2.0L vs 2.5L Loan / Need Advice!

[NIKNAK]

Hello all!  TLDR at bottom.
I am leasing to own at 2017 Ford Fusion SE. I got it with 24k miles for a whopping $15.5K. I’m a college student so I went with a 72 month for a monthly payment of around $257. Over these 72 months, I will accrue an amount of close to $18k. I personally think I went head first into my first lease and didn’t realize that $15k would be THAT much money, especially the interest it is building. I drive a lot and have driven around 10,000 miles since I got it in February of this year. I know the 2.5L is incredibly reliable, but it is also pretty sluggish and I wish it had more power to it. 
I have recently looked into getting a 2.0L model of the Fusion because I love the designs. I found a 2014 SE (2.0L) with 130k miles for a price of $10k. It was a single owner. I am looking at potentially trading in my 2.5L for this car and saving myself $5k-$6k plus a shorter lease date. I received a trade in offer that pays for the remainder of my lease plus $890 extra that can go to the title/tags. I really want to pay less per month and also save money in the long run with a car that I have more fun driving. 
I need advice, is it a bad idea to get a car with 130k miles when I have one with nearly 100,000 less if it means that I will save $5k-$6k over the next four to five years? 

 

TDLR: 

I have a 2017 2.5 SE with 36k miles. I owe $15,000. I want to lower my overall loan cost and trade in my car for a cheaper/higher mileage ecoboost. I am looking at a 2014 SE (2.0L) with 130k miles and it is $10,000. The dealership is offering to pay the entirety of the lease plus roughly $900 extra. What is the smart decision? 

[akirby]

First get your terminology correct.  You’re purchasing not leasing.  You have a loan not a lease.  A lease is like renting - you give it back after 2-3 years.  If you can get back what you paid for the 2017 and you’re happier with the 2014 at a lower cost then financially it’s not a bad deal.  But be aware you’ll have more maintenance costs due to the higher mileage and more likely to have some repairs.  That might eat up some or all of the cost difference.  So plan to spend something on repairs and maintenance,

[bbf2530]

55 minutes ago, NIKNAK said:

Hello all!  TLDR at bottom.
I am leasing to own at 2017 Ford Fusion SE. I got it with 24k miles for a whopping $15.5K. I’m a college student so I went with a 72 month for a monthly payment of around $257. Over these 72 months, I will accrue an amount of close to $18k. I personally think I went head first into my first lease and didn’t realize that $15k would be THAT much money, especially the interest it is building. I drive a lot and have driven around 10,000 miles since I got it in February of this year. I know the 2.5L is incredibly reliable, but it is also pretty sluggish and I wish it had more power to it. 
I have recently looked into getting a 2.0L model of the Fusion because I love the designs. I found a 2014 SE (2.0L) with 130k miles for a price of $10k. It was a single owner. I am looking at potentially trading in my 2.5L for this car and saving myself $5k-$6k plus a shorter lease date. I received a trade in offer that pays for the remainder of my lease plus $890 extra that can go to the title/tags. I really want to pay less per month and also save money in the long run with a car that I have more fun driving. 
I need advice, is it a bad idea to get a car with 130k miles when I have one with nearly 100,000 less if it means that I will save $5k-$6k over the next four to five years? 

 

TDLR: 

I have a 2017 2.5 SE with 36k miles. I owe $15,000. I want to lower my overall loan cost and trade in my car for a cheaper/higher mileage ecoboost. I am looking at a 2014 SE (2.0L) with 130k miles and it is $10,000. The dealership is offering to pay the entirety of the lease plus roughly $900 extra. What is the smart decision? 

 

Hi NIK. My opinion is: In addition to akirby's good advice, I would strongly advise you find a family member, good friend, co-worker etc. who is knowledgeable about cars, inspecting cars, vehicle financing, loans etc, and ask their advice. Someone who can look at/inspect the cars, go over the loan terms and purchase contracts and give you first hand advice, as opposed to taking the advice of complete strangers (like me and others) on the Internet who can not see or inspect the cars, contracts, loan terms, deals etc.

 

As akirby stated, you are not "leasing to own". You bought a car with a 72 month loan. And you have discovered, too late, the problems associated with accrued interest over the course of a longer loan duration. You need someone there with you who can help you avoid the same mistakes.

 

The Internet and forums can come in handy for many things. In my opinion, this is not really one of those situations.

 

Keep us updated and good luck.

[Waldo]

It really depends on how much you plan to drive.  If you're going to keep it under 10K miles/year, you might get away with the higher mileage car for 4-5 years without any major repairs.  But if you are like most mid-west college students, you're more likely to be in the 20-25K/year range, which means in just a couple years you'll be at 200K miles which is really beyond the reliable life of the car.  So that $5-6K you think you'll be saving will be spent in maintenance and repairs before your 5 years is up.

 

The best thing to do would be to look at refinancing to see if you can get the interest rate down.  Based on the numbers you've provided, looks like you're in the 7% range.  My credit union is advertising used car loans "as low as 2.99%".  If you're credit is good enough to qualify for that, you could drop your payments to about $230 and save over $2000 over the course of the loan.