So with the way Land Rover”s depreciate & not planning to keep the vehicle for more then 3 yrs tops!.. The way I’m thinking, & please correct me if I am wrong. With financing the vehicle there is a very good chance U will be in the negative when going to sell. With the market stabilizing. Covid prices are over!! Leasing however, U know what u are signed up for… After X amount of months u can just walk away.. Again, please correct me if I am wrong. therefore I am thinking about selling my financed Defender now while I can possibly just walk away & leasing a new one? Would appreciate U smarter folks input… thx in advance!

 

I think you are incorrect about Defender values. In California, I see used 2020 defenders with 40-60k miles selling in the $50-65 range. It looks like they have a similar enthusiast 2nd hand price buoyancy similar to a Jeep Wrangler or Toyota Tacoma. Leasing payments are 90% the cost of buying payments at the 3.9% I got. For the difference, I would rather have a significant ownership in the asset after 36/48 months instead of simply turning in the keys and then paying whatever “excessive” wear items the dealer wants to nickel and dime me for. There’s also usually a lease return fee.

Buy, don’t lease. Note, I will have this paid for by 36 mos, so for me it’s 100% ownership in the asset.

 

Thx for your input ^^^^ 👍🏼

 

l've gone for finance but here in the U.K. apparently 90% of car buyers opt for PCP.

l can see the attraction, you pay a monthly fee and get a replacement vehicle every three or four years.

No need to worry about repairs as it's always under warranty. And services can be included in the package.

But you never own anything and l prefer to own my vehicle. Also l don't feel the need to get a new one every three years.

Let's hope my Defender 90 turns out to be a good one! lt's been fine so far after 10,000 miles.

 

I think the math needs to be done.

Figure out the down payment for the lease (it's always something bigger than most expect).
Then calculate the payments for that 36 months.

At a minimum, regardless of lease or own, you'll have that much into it in 3 years.

Example - 110s current lease offer is:
https://www.landroverusa.com/current...er-offers.html

$849 x 36 months = 30,564
Due at signing = 7495
Total spent after 36 months, $38,059

Base on this lease is $69,103

So you're purchase would need to depreciate by 1/2 in 3 years. It doesn't appear that's happening today. Could it in the future? That's the bet you are taking.

2020 Used Defender Pricing

2020 Defenders are still commanding mid $50's for prices.

 

From my prepurchase research, the strong values are based on a higher perception of quality(fewer problems) and the 2nd hand off road enthusiast crowd willing to experience a LR instead of a jeep/bronco. That’s good news for all of us. I’m not too concerned about the GX because i think that’s mostly a different kind of buyer, not someone who would likely buy a LR, but rather someone upgrading from a 4Runner. The wildcard is the GX’s engine from the Tundra because a small percentage of Tundras built in 22/23 are experienced engine failures which raises questions about the engine design or build quality.

 

Vehicle being offered for lease are 110S with an MSRP of $69,000, with a residual of about $45,000

the 3.9% finance offer on the same vehicle puts the monthly payment on a 5 year term (w/ $0 down and 6.25% sales tax in Texas) of about $1,346/month.

$1,346 x 36 months = $48,456 spent over three years.

However the remaining balance on the loan is roughly $29,000 after 3 years. The vehicle will likely easily be worth more or at $40,000, or $11k more than its payoff (@ minimum IMO).

so $48,456 - $11,000 = $37,456 spent over 3 years if sold at 3 years.

its all the same money in the end, but my guess is financing will be cheaper as the vehicle will be worth more than $40k. Worth more than the $45k residual of the lease is highly unlikely IMO (especially with an S trim).

if you have less than a 50% chance keeping it longer than 3 years, then just lease and move on.

but if there’s a 51% or greater chance you might hang on to it long term, then I’d finance.

EDIT : Last point, this doesn’t even factor in the financing of the lease residual should you decide to keep the vehicle. Because more than likely if you were chasing the $850 payment to begin with and don’t want to pay the $1,350 finance payment, you are likely financing that lease residual for 5 more years to have a total financing of 8 years.

 

Thank U guys for the great input. I am trying to decide what is best on my present Defender purchase. When purchased last year @ msrp Were no specials from LR. Got my own financing from bank. 7.5% & put down $15k … was just thinking, maybe sell now & start from scratch? Also get the build to my specifications. I purchased from the lot. But that would also mean new depreciation! Poked around a bit & I am being offered less than my payoff of $67k on a 79k msrp vehicle …. Which scares the crap out of me!

 

It's one thing to explore lease vs finance on a standalone basis but it's another altogether to consider selling a vehicle you already have and leasing a new one. For one thing your cost is not 79K, it's likely 79K plus tax and fees and depending upon your location and your buyer you may or may not get a tax break on the new lease. The other thing is where are you getting your offers from? The online sites have every incentive to float out lowball offers in case someone desperate bites or simply because they don't particularly want the car you have to sell. Your new leased car is going to depreciate anyway and what's more if you try to sell or trade it in before your lease term ends you're paying a minimum of all remaining payments to buy it out.

 

What year is your vehicle?

Mine is a fully loaded 2020 P400 HSE that had a sticker of $81k then. That same car now I've built online is just under $90k. My car now is worth about $50-55k after 3 years. Cost me about $37k-ish with my tax, interest, and expected depreciation.

Leases are only typically a wash if you are keeping it only for the term, and you're not giving up anything in getting rid of another car to get into a lease. Like previous mentioned if you're bailing on one car to get into another lease, just to have a lower payment, then you need to re-look on the affordability of the vehicle you're looking at.