I am trying to put a cap on my spending at about 25k for an Escalade. Here are my thoughts:

For purchasing -
at about 9% interest, over 72 months (yick, but oh well)

in 2 years, 8,200 paid off and owe 16800 as final payoff.
in 3 years, paid off 12,600 and owe 12400 as final pay off.
in 4 years, paid off 16,800 and still owe 8200 as final pay off.

the reason I only say 2-4 years is because I don't see us owning it for longer. I just do NOT want to go under on this thing. Do Escalades hold value well? I am thinking about getting an 02 or 03.

As far as leasing goes, well ... heh ... I don't know how that works :)

Your thoughts greatly appreciated!

escalades depreciate tremendously a 1 year old escalade loses about 40% maybe 50% its original value. american cars loose value very quickly, if you can stick to 12k miles a year 25k is around what youll pay for a 3 year lease and you can get a brand new car after 3 years your 03 will be 7-8 years old and be worth tops 8 to 10 grand. just my 2 cents i know others will disagree but thats bluebook values not my own.

Your able to lease a 02-03. :hmm:

With a lease you pay on the depreciation. Considerations, how long you keep the vehicle & miles per year, but you certainly can get more car for your money on a lease. FYI- I think the residual is about 55% on the '07's. All of this is moot though since a 2wd Escalade starts at $54-55k. (If you find 1 for $25, buy 2 & sell 1 on ebay)

lol You are not going to lose 50% in one year. :hmm: The 07's will hold their value compared to the 06's and below because GM ran (and is still running if you can find one) ridiculous incentives (6,000+) to dump the old models. This of course drives the used market down (afterall, why pay the same for used when you can get new?) That won't happen with the 07's for quite a while.

If you need to consider 72 months to keep the payment low, you may want to consider a lease at that point (provided the residual makes sense) - 72 months will land you upside down for sure.

72 months will land you upside down for sure.

:tisk: Negative Equity please.

You can get a nice 02' to 03' for 20k to 25k, I saw an 02' with 3k miles for 28k and it looked like it just came off the lot. There are some good deals on used ones if you look long enough