Hey guys

Im just doing some research on novated leases for cars and i have been speaking to Jason at Autopia. I know some of you guys here on this type of plan and just wanted to pick your brains.

Now obviously what im trying to do is map out a plan to reduce how much money is going out of my bank account so i can put more towards saving for a house.
So far Jason has been excellent at sugar coating everything for me so i basically wanted to see what the catches are.
I am aware of the establishment & admin fees etc but just wanted to see how some of you rated your experience with it all.
Some points about my case:
Only looking at spending $17-20,000 on a car, Jason and i have picked the 2003 Jeep Cherokee 3.7L TDi as a good starting point. This car has resonable running costs, good resale value and are pretty reliable off road with a few mods. i allocated 17,000 kms a year of travel so all the following was based around this figure over three years - tyres, servicing, fuel, insurance and maintenance (mods haha).
So he came back to me with a cost over three years of $28176.07 which works out to be $783 a month with all the fees worked into the amount. With a residual at the end of the term which is less than half of the value of the car (some 40 odd %).
A couple of things im curious about...
-What if i want to mod the car in anyway?
-What if you budget for 1 set of tyres for three years and need 2 sets and the similar with fuel usage etc...?

So the way I'm looking at it.
PROS
-all your costs are taken in one steady amount over the year leveling your ups and downs with costs
-you dont have to worry about paying for something out of you pocket cos its covered monthly in the lease, fuel, tyres everything
-the payments you make come out of your income before the bank sees it, in turn reducing your taxable income

CONS
-your paying for the car over the three years but at the end of the term you still have to pay the odd 40% balloon back either by selling or re-financing the residual to keep the car. (if you choose the right car you could well in fact make a little profit on the sale.

If there is anything I'm missing or you guys think i should know post up, feel free to criticize and discuss amongst yourselves.

Cheers in advance for any input.

Wato

***Disclaimer***Please note that this is just an example and perhaps not in any way what i will be doing. This exercise is purely for educational reasons and i have no financial connections with Autopia. Thanks.

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Ever stop to think...and forget to start again...

To quote Homer Simpson "Beer, the cause of and the solution of all our problems"

WRX - Stealth Spec - So stealth i cant even see it

Wato my Sti is 26K x 3 years, residual 25.7K, 25000kms per year. I only disclosed the mods to the insurance company
Remember that extra tyres etc will be your cost if not accrued for, having said this, I am 1/2 way through my lease and up about 2k in budget for fuel etc which will come off my residual figure (after tax) if it stays that way. Generally they configure the package for you to come out on the right side of things otherwise nobody would do bus with them. Check out the package based on 25000 kms per year, it might be worth a few weekend drives to Albainia...
FYI, on the bugeye (3 years old) I came out with a residual of 17K, no I didn't make any money selling the car but we did get a cheap daily driver for the wife!
Final word of advise, see your financial planner or accountant to make sure it is effective for your situation!! You need to be earning at least 70K plus IMO to make it work
Al

quick question - do you guys have a say in who does the servicing on the car?

Yes

how do you claim cost back?
just mail the invoice back to the leasing company?

Yes

Mate I am with Autopia and mods are just like anything else, you take your chances. We budgeted for mine to have one change of tyres (Re070's) along with all other running costs. After 18 months I am still running under my budget. I can claim any running cost I want as long as the invoice has the suppliers ABN on it. I can pay cash or use the card they gave me. If I pay cash then I fill out their reimbursement form and they pay into my bank account. The way it's looking is I am going to be well in front when I do change over in Oct 07. I am well pleased with their Novated Lease arrangement!!

PS Choosing the STI with it's high resell value is a good option I beleive and I should actually put some $$ in my pocket at change over time plus get another brand new car (STI or EVO X). So next set of mods should be paid for with the sale of this car in theory.

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Funny looking German Subaru

for the people who know nothing about this "autopia", where can we learn more??

google!

Dave, I know we talked about yours, who accrues your FBT? Is it in the lease or does company pay it?
Al