So I've always heard bad things about leasing a car, but today I leased a 2012 Nissan Versa for 39 months at $233/mo (had to get my dad as a co-signer in order to get the lease, they would only sell it to me for like $1,000 down, $289 a month...So they're FedEx'ing the lease papers to my dad and once he signs and sends them back I can pick up the car, hopefully by Thursday).

Anyway I wanted to lease because the payment is lower than buying and it doesn't require a down payment (just the first month's payment which I paid today), and I get a 2012 car which had only 29 miles on it (from test drives). Also I don't want to bother with transporting a car across the country when I either PCS or finish my enlistment, so I figure with a lease at 3 years I just turn the car in, no hassle. I am a little worried about getting orders before the 39 months, but I'm pretty sure I can decline orders to PCS and stay here if I want. Otherwise the salesman was telling me I can sell the car for the remaining lease payments to someone, then I can just pay off the rest of the payments and that person can drive the car for the remainder of the lease.

I'm alright with the idea of 'renting' a car for 3 years while I'm out here. Are there any real downsides? I can only drive it 12,000 miles a year, but considering I live on base I can bike to work most days, and work is only .75 miles from my dorm anyway. I'll only use it to go out on the weekends and such.

Some people just make it seem like I should feel bad for leasing a car, but on Thursday I'll be driving a brand new car for the same payment a lot of younger guys here are paying on a used car...

http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m6tmrjSQdj1r9mzt5o1_500.jpg
http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m6tms8fRgq1r9mzt5o1_500.jpg

$289 for 39 months is about 11k. So while it is a new car, you're spending $11k over the next 3 years for something you won't be keeping. That's why people say it's bad. If you only plan on using it on the weekends, it'd be cheaper just to get a rental car. But I can understand wanting your own car, you could have gotten a used one that's decent, for less money though and then just sold it before you shipped out. Though, I can also understand that it would be easier to get rid of the lease car.

In most cases, I'd say yeah it's not the best idea to get a lease car..in yours it's pretty much up to you and how much you want to spend. If you're okay spending 11k for something you may only use on the weekends, but can use at any other time and it's "yours" then more power to you.

$289 (+$1,000 down) was to buy it ($14,550). $233/mo for 39 months is just over $9,000. But if you're buying you also have to take into account interest, so it'd be paying more than that anyway.

Yeah woops I don't know why $289 got in my head, I meant $233. I also didn't mean buying this car, I was talking about a different car overall. If you're only gonna be using it on the weekends, it'd probably be better to just buy a somewhat junker for under $3k. Hell, now n days at that price it doesn't even have to be a junker.

But like I said, in this situation it's up to you since you're not planning on keeping it anyways cause of getting shipped off. I would go the cheaper route, but that's just me. You'd also have to build up that much money too instead of being able to just pay $233 and driving it by Thursday like you said.

Even then I got a near new Saturn ION for $6,000
had 20,000 miles.

Why rent a car for 3 years? I never understood why people would lease.

Buying is a better option for most people. If you don't drive much, leasing is great. If you want to look flashy and save some cash but you live within a few miles of everything, leasing is very practical.

If I still lived in the city, I'd have gotten a lease instead of buying a '98 Cutlass with 50K miles. Though I still got a pretty killer deal, I had my eyes set on something newer. I just couldn't pull it off with my credit and leasing just wasn't an option.

I'm jealous.

You also need to take into account the money you'll be getting back if you sell a car you buy after three years. Unless the value of the car depreciates so sharply that you can't sell it for over five thousand dollars after three years, it's still better to buy the car. In my experience if you buy a car for $14K, you'll still be able to sell it for $10K or so after three years.

Buy used from defaulted payments/leasers/rental services and you get a good car with limited miles on it for a fraction of the cost of a new car...