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SUV HELP & Lease vs Finance

hackernation

hackernation

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Looking in to purchasing a SUV this year, price range 40 to 50K. Looking at Jeep Grand Cherokee, Cadillac XT5, Lexus RX so far...anyone have any thoughts about these vehicle or recommend looking elsewhere. And, should I lease or purchase. Thank you in advance!! :D
 
Buy a 1-2 year old preowned with less than 20k miles or so and save yourself the depreciation while still being pretty darn close to new and under the warranty.

Don't lease, unless you're one of those people who needs to have a shiny new car all the time.
 
SkiBumGolfer said:
Buy a 1-2 year old preowned with less than 20k miles or so and save yourself the depreciation while still being pretty darn close to new and under the warranty.

Don't lease, unless you're one of those people who needs to have a shiny new car all the time.
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Yeah, tell it to my wife...she doesn't trust certified pre-owned vehicles so she wants to buy new or previous year new :beat-up:
 
Have a Jeep Grand Cherokee Overland and love it.

Buying vs leasing is such an individual thing. If you know what you're doing leasing can be very advantageous depending on the car and rates available.
 
hackernation said:
Yeah, tell it to my wife...she doesn't trust certified pre-owned vehicles so she wants to buy new or previous year new :beat-up:
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One of those huh? Lol. If you absolutely must go new, then leasing isn't a bad option. Depends on how long you plan on keeping it as I said before. If you're the type who wants to buy the car and drive it for 10 years, don't bother, but if there's a more inherent trust in new (and it sounds like there is), leasing may save you money.

Matt E. said:
Have a Jeep Grand Cherokee Overland and love it.

Buying vs leasing is such an individual thing. If you know what you're doing leasing can be very advantageous depending on the car and rates available.
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See above. Just depends on how long you want to keep the vehicle IMO.
 
Not sure about other car manufacturers but my 2015 GLK350 came with a 5 year warranty because it was a used certified as opposed to the 4 year that brand new ones get.
Already said before but you shouldn't lease imo.
If you're fine with waiting I'm sure the 2018 Audi Q5 will be the best value SUV in their segment, but it'll be a bit before it comes out.
 
Shikarikato said:
Not sure about other car manufacturers but my 2015 GLK350 came with a 5 year warranty because it was a used certified as opposed to the 4 year that brand new ones get.
Already said before but you shouldn't lease imo.
If you're fine with waiting I'm sure the 2018 Audi Q5 will be the best value SUV in their segment, but it'll be a bit before it comes out.
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I leased a 2012 Q5 and when we traded it in for the Jeep we walked out with a very nice check to go with the Jeep. Obviously buying a car and keeping it for 10-15 years is always going to be the best financial decision, but if you or your spouse has car A.D.D. then leasing can be a good option. Just do your homework.
 
Another Grand Cherokee owner (2013 model, V6). Not the best at anything, but pretty darn good at everything, so far, for me. Only small complaint is that the load area isn't wide enough to fit a full golf bag without angling it. Not really a big issue, but something I'd like to see in a mid-size SUV.
 
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Rambler said:
Another Grand Cherokee owner (2013 model, V6). Not the best at anything, but pretty darn good at everything, so far, for me. Only small complaint is that the load area isn't wide enough to fit a full golf back without angling it. Not really a big issue, but something I'd like to see in a mid-size SUV.
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Agree!! Have friends with smaller SUV's that fit clubs in much easier.
 
I have a VW Touareg, plenty of room for clubs, all of the fancy bells and whistles of Audi at a nice discount.
 
go with Jeep or Lexus, stay away from Cadillac IMO

May want to look at Highlander, 4Runner, Mercedes GLK

certified Pre-Owned vehicle (certified by the OEM manufacturer) go through a much more stringent inspection and reconditioning process. they also come with a factory warranty. I wouldnt hesitate to buy a CPO.
 
Shikarikato said:
Not sure about other car manufacturers but my 2015 GLK350 came with a 5 year warranty because it was a used certified as opposed to the 4 year that brand new ones get.
Already said before but you shouldn't lease imo.
If you're fine with waiting I'm sure the 2018 Audi Q5 will be the best value SUV in their segment, but it'll be a bit before it comes out.
Click to expand...

I likey likey Q5, hope the new body type comes out the current ones just don't appeal to me. The Q7 looks very nice.
 
Nicegy525 said:
go with Jeep or Lexus, stay away from Cadillac IMO

May want to look at Highlander, 4Runner, Mercedes GLK

certified Pre-Owned vehicle (certified by the OEM manufacturer) go through a much more stringent inspection and reconditioning process. they also come with a factory warranty. I wouldnt hesitate to buy a CPO.
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That is interesting, that is not the first time someone told me stay away from Cadillac...why is that?
 
The only people that normally do better leasing are those that get a new car every 3 or 4 years.

And even then it depends on a lot of factors like how many miles you drive etc...
 
Take a look at the new Mazda CX-9, Getting very good reviews and the top of the line Signature package has some incredible options and is in your price range.
 
If you're into the $40 to $50K range, I'd suggest looking at the 2016 or 2017 Ford Explorer Limited. My wife and I have one and we love it. It's an AWD option, but you could get a FWD model if you'd like. 3 rows of seat, all of which can fold down. Seats are very comfortable, the EcoBoost engine option is what we have and it's got pleanty of power and gets decent MPG's.

As for leasing or buying. If you plan on looking at Ford's, feel free to PM me as I am a Fianance Manager at a Ford dealership and we can look at the different options together. Though, I'm not fimailar with how leasing works in New Jersey, I CAN still look up all the different plan options for either way on new vehicles.
 
Agent Jay said:
If you're into the $40 to $50K range, I'd suggest looking at the 2016 or 2017 Ford Explorer Limited. My wife and I have one and we love it. It's an AWD option, but you could get a FWD model if you'd like. 3 rows of seat, all of which can fold down. Seats are very comfortable, the EcoBoost engine option is what we have and it's got pleanty of power and gets decent MPG's.

As for leasing or buying. If you plan on looking at Ford's, feel free to PM me as I am a Fianance Manager at a Ford dealership and we can look at the different options together. Though, I'm not fimailar with how leasing works in New Jersey, I CAN still look up all the different plan options for either way on new vehicles.
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This guy knows his stuff. Don't be afraid to take him up on his offer.
 
Leasing can make a lot of sense on cars that hold their value. Highlander is one that had a 66%-68% residual after 3 years and 36k miles. Before we bought a Mini-van we almost pulled the trigger on one. The other advantage to leasing is your only taxed on lease value. Tax on 13-14k is a lot different than 40K. Here is a link to a lease site I used when I researched it. It also had an example of a highlander for $300/month. If you do lease don't put any money down.

https://leasehackr.com/blog/2016/10...e-a-toyota-highlander-for-275month-0-down-msd
 
Schanker said:
Leasing can make a lot of sense on cars that hold their value. Highlander is one that had a 66%-68% residual after 3 years and 36k miles. Before we bought a Mini-van we almost pulled the trigger on one. The other advantage to leasing is your only taxed on lease value. Tax on 13-14k is a lot different than 40K. Here is a link to a lease site I used when I researched it. It also had an example of a highlander for $300/month. If you do lease don't put any money down.

https://leasehackr.com/blog/2016/10...e-a-toyota-highlander-for-275month-0-down-msd
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This!!!
 
I almost got the Lexus RX but went sedan with the GS. They have sign and drive $0 down lease with good credit so that was a no brainer for me.

I sold my Caddy SRX thereafter and had to pay $5k out of pocket. Never buying a car again!
 
I have a 2015 Grand Cherokee and really like it. I agree with the club gripe, I can't put clubs in without angling them. The ride is good, it has plenty of power, and gets decent gas mileage.

As to leasing, it can make sense sometimes. I leased a Tacoma right before Fukushima. The residual was great and I was happy. However, after the tsunami, Tacos got really hard to find. New ones weren't coming in anytime soon and dealers wanted newish used ones. Mine was 11 months old and I traded it for $2k below sticker, got the lease paid off, got money for a down payment, and got a steal on the GC. The Taco was sold that afternoon. Circumstances worked out for me, but even without it, I would have walked out in 3 years with a great deal.
 
Leasing vs buying is personal how many miles do you drive? How long do you keep a vehicle?

My aunt who works in finance for a large multi brand dealer told me it takes 9yrs of ownership to break even vs the current lease options (1.5yrs ago) especially when they are paying for all maintenance on the vehicle.

I keep my vehicles till they are almost dead or die and get resurrected so for us buying is the best option


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A 3 year lease can work if your mileage is under 15k, the vehicle has an aggressive 60%+ residual (what its worth after your 3 year term) and especially if you research the cars/deals going on at places like the Edmunds forums. Incentives and all the "money on the hood" discount from MSRP should also be aggressively pursued. Residuals are set by the manufacturer but the money factor (int rate) is the primary variable that dealers can mess with (and will) so do research and bargain accordingly. You should be able to get out of there with first payment/tax/title and remember "cap cost reductions" are not necessary.

There is a reason you see so many people in new $50-$70k FS Pickups/SUV's......GM puts a ton of cash on the hood and pumps up the residuals (up to 70% on Denali trim, for example). Smart people are getting $500/lease for a $50k truck. The lessee turns it in at 36k miles at the inflated residual and the dealer makes another $3-$5k selling it to the second owner. Ford is slightly less aggressive with residuals.
 
My gosh, $40k- $50k can buy a huckuvalota CPO vehicle!

Fwiw, my wife was the same wrt CPO or any used vehicle. But I brought home a test drive, set the display to trip so as not to reveal the odometer. She drove it, fell in love but kept saying that we can't afford it, she doesn't want to overspend, etc, but wow did she love it.

AFTER she fell in love with it, it was then that I told her it was a 2 yr old model with 19k miles on it. And we'd be getting it for $17k less than new with a 7 yr/100k wrap-around warranty (at an additional $1k).

She went for it. Now all of our cars are CPO (4 cars.. kids, don'tcha know?). Hers now only has a year or a measly 8k miles left before warranty expires... and she's recently been talking about her next CPO vehicle. ?

Best of luck! We'll go no other way. I hope.
 
$40k for a Chrysler product? Might as well use your money as toilet paper... ;)


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