"Lease a Lexus!"

[Seamster]

I was in a hotel room a few weeks ago which gave me the opportunity to do something I don't at home: watch cable TV. When The Office went to commercial break, I got up to hop in the shower. As was going into the bathroom a Lexus commercial came on and flashed "Lease a Lexus" on the screen. Showering in near boredom the true meaning of the atrocity hit me:

LEASE. To lease means, in most instances, "can't afford." The lessee most likely doesn't have the money for said object. This word alone, similar to the use of "Lexus" by itself (or as a brand), is straightforward. However, is was indeed combined with "Lexus."

LEXUS. Lexus is a trademark if the Toyota company. And if you don't know much about the automotive industry, a Lexus is, in most cases, a Toyota with all the options and a giant scowling front grill. For example, a 2022 Lexus ES350 is a Toyota Camry with leather seats, more insulation, better speakers, etc.

Now, and this is what blew my mind in the shower that day: why the hell would one LEASE a Lexus? If you can't afford the LUXURY version of your Toyota RAV4, shouldn't you opt for the lower priced RAV4?! Affluenza at its finest. And it's become so mainstream that even I needed a few minutes of brain down-time to realize what I was hearing.

[HawkeyeNFO]

a Toyota with all the options and a giant scowling front grill

Those cars are fuckin' ugly!  Sure they're nice, and I could afford it if I wanted, but that big-ass grill makes those cars something I don't want.

[HPstache]

I'm not sure I agree.  It seems like some of the richest people I know, ones who could afford the vehicle with cash dozen of times over, choose to lease.  It's not the most affordable way to own a vehicle, but it is a super convenient way for rich people to always have a newish vehicle without all the hassle of constantly buying and selling.  Again, not saying it's a smart thing, but people who lease often CAN afford.

[wageslave23]

I'm not sure I agree.  It seems like some of the richest people I know, ones who could afford the vehicle with cash dozen of times over, choose to lease.  It's not the most affordable way to own a vehicle, but it is a super convenient way for rich people to always have a newish vehicle without all the hassle of constantly buying and selling.  Again, not saying it's a smart thing, but people who lease often CAN afford.

The people I know who lease are rich and only want to drive a brand new car for a few years before trading it in. In that situation leasing is about the same or better financially than buying new and them trading in for a new car in 3 years.  One relative I know who leases, used to own a dealership.  He says it's the best rout if you want a new car every few years

[HPstache]

I'm not sure I agree.  It seems like some of the richest people I know, ones who could afford the vehicle with cash dozen of times over, choose to lease.  It's not the most affordable way to own a vehicle, but it is a super convenient way for rich people to always have a newish vehicle without all the hassle of constantly buying and selling.  Again, not saying it's a smart thing, but people who lease often CAN afford.

The people I know who lease are rich and only want to drive a brand new car for a few years before trading it in. In that situation leasing is about the same or better financially than buying new and them trading in for a new car in 3 years.  One relative I know who leases, used to own a dealership.  He says it's the best rout if you want a new car every few years

I think we are pretty much saying the same thing, so yes I agree!

[Sandi_k]

I plan on retiring at the end of 2025.

I have *always* had routine, appliance-like cars. I told my DH I might just decide to do something flighty - such as leasing a Jaguar - for the first 3 years of retirement. So that, just when repairs or maintenance become an issue, I can hand the car back. ;)

[YttriumNitrate]

I'm not sure I agree.  It seems like some of the richest people I know, ones who could afford the vehicle with cash dozen of times over, choose to lease.  It's not the most affordable way to own a vehicle, but it is a super convenient way for rich people to always have a newish vehicle without all the hassle of constantly buying and selling.  Again, not saying it's a smart thing, but people who lease often CAN afford.

I'm sure there are at least a few people who lease for those reasons, but I'm not sure I believe that most (or even many) of the 3 out of 4 people that lease BMWs are doing it for that reason. https://cartelligent.com/blog/which-car-brands-are-most-often-leased/

I see a lease a lot like Whole Life insurance. It's a great product for a small subset of people, and it's bad for most people it's sold to.

[cool7hand]

Interesting. Thanks for sharing!

[Askel]

Was it a "December to Remember"? :D

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WcEylCwkSxE

[Silrossi46]

Maybe a couple of points to add. 

“Car people” are less likely to lease.  They know more about the brands, styles, features, engine combos, ect. To OP point about Lexus being a glorified Toyota.  They will often own, maintain, and run the vehicle for a longer time.

Non car people will lease I believe for two reasons.  One they don’t know much about cars other than style and want a new car every three or four years or two they cannot afford to buy the same said car so they will lease it.

Folks well off may lease just because it’s easier, hassle free, never outside the warranty period and convenient to do so.

Just my 2 cents

[six-car-habit]

“Car people” are less likely to lease.  They know more about the brands, styles, features, engine combos, ect. To OP point about Lexus being a glorified Toyota.  They will often own, maintain, and run the vehicle for a longer time.

 Agree with the above.

      Also the big-grill Lexus has been using for the last several years is referred to in the car mags as a  'Spindle' style. Picture weaving and thread.

   It might be large and flat in the vein that Audi changed their 'signature' grille to a large, vertically upright, upside down horseshoe about 10 years ago. That change had to do with pedestrian safety considerations enacted on cars being sold in Europe. [ was going to break less legs when folks got hit].

   I find the Lexus grille softer on the eyes, when viewed as a mechanical spindle, but still polarizing.

[Paper Chaser]

With purchase prices of new and used vehicles through the roof, I can see leasing becoming more popular in the current market.

Cox Automotive did an interesting demographic study of new and used vehicle buyers (and lessees) in the first 6 mo of the pandemic:

https://www.coxautoinc.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Cox-Automotive-Car-Buyer-Journey-Study-Pandemic-Edition-Summary.pdf

They were overwhelmingly white, male, and 71% were Gen X or older with an average age of 53. 70% had incomes over $75k. 57% of respondents buying (or leasing) new vehicles considered it a "want" rather than a "need".

I don't think I'd lease a vehicle, but I'm not sure that the people that do are living on a financial cliff because of it.

[Fishindude]

Read somewhere that 3/4 of all new luxury cars in the US are leased rather than purchased.
That's also probably pretty close to the percentage of US families that are overextended, in poor financial shape.
Spending money you don't have to impress people you don't even like.

[Duke03]

Before covid BMW's where the hidden jewel of the lease world.  BMW used to heavily subsidize its leases. Many times, if you hit the right time of year with the right incentives and leasing the right model you could lease a 70k BMW for under $500 a month with nothing out of pocket if you were turning in a prior lease.  Too many times I've seen the herd mentality work against cars when it comes talking about them in these types of forums.  The truth is if you fall into a rather small category and know what you are doing, you can drive luxury vehicles for next to nothing.  Just look at BMW, they include in all their leases Maintenace and warranty for 4 years 50k miles.  All you have to do is make the payment and put gas in it, but 99% of people on this forum would say don't spend 18K over 3 years to drive a 70k luxury car worry free it's better to spend 15k on a 10-year-old car that could break down at any time.  I'm not here to change anyone's mind I'm just saying the idea you always lose when it comes to cars isn't correct.  Just because most people lose doesn't mean everyone does..

[LiveLean]

We've had the same next-door neighbors for 23 years. They've always leased a pair of luxury vehicles, some combo of BMW, Lexus, Mercedes, Audi or Jaguar. We've had mostly Toyotas over the same period that we have bought new and driven for a minimum of 8 years.

I recently broke down the numbers and figured that in that 23-year period, they've spent about $460,000 on leases. We've spent $133,000 on our cars. We have a pair of 2019 Toyotas at the moment (RAV4 and Corolla), so we're probably good until at least 2026. Sure we've probably spent more on maintenance, especially in the older years of cars, but not $300,000 more!

Our neighbors' two children, now in their early 30s (not living at home), both drive Jeep Wranglers. We're not surprised by this.

[sailinlight]

There is no point in comparing buying old econoboxes every 15 years vs leasing luxury vehicles. The people who are leasing Lexuses aren't going to be buying a decade old Yaris. If you are going to purchase a new luxury vehicle every three years, it's probably a better decision to lease instead of buying and selling back to the dealer at wholesale prices a few years later.

[VanillaGorilla]

Before covid BMW's where the hidden jewel of the lease world.  BMW used to heavily subsidize its leases. Many times, if you hit the right time of year with the right incentives and leasing the right model you could lease a 70k BMW for under $500 a month with nothing out of pocket if you were turning in a prior lease.  Too many times I've seen the herd mentality work against cars when it comes talking about them in these types of forums.  The truth is if you fall into a rather small category and know what you are doing, you can drive luxury vehicles for next to nothing.  Just look at BMW, they include in all their leases Maintenace and warranty for 4 years 50k miles.  All you have to do is make the payment and put gas in it, but 99% of people on this forum would say don't spend 18K over 3 years to drive a 70k luxury car worry free it's better to spend 15k on a 10-year-old car that could break down at any time.  I'm not here to change anyone's mind I'm just saying the idea you always lose when it comes to cars isn't correct.  Just because most people lose doesn't mean everyone does..

So in two years you'll have paid what I paid for my car, only I own mine and yours is owned by the dealer.

$6k + gas + insurance per year is a very expensive car - roughly 10k or ballpark what a full size SUV costs. That's far from an efficient transportation solution.

[js82]

Maybe a couple of points to add. 

“Car people” are less likely to lease.  They know more about the brands, styles, features, engine combos, ect. To OP point about Lexus being a glorified Toyota.  They will often own, maintain, and run the vehicle for a longer time.

Non car people will lease I believe for two reasons.  One they don’t know much about cars other than style and want a new car every three or four years or two they cannot afford to buy the same said car so they will lease it.

Folks well off may lease just because it’s easier, hassle free, never outside the warranty period and convenient to do so.

Just my 2 cents

My wife consciously opted to lease(a Corolla, so nothing excessive) in part because there's a decent chance we'll be moving/changing working situations, and possibly going back down to 1 car in the next few years - so it makes the trade-in/getting rid of the car that much less of a hassle.

Is it the least-expensive option when compared with an already-depreciated used vehicle?  No.  Is it a reasonable choice for someone whose criteria for a car was "extremely reliable, hassle-free, and not too expensive", with a heavy emphasis on the reliable/hassle-free part?  Absolutely.

[Just Joe]

Before covid BMW's where the hidden jewel of the lease world.  BMW used to heavily subsidize its leases. Many times, if you hit the right time of year with the right incentives and leasing the right model you could lease a 70k BMW for under $500 a month with nothing out of pocket if you were turning in a prior lease.  Too many times I've seen the herd mentality work against cars when it comes talking about them in these types of forums.  The truth is if you fall into a rather small category and know what you are doing, you can drive luxury vehicles for next to nothing.  Just look at BMW, they include in all their leases Maintenace and warranty for 4 years 50k miles.  All you have to do is make the payment and put gas in it, but 99% of people on this forum would say don't spend 18K over 3 years to drive a 70k luxury car worry free it's better to spend 15k on a 10-year-old car that could break down at any time.  I'm not here to change anyone's mind I'm just saying the idea you always lose when it comes to cars isn't correct.  Just because most people lose doesn't mean everyone does..

What do you expect to break on the 10 year old car that is so expensive?

[lutorm]

Before covid BMW's where the hidden jewel of the lease world.  BMW used to heavily subsidize its leases. Many times, if you hit the right time of year with the right incentives and leasing the right model you could lease a 70k BMW for under $500 a month with nothing out of pocket if you were turning in a prior lease.  Too many times I've seen the herd mentality work against cars when it comes talking about them in these types of forums.  The truth is if you fall into a rather small category and know what you are doing, you can drive luxury vehicles for next to nothing.  Just look at BMW, they include in all their leases Maintenace and warranty for 4 years 50k miles.  All you have to do is make the payment and put gas in it, but 99% of people on this forum would say don't spend 18K over 3 years to drive a 70k luxury car worry free it's better to spend 15k on a 10-year-old car that could break down at any time.  I'm not here to change anyone's mind I'm just saying the idea you always lose when it comes to cars isn't correct.  Just because most people lose doesn't mean everyone does..

So in two years you'll have paid what I paid for my car, only I own mine and yours is owned by the dealer.

$6k + gas + insurance per year is a very expensive car - roughly 10k or ballpark what a full size SUV costs. That's far from an efficient transportation solution.

But you're comparing apples to oranges. I've never done a super detailed comparison, because I've never considered leasing, but my impression is that if you are planning on only owning a car 3 years and then getting a new one, and don't want the hassle of buying/selling/maintenance, etc, leasing can be a relatively cost-effective option. Of course, owning a car for only 3 years is not const-effective if you're aiming for cheap transportation, but that's not on the mind of anyone who would lease or own a BMW for 3 years, so saying you can own your own car for less isn't relevant (unless your car is also a $70k BMW...)

[FIPurpose]

You guys are making me think that I could afford to put a little more money into my cars ;)

I've probably spent 30k on cars in the past 10 years? 20k on cars themselves and another 10k on repairs etc. Thinking of upgrading soon so maybe another 10k soon? There was about a 2 year period in there where we didn't own a car. In some ways really nice, in others majorly inconvenient. Renting a car for every need takes waay too long. If Enterprise or someone else had that more streamlined, I would've kept that going a lot longer. I like the idea behind zipcar, but they aren't in enough places.

Anyways, glad to hear I've probably saved 100-200k by avoiding leases over the past decade. I've been tempted once or twice.

[jinga nation]

The people in my circle of friends and relatives who lease European/Japanese/American luxury marques are those who own their small business and can write their vehicles off as a business expense. Most of these are in the medical arts, a few lawyers. Their spouse's vehicle is generally a non-luxury marque minivan or SUV.

On the other hand, quite a few of the sysadmins in my workplace lease Audi RSes, BMW Ms, etc. I did look into leasing in 2014-2015 on their advice, did some test drives and was ready to put pen to paper, but my coward pea-brain told me that insurance will be a bitch and top tier fuel, so take the cash burning in my pocket and buy a couple more rental properties. Glad I listened to the inner coward.

I still get the itch at least once a month to lease/buy fancy veehickle, but I have the cure. Have a test drive, while they run the numbers, ask about maintenance costs, get quotes from your insurance, etc. The high numbers cures the itch.

[Focus_on_the_fire]

I'm interested in going EV and have been considering leasing (if possible) because I expect the technology will change rapidly in 3 years. However, with a paid off 2020 CRV, I admit it's more of an academic thought at this point.

[bmjohnson35]

a Toyota with all the options and a giant scowling front grill

Those cars are fuckin' ugly!  Sure they're nice, and I could afford it if I wanted, but that big-ass grill makes those cars something I don't want.

I never got the Darth Vader grill myself.

[MMMarbleheader]

I almost lease a Nissan Leaf to commute into Boston because i got free parking pass and my building had spots with chargers. There was a strong pro to be able to leave at any time and not be dependent on Punic transportation. However one of the big hidden cons was collision insurance so I opted to take the paid for commuter rail pass and pay to Uber home if needed.

[mr.mac]

Now, and this is what blew my mind in the shower that day: why the hell would one LEASE a Lexus? If you can't afford the LUXURY version of your Toyota RAV4, shouldn't you opt for the lower priced RAV4?! Affluenza at its finest. And it's become so mainstream that even I needed a few minutes of brain down-time to realize what I was hearing.

That is what I was wondering reading this post.  The people I know who lease higher end cars either have the ability to list it as business expense or they do not and want to own a "status" item.  It's the latter which I do not understand.

I like how you put this into perspective.

[Just Joe]

I'm interested in going EV and have been considering leasing (if possible) because I expect the technology will change rapidly in 3 years. However, with a paid off 2020 CRV, I admit it's more of an academic thought at this point.

I'm interested in going EV and have been considering leasing (if possible) because I expect the technology will change rapidly in 3 years. However, with a paid off 1990s CRV, I admit it's more of an academic thought at this point. ;)

You can avoid a car payment for a very long time if you are so inclined. We've owned our CRV since new. We discovered we love not having a car payment more than having a fancy new car. I too would really like to have an EV. I have driven them many times now and I'm very impressed with even the Nissan Leaf Plus which would serve our needs very well.

We decided what we want more is to retire sooner and pay off the mortgage sooner. About ten years to go.

[BussoV6]

I almost lease a Nissan Leaf to commute into Boston because i got free parking pass and my building had spots with chargers. There was a strong pro to be able to leave at any time and not be dependent on Punic transportation. However one of the big hidden cons was collision insurance so I opted to take the paid for commuter rail pass and pay to Uber home if needed.

I had a quiet chuckle at this...

[joemandadman189]

I think a lease has its place and time, but also agree that selecting a lower cost long term option is likely always the best move.

[2sk22]

With purchase prices of new and used vehicles through the roof, I can see leasing becoming more popular in the current market.

Cox Automotive did an interesting demographic study of new and used vehicle buyers (and lessees) in the first 6 mo of the pandemic:

https://www.coxautoinc.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Cox-Automotive-Car-Buyer-Journey-Study-Pandemic-Edition-Summary.pdf

They were overwhelmingly white, male, and 71% were Gen X or older with an average age of 53. 70% had incomes over $75k. 57% of respondents buying (or leasing) new vehicles considered it a "want" rather than a "need".

I don't think I'd lease a vehicle, but I'm not sure that the people that do are living on a financial cliff because of it.

The market segmentation in the linked file was amusing:
The Guarded
The VIP
The Informed
The Experiencer
The Straight Shooter

I don't fall in any of these six groups! This clustering of customers is a bit puzzling. Also, this report was created over a year ago - I wonder how things have changed since then due to the car shortage.

[lutorm]

I almost lease a Nissan Leaf to commute into Boston because i got free parking pass and my building had spots with chargers. There was a strong pro to be able to leave at any time and not be dependent on Punic transportation. However one of the big hidden cons was collision insurance so I opted to take the paid for commuter rail pass and pay to Uber home if needed.

I had a quiet chuckle at this...

I'm pretty sure this sentiment was shared by a lot of the citizens of Carthage, I hear their transportation system was pretty primitive...

[NorthernMonkey]

I have a car loan on a brand new (well, its now 3 months old) Nissan Leaf, because the dealer was offering 0% finance.

I put £10,000 down, and have a car payment of £67 a month, and a £11000 final payment.

Like most people here, paying for this cash wouldnt be an issue, but low rate finance is often a good way of owning a fancypants car.

It's cheaper overall than my 13 year old toyota, and also has a 5star crash safety rating, which is important to me for the little ones in the back.

It's the second leaf on the drive way. Id never go back to gas cars

[BussoV6]

I almost lease a Nissan Leaf to commute into Boston because i got free parking pass and my building had spots with chargers. There was a strong pro to be able to leave at any time and not be dependent on Punic transportation. However one of the big hidden cons was collision insurance so I opted to take the paid for commuter rail pass and pay to Uber home if needed.

I had a quiet chuckle at this...

I'm pretty sure this sentiment was shared by a lot of the citizens of Carthage, I hear their transportation system was pretty primitive...

And the Loxodontal exclusion on the collision insurance was collossal.

[Focus_on_the_fire]

You can avoid a car payment for a very long time if you are so inclined. We've owned our CRV since new. We discovered we love not having a car payment more than having a fancy new car.

Agreed! Even more for us since we don’t drive much either.

[kpd905]

I plan on retiring at the end of 2025.

I have *always* had routine, appliance-like cars. I told my DH I might just decide to do something flighty - such as leasing a Jaguar - for the first 3 years of retirement. So that, just when repairs or maintenance become an issue, I can hand the car back. ;)

Do repairs and maintenance really become an issue after only 3 years with Jaguars?  Our cars are 9 and 10 years old and repairs have not yet become an issue.

[Sandi_k]

I plan on retiring at the end of 2025.

I have *always* had routine, appliance-like cars. I told my DH I might just decide to do something flighty - such as leasing a Jaguar - for the first 3 years of retirement. So that, just when repairs or maintenance become an issue, I can hand the car back. ;)

Do repairs and maintenance really become an issue after only 3 years with Jaguars?  Our cars are 9 and 10 years old and repairs have not yet become an issue.

Anecdotally, that's my understanding with Jags and Rovers both.

[patchyfacialhair]

The joke with Jags and Ranges that my old man always told me was that you needed to buy two since one was always in the shop. He worked in auto finance.

[neo von retorch]

BMW...
luxury car worry free...
spend 15k on a 10-year-old car that could break down at any time...

Have you spent much time around BMWs? Or $15k 10 year old cars?

https://repairpal.com/reliability/bmw

The BMW Reliability Rating is 2.5 out of 5.0, which ranks it 30th out of 32 for all car brands.

Sorry no I'll take a 2012 Toyota/Honda any day of the week if I don't want a car that breaks down. For $15k you can get an Accord EX-L with 60,000 miles on it. That's a damn fine luxurious car.

[nath]

I am an example of someone who leases/finances.

I am fairly well off and can afford to pay ‘cash’ for almost any car, but prefer to buy a new BMW or Mercedes every 3 years and always use finance.
I am a car enthusiast who loves tech, performance and style. The car is a business use tax deduction and our family car for the wife and 2 kids.
Cars quickly date, get scratched etc and I always like to be moving forward in life not driving an older and older car.

I just traded in my X5 and it has cost me $22k for 3 years of driving ,(plus tax refunds of approx $5k per year)
Great deal. I could have lost more money on a Camry in 3 years

[Car Jack]

A few nits....

A Lexus ES is not a Camry.  It's an Avalon.  Some of the SUVs are also the same, but I'm not into SUVs, so couldn't tell you which is which.  Something matches the now discontinued Land Cruiser.  Something else I think is a Highlander.

There is one reason I have seen to lease.  I have a car plan at work and have had one for the last couple decades.  At one company, at tax time, we filled out a substantiation form.  If you owned the car, you documented business miles, depreciation according to the IRS, expenses and personal miles.  This was used to directly reduce the taxable portion of payments we made.  For those leasing a car, for some reason, no documentation of business/personal was needed.  The entire lease payment was used to reduce taxable money given to us.  I noticed that people doing that leased high end cars.  Infinity, Lexus Mercedes, BMW.  I'm not a business owner, but had conversations with a rep firm owner who handled our products and he leased a BMW 540 for close to 1/10th the price of the car each month for a year under the business with a buyout residual of $1.  At the end of the lease that his business wrote off, he personally bought the car for $1. 

Another reason I've thought of is if you want to buy a certain car but are uncertain that you will want or need it after say a 3 year lease, it becomes very easy to just turn the car in at the end of the lease.  Of course in times like we're in now or if you end up putting very little mileage on the car.....like because of WFH due to Covid, you can simply buy the car at the end of the lease period and either keep it or sell it for profit.

I'll say that I have never leased.

[neo von retorch]

I just traded in my X5 and it has cost me $22k for 3 years of driving ,(plus tax refunds of approx $5k per year)
Great deal. I could have lost more money on a Camry in 3 years

Ouch... I spent $20k 5 years ago for my Mazda (with 8,000 miles on it - has cruise, dual climate, Android Auto, leather, heated seats, fancy swivel headlights). Currently has 34,000 miles on it. Minimal maintenance costs. Still worth $17,000.

$600 per year vs $5,667 per year.

You would've had to drive a Camry into a lake and not file for insurance to lose that kind of money....

[JLee]

I just traded in my X5 and it has cost me $22k for 3 years of driving ,(plus tax refunds of approx $5k per year)
Great deal. I could have lost more money on a Camry in 3 years

Ouch... I spent $20k 5 years ago for my Mazda (with 8,000 miles on it - has cruise, dual climate, Android Auto, leather, heated seats, fancy swivel headlights). Currently has 34,000 miles on it. Minimal maintenance costs. Still worth $17,000.

$600 per year vs $5,667 per year.

You would've had to drive a Camry into a lake and not file for insurance to lose that kind of money....

Yeah, at $22k for 3 years I could push my Model 3 off a cliff after 6 years and walk away, lol.

[patchyfacialhair]

I am an example of someone who leases/finances.

I am fairly well off and can afford to pay ‘cash’ for almost any car, but prefer to buy a new BMW or Mercedes every 3 years and always use finance.
I am a car enthusiast who loves tech, performance and style. The car is a business use tax deduction and our family car for the wife and 2 kids.
Cars quickly date, get scratched etc and I always like to be moving forward in life not driving an older and older car.

I just traded in my X5 and it has cost me $22k for 3 years of driving ,(plus tax refunds of approx $5k per year)
Great deal. I could have lost more money on a Camry in 3 years

As someone who owns a Lexus, there's no way that you would have lost that much money on a Camry pretty much anywhere in the world.

It's fine to justify your spending on a luxury car, but don't kid yourself that there isn't a premium to drive anything with a luxury badge.

[Just Joe]

I just traded in my X5 and it has cost me $22k for 3 years of driving ,(plus tax refunds of approx $5k per year)
Great deal. I could have lost more money on a Camry in 3 years

Ouch... I spent $20k 5 years ago for my Mazda (with 8,000 miles on it - has cruise, dual climate, Android Auto, leather, heated seats, fancy swivel headlights). Currently has 34,000 miles on it. Minimal maintenance costs. Still worth $17,000.

$600 per year vs $5,667 per year.

You would've had to drive a Camry into a lake and not file for insurance to lose that kind of money....

We paid $20K about 22 years ago. Still worth maybe $1500.

[Wintergreen78]

I just traded in my X5 and it has cost me $22k for 3 years of driving ,(plus tax refunds of approx $5k per year)
Great deal. I could have lost more money on a Camry in 3 years

Ouch... I spent $20k 5 years ago for my Mazda (with 8,000 miles on it - has cruise, dual climate, Android Auto, leather, heated seats, fancy swivel headlights). Currently has 34,000 miles on it. Minimal maintenance costs. Still worth $17,000.

$600 per year vs $5,667 per year.

You would've had to drive a Camry into a lake and not file for insurance to lose that kind of money....

We paid $20K about 22 years ago. Still worth maybe $1500.

I paid $21 k out the door for a VW Golf I drove for 13 years. It only required basic maintenance. I sold it for $2200, so approximately $1500/year in depreciation.

Of course, with used car prices now, if I’d held onto it a little longer it would probably sell for $8k!