Arkay

Again, kudos to Audi for building a fabulous car and to Jack Daniels Audi in NJ for their service for the past 42 months. They've made all the difference in making the ownership enjoyable.

Now, on to my elusive S550 4matic which was supposed to be delivered by the middle of this month but for which I still have no news.

Wonder if it's back to square one (well, square two actually since I have a short list of alternatives that I'd consider seriously) for my next car??

Hope the good folks here on the D3 list will still let me hang around and throw out a comment or two.

Thanks for a great forum!

Potsie

Glad to have you. You'll be back......

greenie

Roy, if you go, I go!!! Enjoy the Benz.

Mister Bally

Another reason not to lease... I could not fathom being told that I have to turn a car in by a certain date.

Inocent Bystndr

This is leases from MB, AFS and BMW. If it is just a month or 2 I notify them, and just keep making the payment. For longer extensions, they've actually recalculated and lowered the payment a bit, plus getting more mileage allowed (which allows you to catch up if you are over mileage when the original lease expires). I've never had a leasing company say "You MUST turn your car in on the last day of the original lease."

I do agree that if you are not comfortable being "forced" to get a new vehicle (or different at least) every 3 years or so, then you are not a good lease candidate.

I am a "perfect" lease customer because I like to get new cars every 2-4 years, my mileage requirements are low, I don't like owning cars out of warranty, I own my company and run the lease payments through it, and I take good care of my cars. Not to mention, I am more than happy to let the leasing company take the residual risk (aka "depreciation disaster").

SRaj

Please forgive a naive question, I have never leased before: doesn't the lease pay the depreciation? In other words, if the car has a high depreciation rate, that would be passed on to the lessee, unless the lease is subsidized?

Inocent Bystndr

Often leases are subsidized/supported by the leasing arm of the factory and are "artificially" high. But even if not supported, the leasing company takes the depreciation risk. If the car is worth less (at turn-in time) than the stated residual value in the lease it doesn't cost you a thing. The leasing company absorbs that loss when it auctions/resells/re-leases the car. I understand the AFS actually buys insurance for this residual. If the car is worth more than the residual in the market, you can buy the car at the stated residual and keep it or sell it yourself (presumably you would have a back to back sale to someone thus locking in any profit for you).

I got tired of playing the trade-in value game and hated the hassle of selling my cars. With a lease, you have no risk of the car depreciating more than you anticipated at inception.

Arkay

Uhhh...Greenie, that would be the blind leading the deaf! :-)

Arkay

Cars are getting so complex these days that owning them out of warranty concerns me.

But the biggest reason is that I am the biggest kid on the block when it comes to cars and want something different to drive every 36 months or so to make it interesting.

Unless it's a toy, like my M3 which I've had since new in November of '98 but is now a stripped down track car, or the SL500 I had sold once we'd had a kid and it became completely impractical.

I plan to have a 911 next as a toy as it has a backseat and would allow the kid(s) to come along for the ride, and I would make that a purchase.

And if I'm ever fortunate (and crazy) enough to own something truly exotic like the Ferrari 599 GTB, then yes, I'd buy that too as leasing would make no sense.

Arkay

You are correct that the market rate of depreciation is built into the lease for the car, hence why the S550 4matic I ordered for lease has a residual of 57% (based on 36 months, 12,000 miles a year) while the S8's residual is 48% based on the same terms.

But leasing also offers some depreciation insurance. The insurance can cover unexpected events like an accident, which would not affect lease payments but would put a major ding into a car's resale value; or cover against the introduction of a new model by the manufacturer, which would also lower the resale value instantly of an existing car.

But the biggest reason I lease is that I know exactly the shape of the depreciation curve and the hit I'll take in the period while being able to lease a new car every 36 months or so.