Audi A5, buy or lease?

[Hammyton]

Love the way it looks.. but not really sure which is the better choice. From my experience Audi's lease terms on the A5 don't seem that attractive and it seems to hold its resale value pretty well. Does this generally mean that if I have the cash then it's a better idea to buy?

Just for some background I will probably be able to put 12k miles on it and haven't owned any luxury brand cars in the past. I've heard the maintenance can be quite costly as well.. does that make it a better idea to lease since I can just give it back after a few years?

 

[xSkyDrAx]

It really depends what your priorities are. None of us can tell you whether you should buy it or lease it. Do you care about looking for another car at the end of your lease period. Does your finances allow you to do such a thing. Are you looking for a car that you can keep for a while to drive or is this a weekend car type thing for you. etc etc you have to ask yourself those questions before you can decide.

 

[MiataNC]

German luxury cars are pure hell on the wallet to maintain after 3-5 years.

Shop around for 3-5 year old A5s and compare used and trade-in prices to the original MSRP. Lease terms are not great, because they depreciate fast in the first 3-5 years. This is mainly due to maintenance costs once you are past the factory warranty period.

My advice...

Lease German luxury cars and let someone else deal with out of warranty maintenance.

 

[Jumpem]

Lease.

 

[Hammyton]

Been doing some research and it really looks like the cost of ownership really starts of increasing after the 3rd year like you guys are saying.

It also looks like the A5 retains its value pretty well after 3 years... since I have the cash available to buy it might just be worth it for me to buy and just resell it in 3 years. Anyone have any experience doing this?

 

[The-Noid]

Been doing some research and it really looks like the cost of ownership really starts of increasing after the 3rd year like you guys are saying.

It also looks like the A5 retains its value pretty well after 3 years... since I have the cash available to buy it might just be worth it for me to buy and just resell it in 3 years. Anyone have any experience doing this?

If that is your plan lease. You can always buy the lease at the end if the car is worth more and resell it the same day. If you go through a dealer and live in a state where you only pay tax on the leased part you can generally work it out with a dealer to play middle man so that you don't pay the sales tax on a car you are selling that day.

I am generally in favor of a lease for cars you are going to own short term in that you can always buy them if things turn around. If the car ends up being horrible unreliably and a lemon to sell you are stuck with it if you bought. If you leased you turn it in. Also like I said if the car ends up being worth more you buy it and sell it. Flexibility has to be worth something when you are buying a car for short term purposes.

If you have the money you can also prepay the lease and end up with generally near 0 cost of financing.

The better question is why not get an S5?

 

[Doppel]

lease

 

[Hammyton]

If that is your plan lease. You can always buy the lease at the end if the car is worth more and resell it the same day. If you go through a dealer and live in a state where you only pay tax on the leased part you can generally work it out with a dealer to play middle man so that you don't pay the sales tax on a car you are selling that day.

I am generally in favor of a lease for cars you are going to own short term in that you can always buy them if things turn around. If the car ends up being horrible unreliably and a lemon to sell you are stuck with it if you bought. If you leased you turn it in. Also like I said if the car ends up being worth more you buy it and sell it. Flexibility has to be worth something when you are buying a car for short term purposes.

If you have the money you can also prepay the lease and end up with generally near 0 cost of financing.

The better question is why not get an S5?

Great advice; I never thought I would take advantage of buying at the end of the lease just because it seems so much more expensive than just buying outright. I will have to go and talk to a dealer then and see how they will value the car at the end of the lease and compare it to how much it would depreciate if I owned it (I'd imagine the dealer will make you pay a lot extra to buy at the end of the lease to encourage you not to buy it so they can sell you on another lease?)

Also I looked at the S5 but this is my first luxury car and it just doesn't strike me as practical.. the cost to own an S5 seems dramatically higher than that of the A5 and I'm not really an enthusiast to begin with. Then again that might all change after a test drive...

 

[PhoKingGuy]

Great advice; I never thought I would take advantage of buying at the end of the lease just because it seems so much more expensive than just buying outright. I will have to go and talk to a dealer then and see how they will value the car at the end of the lease and compare it to how much it would depreciate if I owned it (I'd imagine the dealer will make you pay a lot extra to buy at the end of the lease to encourage you not to buy it so they can sell you on another lease?)

Also I looked at the S5 but this is my first luxury car and it just doesn't strike me as practical.. the cost to own an S5 seems dramatically higher than that of the A5 and I'm not really an enthusiast to begin with. Then again that might all change after a test drive...

I drove both back to back, theres no comparison. The S5 is pure sex

 

[Hammyton]

Would leasin still be the right choice if I decide on the S5? I'd imagine even more so due to the even faster depreciation and even lower reliability right?

 

[DaTT]

Would leasin still be the right choice if I decide on the S5? I'd imagine even more so due to the even faster depreciation and even lower reliability right?

the S5 is one of the sexiest cars on the road right now. The front of my pants moves a little every time I see one.

I would personally never lease a car....nor would I ever buy new again.

 

[SpatiallyAware]

Would leasin still be the right choice if I decide on the S5? I'd imagine even more so due to the even faster depreciation and even lower reliability right?

If you're hitting new s5 territory then depreciation and reliability shouldn't be a major concern for you.



In my opinion these are both cars you lease.

 

[HAL9000]

Audi's don't depreciate nearly as much as other cars, and given that it's got german reliability behind I'd say buy.

Also, an A5 isn't a luxury car. It's just a car.

 

[Doppel]

it's got german reliability

Joke? I'd rate Audi reliability around Dodge levels, and so would groups like consumer reports.

 

[HAL9000]

Joke? I'd rate Audi reliability around Dodge levels, and so would groups like consumer reports.

Aren't German cars some of the best built?

 

[Doppel]

Aren't German cars some of the best built?

Depends how you define. They drive well and are tight, but compared to other brands are not reliable.

 

[The-Noid]

Great advice; I never thought I would take advantage of buying at the end of the lease just because it seems so much more expensive than just buying outright. I will have to go and talk to a dealer then and see how they will value the car at the end of the lease and compare it to how much it would depreciate if I owned it (I'd imagine the dealer will make you pay a lot extra to buy at the end of the lease to encourage you not to buy it so they can sell you on another lease?)

Also I looked at the S5 but this is my first luxury car and it just doesn't strike me as practical.. the cost to own an S5 seems dramatically higher than that of the A5 and I'm not really an enthusiast to begin with. Then again that might all change after a test drive...

The price that you can buy the car for is set in advance when you take out the lease. Generally it is going to be more than what the car is worth. If it isn't find a willing third party and work with your dealer (they will want you to buy a new car for the work or some take $250-$500) and have them broker the transaction so you don't get stuck with the sales tax.

I have owned two s cars and two regular Audis. The S cars are miles ahead of the base cars. The maintenance is more but well worth it for the driving fun.

 

[Jumpem]

Audi's don't depreciate nearly as much as other cars, and given that it's got german reliability behind I'd say buy.

Also, an A5 isn't a luxury car. It's just a car.

Really?

 

[Phanuel]

Audis depreciate faster than Mercedes, and wayyyy faster than BMWs. It's a VW for a lot of the stuff but will cost Audi prices to replace things. They're nice cars, I don't really care for the shoulder line on the A5 though. I own an A4 for what it's worth.

 

[HAL9000]

Audis depreciate faster than Mercedes, and wayyyy faster than BMWs. It's a VW for a lot of the stuff but will cost Audi prices to replace things. They're nice cars, I don't really care for the shoulder line on the A5 though. I own an A4 for what it's worth.

Not over here, Mercedes depreciate seriously fast and audis really slow in the UK...

 

[HAL9000]

Really?

What point that I made was that targeted at?

 

[Jumpem]

What point that I made was that targeted at?

The bolded one. German cars are notoriously unreliable.

 

[dirtboy]

I drove an S5 a couple months ago and looked at the lease numbers. While I wasn't impressed with the car, I can comment on how they hold their value.

Audi appears to limit the their production some, where as other manufacturers don't. I also came to the conclusion that Audi leases can be upwards of 30% higher when compared to a similarly priced competitors car.

The sales manager bragged about having equity in the car due to scarcity. Partially true. When you spend 30% more you'll have equity.

 

[HAL9000]

The bolded one. German cars are notoriously unreliable.

That's bizzare I've always heard the complete opposite. German cars an reliability are synonyms where I'm from

 

[The-Noid]

BMW's are the cheapest luxury car to lease in the US.

hence the name ultimate leasing machine.