Richard

To any xA owners and dealers that can help me, it'd be appreciated. I'm starting to get serious about being able to buy a new car. And I am currently seriously considering the Scion xA.

I don't know when it will be this year as I need to find another job and keep saving. It may also depend if I go away to school as I will not have the car my family owns now.

So going to Scion.com I checked and re checked lol how much a pretty much stock xA would cost with the assumption that my credit is fair. The site didn't (like Toyota's site) show the price of leasing an xA.

So my questions:

Even with Scion's pure pricing, can these cars be leased? How's this work? Any idea in general will be helpful. I never leased a car, but my mom thought it might be an option for me, especially if I go out of state for school. And this would be my first car buying experience.

What's the availbility in general of dealerships having 2005 xAs *especially stock* on the lots? I'm just wondering. If I need to order after checking around, I would need to do that possibly by March.

When will the 2006 xAs be out?

If I have to order, what's the wait time in northern NJ?

Finally (and if you read this far, thank you) if anyone can answer an insurance question, also would be appreciative. I'm just trying to get an idea considering my would be situation.

The insurance question is if my future new car would be insured and registered in NJ, when I go to school in NC, would my insurance come (clean record) down and would I still be insured in NJ even though I might be living in NC for school?

Thanks for baring with me, all your help is appreciated.

*edit* Sorry for the run on sentences, late night.

UndyingVisage58

why would you want to lease? people do leases mainly cause theyre cheaper monthly than purchases. the very base model (standard and no accessories) will run you around 270 a month with nothing down and no trade in. i got lojack, GAP, and a $2200 extended warranty. my payments are 325 a month. without the warranty (which i should have done in the first place but now the # existed and my payments are 325) the monthly payments would have been around 280 a month with 13% apr. and i put down 3500.

plus if your going to school out of state youll be traveling ALOT just to see your family and friends, which dealerships may frown on cause youll have a set amount of miles per month you can drive it. so i went with financing.

scions over here in so. cali. would sell out almost the second they got too the dealership (i saw mine after it was unloaded off the truck and it was mine :D). so i think you might have to just hope they have what you want.

as far as insurance....... give progressive a call and get a quote with them and ask them about the insurance stuff. im insured with progressive but theyre just the middle man. the real insurer is in florida. and i live in california. i pay about 150 a month for full coverage on my car and about 80 or so for my chicks. under 250 for full coverage on both cars. not sure if that helps you at all

good luck!

Denstyr

I leased my xb, and it is worth it for me. I have a 5-year lease with them, and over the course of the 5 yrs, I will pay a little more than half the car off. Which means, come the end of the lease, I have the option to buy it out. and I will, b/c by then I will have about 150,000 miles on it. Therefore, I will be able to finance the rest of the car, if I need to. In total, I will be paying an extra $7000 on top of what the car costs. So, if making your monthly payments smaller is what you're lookin' for, do a lease. But you WILL pay more this way.

As far as insurance, call GEICO, b/c Progressive is not available in NJ. But you would be better off getting the car insured in NC, b/c it will be cheaper.

I hope I helped you!

Guest

For your first car, it's best to finance instead of lease. Financing will help build your credit and offers more options down the road when you decide on a purchasing another car.
More than likely there will be xA's available. If they don't have one of the lot, they can find one at another dealership and set up a dealer trade.
When I bought my xA, I was told that the 06' models will come out around May.
Not sure for your state, but for California it's around 6-8 weeks.
Yes you will still be insured even though the car is driven in another state. Your insurance rates won't go down. The best way to lower your insurance rates is apply for the student driver discount which is available at most insurance carriers. It's best to contact an agent to see if you do apply for it .

Richard

I don't know if I want to lease, it was just something to consider. But if payment wise it would cost more in the end to lease, I probably won't. Right now I'm trying to get all the information I can about everything I asked.

As far as leasing and the amount of miles, I wasn't planning on driving back and forth from NJ to NC and back, etc. I suppose that could change and that is something to consider.

All: I already have an insurance policy with insurance giant State Farm. I wasn't thinking of changing it. I just thought as I know somewhat from friends and family, by living away from Newark the rates wil come down. I suppose unless anyone from Jersey chimes in for now, I will definitely have to call them.

Richard

Another plus for financing. I think I really need to build my credit back up.

Thanks, I am trying to get into school for April, but if not then summer. Your answer helps.

I answered part of this in my last post. Yeah definitely I would see about a student driver discount. My g/f's family could probably with help with insurance a little, I gotta see who they use, perhaps talk to their insurance company.

Richard

*bump*

IS300Turbo

Scions are not worth leasing because the depreciation is high, so the difference in the payment cost does not justify it. In the case of the car I got it was like a $40 dollar difference (or about half a week of gas in my STi). The financing rate are also quite good...some places are offering 0%...you can't go wrong with that. Plus you can sell it at anytime and you don't have to worry about overmileage.

adorable

>Even with Scion's pure pricing, can these cars be leased? How's this work? Any idea >n general will be helpful. I never leased a car, but my mom thought it might be an

You can lease anything you want -- the dealers can easily set you up for this w/o a problem as long as credit is good or you've got some down.

But, here's the problem on the xA - it's already pretty darn cheap at $13k, so the difference between the monthly payment isn't going to be that much.

http://autos.yahoo.com/finance/loan-calc/index.html
Use the Loan vs. Lease calculator to get an approximate.

Here, Kiplingers is saying about a 50-60% residual value after 3 years, a bit less for 5 years. (it's too new to tell)

So let's say a good 40% after 5 years, 60% after 3 years - decent and in line with a Honda Civic (the best you'll get for residual value in compacts).

That's $305 vs $217 loan/lease on a 5 year; or $484 vs $252 on a 3 year.

If you figure on a $5 hour job, that's 40 hours (1 week of work; or every weekend + one day of work), to pay every $200 of your loan/lease.

You'll have to do the math re: how much you'll want to work, how long you'll want to keep the car, and how much you're being paid.

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Here's the BIG catch!

Lease assumes you'll keep the car in very good condition for return at the end of the lease and/or you'll buy it off completely. Most college cars get dinged and abused because nobody else in the lots cares, and you'll wind up with an ugly (ie. expensive lease return). If you keep it, you get an ugly car. (not necessarily bad, but hard to take your work buddies out in a college car without some ribbing) AND, you MUST make sure the lease agreement allows buy-off! (some will take the car no matter what you wish for at the lease-end)

SO, better garage and baby that baby on most leases (unless you intend for sure you'll keep it and/or buy it off, then sell it yourself).

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One thing you do want is a very reliable car. Even if it has to be a $185 / mo. lease special for a Civic DX, then so be it! Having a car breakdown in college is just rough, and not a fun thing at all (unless you're a skilled mechanic and/or going to auto school) (esp.so in snowy Eastern states).

Here, I wouldn't take the less reliable brands like Kia or Chevy (Aveo) because of this. I would consider the Hyundai because it is ranking pretty good on Consumer Reports for reliability, but factor in what one breakdown means vs. the $3000 difference in price vs. the xA. (with a Hyudai at $10kish)

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Another big LEASE catch #2.

If the car actually depreciates faster than they say, and the car is wrecked w/o gap insurance and/or insurace that'll cover the remaining value of the car on the lease, you'll wind up paying quite a bit for a car that isn't worth that much anymore.

Lease = think about GAP insurance.

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Anyways, figures above were for $15k xA after everything tax, title license, etc. which you can walk out with today if you buy Auto xA + GAP + extended warranty. You can get lower if you take out GAP + warranty, so the figures above give you some leeway to work with.

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If you loan, get a SIMPLE INTEREST RATE loan with no penalty for early payoff! They can try and sucker you into a Complex/whatever rate loan that'll kill you in interest if the dealer isn't playing nice. (Most Scion dealers should be okay, but you never know -- you may just walk into the finance dept. from hell.)

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When you get ready and are at the last step before signing the papers, ask them to present EVERY piece of paper you have to sign at once, and put them all in front of you.

READ VERY, VERY carefully everything you are signing, and ask Q's like crazy. If you feel unsure, make note of it. If the unsures get too big, just walk (tell them you need to ask your parents, etc. first) -- there's no reason to sign into something that'll trap you for years you didn't realize (extra warranty, undercoating, alarm service, etchings).

Here, adults that have gone through the process and know what's going on can help you go through the papers - bring a dad or someone who knows what's good or bad. (not everyone knows what's good for them!!)

It'll take you a dozen minutes or more to read through everything, so take your time (if the guy's busy, just ask for a seperate table/room).

Anything that is optional to sign (eg. Dealer Service reward card at Toyota Irvine) that doesn't need to be signed, doesn't need to be. Make sure the dealer points them out. I didn't sign for my reward card because it didn't have any fine print on it, nothing he could give me, so I didn't -- who knows what they could be signing me up to?!? (and besides, there should be NO reason for a customer to have to sign to get better service deals)

Basically, there's only a few things you'll need in CA: as I recall - 1) Lease/Loan agreement, 2) Tire Warning statement (no chains, use other snow devices!) 3) Power of attorney for DMV title reg 4) title reg. Maybe a few more, but pretty much all of the important stuff here. Everything else isn't required (fill in if I forgot an important doc), so don't bother with the extra stuff.

Because I knew what I wanted, they had it in stock, and it was not a busy day, they had me in and out in 1 1/4 hours flat, including time to check out the car and read the loan papers. Credit was easy because of my rating, so no hassles there either.

Otherwise, normally, expect 2-3 hours total so don't think you'll be going anywhere fast.

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Personally, for the xA because it's a Toyota, and I've seen how long a cared for Toyota lasts (ie. oil change on the dot, everything that breaks or sounds like trouble is immediately taken care of at a Toyota dealer service dept., you actually wash, wax, and vacuum the baby), you can easily go the first 5-7 years w/o anything except a new battery, tires, oil and coolant (cheap stuff).

(long term is where a nicer Toyota is way better than a Kia/Hyundai/Aveo/etc.)

In other words, if you do it right, it can carry you through 4 years of school, and the first couple years of work (where you may not get employed right away depending on profession and have school to pay off).

If you go this route, and try to keep expenses low even after college (smart), then buying it is the best way (loan). It'll prep. you for marriage/house financially (because they see you can pay something off completely), builds credit score, and generally cheaper/easier than leasing long term. (you can't bump comprehensive off a lease car on the insurance) Finally, it's yours at the end, and you can also keep it as a second car for the heck of it (me, three - always handy when one goes for service).

You can easily keep most modern cars going 100,000 miles over 10 years w/o much trouble nowadays.

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But lease if you can keep the car in very good condition,know you'll want to give it up in a few years, and want the lowest monthly possible.

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>What's the availbility in general of dealerships having 2005 xAs *especially stock* >on the lots? I'm just wondering. If I need to order after checking around, I would >need to do that possibly by March.

In southern california, not a big deal. just ask and you'll likely have one the next day. Options and custom stuff will take longer, but not more than a month. Easiest here is to keep the dealers in the area aware, check up on those that update the website with inventory, and the moment somebody has one, call up and go in to buy it that day. (like me) almost always at least 10-20 xA's in stock around So. Cal dealers. Oddly, almost always either the limited RS 1.0 series/xAs fully loaded, or the low-end base xAs.

states elsewhere? Maybe harder due to lower inventory....

>When will the 2006 xAs be out?

End of 2005, last couple of months.

>Finally (and if you read this far, thank you) if anyone can answer an insurance >question, also would be appreciative. I'm just trying to get an idea considering my ><would be situation.

Cheapest would be multi-car insurace under mom&dad's policy for now. State Farm was quoting around a $307-320 for me (6 months), so that's not bad at all on a new car with loaded insurance coverage. You can go lower by shopping around - eg. Mercury, Progressive, etc., and dropping stuff that's optional (eg. towing, coverage beyond what's required by law, etc.).

But here, I'd get decent comprehensive 30/100 at the minimum, uninsured, gap (as needed), passenger (30/100 or better), etc. It's not that much more, and you'll thank yourself if/when you get hit (one of the top killers of Americans, so don't think it's not likely). Uninsured is very good to have, esp. in So. Cal. and always wise.

30/100 may seem high, but just you wait until a lawyer hits you with a suit! and besides, new cars should always get the best coverage all around.

here, you may also want to see what the replacement policy is for new cars totalled -- eg. saw an ad for Mercury where they do 100% the first year. You never know....

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>The insurance question is if my future new car would be insured and registered in NJ, >when I go to school in NC, would my insurance come (clean record) down and would I >still be insured in NJ even though I might be living in NC for school?

Ask the agency you're with. Some differ. get it in writing or a quote - you don't want to get messed up on this later.

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Things I thought about before and and got:

1) GAP insurance. Just in case someone decides to total my car right away and the depreciation on the xA is just horrible. Not that much, and saves me the hassle of diggin up thousands later. (not that I can't pay, but it's always a hassle)

2) extended warranty. although I don't drive far, if a new job takes me halfway across Los Angeles, that'll usually clock in 60+ miles per day with oil changes every month or sooner (been there, done that, no fun =( )-- in other words, a lot of wear and tear that'll even bring a Toyota down. Figure anything big fixed once equals the full coverage, so might as well have all the potentially big problems covered. 7/75 was my pick based on two years of local; 5 years at a new job farther away in milage (and anything past 7 years, well, it's an xA for sakes! $13k, not $50k! Just buy another!).

Once you start to stray past the 50k mark, things just tend to go - alternator, starting electronics, AC, struts, engine mounts, etc, etc. - all of the expensive stuff.

(here, driving gently and garaging w/ frequent washing, waxing, vacuuming, oil & coolant changes will help a LOT in keep the baby looking and running good)

Stuff I considered but left out:
1) All of the optional add-on parts. Spoiler, fog lights, rims, lighting, etc, etc. Cheaper if you buy them ebay.com or later, and install yourself (or have a pro do it). After all $499 for a spoiler is really asking for it! Anyways, it's been quoted that Scion isn't making all that much on the cars, but more on the accessories in some news article I read recently.

2) side air bags. they didn't have them in stock for some time in the color/features xA I wanted, so out it went. plus is that you're potentially safer in a side impact (which does happen), and this is only a 4 star all around car (see safercar.gov). You do have to sit perfectly though, else the bags won't deploy right, so that's something to keep in mind. Driving safely and looking out for others can reduce the chances of an accident, so do your own math. I would have liked to have them, but wanted a xA for Xmas, so there you go. Really doesn't hurt to have them IMO, esp. since your head doesn't bounce off the side glass, rather bags, in an impact.

3) Lo-Jack. Often reduces insurace rates (ask your company) and worth it if you're living in a high-crime area. Figure I don't see cars vanishing where I'm at, so I'll play my luck like most people. Alarm is a good alternative, but not as effective at car theft -- any serious theif with a tow can just pickup a honking car and drive away. besides, it's not a Mercedes at $50k+, so what are they thinking if they tried to run off with one?!? (cheap theives?)

But Lo-Jack or Alarm with pager is better - let's you react much quicker when you're away from the car, and let's you call the police faster.

(Of course, wiring in your own battery disabler is even cheaper if you know what you're doing.)

4) Alarm + remote in-one. Yeah, would be nice, but Scion charges $499 for one, and you can easily get one installed anywhere else (or yourself) cheaper and/or with more features. Another one of their high-profit items. Still worth it if you don't want to hassle later, and it's covered by the warranty as a OEM part.

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THings you don't even need to consider -
underbody or paint treatments, protectants, sealants.
fabric protectants, etc.
non-toyota extended warranties
a) here, maybe even anything but their platinum coverage level with $0 deductable -- after all, what's the point of not having EVERYTHING covered or having to pay a $50 deductable everytime with the other levels of coverage?!?
b) wasn't that expensive under $800 for 7/75 and dealers do have leeway in pricing it up or down.
window etchings
complex interest loans/anything but a simple interest loan with no (or low <$100) penalties for early payoff at anytime.
etc.

The above either don't work, won't work, aren't needed, or can be had cheaper elsewhere. I'll let the lease experts chirp in on this - otherwise, see www.fatwallet.com/forums/ -> Finance for experts there.

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Denstyr

Thanks for ALL that info. How do your fingers feel? lol

adorable

Just peachy - must be powered by xA fuel =)

Anyways, also look at
http://www.fatwallet.com/forums/ -> forums -> finance forums

There's quite a bunch of ways you can help lower college funding, get extra cash (eg. open ING bank account and get $50, open credit card and get $100 -- you're not supposed to be spending it either! like most college students who wind up $20k+ in dept from shopping too much).

Sign up for all of the freebies in the -> free stuff section, etc.

Buy computer for college cheap -> hot deals section.

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eg. Crazy things I have got.
1) Palm Pilot for test driving an Infiniti I35 years ago. Good for organizing.
2) Free K. Cole watch. Keeps you on time.
3) Free calendar/clock. Keeps dates in mind.
4) Free pens, leds lights, paper cutters, etc. Writing, lighting, opening bills.
5) Free mouse pads.
6) Free cash for test driving cars.
7) etc, etc. etc.

Between that and the free t-shirts, you could build up a meger stock of college gear just doing nothing all day except filling in these freebie forms (use a junk mail account, never do it if they want a credit card,etc.).

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Anyways, getting free stuff is better than paying for it, so why not?

Denstyr

I like the way you think adorable...

wolf_xa

You could always sell your body to science for college $! My pal while at NYU used to sell sperm for $50 every two weeks, test drugs, donate blood and plasma and even bone marrow a couple times a year!!- though he would have a huge hole in him and for me it sure didn't seem worth the $400!! Want lower payments do what I did put down as much as you can/half... my payments are $100/month.

Richard

This latest info (before the "body to Science") post helps a lot.

Leasing is out, like I've said it was something to consider. I plan to save for the largest down payment I can afford. First, have to look for a steady job which I'm doing. I think my tax return may go towards the down payment so it'll be a better start.

adorable

Keep in mind that a big down payment on a $13k car will lower your monthly, but half of $300 a month is only cutting down the hours you work per month from 40 to 20 (or about two weekends instead of 4 a month of work).

You may find that having the thousands in cash in the bank is better -- pays for the books, the misc. expenses, etc. and helps in case of a cash crunch. Otherwise, you may find yourself selling the car in an emergency because you don't have enough savings to weather out a bad period.

(they always suggest 3-6 months of backup funds at the minimum....)

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also, if the car gets totalled in the first couple of years, the depreciation on the car will not get you another nice car and the money you've just put into it will have suddenly vanished (depreciated fast).

Best would be to pay nothing at first, go on a $300 / month payment, save up for the next 1-2 years or so, then, if you have the entire amount to do an early payoff, do it then. That protects you a little more against a total and keeps a big pile of cash around in case you do have an emergency.

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putting a big down on cars & houses aren't usually wise unless you've got money sitting around. possible loss and/or tying up too much of your cash in an emergency usually hurts more....

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But if minimum payments are a must, then put down what is needed to get the monthly down to what you're comfy with.

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adorable

oh, as for the selling body thing -- it's way more cash to be a p**n actor instead for a day or two.....

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and if you're a girl, way more selling eggs, although the whole thing takes months, hurts like heck, and may cause problems later in getting preggers.... thousands for some good looking eggs with high IQs....

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but really now, let's try not to get the xA too slutty here, skay? she's a 'nice' ride....so be nice.

Richard

Well I'm a dude so....

Yeah, its not like I am putting every cent to a new car and have nothing for myself for various expenses.. I just want to put a decent down payment down. When my family bought our 2000 Toyota Corolla (which was suppose to be my car) I only put down $100. Then again, my uncle was the boss at the dealership.

Anyway all this advice, minus the selling 'body stuff' has been helpful.

If anyone else can provide any info any other experiences, especially from New Jersey, help a future owner out. :D

adorable

summary:

Usually, down is only required to 1) reduce monthly 2) make traditional dealers happy and secure you're serious (rather than just running away with a car) 3) reduce loan rates (but good dealers should be able to get a low rate anyways) 4) reduce insurance rate (assuming you can squeeze a deal where the reported value (final price) is lower than what it really is) 5) fatten the salesman's monthly paycheck.

Scion really takes care of #2 and #3 by fixing the rates based on credit score, and allowing buyers to drive w/ $0 down like me. #1 - you're call, #4, don't tell the cops.

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tip:

if you're putting down a big down, run on over to www.fatwallet.com/forums -> finance, get one of those 1-5% cash back on all purchases credit cards (or multiple depending on their limit per month/year on cash back), then, when you're at the dealership, use the cash back credit cards to pay for the down (almost all will take it).

You can use a amazon.com or borders.com or whatever credit card suits your needs -- eg. amazon.com card gets you credit at amazon.com so you can buy books later. Still, I'd go for the cash back cards at 5%.

Within the deadline stipulated in the credit card contract, payback the entire amount with your cash down that you're holding onto, and walk away with extra cash in your pockets for floating the downpayment on your credit card.

Application to receipt of the cards will take 2-3 weeks, so start applying!

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Tip 2:

similarly, the cash down in a nice accessible savings/checking account (eg. ING direct at 2% + $50 cash bonus to sign up), will get you some more interest+cash while it sits in the bank. (but not in something inaccessible like money market, US bonds, etc; nor something variable like stocks.)

Make sure you can withdrawl/online transfer the cash to the necessary checking/online billpay account in time to pay the credit cards.

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Odd but true: my xA came with a notice not to use snow chains, but some other type of snow tire device.

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firesquare

hey dennis were you talkin about me about insurance in NC

well i use to live in the Metropolitan parts of NY which required stupid high insrance. insurance for me monthly was a car payment, minus a dollar 398.00. As soon as i moved down here in Wilmington NC, i stayed with the same insurance company (allstate) and my payment Dropped like an air bagged S10

my payments are now around 160. whoops i forgot but its in that neighborhood

im 22 with one accident and 2 claims