New To Land Rover, HSE or HSE LUX?

[waltzonice]

I am very old school... would never lease a car and in fact I've never even financed a car. My dad had bought me a truck when I was in college. Drove that for a few years and then bought my first car -- 1998 Mercedes ML320 -- with cash. Drove that until I bought my LR4 last October.

But back to the topic... I really wanted the memory driver package and passive keyless entry. So for me, the LUX was my only option and I never even considered the HSE. I like some of the other stuff too, like the xenon lights, better stereo, front parking distance controls, and have even used the cooler box a few times. I'm paying this much... what's another $5k??? I plan on keeping this LR4 for as long as I can, so might as well load it up and enjoy it!

 

[gfcronus]

If it is true that you should be able to pay off a vehicle in 3 years, then I shouldn't have the LR4. I could do it, but I would have to make MAJOR changes to my life style to accomplish it. It would be about $1500-1600 a month for just a car payment. With three teenagers at home, I just wouldnt have that much extra for such a large payment.

Rob

I think that's the point of the Money magazine article (again, I don't remember if it was Money magazine I read it or some other publication): if you have to make major life changes to afford the monthly payment on a 3-year car loan, then you can't afford the car. (Sure, you might be able to make the monthly payments, but you'd have to sacrifice potentially important things in life to do it, like saving for retirement, children's education, etc.).

Likewise, according to the same article, if you have to stretch to a 4-year or 5-year loan in order to "afford" the monthly payments, then, technically, the car is too rich for you.

That's not to say that there shouldn't be any 4- or 5-year loan options for people who want to do it that way....just that financial experts say that when looking for a new car, ask yourself if you could pay it off in three years without having to sacrifice/delay one or more of the critical things in life (food, shelter, clothing, education, retirement). If the answer is yes, then take whatever loan terms you want.

In a way, it's kind of like interest-only mortgages. If you see a property you like but can only afford it by taking out an interest-only mortgage, then the it's just too expensive for you.

I'm not trying to lecture anyone or give out financial advice here. It's just that in this thread (HSE vs. LUX), I've noticed one or two folks (or more) who seemed to be defensive about having opted for the HSE, saying that it wasn't a money issue over the LUX, but then later reveal that, oh yeah, I didn't actually buy it, I leased it, and oh yeah, leasing saved me about $80 over my current car payment, etc., etc. "De Nile" ain't just a river in Egypt, folks.

 

[LRnewbie11]

I think it's a bit of a stretch to compare vehicle purchases to interest only mortgages. Additionally I don't believe I was getting defensive about anything let alone not getting the LUX. In fact I think I said it WAS a money issue in that I got a good deal on a lease. I also don't think I made this a discussion about lease vs. buy.

So, thank you for blessing us with your review of an article you read in Money magazine. Can we get back to things that are more pertinent to the vehicle? That would be just fantastic.

 

[UGAgirl97]

I think that's the point of the Money magazine article (again, I don't remember if it was Money magazine I read it or some other publication): if you have to make major life changes to afford the monthly payment on a 3-year car loan, then you can't afford the car. (Sure, you might be able to make the monthly payments, but you'd have to sacrifice potentially important things in life to do it, like saving for retirement, children's education, etc.).

Likewise, according to the same article, if you have to stretch to a 4-year or 5-year loan in order to "afford" the monthly payments, then, technically, the car is too rich for you.

That's not to say that there shouldn't be any 4- or 5-year loan options for people who want to do it that way....just that financial experts say that when looking for a new car, ask yourself if you could pay it off in three years without having to sacrifice/delay one or more of the critical things in life (food, shelter, clothing, education, retirement). If the answer is yes, then take whatever loan terms you want.

In a way, it's kind of like interest-only mortgages. If you see a property you like but can only afford it by taking out an interest-only mortgage, then the it's just too expensive for you.

I'm not trying to lecture anyone or give out financial advice here. It's just that in this thread (HSE vs. LUX), I've noticed one or two folks (or more) who seemed to be defensive about having opted for the HSE, saying that it wasn't a money issue over the LUX, but then later reveal that, oh yeah, I didn't actually buy it, I leased it, and oh yeah, leasing saved me about $80 over my current car payment, etc., etc. "De Nile" ain't just a river in Egypt, folks.

Oh....brother.....Make this end....

Original poster, bless your heart.... all you asked was people's opinion's of the LR4 they chose and 6 pages later, you know all about what you personally can afford or SHOULD be able to afford and how most of us are probably living on food stamps because we have a 5 year note and bought or leased an HSE over a LUX. If you got anything useful out of any of this, you got lucky.

You will know exactly the car you want and you will pay for it exactly how you want and you will be just as thrilled as we are with our LR4s....LUX or not.

Keep us posted....just start another thread so this one will die ...LOL

 

[Count Laszlo]

I saw lease offers in Los Angeles LR4 for $599 a month. I'm assuming this is backed by LR and other dealerships would offer the same. That's an amazing lease offer for a LR4 IMO.

 

[LRnewbie11]

I saw lease offers in Los Angeles LR4 for $599 a month. I'm assuming this is backed by LR and other dealerships would offer the same. That's an amazing lease offer for a LR4 IMO.

That sounds awfully familiar.....

 

[Count Laszlo]

That sounds awfully familiar.....

I'm sorry, did someone (you?) already post that? I just saw the ad yesterday and probably should have read this thread where I left off earlier this week. This tread has become pretty entertaining.

 

[LRnewbie11]

I'm sorry, did someone (you?) already post that? I just saw the ad yesterday and probably should have read this thread where I left off earlier this week. This tread has become pretty entertaining.

No, no. I didn't post it but I'm very familiar with that deal. My dealer had that going on in April... right around the time I took advantage of it!!

 

[gfcronus]

I'm sorry, did someone (you?) already post that? I just saw the ad yesterday and probably should have read this thread where I left off earlier this week. This tread has become pretty entertaining.

No, it means that's the price LRNewbie paid for his LR4.

 

[uhur]

I saw lease offers in Los Angeles LR4 for $599 a month. I'm assuming this is backed by LR and other dealerships would offer the same. That's an amazing lease offer for a LR4 IMO.

This is a low-mileage lease with sizeable upfront payment/lcap cost reduction on a pretty basic HSE model...tax, dealer fees not included...nothing special at all