Should I Buy a Sequoia?

2408 Views 17 Replies 14 Participants Last post by onetimer, Dec 16, 2005

mmessier2

Discussion Starter · Dec 14, 2005

Toyota is running some KILLER leases on the Sequoia. I saw a commercial on TV, then I emailed my local dealer. Basically here is how it goes- 06 Sequoia with a $37329 MSRP would calculate to the following-

Payments with tax $397 a month for only 36 months
Total due at signing only $715
No Security Deposit
Residual Buy Option at end of lease only $22086
12000 miles a year.

I've never leased a car before, and I'm not really in the market, but this deal seams too good to pass up. My wife has an 01 RAV4 that I think is too small for her and it is paid off. The way I figure it, we can get a new Sequoia, then sell her RAV4 for about $13000, and use that money to make 34 of the 36 Sequoia payments. Milage isnt a problem, she only puts about 10K a year on.

Also, that residual is so low for a Toyota, I could probably sell the Sequoia for a profit.

I priced a 4Runner with the same MSRP and a similar lease is $600 a month with $1500 due at signing.

What do you guys think? Anybody else gonna run out and snatch up a Sequoia?

1 - 18 of 18 Posts

Count

· #2 · Dec 14, 2005

Here's my thoughts on leasing: It's like renting. At the end of your term, after making all those payments, you don't own anything. You have no equity. And the value of these big, gas-guzzling SUVs will only continue to decline. No telling what gas will be in three or four years, but you can bet it isn't going to be any cheaper.

Buy the car you like, suck it up and make those payments. Pay the thing off and keep the damn thing for as long as you can stand it. This is the only way you can get back at those bastards who charge so much for new cars.

And there's nothing like driving a car that's paid for.

Firephil

· #3 · Dec 14, 2005

Dont lease, buy it....I have a 05 Sequoia Limited (FULLY LOADED) it is an awesome SUV, my wife drives it and I drive the Taco.

mmessier2

Discussion Starter · #4 · Dec 14, 2005 (Edited)

Its easy to say "Just buy it, dont lease it". But if I buy it with the same specs as the lease, (but a 5 year payment) it is $738 a month. That is just not reasonable for me.

Ive been debating buying vs. leasing for a long time. For my truck, buying made the most sense. However for my wifes car, I think leasing may be better. She only put 12K miles a year, does no mods, and gets a new vehicle about every 3-5 years. We will always have a payment, so I'de rather her take the lower payment and get a new car every 36 months.

Purchasing new cars is about the worst investment you could make. Maybe she should just keep her RAV4...

Firephil

· #5 · Dec 14, 2005

it truely is a decision, I got screwed over on a Dodge Intrepid and never leased again.

dorkman

· #6 · Dec 14, 2005

Just get a second Tacoma, make it a D-Cab for the extra SUV passanger room and tell your wife its for her. Then you can get a shell for the back.

I don't lease, if I can't afford to buy somthing I shouldn't be getting it.

boone

· #7 · Dec 14, 2005 (Edited)

I agree with the buy don't lease theory. Yes, the lower monthly payments are enticing. Is the Rav4 you speak of paid for? I bought this truck because I know it will hold it's value. The payments are more than a lease but I plan on keeping it for at least 2 or 3 years after it's paid off. I take very good care of my automobiles and whatever I sell it for is house money towards my next purchase.

Lease a piece of crap, impulse buy. Buy outright a dependable vehicle you WANT to care for and keep for a while.

I'd keep the Rav4 as long as you possibly can. Count is right, big gas guzzling SUVs won't get more than a 1/4 of their value in return in a few years. Just look at this past summer, people were losing their shirt trying to trade down in size.

Edit: Sorry, I see now that you said the Rav4 has been already paid off. Why not use the $13,000 towards buying the Sequoia or a 4Runner or something else that you and your wife really want? That would put you at $24k and change for the Sequoia. Depending on your interest rate you wouldn't be paying much more than that $400 a month towards a lease. But that's just me.

See less See more

JMSinMD

· #8 · Dec 14, 2005 (Edited)

Disagree

I used to sell Toyota's myself. Before I started selling cars I thought leases were for dummies. I always heard people say "no equity" at the end of the lease. To that I would ask them this, if I were to sell you stock in a company for $40k and I guaranteed that within 3 years it would only be worth $20k would you buy it? At the end of the lease you don't own anything which is great, if you family gets larger or smaller you could switch accordingly. Also within 3yr/36k the car is still under warranty. The only money you have to put in is for oil changes, rotation and balance and alignment, nothing else, not timing belts, engine coolant flushes, etc. Something to be said for that as well, being able to hand your keys to a service rep and saying whatever it is fix it and walking out with no bill. Cars are no investment and I have rarely seen a car appreciate in value so why tie yourself down to it? Jon. p.s. the average car owner does not drive their car into the ground, but trades in every 3-4 years and rolls the 'inequity' over into a larger balance and larger payments. Jon. p.s. we had a celica that we gave away at a fair, the man who one it recently got his daughter a car so he wanted us to buy it back. For us to do that we had to title it and then buy it back which automatically made the car used. We gave him as much as we could but it was 6k less than MSRP because of the title, not even having left the lot.

See less See more

cephasiii

· #9 · Dec 14, 2005

Why the hell not, the new 06's look the better than anyother year.

81shark

· #10 · Dec 14, 2005

don't listen to the car salesman.

leasing is bad. keeping a car for only a few years is bad. i plan on driving mine daily for at least 10 years if not more.

buying cars is a losing proposition no matter how you look at it, so minimize the number of purchases that you have to make.

mmessier2

Discussion Starter · #11 · Dec 14, 2005

So if you are going to obtain a car that you are going to keep for 3-4 years and put on 12K miles a year, what is the better option? New cars are a bad investment all the way around, but which is better?

slow231

· #12 · Dec 14, 2005

JMSinMD said:
I used to sell Toyota's myself. Before I started selling cars I thought leases were for dummies. I always heard people say "no equity" at the end of the lease. To that I would ask them this, if I were to sell you stock in a company for $40k and I guaranteed that within 3 years it would only be worth $20k would you buy it? At the end of the lease you don't own anything which is great, if you family gets larger or smaller you could switch accordingly. Also within 3yr/36k the car is still under warranty. The only money you have to put in is for oil changes, rotation and balance and alignment, nothing else, not timing belts, engine coolant flushes, etc. Something to be said for that as well, being able to hand your keys to a service rep and saying whatever it is fix it and walking out with no bill. Cars are no investment and I have rarely seen a car appreciate in value so why tie yourself down to it? Jon. p.s. the average car owner does not drive their car into the ground, but trades in every 3-4 years and rolls the 'inequity' over into a larger balance and larger payments. Jon. p.s. we had a celica that we gave away at a fair, the man who one it recently got his daughter a car so he wanted us to buy it back. For us to do that we had to title it and then buy it back which automatically made the car used. We gave him as much as we could but it was 6k less than MSRP because of the title, not even having left the lot.

woah terrible advice. for one how can you compare buying a product to making an investment? Think about it this way, how does a lease compare to making an investment? Using your argument a lease would be equivilant to me saying give me 300 dollars a month and in the end you get nothing. The difference is you get to use the car/product for that period of time. same goes with buying a car, yes the car depreciates but you are using it during that period. buying/leasing a car is not an investment, let's keep that clear.

Leases are bad because the lease costs more than the depreciation and the maintenance costs. Think about it, the dealerships are not giving you leases for a net loss

. It doesn't matter how long you keep your cars, as long as you keep the car at least as long as the term of the lease, you will have lost less money if you buy the car outright. Leases are always going to lose you money but they do have their place. they are good for people who are willing to pay to not have to deal with the hassle of selling/trading in their cars or for people who are trying to drive/use something they cannot afford to buy outright and of course people who are just plain stupid and think that leasing save them money.

See less See more

Bakemono

· #13 · Dec 14, 2005

If you want a Sequoia, yes. Tundras are nice and Sequoias are basically the SUV version of the Tundra.
Im not sure if Id want one if I had any kind of a lengthy commute. Gas prices are bound to skyrocket again next summer and the Sequoia isnt exactly known for great fuel economy.

anhnguyen310

· #14 · Dec 14, 2005

i feel the same way about renting...your paying for someone elses stuff in other words....thats the only reason why i still stay at home...so i can save money to buy a house...making payments and knowing it belongs to you feels so much better

Firephil

· #15 · Dec 15, 2005

Captain_Toyota is right my 05 Sequoia drinks gas, I am getting about 15.5 in Washington DC traffic.

nhdh

· #16 · Dec 15, 2005

I was going to trade my 03 Sequoia in for my Tacoma, but my wife wouldn't part with it. Great vehicle. Had to wait for my camry to finally die (220,000 miles) to get my taco. My understanding on the lease vs buy decision is that if you plan to drive your cars into the groung you should buy, if you intend to turn them over every 3 years for a new one leasing is a good option.

unitdose

· #17 · Dec 16, 2005

sequoia 05 vibrations

My company just bought me a new 05 Sequoia limited. Overall it's great. It has a vibration between 70-80 mph that the dealer can't fix on the last 4-5 visits.

Make sure you get it out on the road and run it before you buy.

onetimer

· #18 · Dec 16, 2005

JMSinMD said:
I used to sell Toyota's myself. Before I started selling cars I thought leases were for dummies. I always heard people say "no equity" at the end of the lease. To that I would ask them this, if I were to sell you stock in a company for $40k and I guaranteed that within 3 years it would only be worth $20k would you buy it? At the end of the lease you don't own anything which is great, if you family gets larger or smaller you could switch accordingly. Also within 3yr/36k the car is still under warranty. The only money you have to put in is for oil changes, rotation and balance and alignment, nothing else, not timing belts, engine coolant flushes, etc. Something to be said for that as well, being able to hand your keys to a service rep and saying whatever it is fix it and walking out with no bill. Cars are no investment and I have rarely seen a car appreciate in value so why tie yourself down to it? Jon. p.s. the average car owner does not drive their car into the ground, but trades in every 3-4 years and rolls the 'inequity' over into a larger balance and larger payments. Jon. p.s. we had a celica that we gave away at a fair, the man who one it recently got his daughter a car so he wanted us to buy it back. For us to do that we had to title it and then buy it back which automatically made the car used. We gave him as much as we could but it was 6k less than MSRP because of the title, not even having left the lot.

if i have a 3 year bumper to bumper warranty the dealer will fix it without
charging me anyway. he better or he won't get any more business from me or my
29384 friends that i spread the word to.
I guess i'm not average though. i take care of my car and drive it into
the ground. my last toyota truck laster 15 years. i paid it off in
30 months. 12.5 years with no payments and no really expensive repairs.
lets see that 150 months worth of car payment. maybe $200 per=
$20K in my pocket(figure 10K for maintenance and some repairs)
or if i leased....out of my pocket.

if you ask me, leasing a car is like renting an apartment.
its flushing money down the hopper.
you end up with nothing.
maybe that the 'price of living'.

it may cost less than a real car payment.
maybe you don't have the money or want to make a commitment.

in the end its your money.

See less See more

1 - 18 of 18 Posts

This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.