How many of you are leasing your KJ?

MassJeepGirl · **Posted:** Sun Jul 30, 2006 6:22 pm

And how many of you who are leasing are modding or have modded the Jeep? Trying to decide if it's worth the lower payments to lease a new one, or should I just buy a used one so I can put lift and other goodies on it.

kolesy · **Posted:** Sun Jul 30, 2006 7:22 pm

from my understanding of leases you can not not alter the vehicle in any way. Don't know what wil happen to you though if you do. but I can assume it wouldn't be good.

Marlon_JBT · **Posted:** Sun Jul 30, 2006 8:07 pm

You can modify a leased vehicle. You just can't leave any holes... which means, if you drilled anything, you have to leave it there when you turn in the vehicle.

In other words: Keep all stock parts. Do not sell them or throw them away unless you have intentions of never buying another KJ, which after 2007, won't be possible.

(The KK will start production!)

JFortier777 · **Posted:** Sun Jul 30, 2006 8:15 pm

I am leasing.

Check out the mods in the sig, and the pics in the photobucket.

When my lease ends I will either buy it out, or somebody out there is gettin a bad booty liberty. I think a modded lib would fly off the lot in a matter of days.

But hey who knows...

None of the dealers I have talked to yet have expressed any problem with modifications, as long as they appreciate the value of the vehicle. The warranty is over at 36K anyway so I'm sure DC wont care since thats when I'll be giving it back.

I expect to buy my lib for something like 12-13k when the lease is over. We'll see how that goes.

I might just give it back and buy a tj.... :twisted:

MassJeepGirl · **Posted:** Sun Jul 30, 2006 8:35 pm

Thank you Miah, that helped a lot!

JFortier777 · **Posted:** Sun Jul 30, 2006 9:35 pm

MassJeepGirl wrote:

Thank you Miah, that helped a lot!

Although I will recommed that you avoid the custom trail foliage pinstriping mod.

The dealer is likely to punch me in the throat for that one.

Big D · **Joined:** Mon Jun 05, 2006 10:08 pm **Posts:** 349

Got one of those already. And my truck only has 5000 miles on it!!!

Tokyojoe · **Posted:** Sun Jul 30, 2006 11:54 pm

I would recommend buying a 1 yr old KJ and then mod the heck out of it. Now, if you feel very strongly about having a new vehicle because it makes you feel special to you and it was all yours, then buy a new one.

Ask yourself how you will feel about the KJ if you leased it compared to owning it and how you feel about a used compared to new vehicle.

Take a long hot bath with candles lit and no other lights on, and think about your choices. Clear your mind and choose...... :lol:

I bought brand new. Any scrtach, any ding, any breakage that occurs, is because of me and not from someone else (you never know what the previous owner did with that KJ). Once it is paid off, I can do even bigger mods to the KJ. A lease, nope. It is never paid off...unless you fork over that huge lump sum at the end.

Marlon_JBT · **Posted:** Mon Jul 31, 2006 1:28 am

Another thing that's wrong with leasing...

If you don't buy it out in the end, you sit there and wonder what happened to it, and whether the second owner treats it as well as you did...

Se7enLC · **Posted:** Mon Jul 31, 2006 9:27 am

I also recommend buying. Leasing a vehicle costs less per-month, but if it's a vehicle you plan to buy out, it's MUCH cheaper to just actually buy it. Otherwise you'll get done with a 3 year lease and still owe like $16k on it and wonder what on earth you've been paying (and most likely, you would have to pay more than the vehicles worth to buy it out). Also, when you lease, there is a limit on modifications as well as mileage.

I think leasing should really only be reserved for people who really want to drive a brand new car all the time and those that never want to get their hands or wallets dirty doing repairs. But we drive jeeps!

JFortier777 · **Posted:** Mon Jul 31, 2006 10:37 am

Se7enLC wrote:

I also recommend buying. Leasing a vehicle costs less per-month, but if it's a vehicle you plan to buy out, it's MUCH cheaper to just actually buy it. Otherwise you'll get done with a 3 year lease and still owe like $16k on it and wonder what on earth you've been paying (and most likely, you would have to pay more than the vehicles worth to buy it out). Also, when you lease, there is a limit on modifications as well as mileage.

I think leasing should really only be reserved for people who really want to drive a brand new car all the time and those that never want to get their hands or wallets dirty doing repairs. But we drive jeeps!

I couldnt afford any more per month so leasing was my only option to start off.

Yes it is deffinetly going to cost me more if I buy out the lease, than if I were to buy it new. The projected value of the vehicle after 3 years as it is written on my paper work is between 12-13k. The dealer can't raise this price since it is already signed off on. If I buy out the lease my total cost will be something like 24k. Not a great deal but worth the convenience of payment.

Elwenil · **Posted:** Mon Jul 31, 2006 10:52 am

It also depends on the lease. I, mainly since I work at the dealership and have history with Chrysler Financial, leased my 2006 Renegade on a Gold Key Lease plan. Basically it's a normal car loan with a balloon payment at the end, because it's in my name and not the lease company and I get to have my tags and all on it. The sticker on my KJ was just under $28K and I got it for $330 a month with 15K miles a year. At the end of 39 months I can finance the remaining $12k and keep it or just turn it back in. Right now, according to Kelly Blue Book, a 2003 KJ with the same options and 45000 miles retails for $19K, so it's not like the $12K is outrageous. In the end if I keep it, It's just a 6 year loan. In comparison, I traded in my 2005 Dodge SRT-4 on it that stickered for right at $21K and I was paying $355 a month for 6 years, so my payment went down, and I got a lot more vehicle for my money and as a bonus my insurance dropped $400 a year. Win, win deal for me.

I'm not saying a lease is the way to go for everyone, especially when thinking of mods, but it's definitely an option for those of us who want more vehicle for their money. As far as mods go, when you really get right down to it, anything money spend mod'ing a vehicle is just thrown away. You had better get good use out of the mods you do because you will never see that money again. There are exceptions, but 9 times out of 10, you get nothing for add-ons. So I wouldn't worry about putting money into a vehicle that you don't own. As far as the mods themselves, that would be up to the lease company as to how much you can get away with. Naturally they don't want a vehicle that is damaged (in their mind) so drilling holes in the fenders for a snorkel may be out. Also some look at customizing as a bad thing since it makes it harder to sell a used vehicle. If it's stock, just about anyone will buy it that likes that type of vehicle, if it's lifted, custom paint, etc, that cuts down on the available market since you almost have to find someone who likes the same things as the original owner or lease holder.

k21975 · **Posted:** Mon Jul 31, 2006 11:00 am

We leased our first 3 vehicles; 98 VW Jetta, 00 Toyota Celica, 03 Toyota Corolla S.

As with Miah, the lease was the only way to get our payments low enough so we could afford a decent car. (Sure we could have bought something that wasn't worth the tires it rode on.)

In March of this year (06) we traded in the 03 Corolla with over 40k miles on it for a used 03 Liberty Limited loaded with just over 20k miles. This was our first vehicle purchase and we are very happy so far. Because it was used we were able to get the price and payments down to where we could work with it. I would suggest the same to anyone. It took us a little while to find the vehicle we wanted, but it was well worth it in the end. There are a lot of beat up used vehicles out there, but there are plenty of diamonds in the rough if you have the time to look around.

Good luck!

Sean · **Posted:** Mon Jul 31, 2006 3:07 pm

what about leasing it, modding it, then buying it, just to sell it to the dealer, i have heard this solves problems of being over miles as well.

Elwenil · **Posted:** Mon Jul 31, 2006 3:14 pm

You can do that, but I doubt many dealers will be interested in "just buying it", they will probably take it in trade, but very few dealers will buy a vehicle outright in most cases since it costs a lot less to just get one wholesale. Also financing the remaining payment to own it and then selling it immediately can wreak havok on your credit in some cases.

Marlon_JBT · **Posted:** Tue Aug 01, 2006 1:51 am

Sean wrote:

what about leasing it, modding it, then buying it, just to sell it to the dealer, i have heard this solves problems of being over miles as well.

If you're over miles by a few thousand (let's say... 1-4000)... the dealership will sometimes come out of their pocket to pay off the extra mileage if you're leasing / buying another vehicle from them... just to get that sale.

seanpr123 · **Posted:** Tue Aug 01, 2006 10:32 am

Has anybody ever heard of the dealership allowing you to lower the number of miles per year on your contract? I thought I would need all 15k a year but of course, I over estimated, and the lower one would be more practical. Before I call and make an idiot out of myself just wanted to see if something like that has ever been done. Thanks

Elwenil · **Posted:** Tue Aug 01, 2006 11:12 am

You could try it, but I seriously doubt they would modify the contract after it's been done. That's sort of how they get you, but it's much cheaper to have to have bought too many miles before then to have to pay for them at the turn in point.

pinevillekj · **Posted:** Tue Aug 01, 2006 11:47 am

Elwenil wrote:

You can do that, but I doubt many dealers will be interested in "just buying it", they will probably take it in trade, but very few dealers will buy a vehicle outright in most cases since it costs a lot less to just get one wholesale. Also financing the remaining payment to own it and then selling it immediately can wreak havok on your credit in some cases.

How can financing something and then quickly paying it off "wreak havok on your credit"? I would think this would actually help your credit standing.

chefdab · **Posted:** Tue Aug 01, 2006 12:55 pm

I also got the Chrysler Gold Key plan. It was the only way I could afford the payments. I planned to refinance the remaining balloon as soon as possible. When I called them a year into the contract, they told me I couldn't even refi until at least two years into the contract. And yes, I have modded the KJ and beat her up pretty bad on the trail. The only concern I would have with handing it back in at the end of the initial term would be the "excess wear and tear" clause. So I'll be calling them back in the next couple months to do the refi. Then if I want to buy something else, I can trade it in with no strings attached.

How many of you are leasing your KJ?

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