I got a pretty good deal when I decided to lease my 2015 CX-5 a year and a half ago. I'm doing some forward thinking about whether or not I want to buy it at the end of the lease in September 2017 or turn it in and get something else. I love this vehicle so I am leaning towards keeping it but if I'm going to have to get a 5 year loan just to make the balance of the price affordable, I don't know if it's worth it. This is the first time I've ever leased a vehicle so I don't have any knowledge about the upside or downside of turning a vehicle in at the end. I have really good credit, but even so, it was less expensive for me to lease than buy it ($350/month for 36 months versus almost $500/month for 5 years). Just FYI - I spent no money out of pocket to get this vehicle. Simply traded my old vehicle (2009 Toyota RAV 4 with low miles) in. I got the dealership to give me a 12k mi. per year lease (they were offering 10k mi.) without raising the price so I won't incur any charges with mileage unless I take a long trip (or trips). I really only drive to work and back and errands so I'm lucky if I put 10k miles on it per year. I just barely turned 15k miles on it. So far no major dents or scratches, though I did have to have the front bumper section replaced 3 months after I got it when I hit a large object on the freeway on my way to work one morning.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[QUOTE= I am leaning towards keeping it but if I'm going to have to get a 5 year loan just to make the balance of the price affordable,

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.[/QUOTE]

From the above I can tell that you are looking at the wrong car for you right now.

I urge you to check out Dave Ramsey Homepage - daveramsey.com


“If you will live like no one else, later you can live like no one else.”


― Dave Ramsey

 

A vehicle is one of the few things we spend money on that we never recoup. Interest paid on a vehicle is similar to the interest paid on credit cards, nothing to show for expense. If your in a position where you can write off the lease payment, your far better off to lease another Mazda. If you can't, then I would purchase the one your driving. The Mazda's have proven to be built for the long run, and are one of the lowest cost vehicles to maintain. 7 plus awards last year thru companies like Car and Driver. Talk to your accountant or financial people to find out what the best plan is for you.

Dave Ramsey? Really?

 

Yes, living debt free is a very pleasant low stress way to live and it gives the freedom to live your life as you want and to change things without being controlled by debt. Dave Ramsey is one person who shows people how to do it.