Good Morning, my friends. I hope everyone had a great week last week. I will have a decision to make about my vehicle soon. I lease my vehicle and my lease is ending in a few months. I am in my second lease and the first two have worked out very well. However, the car market has changed since pre-pandemic times, when I entered into the current lease. This week’s post will discuss some important things when making a car decision. It will also include my workout schedule for the upcoming week. So, to kick off the new week on the positive, this is The Workout of the Week. This is The Car Decisions Workout.
A Call From the Car Dealership
Earlier this past week I received a call from the Car Dealership where I have been leasing my vehicles from. They wanted to remind of my lease ending and see if I would come in to look at new car options.
I was having a stressful week and this call added more stress. I have not spent much time thinking about what I will do at the end of my current vehicle lease. I told the dealer I would rather have a phone call with them than come in.
Anytime a dealership wants you to come in and talk options, you better be prepared. Since I was not, I did not want to see them face to face. I knew they were going to try to “sell” me on another vehicle. With changes in the car market since the pandemic, I am not up to speed on market conditions. That is a recipe for a person to get taken advantage of by those “sharky” car salespeople.
I did have a phone meeting with the sales manager; and sure enough, they wanted to sell me on a new lease. I still have six months on the current, so I do not need to be in a hurry. The sales manager inquired about my future plans. I told him I wasn’t sure but wanted to consider all of my options. He told me he would run some numbers and email me a few options for a new lease.
I was very disappointed with the two options he came back to me with.
I decided I needed to get up to speed on the current car market trends, sales tactics, and incentives, and to consider if leasing is even still a good idea in 2022.
Get Informed
Anytime a person needs to make a big life decision, like buying a car, information is power. Get informed. Especially when buying or leasing a car! Especially after drastic market changes, like those that have occurred over the last three years. Walking into a car dealership without being informed is a huge mistake.
What To Know
Some of the key things to know include current market interest rates (at the local level and national level), your personal credit score, how much cash you can spend, trends in the market you are shopping (local market, car class market, currents rates, and specials), sales tactics to expect, and some specific numbers to know about a car deal based on if you intend to purchase or lease.
Leasing Specifics
When you lease a vehicle, you rent it for a period of time. It’s not much different than renting an apartment in concept. There are some specific factors you need to know if considering a lease and when looking at a lease contract.
You need to know how many miles the lease is for and how many miles you drive.
How long the lease term is.
You will also need to know what the money factor is (which is the interest rate on a lease and usually a number that looks like “0.0020” on the paperwork – multiply that number by 2400 and you find your “interest rate” – 0.0020X2400=4.8%), the residual value of the vehicle, what the all-in price of the lease is, what the lease buy-out is, and the amount due at signing including all fees and charges.
Other things to have knowledge of include but are not limited to: car manufacturers’ historical vehicle residual value trends, warranties, dealer incentives and current discount programs, MSRP, car market trends in general and in the type of deal you are making, sales and negotiating tactics, and how to talk to a car salesperson.
Where to Get Info
Getting information is pretty easy. A few Google searches and a few hours of reading and watching videos is a good start. Car forums, like Edmunds.com, are an excellent place for market trends, pricing ideas, and information on markets and car manufacturers. Kelly Blue Book is a good place to learn prices and market trends. YouTube has lots of information videos on the whole car buying process.
Do Not…
Whatever you do, do not walk into a car dealership with zero knowledge or having done zero research. You will get played like an instrument and walk out paying way more money than you should, and you probably won’t even realize it! A little research and knowledge is your best tool to not get taken.
On To The Workout Schedule
Mon, Weds, and Fri
Monday, Wednesday, and Friday I will be doing spin bike sessions. I will be working out along with videos like the one below from Global Cycling Network. Their YouTube channel has tons of awesome workouts and I get a better workout on the spin bike with a video, than me just riding it.
Tues, Thurs, and Sat
Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday, I will be doing RBFTBs! Resistance Band FIIT Tabata Burners! I go through a series of exercises using my resistance band and an interval timer. I set the interval timer to Tabata intervals, then max out the exercises for 20 seconds each, take a 10-second rest, then move to the next exercise. I repeat this three times with a one-minute rest between each full Tabata set.
I will follow the RBFTBs with one round of a heavy sandbag Tabata burner. Same concept as RBFTBs, but doing heavy bag moves and only one round.
Yoga and Meditation Every Day
I will also be doing a Yoga video like the one below from Yoga With Adriene, followed by 15-minutes of meditation.
Wrap It Up, Dude
There you have it, my friends! Thank you so much for reading! Thanks to the video providers, YAA, Global Cycling Network, and Yoga With Adriene! If you have not checked out these great content providers, you should! Also if you are in the market for a car soon, do not go into it uninformed! Do some research. Go into it with some knowledge and be prepared. This has been The Car Decisions Workout, from GoodAttitudeFood.com. Until next time, be the hero or heroine in your story!
You must log in to post a comment.