How does leasing a car work ?

Do i have to give a down payment?

is it low payments?

I want to lease a 02-03 mustang GT or a Cobra SVT

And can it me modified and when return change it how it was?

You can go through a leasing agency and do it with no down payment. The monthly payments will be less than buying it, but at the end of x number of months you have to give it back.

Usually the people buying it back (either the leasing agency or the dealer) are incredibly scrict on what condition the car must be. This means modding is out of the question (unless you can put everything back to stock), and it's not good for cars that will see high mileage.

Just like renting... that's what you are doing. You will also be limited to how many miles you can put per year. You can purchase extra miles at the lease inception. If you go over, they charge penalty per mile and they add up fast.

Depends... some have down payments and others don't. I bet Ford requires down payment as their residual value is not that high.

Payments will be lower then if you purchsed it.

You can modify it... but at your own risk. Afterall, when you mod it, its done to your liking and probably to no one else's... Dealer will have to sell the car once you turn it in, so if it's not to original spec, they might try to charge you some money. You can take the parts off... but then again you will be left with parts that you can't use on anything else...

You probably can't lease a Mustang GT, or a Cobra SVT. Most performance cars like that, you have to finance (buy). If you are able to lease it, expect some heavy use charges on the back end.

Leasing is essentially renting the car. You put a down payment on the car, anywhere from 0 to $4000 which depends on the car, your credit, and the desperation of the dealer to clear their lot. End of year brings alot of crazy deals, particularly on prior year models.

Payments are lower than financing/buying in general, say anywhere from 30%-50% less, but again, it depends on what the car is, how long the lease is, and how many miles you expect to drive.

You can't modify the car unless you buy it. If you do, you cannot turn the car in at the end of most leases. The car has to be in the condition it left in (no dents, modifications, dead stock) for most auto makers, otherwise they will force you to buy it, or factor in some huge wear and tear penalty.

Overall, if you want to modify a car, don't lease it, buy it. You can probably find a 3 year old Mustang GT in good shape, finance it, and pay about what you would for a new one leased. Then you can modify it anyway you like.

Putting a down payment on a lease is a bad idea. If you put money down and the car is stolen on day one, your insurance will pay off the lease, but you will be out your down payment. Also, leasing a used car is a bad idea because the old a car gets the less it is worth. When you lease, you are paying on how much the car will depreciate during the time that you pick it up and return it.

The car will be expect to be returned in the same condition it was purchase, that means, you must un do all modifications if you have made any.

Watch out for the mandatory maintenance checks they require you to do too. You know how much they charge an hour? $65!! Most jobs are pre-set as to the charge, but, believe me, they're rediculous. My wife is leasing a truck through Ford right now. She just had to take it in for the required maintenance. Cost over $500 for basically nothing!!

Think of leasing as renting a car for a pre-determined period. It's great in a combination of the following conditions:

1) You own a business and can write it off
2) You don't drive all that much (12k/year or so)
3) You really want to look like a big pimp in a nice car well beyond your means but can't quite pull off buying it. In the case of some autos, such as exotics, they can become a huge headache after a few years. If you are leasing, they won't become your headache.

I fit 1 and 3, by the way Currently leasing a low-tier exotic (which is technically our company mascot) and a sports coupe for my dear mother.

Generally, you don't have to put anything down, but you will be responsible for all documentation fees and such. A lot of dealers will use fancy wording to make their deals seem better than they are. Luxury car dealers are notorious for this

"Drive a nice German luxury car for $330/mo!" - sounds good, right? So you get to the dealer. Well, that's a 10k mile/year lease for 3 years - with $3,500 down (in addition to documentation fees, inspection fees (in NJ, we pre-pay for 3 years) and such, which bumps it up by another $500. Not to mention the car is the base model with automatic as its only option. So let's do the math $3,500/36 months is $97/mo extra. In reality, you're paying $440/mo to lease that car - the base car with no frills . Doesn't sound so good now, does it? The more you pay up front, the less your payments will be, and vice versa. Oh, don't forget tax, either Happy leasing!

Oh, and did I mention that you usually need a higher level of insurance for leased vehicles?

If you look around, you can find a good lease deals...

I am leasing a Saab 9-3 (2004) and pay $220 a month for 24 months. I put down about $1000. At the lease end the car will be worth around $17,000.00 and it was a $30,000.00 + car when new. You can do the math. I would have spent around $6,280.00 at the end of two years which is a lot less then what the car will be actually worth then.

Really good deal, but how much will you owe at the close of the lease?

Just what ever the processing fee is... Not more then a couple hundred.

Even if you choose not to lease another Saab?

I just bought an off lease 2001 BMW 325i for $14,500. Shop around and you can get a good deal to own as well.

Sounds like cvcduty got an awesome deal on a lease though.

Sure.
After the experience I had with this Saab, I don't think I will ever get another. It's overall a fine car but definitly not a $30K car.... maybe if it was around $20K, I could be more forgiving...

you might want to try financing a car.

Just leased a Passat GLS...$1500 down, $270 per month, 48 months, 10k per year. At the end, owe only wear and tear. I only drive on the weekends, so the lease fits me perfectly. $0 down upped the monthly payment over $300, which doesn't fit into the budget.

My prior lease was an Accord Coupe, which I abused tremendously. 3 years, put on only 25k of the allotted 36k miles, $2000 down, $239 per month. I owe them the keys, and $500 for excess wear and tear (car has been hit twice while parked on the street, and keyed as well.). That's it. I'm free and clear.

Cars are not an investment, since they depreciate on an accelerated basis, so if you aren't modding it, why pay more to own it? To point out in the driveway and say, "yeah, I own that piece of junk?"

And I've had nightmares with used cars, so I'm never doing that again.

Give me my new "pimp ride" every 3-4 years.