Skidpalace

No need to throw insults around, John.
I was asking a valid question in the proper thread of the proper forum.
I am soliciting opinions on leasing versus buying for business purposes.
If I wanted your opinion on what kind of car to drive or on my sales experience and success, I would have asked for it.
By the way, the entry level Lexus is hardly a sign of success. I am thinking of dumping my SUV in favor of the ES because it is an economical and responsible choice. Easier for my clients to get in and out of, and it is a good blend of luxury, economy, sport, and functionality not to mention being a great looking car.

John U

Skidpalace,
Sorry if my typed words came across roughly.
Your accountant needs to plug in your actual tax/write off situation and give you an end of the year outcome for a purchase and a lease.
BTW.... You may want to buy another SUV for the write offs!!

http://www.selfemployedweb.com/suv-tax-deduction-5.htm

Good Luck!
JU

Kaius88

Plus every state has a slightly different take on business writeoff and unreimbursed expenses. If you know what tax bracket you're in, it's not too hard to figure out. In general, figure out the total interest you'll pay in those 3 years. If you use the car 80% of the time for business, only 80% of the interest is deductable. Add this amount to the estimated depreciation in the 3 year period, which counts as an expense. Now compare this number with the total lease expense for the 3 years. You can't deduct depreciation on a lease because you don't own the vehicle. Because 3 years is not a long period, you dont have to worry about time value of money or future value of $$. Just compare the total expenses (interest + depreciation vs. lease). You'll see that leasing is not really economically beneficial. Leasing might be easier and you dont need a big down payment. But even for 3 years, buying makes more sense in general (unless you state has incentives for leasing).

***disclaimer*** this is not professional advice.... so dont sue me if you get harmed following my opinion. My specialty is real estate accounting.... not personal/business management.

sk01

mikedozz : heed the advise above if you want to be successful. Warren Buffet said in an interview i watched just 2 days back (but was taped long) that he never borrows (large sums of) money and it was one of the 2 secrets for his success. In an article floating around these days in the news Oh here is the link i found http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/09/....0918broke.php ... Anyway I'm on a personal Jihad against Usury (interest) so I advise myself and others all the time never to deal with interest as it destroy's societies .



I agree to the first quote JU but not to the Uncle Sam owning part of our money I humbly disagree and you would too after you found out that US Law and Supreme Court including ruled Income tax on citizens is illegal (IRS including is illegal) > please watch this movie upcoming in many states in US called "America: From Freedom to Fascism" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TljEe...elated&search= (a link to what it is But let me find another link) http://www.freedomtofascism.com/ and http://video.google.com/videoplay?do...88001333580937 and http://video.google.com/videoplay?do...88777215293198 interview of Aaron Russo

Anyway thats all for now I appologize to anyone who has been hurt by whatever I said

dshahs420

I dont know about all you guys but if i had the 40 grand to spend on a car, i would still finance if the APR was low(under 5%) and either put that money in a mutual fund which has never failed to yeild less than 8% in profits or i put that 40,000 grand for a down payment on a real estate purchase. To me its okay to borrow as long as you have a smart accountant to put your money in the right places. I made my money by accumulating a lot of debt but i knew that down the road it would pay dividends.

I'll give you my example. By 30 I had owned 50 apartments/houses. Knowing that it was high time to sell, I sold 25 of my lowest income producing properties and the equity i had in those 25 i sold, I paid off the other 25. So now i own 25 real estate properties with no mortgage. But before i was 30, I had close to 10 million in borrowed money! Nothing wrong in borrowing as long as you know what you are doing!

John U

You've got it figured out.....Congradulations!
Most of the buying public works on the principle that if they have $XXX a month left in their checking account they can lease a car for that amount...screw saving for the future! Not many contribute to an appreciating asset(s) or retirement.
JU