[K-A]

I checked out some Ghibli's and got a rough estimate on a lease. A mid $70's model they said would lease for about $1,200 (of course this was with no negotiations and him knowing I won't be in the market for about 10 months or so).

Being that I'm used to M-B/BMW with their insane artificially incentivized leases, where my 5 Series that MSRP's for $64K costs me $600 a month (my E Class was cheaper even as MBUSA leases them these days for about what a loaded Camry would lease for), it clearly seems quite unattractive, especially considering as much as I was happy with the Ghibli when I saw it, aside from exotic appeal I'm not sure if I see it as a fundamentally superior car to a 5 Series (you're essentially paying up in comparison which allows you exclusivity factor, which is fine) if at all (would have to drive it to make my own personal verdict on that, of course) which would make that a difficult proposition for me.

So I thought about price of buying it. Assuming if in almost a year from now (when I'm out of my lease) you can get these cars for decent discounts or even very slightly used models for even better "discounts", which would of course force quite a bit of money upfront in order to keep payments well under the lease price.

I guess the main question here is how these cars will depreciate. I.e like Masers before it or if it will hold prices significantly better (a must to endorse buying it).

What are you guys doing with the early batches which I'm sure aren't being discounted much yet? Buying or Leasing?

Thanks.

 

[ratti]

From how I seen it QP's didn't seem to hold their value that well, or not as well as they could have, which has me worried that the Ghibli could experience the same. I'm also stuck on if i should finance or lease.

 

[K-A]

It's really a gamble on this car.

I doubt it'll depreciate like the six figure Masers, and I hope the Chrysler mating has one positive side effect on increased reliability/durability, but IF it does depreciate like a "Maserati", you're kind of screwed if you purchase, though the leases seem unattractive enough (based on the perhaps baseless from estimate the salesman gave me) that without any subsidy help and MSRP discount, you might come out behind on that as well.

If the Ghibli an hold its value decently enough for a few+ years then purchasing would probably be smarter, if you have or choose to allocate the liquid funds.

 

[Etodd31856]

The dealers/lenders take the depreciation risk with a lease.........the residuals seem to point towards a belief that the cars may not hold value (compared to the residuals for BMW, etc) if you look a a lease vs buy and how much you have paid you may find the difference not worth buying........it is all a guess of course........I am leasing but will look at it all again when my car is delivered.....plus my dealer says the leases will become more incentivized (higher residuals) by the time my car is delivered in March so we will see. look at three year old QP's on KBB and cars.com they are not holding value IMO.

 

[Elymore]

Buy/finance. Leasing is perpetually swallowing depreciation. Payments adjusted based on residuals, so you're paying for the depreciation of a vehicle your dealer will end up reselling as a certified used complete with markup...

 

[vuem5]

The dealers/lenders take the depreciation risk with a lease.........the residuals seem to point towards a belief that the cars may not hold value (compared to the residuals for BMW, etc) if you look a a lease vs buy and how much you have paid you may find the difference not worth buying........it is all a guess of course........I am leasing but will look at it all again when my car is delivered.....plus my dealer says the leases will become more incentivized (higher residuals) by the time my car is delivered in March so we will see. look at three year old QP's on KBB and cars.com they are not holding value IMO.

BMW subsidize their leases a lot. Since they are financing it (Maser does not do financing, they use 3rd party banks), they are basically putting money from one pocket to another (you're getting a discount off MSRP basically through a discounted lease rate).

So if Maser starts financing their own deals they can do that also.

Also in another thread I did a pretty detailed comparison between a lease and a buy scenario, and a buy is definitely a better deal if you can't write off the lease payment as a business expense.

http://www.ghibliforum.com/forum/purchasing-orders/1130-ghibli-lease-7.html

 

[mr.smith]

The Ghibli was recently picked as a future collectible so it might be worth buying and hanging onto for the long haul. I've always been skeptical of leasing. Family taught me it was not a good way to spend money so I've never really considered it.

 

[K-A]

That's cool that it was given that status. I think a lot of that will have to do with how many are bought. Kind of a bittersweet thing in that regard as if it sells a lot more then that means resale may be better due to a bigger market for it and assuming proven reliability, but if it doesn't sell in hoards then and keeps a strong regard throughout its production run then it could be somewhat "collectible".

 

[vuem5]

I seriously doubt the collectiblity angle of an SQ4 in the future. If they come out with some limited edition Ghibli GTS-R, maybe. But the Ghibli is built for masses, and it doesn't have anything really unique about it except that its the first Maserati aimed at the mid size luxury market. Like you said if produced in limited quantity it could work, but that's not what Maserati wants. They want to sell as many Ghiblis as possible.

 

[pitchfork]

lease.

with cars today and their tons of electronics its just not worth keeping cars for long. they don't make them like they use to.

Plus after about 4 years cars start to depreciate hard. Not sure if its worth it to keep it that long.

 

[Etodd31856]

And based on my experience as a collector (not cars) collectability is based on rarity and condition..........so you have to buy it put it in a heated garage and wait a long time.........better off collecting special edition GT's While Ghibli is a hign end vehicle and production number wise still exclusive, may not turn out to be collectible IMO. Only time will tell and that is the guess and the gamble..............

 

[vuem5]

The dealers/lenders take the depreciation risk with a lease.........the residuals seem to point towards a belief that the cars may not hold value (compared to the residuals for BMW, etc) if you look a a lease vs buy and how much you have paid you may find the difference not worth buying........it is all a guess of course........I am leasing but will look at it all again when my car is delivered.....plus my dealer says the leases will become more incentivized (higher residuals) by the time my car is delivered in March so we will see. look at three year old QP's on KBB and cars.com they are not holding value IMO.

Once again you are not really comparing apples to apples. BMW artificially inflates their residuals to offer a subsidized lease. Their actual residuals are quite terrible. A regular 5 series loses 50% of its value in first 3 years. BMW knows this, but because the financing arm and the manufacturing arm is the same company they are ok with losing 3-7K at lease end - basically a discount off MSRP that you would get from buying the car if you weren't leasing. For them its mathematically the same deal , but because other companies don't finance their own cars / offer such steep lease deals you might not find it elsewhere. For example Porsche and Maserati don't subsidize their leases.

 

[vuem5]

lease.

with cars today and their tons of electronics its just not worth keeping cars for long. they don't make them like they use to.

Plus after about 4 years cars start to depreciate hard. Not sure if its worth it to keep it that long.

That's definitely not the case. Most luxury cars have the steepest depreciation curve in the first 3 years and then it tappers. In fact if you are going to keep the car for 4-5 years, then there is practically no way a lease will make any sense for you. You will be 80% in equity in the car by that point. See the comparo I did between leasing a car for 3 years vs buying. At 3 years if depreciation of the car is severe (20% a year) you will break even with the lease, at absolute worst case - in all other cases the buy is a better deal. In a 4 year scenario depreciation tappers so buying will be a much better deal then leasing even in the worst possible depreciation rate.

 

[K-A]

Problem is, with BMW/M-B artificially inflating residuals so much, if you switch cars often, it makes sense to lease them. I'm not sure with Maserati not subsidizing like that. However, if the Ghibli resale tanks extraordinarily, then either way you're kind of screwed on the resale/cost front so pick your poison.

 

[1xRYD3Rx1]

I also agree leasing a Maserati is a better idea since it has a very low residual value and has a lot of technology which can cause problems in the long run once warranty expires.
Also, nice way of advertising the broker however I would have to disagree with going through a broker as a consumer can shop around and get a better deal.

 

[NowhereMary]

Maserati cars (and not only them) have a lot of technology and functions which can cause problems in the future.. Leasing a car, especially a Maserati is a much better choice..

 

[1xRYD3Rx1]

Maserati cars (and not only them) have a lot of technology and functions which can cause problems in the future.. Leasing a car, especially a Maserati is a much better choice..

My 2017 ghibli gave small issues when it had less than 1000 miles.
My 2015 GS 350 f sport and i got a 2014/2015 Corolla S plus never gave any problems.
On the other hand I also have a fiat 500e gave few problems in the beginning.

Lease is good idea on this high end vehicles with a lot of technology/functions.

I agree with you.

 

[AngelesRy]

1xRYD3Rx1 and NowhereMary I agree also with you guys... Lease is a very good idea for this vehicles.. A friend of mine bought the car, he did listen to my advice, I told him that lease is a better option. Now vehicle's technology is experiencing some problems and his warranty expired of course...
http://www.ghibliforum.com/forum/members/nowheremary.html

 

[Rose30]

I agree also here. We need to be wise and advance so that in the future we will not lose. I think you need to find another model. The one that is modern and think you should like. Surely, you can find better.

 

[Dorothydr]

Well yes.. every one of us should think wisely and carefully..