Y’all Have Some Strong Feelings About The Cars You Would Lease But Not Own

What cars would you lease but not buy? That’s the question I put to you yesterday, and hesitated to use, to be honest, because I was afraid there wasn’t enough disagreement to keep things interesting. But agreeing differently, as you demonstrated, can be a thing! Notably, most of you answered with brands and categories much more than individual models, which makes sense, I think.

To your replies:

Jack Trade
I like the might-get-sick-of-it criterion. I’m resolutely a car guy, so SUVs and trucks don’t usually do it for me. But I’ve become kinda intrigued by the Bronco, esp with the full soft top and a manual.

Aw, thanks Jack. I had quipped, “Also on the lease-list: anything I think I might get sick of. C8 Corvette, I’m looking at you.” I bet there are more than a few first-time-legit-4X4-buyers out there who thought it’d be fun to own a Bronco or Jeep just for the cool factor, and tired of the compromises made to just daily one.

Ppnw
Anything electric. I like to keep my cars for a long time and am not usually a lease person. But the rate of progress of electric cars is insane, and a 3-5 year old electric (usually the sweet spot for me on gas cars) means a heavily outdated car.

Indeed, an EV a mere few years old may seem positively ancient. Also, I’d rather get out of an EV long before battery wear becomes a problem, though today’s batts seem pretty long-lived. But still.

Ben makes a good point though: the deal matters, and the deals may not be so good:

Ben
I could maybe see leasing an EV back when they had great deals going, but now that the automakers have figured out they depreciate like crazy, the leases are outrageously expensive and don’t include enough miles to cover the driving I’d want to do either.

There is joy to be found in leasing an EV, though. Or a mostly-EV:

D0nut
Well, we just finished our first lease ever, a 2024 Mazda CX-90 PHEV. I’m REALLY glad we leased it, for a number of reasons:

1. it depreciated like a rock
2. we got the $7500 EV lease loophole
3. we didn’t end up liking it very much

That being said, I don’t plan on leasing again. I really didn’t like the lease termination experience. We got charged 4 new wheels for minor scuffs, and really had no recourse. It was still a good deal overall, but I never want the pressure of having to keep a car absolutely perfect for 3 years, especially with kids.

I get that, for sure. Going a year keeping a car minty is easy; two years requires some diligence; but three years? You’re almost certainly going to get dinged in a parking lot. And then dinged when you return the car.

derK
Alfa Romeo Giulia. A friend works for Stellantis and he and his wife currently have a Wagoneer S and a Wrangler 4xe. Probably are leasing them for peanuts. Meant to chide him for not taking a chance (lower risk due to the likely cheap lease) on an Alfa but other things came up. A perfect opportunity to experience the (intermittent) joy of an Alfa. Might be one and done but you had the experience.

If there’s one that would make me hit the LEASE button with wack-a-mole strength, it’s an Alfa. Sexy, fun to drive I hear, but reliable? Ehhh …

GFunk
I’d might consider leasing anything that might be fun but that I wouldn’t be confident could give me ten or so years of reliable driving. Better to give it up a little earlier than I might want rather than resent it for being an expensive pain in the ass after its warranty is up.

That said, the only car I ever actually leased was a VW Rabbit, after getting thousands more for a (clearly broken) trade-in than the dealer should have offered – ended up paying less to drive the Rabbit for two years than the other car would have cost to fix.

I just love a good happy ending.

Vic Vinegar
I read Leasehackr out of curiosity and it is pretty crazy to see some of the deals. Like the $134k BMW i7 recently posted for like $500/month. Or the sub-$100/month Dodge Hornets and Charger EVs from last year. Would I lust over driving some of these cars normally? Probably not, but for the right (low) price I might.

It is always about looking at depreciation, and whether the lease might let you beat the depreciation curve after incentives or a juiced up residual. I can buy a Mercedes and trade it in at 3 years, 36k miles if I am afraid of owning one out of warranty. The lease hopefully just lets you do it cheaper.

Indeed, the math has to match. If you’re coming out ahead with a lease, and can keep it within the alotted miles and in return-worthy shape, it’s worth considering.

Not worth considering for ownership, perhaps:

JurassicComanche25
Jeep oh looord JEEP.

My wife has had Wranglers since I met her. A 2018, then a 2021 Gladiator (okay, not a Wrangler), and now a 2024 4xe. The 2018, shockingly reliable. The Gladiator? O2 sensors at 1500 miles. Valve cover gaskets at 5. Steering at 12. Blown speakers at 17. Bad third brake light. The 4xe? It’s a 4xe. She will lease, and NOT buy. Even her rule. But why does she keep getting one? She likes a 4×4 convertible. Her next one is this spring, so we shall see what happens. Shes open to a Bronco, 2-door only.

Why am I okay with the unreliable leases? first, it’s a car I dont need to maintain. Second, her rule is ‘I dont care what you get, as long as I get what I want.’ 

You gonna argue with Jeep advice from a guy handle’d Jurassic Commanche25? I wouldn’t. I wouldn’t tangle with a Sasquatch, either (the reader or the cryptid):

Sasquatch
Any new car from Audi, BMW, or Mercedes would only find it’s way into my driveway with a lease; and honestly, I’d rather buy an older car outright than even lease a high end German luxury car. They are simply too complicated to be reliable, too expensive to fix, and in a race down a cliff would only be beaten by their own plummeting value. The depreciation alone rules out a new purchase, and the cost and complexity of ownership rules out anything used.

Give me a W123 or a Sacco-era Mercedes over anything made in the last 20 years.

Yes. I would love to own a W123.

Top graphic image: Alfa Romeo