| liaisanangel |
Hi! This is a question for all Honda Pilot owners. DH and I are contemplating leasing a 2005 Pilot EX with leather and DVD for $462 a month (15,000 miles a year). This is a sign and drive deal with nothing down (for every $1000 we put down, would push our car payments down $25 a month) This includes getting out of a lease on a 2002 Honda Civic seven months early and the car is overmileage. His brother and BIL both work for a dealership and have given us great deals on the cars we are currently leasing (2004 Accord and 2002 Civic). To finance a '03 Pilot (with 25k miles) with $1000 down for 60 months would be $450-$500 a month, which is also an idea.
We are expecting a second child in early June so we need a SUV or minivan but are only looking at SUVs.
Do you like your Pilot? Is there another SUV you would compare to it? Is it a good value for the money? Did you lease or finance?
Thank you for your imput! If we decide to purchase, it will be this month. |
|
|
| FamilyGuy |
How about a purchase on an '05 EX-L (drop the DVD) save about $1400.00. Purchase it over 72 months, with qualifying credit you can get around 4.5 apr x 72 mos. There is no way that payments should be over $550 a month with that option.
Lease discussion(s) can get very lenghty, but I would tell you that a purchase is worth the extra $100 a month for most people. So what I am trying to say is that if you can afford the payment purchasing it over 72 months, it is a better option.
There are alot of attractive lease deals out there though, and for those who trade every 3 or so years they always have a car payment anyways. But I have seen way too many people buried in a lease. I debated it for a long time before deciding to purchase the Pilot instead of leasing. Good Luck with whatever you decide!
I am sure that if you decide to purchase or lease you will be very happy.... I know we are! |
|
|
| mchan |
how about a great deal on a close out 04 EX-L?
get one at invoice or below and you can walk away with a great SUV, 4.5% for 72 months should be around what you are thinking about for the lease. The only thing is you may loose out on returning the high mileage leased civic.
From what I understand about leasing, it's hardly ever a good deal because it puts you into a vehicle that you would otherwise not be able to afford. Also, with all the finance mumble jumble they put you through, it's too easy for the dealer/finance guy to pad the deal in their favor (for regular non family working at the dealer people). Then at lease end, you either release a new vehicle or purchase the one you have just finished leasing for way too much.
Either way, I think you will be happy with a Pilot, they are great SUV's. |
|
|
| FamilyGuy |
quote:
Originally posted by mchan
how about a great deal on a close out 04 EX-L?
get one at invoice or below and you can walk away with a great SUV, 4.5% for 72 months should be around what you are thinking about for the lease. The only thing is you may loose out on returning the high mileage leased civic.
I was thinking the same thing about the '04 as I was typing, I just wasn't sure what kind of inventories are out there on remaining new '04s. And as far trading / turning in / or otherwise terminating the civic lease I was mentally figuring (a few thousand) in for that and still putting you not too far from the payment range you wanted to be in.
To further clarify, $500 a month for 72 months buys you approximately $31,500 to finance, which should cover the full cost with tax, title, lic, etc for an 04 or 05 EX-L without a problem. So depending on the balance on your civic, you should under $550 a month without a problem. |
|
|
| jay |
quote:
Originally posted by FamilyGuy
...snip
There are alot of attractive lease deals out there though, and for those who trade every 3 or so years they always have a car payment anyways. ...snip
I'd be very interested in seeing some real life examples of how you didn't get screwed, even on a purchase, when you do 72 months and trade at 36, regardless of how high or low the interest rate is. Unless you put a boatload down, aren't you gonna hafta put money on the table at trade time? All bets are off if you plan to trade a Toyota or Honda for a $12,000 off MSRP Tahoe or Yukon, and actually are able to keep it beyond 36 of 72 months. ;) |
|
|
| waynerd |
My thought on the lease deal was if the Civic is 7 months from lease termination and you're over mileage, assuming the driver of the Pilot is the same as the driver of the Civic, and his/her driving habits won't change when bambino #2 comes along, then it too will be over mileage, therefore costing you more money at lease end and being in the same boat you are now when the Pilot's lease is up.
Leases for personal vehicles work well if you meet 2 criteria 1) You have to have a brand new vehicle every 2 or 3 years. 2) You don't drive more than the mileage allowance. That Honda Pilot will serve you very well for way more than 3 years....unlike a certain Ford Exploder I knew very well...
Think of it...you're basically renting a car for 2-3 years. After making those thousands of dollars of payments, you own bubkis!
I agree with the other's thoughts on an '04 (unless you are dead set on a certain color) and getting a portable DVD player for the munchkins.
As far as liking the vehicle, I can't say enough about how much I like it. Its a great daddy wagon (1-13m/o), trip mobile, and round-town errand machine. It's not to big, but not too small, gets pretty decent gas mileage (20 mpg last tank), very comfortable interior, and its built like a Honda. |
|
|
| osteome |
For what it is worth there are currently three 2004 Pilots on E-bay, at a Honda dealer in Tennessee. One is an EX-L RES in silver with a buy it now price of 28,600 and two others (one silver, one sagebrush) with no buy it now price, but with a reserve. These are described as new with no miles, never titled.
That buy it now price is about 1500 less than we paid for 2003 EX-L in August of 2003. :rolleyes:
This may make an attractive compromise for purchase....you would not do well to lease a 2004 with the 2005s already out. Good luck!! |
|
|
| liaisanangel |
Thank you so much for all your input. I share this with my husband and he thanks you also!
Just wanted to comment:
For the first year, the Civic was our only car and we both commuted to NYC from central NJ, that is why the mileage is so high. We only had one car so that we could save towards buying our first home (which we did in May!). Now we own our own home and neither of us work in NYC. DH has a commute of 34 miles a day (roundtrip) five days a week with the Civic. The Civic is at 44,600 miles so already 8000 miles over! On the weekends, we basically use the Accord. I use the Accord to drop our son off to pre-school, go to the mall, etc. Nothing heavy duty.
The Pilot would be for me. I am a work from home mom and on the average day won't drive more than 15 miles if at all. Most of time I will go for walks to where I have to go in the stroller (with winter coming, we would be using the vehicle more). After doing our budget (and with our next child on the way), it would be best if we keep lease or finance payments at $450 and we don't have a hefty downpayment available.
We knew going into the lease with the Civic that we would be overmileage but at the time it was the only option. We are now in a better financial picture! Our brother and BIL have never tried to screw us and have been nothing but great.
Thanks again and please keep the comments rolling. If we decide to do it, we will take delivery on the 15th or 30th. I like the new blue color. :4: and we need the DVD system. We have been using the portable DVD in the Accord. The two times we have used it has been a pain in the a$$ . |
|
|
| FamilyGuy |
quote:
Originally posted by liaisanangel
We have been using the portable DVD in the Accord. The two times we have used it has been a pain in the a$$ .
I find the it to not be the easiest thing to use the factory installed DVD if you want to have a separate source for front and rear audio.
To clarify, if we want FM or CD audio in the front seats while the kiddies watch the DVD, it involves the headsets being powered, making sure that the batteries in the headsets are good, and most importantly storing the headsets properly after use. Our last 3 vehicles (including the Pilot) have had factory installed RES, and the headsets and remotes have gotten trashed, broken, lost etc.
With 2500 miles on the Pilot thus far, we have used the DVD twice and both times without headset(s) or remote(s) - they are all still factory sealed, don't even know if they work. All for fear of the kids (mistakenly) trashing them by stepping on them, smashing a seat down on them or some other mishap!
Given the choice, I would have gotten a portable system for less than a third of the cost, with inexpensive wired headphones ($5 each) which they could trash at their leisure.
Actually, with the statement I just made above, I guess, I should probably buy some cheap wired headphones for the kids to use, as they can be pluged into the rear of the center console. I just realized this now after I spent $50 on a thrid set of wirelss headphones (which have never been used as yet).
I feel the same way about nav also, the last vehicle had factory installed nav and I am very happy with my Garmin unit, it is just as good if not better, at a third of the cost..... |
|
|
| FamilyGuy |
quote:
Originally posted by jay
I'd be very interested in seeing some real life examples of how you didn't get screwed, even on a purchase, when you do 72 months and trade at 36, regardless of how high or low the interest rate is. Unless you put a boatload down, aren't you gonna hafta put money on the table at trade time? All bets are off if you plan to trade a Toyota or Honda for a $12,000 off MSRP Tahoe or Yukon, and actually are able to keep it beyond 36 of 72 months. ;)
This is precisely the reason why in an ideal world we would steer clear of leases and 72 month purchases.
I am not trying to be hipocritical, my Pilot is on a 66 month purchase, and I am satisfied with my decision, however, in an ideal world I would have purchased for 36 - 48 months. I don't want to try and afford the payment though....
Big mortgage payment, 3 kids and lots of other reasons why.... |
|
|
| sandiegodoug |
personally, I buy cars for the long haul. My 1989 honda has 192,000 miles on it, still runs perfectly and I expect the pilot to do the same.
I always buy because I keep my cars a long time, so if you plan to keep the pilot, buy it, if you plan to dump it in a few years because you like new cars, lease it. |
|
|
| Wannabe Pilot |
| There's nothing wrong with leasing a car, that's how I got got my 05 Pilot EX-L RES. I wasn't sure I wanted to keep this car for more than a few years. |
|
|
| waynerd |
I wasn't necessarily saying there WAS anything wrong with leasing. If you are a person that wants a new vehicle every 2-3 years and don't drive more than 12-15,000 miles per year, it probably makes sense, rather than buying on payments, and being financially "upside down" after 3 years and wanting a new vehicle.
I tend to be of the automotive purchasing mindset of buying a vehicle and keeping it for 10 years or 100,000 miles (or more). It's pretty nice not having to make a car payment for a few years. But when maintenance and repair costs start becoming like car payments (like a certain Explorer) it's time to go! |
|
|
| N_Jay |
quote:
Originally posted by waynerd
I wasn't necessarily saying there WAS anything wrong with leasing. If you are a person that wants a new vehicle every 2-3 years and don't drive more than 12-15,000 miles per year, it probably makes sense, rather than buying on payments, and being financially "upside down" after 3 years and wanting a new vehicle.
The only two conditions to lease are;
1) you need to convert the capital expense for the car to an operating expense for business reasons.
2) you HATE selling a car so much you are willing to pay more and end up with less value to avoid it.
Remember, the lease company is not in business to save you money, they are in BUSINESS to MAKE money! |
|
|
|
