DRIVING↓PARTS AND SERVICE
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40 June 2019 _ PopularMechanics.comJUSTINSULLIVAN^(TOP);^ DENISE^ RETALLACK(CARVANA);^SILVER^SCREENCOLLECTION^(TRANSAM)DRIVINGA Few More Options
THE THIRD WAY
SOME CARMAKERS ARE experimenting
with another option: subscriptions. The idea
is, everything is included—insurance, main-
tenance, wear-and-tear items. And terms
are short. So it’s low commitment.
For instance, Volvo’s subscription pro-
gram—Care By Volvo—starts at $700 per
month for an XC40, with the option to
upgrade to a new car after 12 months. The
big variable here involves the insurance.
Since it’s included, that can be either a great
deal or a horrible one. If you’re a 50-year-old
with a great driving record, you’ll probably be
better off leasing the car and calling Geico.
Is a year too long a commitment for you?
There’s GM’s Maven program, which is kind
of like Uber meets Avis—book a car via app
and drive it as long as you need it.
There are month-long terms in some
cities, or you can pay by the hour. And, to
take this thing full circle, if you own a GM
vehicle, you might be able to rent it to other
people. Perhaps at this point you’re won-
dering: What did I do when I needed a car
myself? Easy. I bought a certified pre-owned
car, get ting most of the origina l warrant y at
half the original price. Because sometimes
the best new-car deal isn’t a new car at all.OR MOST of my life, I thought of
leasing as the thing you do when
you can’t afford the car you really
want—a way to parlay a Civic pay-
ment into a Benz commute. Now
that I’m a grown-up, sort of, I’ve
rea lized that it’s more complicated
than that, and that leases can actually be a
financially savvy move, depending on the
circumstances. But leases aren’t your only
option. There are also subscriptions, car-
sharing services, and my favorite wildcard:
certified pre-owned programs.THE BENEFITS OF LEASING
LEASES ARE PREDICATED on the idea that
car companies can forecast depreciation
three or four years out and charge you just
for that, with the option to then either return
the car or buy it at a pre-agreed price. If the
company gets it wrong and the car depreci-
ates more than they thought, you walk away.
And if the car doesn’t depreciate as much
as predicted, then you get to buy it at below-
market value. In fact, I know someone who
ended up essentially driving a free Porsche
for three years because the limited-edition
model he chose didn’t depreciate, surpris-
ing everyone. He bought out the lease at a
below-market price and promptly sold the
car. Voilà! Free Porsche.THE CASE FOR OWNING
SAY YOU BUY a commodity car that enjoys
strong resale value: a Jeep Wrangler. If
we look at Jeep’s financial calculator for
a basic Wrangler, a buyer would pay $500
per month for five years while a lessee pays
$273 per month for four years. Both pay
the same down payment. After four years,
the lessee will have an extra $10,896 in the
bank—but no equity. But after one more
year, the owner has a payment-free ride and
that Wrangler should still be worth more
than $20,000.
See? Unless you’re driving 30,000
miles per year, or plan to keep your car for
a decade, it’s not a slam-dunk decision one
way or the other.Buy, Lease—
or Subscribe?
There are more ways than ever to acquire a car.
Here’s how to choose the right one.
/ BY EZRA DYER /SWAPALEASE.COM
Want to drive a BMW M5
for only four months?
Take over somebody
else’s lease. Or get out
of yours early.CARVANA
Carvana sells used cars
online, with a 4,189-mile
or 100-day warranty. It
delivers, or helps fly you
to one of its lots.DRIVESHARE
A Hagerty program that
allows you to rent classic
cars. Because you can’t
get a Knight Rider
Tr a n s A m f ro m Av i s.