Need Advice - Two v Three; Lease v Buy

Well, assuming you mean the standard Prius, the Three will offer the Entune system as standard, with a Tilt/Telescopic steering and voice command controls for the nav display. The three will also allow you to have the Solar Roof package for Ventilation.

The Two is your basic package and if you don't need all that, it is not going to be that much of a difference. For you, the Nav head would be slightly different, whether or not it is better for you is more if you want the Voice Command and if you want the solar powered roof. Beyond that, the two would be fine for what you want.

As for Lease or Buy. How old are you, realistically. What is your traditional idea of possession of a vehicle. I know with some younger crowds, they like leasing because it means that you have the option of new car at the end of the lease if you don't buy the car. The problem with leasing, however, is that you need to return the car in the same condition you got it. Which means you don't want to try and modify it as much as possible. Tinting isn't a problem, but other modifications like dash kits, interior light replacements, or what not is basically putting good money after bad as it won't necessarily do much for your lease and you won't be able to 'take it with you' in some cases.

Buying will be also a 'long term' investment. It allows you to modify the car to a degree (Some modifications may void the warranty, others will enhance the car and not void the warranty) When you sell it, it will have a little added worth due to some of the changes, so long as they are gaudy or questionable.

In both cases, your insurance will be 'high'. By that, I mean, in the financing part and leasing part, insurance will require you to have full coverage until the car is fully under your name. After you are done paying off, your insurance will drop a bit lower and you can change your coverage on the car. So factor in that thought when deciding lease or buy.

Lastly, in the 'long run', leasing tends to cost more. The lease option is paying more over time than buying out, as you are almost paying to 'rent' the car for a protracted period of time, but it will be 'yours' during that time. Buying, you are going to have the costs of maintenance as well as the car purchase and won't worry about 'switching' to another car when the period ends, which means constant 'payments' versus a fixed payment.

 

Do they still charge fees for going over allotted mileage on leased vehicles? That is something else to consider. Also, you have to worry about any damage accidentally done to the vehicle while in your possession should you lease.

Overall, I think buying is really the way to go. I don't want to be stuck with payments any more than I have to! I know that they try to hook you into leasing with a low monthly payment, but you are just renting the car...you build up no equity, so to speak. As a side note: a great thing about Toyotas is that they tend to retain their value very well, so should there come a time down the road if you wanted to sell/trade, you could recover much more $ than with another vehicle brand.

Just my opinion; I am sure that there are some people very happy with leasing. It's just not for me.

 

They do. It's how they recoup their costs too. It's also part of any Lease contract. You agree to the Milage/year limit or pay surcharges as well as any damages done to the car, as it should be returned 'as leased'.

Again, the benefit of a lease is basically, you know you have car for a certain period of time, and frees you up with the option to get another car. The con of it is, a leased car will have to be treated like it isn't yours up until the day your contract is up. And while you can pay it off, the ending purchase cost will end up more than if you just outright bought it, at least, if I recall correctly.

 

Common (but not always) extra costs related to a car lease:

1. Loan processing fees
2. MSRP car price
3. Locked-in financing rate (Toyota Financial)
4. Extra miles fees
5. Return fees
6. Damage beyond 'usual wear and tear' fees
7. Depreciation schedule steeper than actual market
8. Flexibility of timing future car replacement lost

If you have to ask if a lease is a 'good' deal, you are going to get screwed because you lack the knowledge and skills to be one of the few who are not.

 

If you want Entune, nav, back up cam and option for a solar sunroof, then go for the III. Otherwise go for the II.

I forgot, the III has 3-door smart-key entrance where the II only has the drivers door.

 

It depends on a lot, like how anxious Toyota is to move cars. When I leased mine it was 199 a month with 2,000 down, including first month payment with 15,000 miles a year with a residual of 15.5K. It was a good deal. When I bought it out from Toyota the buyout was 18.4K$ and the average retail was 20.5K$. I bought it out early ( 2 years into a 3 year lease) when my local bank had a loan sale for 2.99% full retail for 5 years. So I kept a low payment, made money on the buyout because the Prius II appreciated more than expected when they figured then residual. If the conditions are right leasing can be a reasonable way to keep monthly payments low and basically extend the payment over 8 years, assuming you can get low interest rates, which you can now.

 

Many states tax you on a lease buyout, since you are buying the car from the leasing company. Most people who lease have such poor credit that getting the prime rate at their local bank to refinance the car is not an option.

Preference order for new car buying:

1. Pay cash.
2. Put down 1/3 and finance the rest of the purchase with the lowest rate availale.
3. Put little or nothing down and finance the purchase with whatever rate you can get.
4. Trade in your upside-down POS and finance the purchase + old loan remainder with whatever rate you can get.
5. Lease.