Hey all! New here and question about leasing vs buying

[rallydefault]

Hey all!

I've been lurking on the forums for the last few months, just taking in as much info as I could. I got a Cherokee when it was first redesigned back in 2014, but moved to a Renegade after I soured on the generic SUV look of the Cherokee; I wanted the classic boxy Jeep style. I got a Trailhawk Renegade which I took on VERY mild offroad conditions (I live in a great area with lots of dirt trails and inclines but no serious rock crawling) and in some really rough Northeast snow storms (not inches but feet of snow oftentimes) - the Renegade was AWESOME in all of those conditions.

BUT

The Renegade is small. I've encountered a few situations where the Renegade was just too small to fit something I needed to carry. I'm just going to need something bigger in the near future. I heard the Wrangler was going for its redesign and became interested. Long to short: dealership gave me a red 4-door JL Sport Unlimited to test drive for the rest of the weekend. After being in the JL for the whole day, the wife and I just can't imagine going back to the tiny Renegade. It's still only in the 40s around here, but I took the front panels of the hardtop off and it's just an awesome feeling.

This Wrangler would see lots of snow and a decent amount of off roading, but probably mild in nature - lots of dirt and mud for the most part.

My conundrum is this: these things are expensive, even the Sport. I'm not going to post any specific numbers obviously, but what do you guys think of leasing vs. buying? My dealership is trying to tell me that most of their Wranglers are leases, but the more I read about leasing (I've never done it before), the more it seems weird to do for a Wrangler. I would assume modifications are a no-go, and any scratches or dings from offroading would come back to bite me at the end of the lease. I'm kind of thinking that a bigger monthly payment would maybe be a better idea in the long run, as I do plan on keeping this for quite some time (I'm also hearing that buying out your lease is usually not a sound decision), but my wife likes the leasing option because it is significantly cheaper per month (100-200 bucks, actually).

Now, I do have enough cash to do about a 10% downpayment if I would try to buy, and the dealer didn't run any numbers for that yet, but that will only improve things by maybe a hundred bucks each month. The lease would still be cheaper per month. Thanks for any thoughts!

Sponsored

 

[$uicide$hift]

In my opinion a lease is good for lowering the monthly payment if you cannot afford to buy one. A lease is also good if you are the type that like to trade in your vehicle for a new one every 3 years. It is also good if you are not sure that a Wrangler will fit your needs and you may want to get out of it in three years with an option to buy if you like it.

Purchase is better I think for Wranglers as they hold the highest resale value. You can in three years either trade in for a new model putting the equity into that model or trade in for something else if the Wrangler was not your cup of tea. Either way you will get more than you owe on it at that time unless you trashed it! Also if you plan on driving it into the ground purchasing is better. If you plan on any modifications to the wheels, suspension, etc it is better to own than lease.

 

[marv1294]

Welcome!
I'm not sure of numbers exactly, you'd have to calculate that yourself, but I'm a big proponent to purchasing a Wrangler vs leasing one. First of all, they do not depreciate as much as any other vehicle on the road today, especially vehicles in this price range. And there are many deals to be had in purchasing a wrangler. The Wrangler is one of the most customizable vehicles today especially with all the aftermarket parts, accessories, and support available. A leased vehicle is not worth the modification because in the end, you will have to give it back (and probably reverse all the modifications you applied)

The way I see it, if you get a good enough deal on a Jeep, the difference between your resale and the price you paid could be small enough that it would be less than the total amount of money you paid for a lease over 24-36 months.

My advice would be to build your Wrangler and price it out (plus $1445 for destination) from the prices here:
https://www.jlwranglerforums.com/fo...-price-w-invoice-sport-s-sahara-rubicon.2388/

Then look for a dealership from here and take off the % off the total invoice you calculated:
https://www.jlwranglerforums.com/forum/threads/best-deals-found-on-a-new-jl.2436/
(I'm not sure where in PA you're from but I contacted a few dealerships in the Philly/Bucks County/Montgomery County area and they would not budge on pricing under Invoice or even MSRP for some. I brought a price quote I got to a dealer here in NJ and one to where i go to school in WV and they pretty much laughed or didn't take it seriously)

From there google "car loan calculator" and there you can calculate based on how much the car is, how much you plan to put down, and what interest rate you think you'll get. Search the forums for a bit and there's a post somewhere of people talking about where they got their car loans from. I think a Credit Union in VA called Langley is offering 2%.

Just based on the offer I'm getting on the Jeep website for a Wrangler Sport, I'd say financing is the best option

Good luck!

 

[ThirtyOne]

Everything you said is true. Leases are much cheaper for monthly payments. But if you plan to keep the Jeep for a long time and you want to do mods then it makes sense to buy if you can afford the payments.

 

[rallydefault]

Thanks, guys! I'm leaning toward the buy option. I'm putting pressure on my dealer to give me a bit more for my Renegade - even just a little bit more on my trade and I'll be able to put together a decent downpayment toward buying, bringing the monthly payment into a reasonable range (definitely nowhere near what I was paying for my Renegade, obviously, but this is a much bigger and more capable vehicle).

 

[$uicide$hift]

Thanks, guys! I'm leaning toward the buy option. I'm putting pressure on my dealer to give me a bit more for my Renegade - even just a little bit more on my trade and I'll be able to put together a decent downpayment toward buying, bringing the monthly payment into a reasonable range (definitely nowhere near what I was paying for my Renegade, obviously, but this is a much bigger and more capable vehicle).

Yes the Wrangler is bigger, more capable, and is an original. I like the Renegade for what it is but it is a fiat 500 in all reality.

 

[gofastguy]

Much good advice already. Buying is the ticket on the Wranglers as others have said. To make your payment realistic 1)buy as low as possible even if you need to travel a bit 2)get as much trade in as possible and 3)get as low a finance rate as possible. Then the payment will take care of itself. Do not let the dealer overcharge for the new one and undervalue your trade and get you a reasonable payment by stretching out the payments forever at a high rate!

Sponsored