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What’s a good deal on a 2020 Civic Lease???

3K views 5 replies 6 participants last post by  semirason 
#1 ·
Looking to a Lease a 2020 Honda Civic EX 1.5T for my college stepdaughter. I’ve never Leased a vechile in thirty years plus driving. I’m going to co sign for her for a 3 yrs 15 k miles with the $400 added protection. For dings,dents and etc. Ive got great credit and she’s just beginning. What do u think she pay for a good deal on a monthly payment??
 
#2 ·
Lots of opinions on this subject. . . I say it's a bad idea. Leasing is ideal for specific people under specific circumstances:

You don't plan on driving much.
You take better than average care of your car.
You plan on leasing another one at the end of the lease.
You're comfortable making car payments, essentially forever.


On a lease, you do NOT own the car, and as such you need to treat the car like it's someone else's. I don't know your college-aged stepdaughter, but I'll go out on a limb and say that she's not super into what she drives; that life, friends, and school are of much greater import. The car is a tool that facilitates her lifestyle and will be treated as such. You will likely be very surprised at the end of said lease when you attempt to turn it in and see all the residual charges (because regardless of the added "insurance" you will be charged for what they consider to be "excessive wear-and-tear").

Do what you will, and the answer to your initial question is: "It will depend upon how much you're putting down and which model and trim you're looking at." But my advice is "Don't do this. You will come to regret it, or she will, or someone will, but not the lessor. They will come out fine at the end."

Mike
 
#3 ·
You sound like an awesome stepfather! But this is not the way to show it. The insurance would be so high for a college student! It would be better if you and her were to buy an affordable used car around 4-6 years old. If I was a young women and had a car like this I would put on more than 15k miles in one year😇 and I don’t drive like an old-er lady (even though I’m 64). I know she’ll be disappointed but this is one lesson young people have to learn: you have to wait for something this nice and afford it on their own. Just a mom’s perspective who’s been there. Good luck
 
#4 ·
I agree with the both comments.
For insurance, basically the insurance company will automatically assume that she will be at, at the very least, 1 costly accident. In the end of the day, Insurance companies follow stats and do risk analysis. This is why, its best for new drivers to get added a secondary driver to a parent car (as typically, it is assume that the care will be better taken care off) for a few years, or they get basically a used car (older, lower value teh car is, teh better as part replacement will be cheap).

In addition, depending on your region, the insurance for a leased car will be higher than if the car was financed.
Before getting anything, lease or finance, I would get quotes and information about the insurance. Insurance can easily be well over 2500$ per year for a new driver.

From family experience, on lease, mind you I am in Canada, and its not with a Honda. The the typical trick car dealership performs when you return your car, is that they get the magnifying glass (basically) and start looking for anything, make a costly list of repair.. brings that to you (well the lease owner), with what the extra insurance you got will cover and not. And then go "Hey! Don't worry about those 2000$ (or whatever) repair, you are our favorite customer! (Even thaugh this was your first car with them). We treat our customers "right" at <insert dealership name>. If you get another lease from us... of course you can't negotiate on the price of that new car, as we are doing you a "favor", we will not charge you (or we will reduce) these fees". Or something along those lines. They might reduce it, wants you to beg, and say stuff like, well if you can get a more expensive car, which for you is like 10$ a month more on your 8 year lease (or whatever), that is nothing, we will be able to ignore all these fees.

Just always keep in mind that dealerships are not your friend. This is all business, and the sales guy is here to say what you want to hear, which isn't the truth.
If you want to have fun, ask for the contract of the lease and say you just want to take it home and read it. Watch how much they'll do anything for you to not get that contract so that you can have a read. They'll ask you things like "Oh, what are your concerns?" or "Did you hear anything negative?... they are many false stories! Please share it with us" (and will proceed to deny and lie to you, with the refusal to write and sign anything down which can be used in court against them).

Most of them don't even treat the sales guy properly to start with. You know that coffee the sales guy get you when you came in their office? Well, they pay it with their own money at the machine... yea.. too cheap for something that is essentially free for their very own employees. You know that service cost of 100-160$ (depending on the location and car brand) per hour they charge you? Well guess what? The mechanic is on a yearly fixed salary, and pushed to work on as many car as possible in a day. Everything done quick. Service centers LOVES when you gives them your phone number when you service a car. They'll always call you at the most inconvenient time in your busy day, to tell you about "extra recommended services" that needs to be done, so that you don't have time to think about it, and just say yes to end teh call as quickly as possible, and charges you for things that were fine in teh first place. A common things they ask are brake pads when they reach 50-60% of their life.. still plenty to go.. but they'll indirectly scare you in thinking that you might end up in a accident because because they failed, by simply suggesting that. And just to make you feel bad, in the receipt they may put "brake pad needs replacement.... DENIED BY CUSTOMER!". As I said, it is all dirty business.

Dealerships are not to be trusted under no circumstances. You have to be on top of things. If you have a lease, it is harder to by-pass them, as it could be used against you when you return the car. "Oh you didn't do the 2-3 year manufcature (which we pressured the car manufcature to put) recommended service inspection at 350$, which is the same inspection we offer for free with an oil change but check the breaks pad in addition!.. Look at this stuff that is broken now!". They might not do any of the things I mentioned, but usually they'll find anything to go against you, so that you get a second lease. If you already planned to get another leased car, probably, and most likely, none of the things I mentioned will be mentioned, as they already locked you in.

But if you insist in a lease, look at Lease transfer website for the same car (or close to), and see what they pay their lease, then you can compare. Some are professional negotiators and knows all the tricks from the dealership in their region, to know when exactly is the right time to get a leased car at the best price and has a lot of negotiating experience in car buying. In the case she needs to do a lease transfer as she wants to escape, she will need to be competitive as well to get people who are interested in taking over someone else lease, will be tempted by the good offer. You will notice on these sites that typically you'll see mentioned that they'll pay the transfer fees (typically 500$), and if their lease isn't as compelling, they'll include giving additional money to make it more appealing, like 2-5k.

Best of luck and do your research!
Most people lease their car, because multiple reasons. Some like to change often their cars often, other knows that the car they are getting won't last long after the warranty, and just lease for the duration of the warranty, and return it at the end, and voila, easy, done, they are in a new car. Others don't have the money for financing and really need a car, or they know they'll be able to pay whatever is needed to get out and now start getting a financed car by then. Everyone is different.
 
#6 · (Edited)
Too expensive a car for a beginner. Due to lack of experience, your stepdaughter may break the car. To avoid future costs, you need to choose a reliable insurance agency. A friend of mine recently decided to change his insurance. He spent a lot of time searching, and thanks to a user on a forum, he could choose insurance. This article joywallet.com was shared by Claus56. It really is handy information that every driver should read. Now I, too, am thinking about replacing my insurance agent.
 
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