After I had had enough of one kid interrupting those wanting help, I showed him the door
Mako, you were smart to do that!
I taught school for 3 years but it wasn't for me. I thought kids should feel learning was a priveledge, teachers should be respected, being an idiot was not your right.
I would have stayed in teaching if you could send the kids who don't want to learn, to one big study room. There, they can take a book out, read newspapers, watch educational TV programs, listen in on lectures of interest. The system is crazy, when you have 20 descent kids in a class but you have to try to discipline 10 kids who don't want to be there.
I felt like I was more of a baby sitter/prison guard than a teacher.
>I would have stayed in teaching if you could send the kids who don't want to learn, to one big study room.
That's not allowed. Your job is to teach all of them; and be sure they meet the state/federal objectives in each subject. It's that hypocrisy of attitude by the Limbaughs et al that makes his ridicule of the schools so ludicrous through the years. It's nice for him to talk like it's just a matter of doing the job but the stories my wife told from elementary and other friends told from high school would set your hair on fire. And then people like Limbaugh sit and blow off about how the union this and union that and the schools ought to just do their job. Often the real stick in the mud was the incompetent principals and administrators who got those jobs by Peter Principle or by just having been a coach.
>There, they can take a book out, read newspapers, watch educational TV programs, listen in on lectures of interest.
We al lknow that's not going to happen with the kids that don't want to learn. Yeah, they're gonna turn on National Geographic and watch the 30-minute video matching the topic they are supposed to learn about in science?
I've looked once at BMW 328 and 335. Maybe I should try to find out more about Volvo's.
I read your post and I think the Ridgeline suits your needs. I actually like the looks of them, I think Honda attempted to make the truck more carlike in appearance, and I give them credit for doing that.
If you consider BMW 328 or 335s I would suggest taking them out for a spin for sure, they handle so well compared to most of the cars out there. But, I am not sure if you saw my post from last Saturday when we went to trade in my wife's 2008 335. I didn't like the trade in allowance, so as a lark we tested an Audi A4, more to see what they would offer on the trade, just to see who was out-of-line. Not only did they offer exactly what I wanted for the trade, but, we both liked the Audi better for our needs. If the two cars were priced the same, we would have taken the Audi, but the Audi was actually $11000 less than a 328 and $16000 less than a 335!
The point being, if you try the BMWs, also try an Audi. We had a 1995 Volvo which was the worst car we ever owned. Constantly breaking down, and even Volvo had trouble trying to fix it. Having said that, that was just our experience. Volvos are well designed and pretty solid cars. I don't think it will have the same driving dynamics as a BMW. Just my opinion, but I think bmw is probably tops in driving dynamics and the science of handling and engineering........but, for most people an Audi will get the job done for about 20 or 30% less money!
That's not allowed. Your job is to teach all of them; and be sure they meet the state/federal objectives in each subject.
That's kind of my point. You can lead a horse to water, but, you can't make him drink.
You can try to keep these kids in line, by spending your time disciplining them, and wasting time lowering your standards to their level, or you can keep them away from the kids who do want to learn.
I taught driving to high school students and I loved that. No discipline problems there. The few times there were, I just had to say, If you disrupt the class you will stand outside the class........and they would realize would probably not get a licence. That's the way it should be!
But, a good teachers time is too valuable to try to spend time disciplining the lowest common denominator, and that is why the disruptive ones should be separated from the one's who want to learn. But, then I would have stayed in teaching, and wouldn't have my own business. Although, over the years there were times when I was fired or lost my job, and I wished I stayed on as a teacher.....especially for the pension.
*driver, if you are only putting on 5,000 miles per year (and I doubt you will even drive that much in 5 months in Tampa), it is not really a sound decision to lease. If you look at the cost per mile on a lease compared to cost per mile on a purchase, which you are always quite good at, you should come to that conclusion.
First of all, I'll bet you and your wife won't drive more than 3000 miles for the amount of time you spend in Tampa. So, when you start computing, be as realistic as possible regarding mileage per stay here in the wintertime.
There is a 3rd option, *driver, and that is to "rent" a car for the 4 or 5 months you are down here. You won't be able to get the car you want, but it sure would be economical. Alamo and National Car Rental have great weekly rates.
If you and your wife are set on a Passat manual, then purchasing the car would be the way to go. Over a 5 year time span, you would be putting on less than 20,000 miles. On a lease, the lowest mileage they give is 10,000 miles per year. Your "owned" car would be worth quite a bit at trade time due to low mileage and the outstanding condition the car would be in.
Give it some deep thought before leasing. I don't know about leases here in the States for Canadians since I know of no Canadians here in our complex who lease - and when I was in the business, we always had problems leasing cars to Canadians, even though they had residence addresses here in the States.
Do you have a valid Social Security account here in the states? If not, it will be difficult pulling a credit report that the leasing companies use such as TransUnion, and especially Equifax, which is the credit reporting agency most used here in Florida. Even if you take out a "pre-paid" lease, credit reports are still required.
Scary idea, typically GOP in nature, throw em in jail! Yea, that works so well!
It did, and actually quite well. Jail wasn't the first resort in most cases, but kids soon learned that if they didn't get with the program they would spend spring, summer, and/or Christmas vacation in detention. By the way, the school system supported me 100%. Before I took over, kids thought juvenile court was a joke; after a couple of months the word got out and the deterrent effect took hold. Teachers were telling me that all they had to do to straighten kids up was to threaten them with sending them to my court.
In any case, I thought this forum was about sales?
If you take the time to scroll back a few pages you'll see that a variety of subjects are discussed in this topic. That's just the way it is.
And one more thing; disparaging either political party won't win you many popularity points in here.
Mine: 1995 318ti Club Sport-2020 C43-1996 Speed Triple Challenge Cup Replica
Wife's: 2021 Sahara 4xe
Son's: 2018 330i xDrive
And one more thing; disparaging either political party won't win you many popularity points in here.
Amen. Some of my best friends in here are pretty well known to be almost polar opposite me politically. We obviously don't make a deal of it. Good people are good people.
2015 Mazda 6 Grand Touring, 2014 Mazda 3 Sport Hatchback, 1999 Mazda Miata 2004 Toyota Camry LE, 1999.
I would think you represent the ideal leasing candidate. With that kind of low milage (do they even do 5000mi/yr. leases?) you should be able to get a good rate. If I was a dealer I would love to get a 3 yo car with only 15k mikes on my lot.
2019 Kia Soul+, 2015 Mustang GT, 2013 Ford F-150, 2000 Chrysler Sebring convertible
My friend asked me if I know someone who would like to buy his Maserati.
He was backing it out of the driveway, around his wife's car, couldn't see because of a big blind spot, hit a young kids car who had parked really close to his driveway, and made to scrapes on the back bumper.
He asked me how much I thought it would cost to fix.
I thought a normal car $300 or $400, so I said $600.
He said it will cost $4000! :surprise:
I told him if ever wants to get rid of it I have a good friend by the name of fezo.
I wonder if that's covered under the 4-year regular maintenance plan?
I find it ironic that the BMW chose to clobber a Jaguar and Mercedes. Luxury envy? OR was the BMR just being "catty." (Jaguar, cat, you know--I know, bad pun.)
and when I was in the business, we always had problems leasing cars to Canadians,
I appreciate your comments, I think you are right on. Now that I think of it leasing would probably be a problem since we could just take off. If we own we would be paying cash as far as the dealer is concerned.
I am not sure renting is the way to go, though it would probably be cheaper and be more care free. When things are going well you can rent a car for about $1000 a month. But, those costs could go up. Then, we like the convenience of just having a car there when we get there and not being held to the rental cars schedule.
If it was a strain financially, then renting would definitely be the way to go. We are there to enjoy ourselves so my wife should have a car she enjoys driving while we are there. That's part of the experience.
But, I think your points are very good regarding leasing vs. owning. Looks like we will try to buy. Thank you, those were helpful well thought out reasons, and your experience really came in handy.
Besides, what's he gonna do? Leave me a leased car?
In a sense, Mrs Driver does make the payments. She is in charge of everything financial, I just get my allowance for the week. If i need more I can either ask, or beg.
I wonder if that's covered under the 4-year regular maintenance plan?
I somehow think, they will find a clause that will release them from responsibility in this particular case. I don't think "stupidity" is covered by the bumper to bumper.
btw...it looks like a parking garage....like he couldn't have landed on a rusted 83 Corsica?
I think driver100 & his wife are ideal candidates for leasing (provided their Canadian citizenship doesn't get in the way). We actually went through this earlier, they don't want to rent a car. His wife is a die hard stick shift driver & they both have particular tastes when it comes to driving.
#1 - they can afford it. Driver knows leasing is more expensive than buying. He and his wife can afford it.
#2 - yes they are only going to drive maybe 5K per year, but in 3 years they'll be done with it. They don't have to worry about the long term effects of not driving a car for months at a time, especially in the fla humidity.
2001 Prelude Type SH, 2022 Highlander XLE AWD, 2025 Camry SE AWD
VW at times does have really attractive advertised rates (sign and drive event!). Though who knows what the monthly becomes if you want a few options! That is probably why they build some of those phantom models (like the 2.0l Jetta stripper), so they can advertise the lease price.
When my buy time comes (end of the year), I may even consider a lease. I don't drive a ton now, and get bored easily. And my options likely are going to be a really cheap (say, 5K max) used car, or financing a 2nd ride (not something I want to do). This assumes, of course, that my wife has gotten her new fancy mid-life crisis mobile by then!
so, if the hunt for a decent cheap car goes nowhere, I might actually look into a screamer lease. I am fine with lower miles, and if it is a stick, all the better. Just getting the moonroof could be an issue! But, for a couple hundred a month, I can have care free driving for 2.5-3 years.
at the end of it, the mommy mobile will be paid off, and I can get something better for me.
will all depend on which company wants to move a lease unit bad enough.
Stickguy - I think you are also an excellent candidate for leasing. The crop of reliable, fun, $5000 cars out there are few & far between. Why lay out so much money (cash or financing) on a brand new car when they depreciate so much.
Part of the reason I leased my BMW is the fact that I do a lot of driving (20K per year) and leasing fixes the cost of depreciation. I'm paying $572/ month as opposed to $690. That saves me $3,540 over the next 2 1/2 years. That's just payments. My residual is stated to be $26K or $28K after 30 months. If for whatever reason, at the end of 2 1/2 years I decide to trade my car in what am I going to get for a 3 year old, old body style, BMW with 50,000 miles? $20K? There's another couple thousand dollars I'm not spending. I also don't have to worry about a getting lowballed by a dealer on my trade.
2001 Prelude Type SH, 2022 Highlander XLE AWD, 2025 Camry SE AWD
*driver, after additional analysis, I wanted to share some additional info with you:
If you can lease a car down here, you would be paying quite a bit for miles you are not going to use. Let's assume you guys drive 750 miles per month. After 4 months, you put on 3000 miles, but paid for 10,000 miles for the year. So, 7000 miles remains unused that you paid for as part of a 10,000 mile per year lease contract.
If you own the car, when your car is in storage for the 8 months you guys are in Canada, you can cancel collision, medical, towing, uninsured motorist insurance and just keep comprehensive for fire, theft and storm damage. I believe some insurance companies down here can tailor-make a policy for you that would make sense and save you money - but with a lease, you must maintain full insurance all the time on the leased vehicle.
How much did they give you for your 2011 Mercedes?
*nyccarguy, it was a 2012, 7 months old, 5800 miles on it. I paid $55,175 for it after the MBF incentive and USAA pricing, and they gave me $51,500 for it. So it cost me a little under $4000 to drive the car for the 7 months - about what a lease would cost me.
I trade fairly frequently because I buy all my cars for well under invoice. Otherwise, I could not afford to trade so often and would keep a car much longer.
Guy trying to return at a rental. That explains the Jaguar and MB. I hope he took the ride for damages along with coverage for "loss of use" the rental agencies like to come up with while the car is out fo repair.
There's a link under the picture to the story--Chicago IIRC.
Another specifically mentions a Passat w/ a manual trans that comes out to $185/ month (plus tax) w/ 10K miles per year.
That is a good lease deal. We were watching a Fox Network...U.S. and saw a really good add for lease deal on a Passat too. It may have been the same ad. My wife noticed it first, and she said....maybe leasing would be a good idea.
We thought if you can lease for about $200 a month it really would make sense, but we think it will be difficult to lease if we aren't citizens. As Mike said, they really need something to hold on a lease...maybe if we can put the Florida home up as colateral. When I contact the salesman I will ask....I might do that next week, just so we know whether we should consider it or rule it out.
probably why they build some of those phantom models (like the 2.0l Jetta stripper),
I forgot about that. It's like they say Passats start from $19995. And they do, if you want a car without air conditioning and with a manual front seat that is hard to adjust....and a really cheap looking interior. Add a few things and you are quickly up to $23000 or more.
So, that less than $200 a month lease rate may not mean much, have to do some resarch.
but with a lease, you must maintain full insurance all the time on the leased vehicl
This is good information. I am not too concerned that we will only drive the car 2000 or 3000 miles a year, because if it is a good car we will exercise our option to buy it. We can probably sell it for more than we paid for it lowering our costs too.
We also will have the option of turning it in if we just don't want another car or don't like the Passat for some reason.
However, insurance could be a problem. They do have flexible insurance programs for snowbirds, but you probably have to maintain certain levels of insurance for a lease. Good point, I will have to look into that if we actually have the option of leasing.
If we can lease a car for $3000 a year, it sounds like a good plan. Especially if we buy it back and either keep it or sell it.
I am replying to fezo and my last one was to Mike. Seems Edmunds is down and this screen is very confusing and hard to work on.
I am going to read 80497 tomorrow and check out the rentals you have found...though there must be something going on, do you get a commission or is there a clause that says, car must be returned to fezo at the end of the lease period.
Yea, this forum was all text for a while, but the graphic displays are coming back now. Browsed around a little and figgered out how it reads and how to use it. I hope it remembers my read/notread counts tomorrow.
Are you saying that depreciation even at that low milage would result in a high monthly lease payment? I hadn't considered that.
You also make a good point about the problems of credit and being from another country. Never understood why the credit reporting agencies don't have the ability to check credit across borders. It's Canada, for crying out loud, not Mongolia. :confuse:
2019 Kia Soul+, 2015 Mustang GT, 2013 Ford F-150, 2000 Chrysler Sebring convertible
- you should check out these guys for rentals in Florida.
I'm not sure I am reading it right, but they have cars listed, even Jettas and Ford Focus and it says limosine next to it. Does that mean I get a uniformed driver. I should at these prices, $60 or $80 a day.
Ford Focus Aut.
Limousine (CDAR)
Price per day: US$ 75.29
Per rental period: US$ 8,508.12
I plugged in a rental from Nov 4 to Feb 26 and i would cost $8508. In 2 years I could buy the Focus outright for that much. At least they are in St Petersburg which is pretty close.
why the credit reporting agencies don't have the ability to check credit across borders
I think the problem is checking credit from across the border may not be financially worth it...though in this day and age it should be possible.
I think the biggest problem is trying to collect if the customer goes home and never comes back. It would be difficult and costly trying to get someone in court.
It would be good if we could put up a bond or something like buy a bond or insurance.
I am going to look into it, but I have a feeling we will have to buy.
btw, I think Mike may have meant is you are paying a premium for mileage that you aren't really putting on the car. We would be paying for 15k miles a year on the lease, but only doing 3k, and so we are paying a lot for each mile.
That school monitor lady got $600k You should video tape the kids on your bus, maybe you could cash in.
No, *oldfarmer, has nothing to do with depreciation.
If you lease a car and the contract is for 10,000 miles per year (lowest mileage lease available from manufacturers), but you only drive 3,000 miles per year, you are paying for 7,000 miles but do not use them. So you per mile cost is almost triple what you would pay normally. But if you buy a car, put 3,000 miles per year on it, the car will have extremely low mileage on it when it comes time to trade or sell. Thus, you will be able to sell or trade the car for a premium price - a higher return than for a usual trade that has 30,000 - 50,000 miles.
The per mile cost of owning (net cost after trading it or selling it) would be a fraction of what your per mile cost would be if you leased the same vehicle. That includes reduced insurance costs on the owned vehicle vs. YHE leased vehicle.
Good math, Mike. Any kind of rent/lease can be a deal only when we "max out" its terms (like allowed mileage). If one still wants to lease, they can excersize purchase option at the end, generally buying a car for a lower price than it's worth, or leverage that agains a new purchase. However, it makes it more complicated than it needs to be, I'm always for simple and would opt for outright purchase myself, too.
It is a very rare "animal", *stickguy, referring to a residual being set way too high. Leasing arms of automobile manufacturers set residuals at a realistic level to avoid heavy losses on those vehicles at lease end. When you find a lease residual set artificially high, it is because the manufacturer subsidized the residual by providing their leasing arm with that cash incentive so residuals could be increased 4 to 5 percent. But those are hard to find. The leasing arm would love for the lessee to purchase the vehicle at the end of the lease, but if residuals are artificially high, lessees will not buy those cars.
But in *driver's case, because of so few miles driven, leasing still would not be an ecomical or even logical decision due to the high per mile cost of leasing.
*dino, in general, buying a car or SUV at the end of a lease is difficult to do because these cars are usually priced a little higher than other vehicles like it. The benefit of buying at lease end is because if it is a clean vehicle, and since you were the only driver and loved the vehicle, there is less uncertainty than buying a used vehicle off a car lot.
When I leased vehicles back in the '90's and very early 2000's, I would never buy my lease because the warranty (miles-wise, not age-wise) was almost up. That was at a time when I drove 15K miles a year.
If they are going to charge you the weekly rate when you are renting for three months forget it. Their weekly rates for just renting for a week are downright reasonable. For the kind of time I'm in Florida it looks great - as long as I'm working out of Orlando.
2015 Mazda 6 Grand Touring, 2014 Mazda 3 Sport Hatchback, 1999 Mazda Miata 2004 Toyota Camry LE, 1999.
That's true, but in case of somebody driving well below allowed miles (3K/yr vs. say 10K/year), this advantage is defeated. There are also additional origination and disposal fees with leases ($600-1000 acquisition, $300-500 disposal) on top of what you'd pay with purchase or loan, which also becomes significant when one does not "max out" the terms. All of it adds up and often offsets, at least partially, advantage of inflated residuals.
Leases can be good for some, but have to be handled with care, there are more opportunities to hide the real cost into "low payment" scheme, from fees to strange terms, to improper allowances (both too low or too high). Bottom line, it is easier to miss something in lease and later learn one paid more than needed. Purchase tends to be more straightforward, which of course does not mean it's the only thing. I work with numbers every day (many numbers, all at onces), I can handle multipage spreadsheets and many lines of code, I do somewhat complex computations in my memory, and I still like straightforward. Worked really well for me last couple of times - leases didn't come even close, mostly because cars I want are not subsidized heavily on leases (residuals were more realistic, if not actually set lower than real life and combined with fees, money factors were also higher than normal interest rates).
But in *driver's case, because of so few miles driven, leasing still would not be an ecomical or even logical decision due to the high per mile cost of leasing.
I think it does work in my favor if I buy the car at the end of the lease. I would buy the car for a predetermined price based on driving 10k miles a year, but I am going to buy a car with maybe 9k miles on it.
That does a few things for me. I don't have an initial outlay of $26000. If we don't need a car in Florida after 3 years we just pay off the rest of the $9000 owing and give it back. Or we let someone sublease it, or do it through a company that re - leases cars.
There are some options that I do think are worth considering.
I have a question for you Mike. After a 3 year lease lets say there is a buy back price of $16000. Lets say the car has only 8k miles on it, which is possible....maybe even less. * Can I, say to the dealer, instead of buying this car back, I would like to trade it in on a new one, but we should get a $2000 bonus for low miles? And if not, we will buy it and sell it ourselves.
*And, can I go to another dealer, say a Ford dealer and trade it in on a Fusion, and have them take in the Passat, pay it off, and give us $2000 toward leasing a Fusion?
Yes you can use the leased vehicle as a trade. The dealer then buys the car from the leasing arm for the residual and any other costs/fees. I've done that many times.
*driver, if you are going to take out a small loan on the car if you buy it, you would have the same problem as if you leased the car - credit needs to be pulled for the loan as well.
I've checked around with some of my friends who are still in business. It is very difficult, if not impossible, for Canadians or other foreign nationals to lease cars in this country. They tell me that the major problem is their inability to obtain credit reports from the reporting agencies here in United States for Canadian nationals. If you have a means of providing a way for a dealership to obtain credit reports from Equifax, then it might be possible. You need to research this very carefully, *driver, prior yo coming down here in November.
This is what I meant, more less. Car leased for 10K/yr has total of 8 thousand miles. It surely is worth more than the residual, which makes it a purchase option very appealing - whether it's used by the lesee or leveraged immediatedly with a dealer who accepts it as a trade. However, I again simply do not like it because it's way off the lease parameters. Again, lease only makes sense if you drive mileage "just about" what is in the contract. Big overage means big bill, large underutilization means money left on the table, which increased car value will not fully offset - just like you said in your original post. Bottom line, driver should not lease for 10K/yr if he plans to drive only three.
if you are going to take out a small loan on the car if you buy it, you would have the same problem as if you leased the car - credit needs to be pulled for the loan as well.
As far as the dealer is concerned he would just receive cash. We would use our personal line of credit which is part of our business line of credit, we will be charged interest at prime plus 1%, probably about 3% interest. Then we would pay off the loan from the line of credit asap. In fact, most of the money is set aside for the purchase now. The money would be transferred from our TD bank in Canada to our TD bank in Florida, and we would just write them a check on our US account.
But, from what you have said, leasing will be a problem, and I can see why now. They can probably check our credit ratings, but they don't have much recourse if we skipped out...not that we would but they can't take that risk.
I think leasing is good in some situations. To name a few; *If you know you want or need a new car every 3 years, *If you want to drive a luxury car but don't have a resonably good downpayment *If you absolutely need a new or reliable car to get to work and don't have a d.p. *Sometimes it is easier to calculate taxes *I have known people who would rather lease and use their money to buy a business or investments *Good if you are going bankrupt, can't take it away in some states.
One advantage of it in Florida is less money tied up, we treat it like a rental car, only we have an option to buy it....or if not hand it back. A little more flexibility and not as tied down.
Comments
Mako, you were smart to do that!
I taught school for 3 years but it wasn't for me. I thought kids should feel learning was a priveledge, teachers should be respected, being an idiot was not your right.
I would have stayed in teaching if you could send the kids who don't want to learn, to one big study room. There, they can take a book out, read newspapers, watch educational TV programs, listen in on lectures of interest. The system is crazy, when you have 20 descent kids in a class but you have to try to discipline 10 kids who don't want to be there.
I felt like I was more of a baby sitter/prison guard than a teacher.
2017 MB E400 , 2015 MB GLK350, 2014 MB C250
That's not allowed. Your job is to teach all of them; and be sure they meet the state/federal objectives in each subject. It's that hypocrisy of attitude by the Limbaughs et al that makes his ridicule of the schools so ludicrous through the years. It's nice for him to talk like it's just a matter of doing the job but the stories my wife told from elementary and other friends told from high school would set your hair on fire. And then people like Limbaugh sit and blow off about how the union this and union that and the schools ought to just do their job. Often the real stick in the mud was the incompetent principals and administrators who got those jobs by Peter Principle or by just having been a coach.
>There, they can take a book out, read newspapers, watch educational TV programs, listen in on lectures of interest.
We al lknow that's not going to happen with the kids that don't want to learn. Yeah, they're gonna turn on National Geographic and watch the 30-minute video matching the topic they are supposed to learn about in science?
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
I read your post and I think the Ridgeline suits your needs. I actually like the looks of them, I think Honda attempted to make the truck more carlike in appearance, and I give them credit for doing that.
If you consider BMW 328 or 335s I would suggest taking them out for a spin for sure, they handle so well compared to most of the cars out there. But, I am not sure if you saw my post from last Saturday when we went to trade in my wife's 2008 335. I didn't like the trade in allowance, so as a lark we tested an Audi A4, more to see what they would offer on the trade, just to see who was out-of-line. Not only did they offer exactly what I wanted for the trade, but, we both liked the Audi better for our needs. If the two cars were priced the same, we would have taken the Audi, but the Audi was actually $11000 less than a 328 and $16000 less than a 335!
The point being, if you try the BMWs, also try an Audi. We had a 1995 Volvo which was the worst car we ever owned. Constantly breaking down, and even Volvo had trouble trying to fix it. Having said that, that was just our experience. Volvos are well designed and pretty solid cars. I don't think it will have the same driving dynamics as a BMW. Just my opinion, but I think bmw is probably tops in driving dynamics and the science of handling and engineering........but, for most people an Audi will get the job done for about 20 or 30% less money!
2017 MB E400 , 2015 MB GLK350, 2014 MB C250
That's kind of my point. You can lead a horse to water, but, you can't make him drink.
You can try to keep these kids in line, by spending your time disciplining them, and wasting time lowering your standards to their level, or you can keep them away from the kids who do want to learn.
I taught driving to high school students and I loved that. No discipline problems there. The few times there were, I just had to say, If you disrupt the class you will stand outside the class........and they would realize would probably not get a licence. That's the way it should be!
But, a good teachers time is too valuable to try to spend time disciplining the lowest common denominator, and that is why the disruptive ones should be separated from the one's who want to learn. But, then I would have stayed in teaching, and wouldn't have my own business. Although, over the years there were times when I was fired or lost my job, and I wished I stayed on as a teacher.....especially for the pension.
2017 MB E400 , 2015 MB GLK350, 2014 MB C250
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
*driver, if you are only putting on 5,000 miles per year (and I doubt you will even drive that much in 5 months in Tampa), it is not really a sound decision to lease. If you look at the cost per mile on a lease compared to cost per mile on a purchase, which you are always quite good at, you should come to that conclusion.
First of all, I'll bet you and your wife won't drive more than 3000 miles for the amount of time you spend in Tampa. So, when you start computing, be as realistic as possible regarding mileage per stay here in the wintertime.
There is a 3rd option, *driver, and that is to "rent" a car for the 4 or 5 months you are down here. You won't be able to get the car you want, but it sure would be economical. Alamo and National Car Rental have great weekly rates.
If you and your wife are set on a Passat manual, then purchasing the car would be the way to go. Over a 5 year time span, you would be putting on less than 20,000 miles. On a lease, the lowest mileage they give is 10,000 miles per year. Your "owned" car would be worth quite a bit at trade time due to low mileage and the outstanding condition the car would be in.
Give it some deep thought before leasing. I don't know about leases here in the States for Canadians since I know of no Canadians here in our complex who lease - and when I was in the business, we always had problems leasing cars to Canadians, even though they had residence addresses here in the States.
Do you have a valid Social Security account here in the states? If not, it will be difficult pulling a credit report that the leasing companies use such as TransUnion, and especially Equifax, which is the credit reporting agency most used here in Florida. Even if you take out a "pre-paid" lease, credit reports are still required.
Just some food for thought, *driver.
2024 Genesis G90 Super-Charger
It did, and actually quite well. Jail wasn't the first resort in most cases, but kids soon learned that if they didn't get with the program they would spend spring, summer, and/or Christmas vacation in detention. By the way, the school system supported me 100%. Before I took over, kids thought juvenile court was a joke; after a couple of months the word got out and the deterrent effect took hold. Teachers were telling me that all they had to do to straighten kids up was to threaten them with sending them to my court.
In any case, I thought this forum was about sales?
If you take the time to scroll back a few pages you'll see that a variety of subjects are discussed in this topic. That's just the way it is.
And one more thing; disparaging either political party won't win you many popularity points in here.
Mine: 1995 318ti Club Sport-2020 C43-1996 Speed Triple Challenge Cup Replica
Wife's: 2021 Sahara 4xe
Son's: 2018 330i xDrive
Steve, I promise, if my doctor tells me I have 6 months left, the first thing I am doing is buying a car that I can leave you in my will.
Just hope you like 1983 Corsicas with some rust!
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
Amen. Some of my best friends in here are pretty well known to be almost polar opposite me politically. We obviously don't make a deal of it. Good people are good people.
Did they make Corsicas in 1983? I know you can get a really impressive speeding ticket in a mid-90s Corsica. So I hear......
I would think you represent the ideal leasing candidate. With that kind of low milage (do they even do 5000mi/yr. leases?) you should be able to get a good rate. If I was a dealer I would love to get a 3 yo car with only 15k mikes on my lot.
2019 Kia Soul+, 2015 Mustang GT, 2013 Ford F-150, 2000 Chrysler Sebring convertible
Ha ha ha I love that!
2019 Kia Soul+, 2015 Mustang GT, 2013 Ford F-150, 2000 Chrysler Sebring convertible
Ouch!!!!!!
My friend asked me if I know someone who would like to buy his Maserati.
He was backing it out of the driveway, around his wife's car, couldn't see because of a big blind spot, hit a young kids car who had parked really close to his driveway, and made to scrapes on the back bumper.
He asked me how much I thought it would cost to fix.
I thought a normal car $300 or $400, so I said $600.
He said it will cost $4000! :surprise:
I told him if ever wants to get rid of it I have a good friend by the name of fezo.
2017 MB E400 , 2015 MB GLK350, 2014 MB C250
I find it ironic that the BMW chose to clobber a Jaguar and Mercedes. Luxury envy? OR was the BMR just being "catty." (Jaguar, cat, you know--I know, bad pun.)
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
I appreciate your comments, I think you are right on. Now that I think of it leasing would probably be a problem since we could just take off. If we own we would be paying cash as far as the dealer is concerned.
I am not sure renting is the way to go, though it would probably be cheaper and be more care free. When things are going well you can rent a car for about $1000 a month. But, those costs could go up. Then, we like the convenience of just having a car there when we get there and not being held to the rental cars schedule.
If it was a strain financially, then renting would definitely be the way to go. We are there to enjoy ourselves so my wife should have a car she enjoys driving while we are there. That's part of the experience.
But, I think your points are very good regarding leasing vs. owning. Looks like we will try to buy. Thank you, those were helpful well thought out reasons, and your experience really came in handy.
2017 MB E400 , 2015 MB GLK350, 2014 MB C250
Better than my estate having to pay it off!
Looks like he talked me out of leasing, so you still are in the running for this one.
There wasn't an 83 Corsica, no wonder he was so generous. Even a friend is trying to scam you.
2017 MB E400 , 2015 MB GLK350, 2014 MB C250
In a sense, Mrs Driver does make the payments. She is in charge of everything financial, I just get my allowance for the week. If i need more I can either ask, or beg.
2017 MB E400 , 2015 MB GLK350, 2014 MB C250
I somehow think, they will find a clause that will release them from responsibility in this particular case. I don't think "stupidity" is covered by the bumper to bumper.
btw...it looks like a parking garage....like he couldn't have landed on a rusted 83 Corsica?
2017 MB E400 , 2015 MB GLK350, 2014 MB C250
#1 - they can afford it. Driver knows leasing is more expensive than buying. He and his wife can afford it.
#2 - yes they are only going to drive maybe 5K per year, but in 3 years they'll be done with it. They don't have to worry about the long term effects of not driving a car for months at a time, especially in the fla humidity.
2001 Prelude Type SH, 2022 Highlander XLE AWD, 2025 Camry SE AWD
Another specifically mentions a Passat w/ a manual trans that comes out to $185/ month (plus tax) w/ 10K miles per year.
I think that's so much better than owning.
2001 Prelude Type SH, 2022 Highlander XLE AWD, 2025 Camry SE AWD
When my buy time comes (end of the year), I may even consider a lease. I don't drive a ton now, and get bored easily. And my options likely are going to be a really cheap (say, 5K max) used car, or financing a 2nd ride (not something I want to do). This assumes, of course, that my wife has gotten her new fancy mid-life crisis mobile by then!
so, if the hunt for a decent cheap car goes nowhere, I might actually look into a screamer lease. I am fine with lower miles, and if it is a stick, all the better. Just getting the moonroof could be an issue! But, for a couple hundred a month, I can have care free driving for 2.5-3 years.
at the end of it, the mommy mobile will be paid off, and I can get something better for me.
will all depend on which company wants to move a lease unit bad enough.
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
Part of the reason I leased my BMW is the fact that I do a lot of driving (20K per year) and leasing fixes the cost of depreciation. I'm paying $572/ month as opposed to $690. That saves me $3,540 over the next 2 1/2 years. That's just payments. My residual is stated to be $26K or $28K after 30 months. If for whatever reason, at the end of 2 1/2 years I decide to trade my car in what am I going to get for a 3 year old, old body style, BMW with 50,000 miles? $20K? There's another couple thousand dollars I'm not spending. I also don't have to worry about a getting lowballed by a dealer on my trade.
2001 Prelude Type SH, 2022 Highlander XLE AWD, 2025 Camry SE AWD
*driver, after additional analysis, I wanted to share some additional info with you:
If you can lease a car down here, you would be paying quite a bit for miles you are not going to use. Let's assume you guys drive 750 miles per month. After 4 months, you put on 3000 miles, but paid for 10,000 miles for the year. So, 7000 miles remains unused that you paid for as part of a 10,000 mile per year lease contract.
If you own the car, when your car is in storage for the 8 months you guys are in Canada, you can cancel collision, medical, towing, uninsured motorist insurance and just keep comprehensive for fire, theft and storm damage. I believe some insurance companies down here can tailor-make a policy for you that would make sense and save you money - but with a lease, you must maintain full insurance all the time on the leased vehicle.
Just some more food for thought!
2024 Genesis G90 Super-Charger
2001 Prelude Type SH, 2022 Highlander XLE AWD, 2025 Camry SE AWD
*nyccarguy, it was a 2012, 7 months old, 5800 miles on it. I paid $55,175 for it after the MBF incentive and USAA pricing, and they gave me $51,500 for it. So it cost me a little under $4000 to drive the car for the 7 months - about what a lease would cost me.
I trade fairly frequently because I buy all my cars for well under invoice. Otherwise, I could not afford to trade so often and would keep a car much longer.
2024 Genesis G90 Super-Charger
There's a link under the picture to the story--Chicago IIRC.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
2018 430i Gran Coupe
That is a good lease deal. We were watching a Fox Network...U.S. and saw a really good add for lease deal on a Passat too. It may have been the same ad. My wife noticed it first, and she said....maybe leasing would be a good idea.
We thought if you can lease for about $200 a month it really would make sense, but we think it will be difficult to lease if we aren't citizens. As Mike said, they really need something to hold on a lease...maybe if we can put the Florida home up as colateral. When I contact the salesman I will ask....I might do that next week, just so we know whether we should consider it or rule it out.
2017 MB E400 , 2015 MB GLK350, 2014 MB C250
I forgot about that. It's like they say Passats start from $19995. And they do, if you want a car without air conditioning and with a manual front seat that is hard to adjust....and a really cheap looking interior. Add a few things and you are quickly up to $23000 or more.
So, that less than $200 a month lease rate may not mean much, have to do some resarch.
2017 MB E400 , 2015 MB GLK350, 2014 MB C250
This is good information. I am not too concerned that we will only drive the car 2000 or 3000 miles a year, because if it is a good car we will exercise our option to buy it. We can probably sell it for more than we paid for it lowering our costs too.
We also will have the option of turning it in if we just don't want another car or don't like the Passat for some reason.
However, insurance could be a problem. They do have flexible insurance programs for snowbirds, but you probably have to maintain certain levels of insurance for a lease. Good point, I will have to look into that if we actually have the option of leasing.
If we can lease a car for $3000 a year, it sounds like a good plan. Especially if we buy it back and either keep it or sell it.
2017 MB E400 , 2015 MB GLK350, 2014 MB C250
I am going to read 80497 tomorrow and check out the rentals you have found...though there must be something going on, do you get a commission or is there a clause that says, car must be returned to fezo at the end of the lease period.
See you all tomorrow.
2017 MB E400 , 2015 MB GLK350, 2014 MB C250
Are you saying that depreciation even at that low milage would result in a high monthly lease payment? I hadn't considered that.
You also make a good point about the problems of credit and being from another country. Never understood why the credit reporting agencies don't have the ability to check credit across borders. It's Canada, for crying out loud, not Mongolia. :confuse:
2019 Kia Soul+, 2015 Mustang GT, 2013 Ford F-150, 2000 Chrysler Sebring convertible
I'm not sure I am reading it right, but they have cars listed, even Jettas and Ford Focus and it says limosine next to it. Does that mean I get a uniformed driver. I should at these prices, $60 or $80 a day.
Ford Focus Aut.
Limousine (CDAR)
Price per day: US$ 75.29
Per rental period: US$ 8,508.12
I plugged in a rental from Nov 4 to Feb 26 and i would cost $8508. In 2 years I could buy the Focus outright for that much. At least they are in St Petersburg which is pretty close.
Fezo, how much is your cut on this deal.....10%
2017 MB E400 , 2015 MB GLK350, 2014 MB C250
I think the problem is checking credit from across the border may not be financially worth it...though in this day and age it should be possible.
I think the biggest problem is trying to collect if the customer goes home and never comes back. It would be difficult and costly trying to get someone in court.
It would be good if we could put up a bond or something like buy a bond or insurance.
I am going to look into it, but I have a feeling we will have to buy.
btw, I think Mike may have meant is you are paying a premium for mileage that you aren't really putting on the car. We would be paying for 15k miles a year on the lease, but only doing 3k, and so we are paying a lot for each mile.
That school monitor lady got $600k You should video tape the kids on your bus, maybe you could cash in.
2017 MB E400 , 2015 MB GLK350, 2014 MB C250
No, *oldfarmer, has nothing to do with depreciation.
If you lease a car and the contract is for 10,000 miles per year (lowest mileage lease available from manufacturers), but you only drive 3,000 miles per year, you are paying for 7,000 miles but do not use them. So you per mile cost is almost triple what you would pay normally. But if you buy a car, put 3,000 miles per year on it, the car will have extremely low mileage on it when it comes time to trade or sell. Thus, you will be able to sell or trade the car for a premium price - a higher return than for a usual trade that has 30,000 - 50,000 miles.
The per mile cost of owning (net cost after trading it or selling it) would be a fraction of what your per mile cost would be if you leased the same vehicle. That includes reduced insurance costs on the owned vehicle vs. YHE leased vehicle.
2024 Genesis G90 Super-Charger
2018 430i Gran Coupe
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
It is a very rare "animal", *stickguy, referring to a residual being set way too high. Leasing arms of automobile manufacturers set residuals at a realistic level to avoid heavy losses on those vehicles at lease end. When you find a lease residual set artificially high, it is because the manufacturer subsidized the residual by providing their leasing arm with that cash incentive so residuals could be increased 4 to 5 percent. But those are hard to find. The leasing arm would love for the lessee to purchase the vehicle at the end of the lease, but if residuals are artificially high, lessees will not buy those cars.
But in *driver's case, because of so few miles driven, leasing still would not be an ecomical or even logical decision due to the high per mile cost of leasing.
2024 Genesis G90 Super-Charger
*dino, in general, buying a car or SUV at the end of a lease is difficult to do because these cars are usually priced a little higher than other vehicles like it. The benefit of buying at lease end is because if it is a clean vehicle, and since you were the only driver and loved the vehicle, there is less uncertainty than buying a used vehicle off a car lot.
When I leased vehicles back in the '90's and very early 2000's, I would never buy my lease because the warranty (miles-wise, not age-wise) was almost up. That was at a time when I drove 15K miles a year.
So, it is usually not the best way to go.
2024 Genesis G90 Super-Charger
Leases can be good for some, but have to be handled with care, there are more opportunities to hide the real cost into "low payment" scheme, from fees to strange terms, to improper allowances (both too low or too high). Bottom line, it is easier to miss something in lease and later learn one paid more than needed. Purchase tends to be more straightforward, which of course does not mean it's the only thing. I work with numbers every day (many numbers, all at onces), I can handle multipage spreadsheets and many lines of code, I do somewhat complex computations in my memory, and I still like straightforward. Worked really well for me last couple of times - leases didn't come even close, mostly because cars I want are not subsidized heavily on leases (residuals were more realistic, if not actually set lower than real life and combined with fees, money factors were also higher than normal interest rates).
2018 430i Gran Coupe
I think it does work in my favor if I buy the car at the end of the lease. I would buy the car for a predetermined price based on driving 10k miles a year, but I am going to buy a car with maybe 9k miles on it.
That does a few things for me. I don't have an initial outlay of $26000. If we don't need a car in Florida after 3 years we just pay off the rest of the $9000 owing and give it back. Or we let someone sublease it, or do it through a company that re - leases cars.
There are some options that I do think are worth considering.
I have a question for you Mike. After a 3 year lease lets say there is a buy back price of $16000. Lets say the car has only 8k miles on it, which is possible....maybe even less.
* Can I, say to the dealer, instead of buying this car back, I would like to trade it in on a new one, but we should get a $2000 bonus for low miles?
And if not, we will buy it and sell it ourselves.
*And, can I go to another dealer, say a Ford dealer and trade it in on a Fusion, and have them take in the Passat, pay it off, and give us $2000 toward leasing a Fusion?
Life is getting too complicated.......
2017 MB E400 , 2015 MB GLK350, 2014 MB C250
Yes you can use the leased vehicle as a trade. The dealer then buys the car from the leasing arm for the residual and any other costs/fees. I've done that many times.
*driver, if you are going to take out a small loan on the car if you buy it, you would have the same problem as if you leased the car - credit needs to be pulled for the loan as well.
2024 Genesis G90 Super-Charger
I've checked around with some of my friends who are still in business. It is very difficult, if not impossible, for Canadians or other foreign nationals to lease cars in this country. They tell me that the major problem is their inability to obtain credit reports from the reporting agencies here in United States for Canadian nationals. If you have a means of providing a way for a dealership to obtain credit reports from Equifax, then it might be possible. You need to research this very carefully, *driver, prior yo coming down here in November.
2024 Genesis G90 Super-Charger
2018 430i Gran Coupe
As far as the dealer is concerned he would just receive cash. We would use our personal line of credit which is part of our business line of credit, we will be charged interest at prime plus 1%, probably about 3% interest. Then we would pay off the loan from the line of credit asap. In fact, most of the money is set aside for the purchase now. The money would be transferred from our TD bank in Canada to our TD bank in Florida, and we would just write them a check on our US account.
But, from what you have said, leasing will be a problem, and I can see why now. They can probably check our credit ratings, but they don't have much recourse if we skipped out...not that we would but they can't take that risk.
I think leasing is good in some situations. To name a few;
*If you know you want or need a new car every 3 years,
*If you want to drive a luxury car but don't have a resonably good downpayment
*If you absolutely need a new or reliable car to get to work and don't have a d.p.
*Sometimes it is easier to calculate taxes
*I have known people who would rather lease and use their money to buy a business or investments
*Good if you are going bankrupt, can't take it away in some states.
One advantage of it in Florida is less money tied up, we treat it like a rental car, only we have an option to buy it....or if not hand it back. A little more flexibility and not as tied down.
2017 MB E400 , 2015 MB GLK350, 2014 MB C250