glo106

Hi all, new to the forum and wanted to pose this question about whether it'd be dumb to lease a Mustang, as opposed to buy. I've never leased before and read several opinions on "lease vs buy" so I'm aware of the main pros and cons of each (and this is speaking in terms of any car, not just a Mustang).

A little about me...I'm a Ford girl, and more specifically, a Ford SUV girl. I've driven my 2002 Explorer for over 10 years and it's been my workhorse and good to me for 125,000+ miles. Prior to that I drove a 2000 Expedition for a couple years. I've always wanted a second "fun" car and dreamed of driving a Mustang someday. Well that someday is hopefully in the next year or two. Ideally, I'd like a GT Premium (not convertible) in manual transmission. To be perfectly honest, I'm not a car expert by any means and one of the main reasons I love the Mustang is that I think it's frankly a very pretty car (sorry if calling the Mustang "pretty" offends any guys on here). So would it be foolish to lease this car for three years? I figure if I end up really loving it, the 2015 model is on the horizon and I can look into that being my new car after the lease. Again, I'm a girl and I wouldn't plan on doing any modifications on the car. If leasing isn't a bad option, would the GT Premium be the best model to lease? I guess I'd have to make sure I wasn't going to overpay on the monthly lease price based on what the sticker price on the car is. Thanks in advance! (this turned out longer than I planned)

Gary Ugarek

Leasing is fine if you don't mind paying for a car you will never own. Sure it saves you some bucks every month, but instead of tax on the car upfront you're taxed on lease payments, and you have to take extra special care of the car because beyond normal wear and tear you could end up paying more out of pocket at the end when turning the car back in.

I leased once and in the end I would never do it again... Plus I put too many miles on a car now to lease, and there is just no benefit to it, except lower payments.

96t-bird

Hi, welcome. Gary Ugarek, gave some good advise.

2005Redfire6

Welcome and good luck

amyhughes

If you're going to keep it a long time, like the Explorer, the total cost of ownership when you buy is quite low. I figure my '99 Taurus cost me $150/mo to own, including maintenance and repairs, because I had it thirteen years. Prior to that I was leasing (Explorers, no less), and that money is just gone.

There's nothing like going years and years without a car payment.

I now drive too few miles to even think about leasing. That'd be a gift to the dealership.

Subbz

I've never leased a car but if you're doing it because you want lower payments on it then go with buying the car instead. Just save up some money and put down a bigger down payment to lessen your monthly payment for the car and maybe go for a longer contract. Dealerships usually work with the customer to find a good payment plan which works for them. Personally I would like to own whatever I'm paying for eventually lol . Hope this helps your decision!

glo106

Thanks everyone! You've all brought up points that I didn't think of and I'm now swayed towards not making the Mustang my first ever leased car (and probably never leasing to boot). I would hate to throw away money driving a car I'd never get to own (Amy, as an Explorer lover, I hope they weren't trouble while you leased them). I guess the lure of leasing was driving it around for three years and then potentially driving a new, different car after that. But as you can see, I haven't had high car turnover in the last 10+ years, so I don't need to always be driving something new, just something that I really love and will be good to me in return.

Subbz

Cars will depreciate over time so buy a car that you can appreciate .

Derf00

I would never lease a SUV, Pony Car, or sports car. Too many hidden costs in abnormal/excessive wear/tear and mileage.

IMHO leases should only be considered for a point A to point B car like a Honda civic, Ford Focus or the like. Cars that are simply transportation.

Gary made some good points. Plus, you have to consider most leases require a down payment (just like buying a new car) so you lose money there.

DocSnickers

Leasing I don't think would work well on a Mustang like said above. My wife leased her last car it was a Nissian Versa which that worked fine on. We got it traded in on a V6 2013 Convertible Mustang so it served its purpose I suppose. But we bought the Mustang they did not even offer any leasing options for it. It was buy it or don't kind of thing because it was still a newer car.