I'm just looking towards leasing because it has always been a fail safe for me with cars. If I drive it for 2 years and I like it, I can finance it after, it I don't like it I can always return it. If the car's been in a major accident during those initial 2 years, I will definitely return it. That was the reason why I leased the s2000 in the first place. And no, it is not killing me financially. I can well afford the s2000. I leased it when I was in college and could afford it then, and since I have a full time career now I can well afford it now. The reason why I am looking towards a Fit is I want to save some cash for the future. The S2000 was great when I was in college, but I want to settle down now and look towards the future.

 

If your credit is good, just buy the car. You can get financed w/$0 down payment.
I paid $1800 down, got 5.75% interest from my credit union, and my payments are $367 for 4 years. So if you go 5 years, you should be able to pay about that much with nothing down.
The main reason I didn't finance the whole amount was to avoid having so much "upside down" time, which is the time when you owe more than your vehicle is worth. The upside down thing is NOT important; that move was just psychological self-help for me. I would be willing to bet that many FitFreaks here are upside down right now, and it's OK. You keep paying your payments, and after a certain amount of time, you are rightside up again. And a little while later, you own it outright.

Don't lease a car unless you are willing to drive only a few miles a year and make payments on a car just to show off. It makes you a sucker. You're 23, no need to pay extra just to look cool. People in the know will know you made the right move when you just buy your car. In my opinion, that is cool.

Best to you.

 

I don't exactly know how this works, but wouldn't the dealership just charge you a ton of "damage fees" equal to or greater than KBB?

In your case, I can see the point of leasing the S2000 (driving expensive car w/ corolla monthly payments), but leasing a Fit doesn't seem to make much sense. If you finance the whole darn thing for a 4-year term w/ a reasonable rate, you'll be paying pretty much the same thing every month, but I bet if you calculate what you'd still owe after 2 years, you'd be way better off than if you leased it. The resale value on Hondas is pretty darn amazing. . .

On the buyout w/ leasing, it just seems like you're buying a used car from yourself at a price set by the dealer. If you financed the car, then your only concern would be whether you were upside-down on the loan when/if you wanted to sell the car.

I would disagree that being upside-down isn't a big deal, it really depends on how bad you're upside-down. If you still owe $8000 on your '02 Chevy Aveo, you're just dealer fodder (and dumb for buying a chevy. . .). However, you put $1.5k-2k down on a honda (pretty close to a lease drive off price. . .?), and the car will likely float along at or above KBB throughout the life of the loan (e.g., we owe $14k on our '05 Element and they're going for at least $15-16k in our area, etc).

However, all of this won't mean jack if you get a crap deal on the car and sign up for a $2.5k extended warranty and $1k "weatherguard" treatment, etc. . .(!)

 

Teterman is right. Upside down DOES matter, if you do not plan to keep the car long-term.

 

well if my math is close....if you let the lease run its course you will have a little over $16k in the s2000 unless you owe alot at the end of the lease...instead of letting the dealership talk you into leasing and then being in the same situation with a fit that you are in with the s2000 i would just tough it out for the next year....there is no point leasing a $16000 car....as stated you will have as much in it as you could just finance it for.......tell the dealer that you want to buy a fit and see if they will buy out your lease.

 

Ok,

Maybe it's just me but I am confused here. On the first page it sounded like you wanted to get out of the s2k cause it was expensive. Then on the second page I just read you say its not too bad on you financially? I'd say you need to finish out your lease and pay any penalties/fees on the s2k that you incure. In the mean time buy yourself a used car for a DD. Then in a few months if you choose go and finance a Fit if you want one.

I personally would never lease a car like an S2k/Evo/Sti. Your gonna always get screwed on the buy out at the end of your lease. Especially since most of those leases are short term as it is.

My wife leased an Impreza 2.5rs 2 years ago but with that the estimated buy out at the end is gonna be less than 4k because the lease payment has paid a large chunk of the vehicles value so its not that bad but it is a entry level car.


I guess good luck? I personally think you're kinda burnt. Oh and yeah your insurance is rediculously high. I was 23 with my S2k and my insurance was still only $80 a month which is a lot less than yours but still way higher than I expected.

 

i think you should just sell your s2k and get something more economical
as mentioned above and get yourself out of that debt mode.

basically your car should not cost any more than
25% of your total income.

<example>
if you make $35K a year, that's about $2190 after taxes/month.
which means your total payment (insurance, registration included)
should be no more than $547.50/month. anything more you add
to the car, like mods will be extra but dont go overboard.

build your savings for a house and your future. dont just dump it
all on your car. pay creditcards in full every month. dont waste
your money on interest. that's how you do it.

 

Seriously the best advice yet. At least invest in something that is going to increase your net worth. The second you sign the contract for a car you're lowering that because automobiles have negative equity. Whereas, a home has positive equity, well typically at least. Buy a starter home fix it up and sell it a couple years down the road. Hopefully the housing market will come back around. If you were gonna do that though right now really is a great time because it is a definite buyer's market for homes right now and interest rates keep coming down so for the time being it is only getting better.

Example: Wife and I bought our house in Spokane WA, which is considered to be one of the better areas nationwide to buy homes currently, In September of 2005. Bought it for $114k. Its a 3 bed 2 bath w/ finished basement. Everything in the home was redone between May 05 and the time we bought it. In the 2.25 years we have owned the house the value has already increased to $165k. $51,000 in 27 months. Thats roughly $1,888 dollars monthly the house is gaining in value.

Much better investment than another car.

 

The best thing you can do is to take a course in Finance.

Doing that, you will actually be equipped to run the numbers and determine the present value of your loan payments, versus the present value of lease payments, followed by what sounds to be like FURTHER loan payments when you finance the purchase at the end of the lease.

 

thanks for everyone's input. I test drove the Fit for the first time today at a local dealership. What a huge difference going from a manual 240hp to an auto 109. After reading all the comments, I'm just going to finish up the lease and see what options are available. I just wanted to see if it is possible to save some cash and get a less expensive car. From the looks of it, I'm better off just finishing the lease and seeing how it goes. After driving the Fit, I don't think it's something I can live with. Thanks for everyone's advice.

 

no prob....
let us know if the "FitFreak" bug bites later...
take it easy...
and good luck..

 

np.

yah, i too dont think a new Fit is in your buyable territory from wat you
told us. get your finances fixed first and get a cheap used car for now.
get out of giving free money to the bank. start over when your s2000 is
done and be smarter next time. goodluck.

 

keep your s...

i bought the fit sports 2008 for 300 a month for 6 years... why not buy it why lease it?

btw but if i were you i would just keep your s ..

ive had my s2 for almost 4 years and i dont think i could let the s go...

 

Did you put zero down? $300/mo for 6 years is high... that's nearly $22k over the lifetime of your loan.

-Mike

 

The fit is slow but feels quick, while not as sporty or fun as an S2000 I think the fit is a great car. If you have to downgrade, get the fit, it's pretty good.

 

Just adding my .02 in here....but with the Lease Specials that are out currently on the Civic...you may want to go that route rather that Lease/buying a Fit.

Plus the dealer should actually be able to give yoyu a trade in value for the S2k That is very close to what you actual payoff is....so I see no reason why you would have to pay fees or roll Negative Equity into whatever car it is you go with.

And dont forget we get the New Body style Fit this coming model year....so no reason to buy a fit that will depriciate dramatically over the next 1.5 years unless you just cant stand the new body fit.

And if you need me too...just email all of the numbers you are getting from other dealerships and Ill run them through waht we would do here and give you an honest answer if it is a "Good Deal" or not.

Chris Bond - Gunn Honda
210-680-3371 ext 3227
cbondhonda.com/blog
cbondhonda@yahoo.com

 

that's actually the same deal i had to get (first car purchase, so i didn't have a whole lot of credit, plus they tacked on extended warranty & GAP coverage in order to compensate for a lower interest rate). mine ends up being about 23000.

i do plan on paying it off early, however.

 

If they gave you a lower interest rate in exchange for GAP and extended warranty, they just screwed you and didn't even bother to cuddle with you afterwards.

Granted, I fell for the same thing myself. Once.

But seriously, they could've / would've given you the lower rate without the extended warranty and GAP coverage. Trust me, the interest rate has NOTHING to do with either of them.

 

sorry i forgot nah i didnt put a down payment.. but its still better than a lease oh and im a new buyer which mean my credit is just starting... so they had to drop the car for 14550k and my finance charge is i think 7.8%.

 

I was going to craft a response regarding jumping from an S2000 to a Fit and then after I heard you gave up the idea, I decided not to. I had a change of heart, figuring that someone may stumble on the thready and want my $0.02. Probably not, but what the hell.

A little history. I had (and still do) a 97 del Sol VTEC that was my daily driver from 97 through March 01. I picked up a new S2000 at that time. My original plan was to trade the del Sol, buy the S2000 and grab some beater $1500 Accord for the winters. At the last minute I had a change of heart because the del Sol had been such a great car, so I leased the S2000 and kept the del Sol.

The S2000 was awesome. Everything I could have asked from the awesome toy that it was. However, it was about the time where I was starting to work less hours for my day job and I was starting to put more time into my own business. I got to the point where I was feeling like my customers thought I was spending too much money on a car, even though the S2000 was less expensive than many of their cars.

Anyway, after coming to the realization that I was dropping $470-something per month on the S2000 lease, I decided to trade it in early and buy something. Again, it was an unbelievable car...it was just that I don't think I was getting nearly my money's worth, especially considering I live in a 9-10 month climate for the S2000.

I traded on a new 2002 Civic Si (which I got really cheap) and then traded that (at only $450 less than I paid) 10 months later on an Element (which I still have for the business and snow driving).

The Element started to kill me with gas, as I drive close to 40k per year. I saw the Fit about 6 months before they released and thought that I had to grab one, even if I kept the Element for winter and hauling stuff, which is exactly what I did.

I realize why your test drive was crappy...but you should have at least chosen the stick. It chops that 0-60 run down to an even 9.0.

I had this great buffer zone of vehicles that helped me transition from S2000 to Fit. Of course, that helped, but I have to say that bang for the buck, the Fit is the best car purchase I ever made. With gas hitting $3.20 around here, and the ability to carry a TON of stuff, it was a great choice. It truly is fun to drive. It sure as hell isn't fast, but it does really hold its own with regards to handling. 21 months and 52k miles later, I can say that I would absolutely do it all over again. I added Sirius and a subwoofer and my days running all over creation couldn't be more enjoyable...I am a true Honda nut, but I think the Fit appeals to a great many people.

Of course, it sounds like a 4 door Civic Si would be a very practical choice for you...the price gets you up too close to what the S2000 buyout would be, and after owning an S2000, I can understand why one might feel that almost any car is a compromise. That being said, when I had the S2000, the del Sol felt like a sloppy, wet sponge. I can't imagine what the Fit felt like to you on your test drive. However, if you can get just a little buffer time in some other more mainstream car, it would make the Fit feel much better than it did. The S2000 is a razor's edge kind of car. Most other cars will feel sloppy when you are used to the S2000 as a daily driver.

There were reasons that the S2000 put a neverending smile on my face. When you think about what the Fit is for the price, as well as its flexibility, that same smile comes back. And when you think you can get two Fits for the price of an S2000, part of me thinks that the S2000 is a great value, but the other part thinks that pricing difference makes the Fit one hell of a deal.