but it's a 4x4 and gets me where I want to go

the BMW was just a thought...my Mom sells cars and I really would never set out to lease a car, but I'm just saying, the deal they had on tv was tempting