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Originally Posted by baseball
Nick, I don't know the tax laws in Chicago, but I think you're missing the sales tax in your calculations. In most states you pay tax on the part of the car you lease. So in addition to the $4909 due at lease signing, you may have a few more grand you'll have to plunk down in order to drive off. Leasing CAN be a smart choice, but one of the big benefits of leasing (namely avoiding a big outlay of cash all at once) is lost in this deal.
I don't think this is a very good lease deal, but for other reasons than the previously stated opinions. 1, this lease deal is nothing special, it's been around since I was looking for my Boxster almost a year ago. And 2. Lease deals will get much more aggressive later this year. Remember in recessionary times, new car sales go down, while used car sales go up. The biggest discounts can currently be found in new cars, while used cars are keeping the lights on in most dealership right now.
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I had to pay a nice huge chunk of taxes on my car to the tune of 9%, so don't forget to factor that in.
There sometimes could be a benefit to leasing, but I am of the opinion that a lot of people lease because they are simply trying to get more car than they can afford and just budget in a payment every month. I also believe a lot of people really don't understanding financing or leasing and just show up and go "What can you get me for $550 per month?"
I think leasing can works well for those who turn their cars over every three years or so, but I still don't like not owning my car, even if I don't really "own" it until I pay it off. As far as tax benefits, I am able to write off about 50% of my mileage as a business expense and neither of the CPAs I've used has said leasing would benefit me. I still get a write-off, just taken a different way.