audijeff1983

A sales guy recently told me that 80% of his customers lease which seemed high to me - is this because of personal preference/money situations or is there something about audis that makes them better to lease?

Thunder22

I wouldn't believe that, especially when it comes to Audi. Audi leases compared to BMW are horrible (in my experience)

plat27265

I agree with Thunder22. BMW is the lease king. They move a lot of cars through lease deals. Audi's don't do wicked lease deals compared to BMW. The downside with the BMW wicked lease deals is that the depreciation value of BMWs are so high because the used car market is flooded with them. Which means, if you are looking for an off lease vehicle, BMW will be a good pick.

On the other hand, Audi's hold their values better, at least, in the area where I live.

Here's a quote from a NY Times article (dated Jan. 8, 2015) about the auto leasing trend:

As to why leasing is popular: It makes expensive cars affordable to people who won't be able to afford it through regular financing or cash sales. Some just prefer a brand new car every 2 or 3 or 4 years. Some use it for business that allows you to charge the monthly lease payment as an expense.

eric strauss

… according to recent Carintelligent (https://www.cartelligent.com/blog/wh...e-lease-or-buy) data, approximately 2/3 of all new Audi's are leased. My sense that for CA residents, or others with high automotive sales tax, that local number may be even higher.

For me, the flexibility of the lease typically includes maintenance, a guaranteed residual and an incentive for the dealer to turn over my car. So in the past five Audi's I have turned them in well before the lease ends for tempting upgrades. The advantage for the dealer is that they have a pristine CPO that will certainly turn a higher profit that the original sale and I get a new car every 1.5-2 years.

The consolation on my part, is to flexible on what car I lease. When I had my 2014 S5, I assumed my next Audi would be a SQ5 or an S6. However, the deal on the RS5 was too good to turn down and was an aspirational car for me.

Happy Motoring

Eric

Coolieman1220

Most people lease. They are ok with always having a car payment and like the fact that in 3 years with no hassle they can get a new car. A lease payment is also lower than a finance.

Why I don't like leasing, you don't own anything. I like keeping cars for more than 3 years. There's a lot of fat hidden into leases. I feel like a low interest finance like .9% or 1.9% you pay less to the bank and dealer than a lease where you pay interest for the loan, a rental fee and all those other fees.

asmi84

There is also a matter of limitations to consider when leasing. Things like mileage, modding, etc. And there is a matter of personal preferences (I hate driving someone else's car, hence I buy cars). And when you pay it off - it's yours to keep and has some equity in it, which you can use for trade-in for example. Or you can sell it in a rainy day and get some cash for urgent needs.

BlackSVT

A couple have touched on the downside of leasing (for me...) - mods. Maybe it's just my understanding that's the flaw, though, rather than the lease restrictions. I see a fair number of people on these boards that lease what I would call "enthusiast" cars (S4/5/6, RSx, SQ5, etc), and I have to be missing something. Do leasers simply mod their vehicle and then return to stock before turn-in? Or, do they generally avoid modding?

What happens, in other words, if you tune your leased (S)Q5, and get slapped with the TD1 mod flag by Audi? Does it invalidate the lease in some way that you can be penalized for? Seems like it would, but despite having had something approaching 20 new vehicles, leasing experience is something that I completely lack. Also despite those 20 something vehicles, I would have to admit that only a small percentage has escaped a mod or 3 of some sort.

motoguy128

Similar argument to buying new vs. used. No way we could afford a new Q5 or 3 series BMW. Buy a used one 8+ years old or higher mileage later model, no problem. There's a nice sweet spot as the 3rd owner.

Car comes off lease, someone buys it as a CPO, then I pick it up cheap when they are done with it.

BlackAce

Guess I'm in the 20%. I buy all my Audis new, often as orders, because I'm picky and rarely find anything I like in dealer stock. Audis have been great for resale, I've made money on all mine, trade in every couple years. That's extremely rare to not get taken on the depreciation like other brands. Been a great setup for me, because it's like leasing but I make money off it.

audi40

I also only buy, but please explain the math on how you "make money" when you trade every couple years.