I drive a 2005 Ford Freestyle, which sounds similar to the Dodge you owned. Well, I will let you know how many miles I get out of it! It has about 42K right now, so not bad. TODD PIANO WORKS Matthew Todd, Piano Technician (979) 248-9578 http://www.toddpianoworks.com --- On Wed, 5/27/09, Paul T Williams <pwilliams4 at unlnotes.unl.edu> wrote: From: Paul T Williams <pwilliams4 at unlnotes.unl.edu> Subject: Re: [pianotech] Leasing a Business Vehicle To: pianotech at ptg.org Date: Wednesday, May 27, 2009, 9:57 PM Hi Wim and all, I never have, nor ever will "fleece" a car! It's just too expensive, being a new Dave Ramsey fan.. In the beginning, I had nicer cars, but then after driving them into the ground (about 50K miles/year or more) I then inherited a couple of cars from my parents, which was great. When they no longer drove. I had to do something. My mechanic of some 20 years had a 1986 Dodge Colt stationwagon (not the mini-van) that I bought from him for $2,000 through an elderly lady with only 26K miles (the car, not the lady!!), and this was in 2001. I hated that car, BUT, I put over 190K on it with only $500-700 of fixes over the 4 years I had it (not including oil changes or tires) for only $2,000. That was the best business car I ever had, other than the fact that semi's would pass me on the interstate...uphill! ;>) Most gutless thing I ever owned!( I miss my RX-7!) It held everything I needed, seats folded down flat for actions, etc. I'll bet you never see another one....I think they're all dead now! When it died, I donated it to Goodwill, and I only got $50 write-off!!! All-in all, a decent investment. I really was glad to see it go, however :>) Paul wimblees at aol.com Sent by: pianotech-bounces at ptg.org 05/27/2009 02:46 PM Please respond to pianotech at ptg.org To pianotech at ptg.org cc Subject Re: [pianotech] Leasing a Business Vehicle David I thought leasing would be great, too. A new car every three years, no more hassles about trade ins, regular maintenance, etc. Yes, leasing a car is negotiable. But the dealers are not stupid. If you negotiate for higher mileage, they will reduce the residual. If you add maintenance, over and above the normal warrantee, they will add that price to the monthly fee. The tax angle is the only thing that might be worth it, but when I discussed this with my accountant, he said will it become an advantage only if you make over $100,000, (that was 15 years ago). I leased 3 different vehicles of 9 years. The first car I went way over the mileage, and got soaked. I sold the second car to a private inidvidual, and used that money to pay off the residual, and had enough left over to put down on the next lease. I added for extra mileage, but it brought my payments way up. At the end of the third lease, I sold it to another dealer, and bought a car from them. But I didn't get much in trade, and wound up taking out a 5 year loan, instead of 3. Willem (Wim) Blees, RPT Piano Tuner/Technician Mililani, Oahu, HI 808-349-2943 Author of: The Business of Piano Tuning available from Potter Press www.pianotuning.com -----Original Message----- From: David Love <davidlovepianos at comcast.net> To: pianotech at ptg.org Sent: Tue, 26 May 2009 6:52 pm Subject: R e: [pianotech] Leasing a Business Vehicle Depends on the car you are going to purchase or lease and the deal you negotiate (it is negotiable) the number of miles you drive (the allowable miles=2 0is also negotiable), the amount of money you want to put down, etc. I am currently leasing and it seems to be ok. The tax write off is greater, I keep the car for three years and don’t have to pay for any repairs (all warranty) though I do have to pay for maintenance (I just sunk $3000 into my other car), trade it in for another car in three years. But it’s best to check with an accountant as there are many factors that come into play. Leasing can be your best option, or not. David Love www.davidlovepianos.com . Wanna slim down for summer? Go to America Takes it Off to learn how. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: <http://ptg.org/pipermail/pianotech.php/attachments/20090527/1e6645c3/attachment.htm>
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