Yes, for people who do not understand the terminology, logistics and benefits of leasing, it can be a rip off. For many, it can have significant benefits.
And there are many of those people right here on these very boards.
The market is already flooded with used bikes. The values are already way down. The best way to protect yourself is to buy a used bike and make the best deal you can.
What about the tax implications? Your lecture failed to mention the biggest reason most people lease. If the vehicle is going to be used for business, the full cost of the lease can be written off. In your scenario, if the lessee's payments totaled 10K, that's 10K he will not be paying income tax on. Can only write of the interest on a purchase, but with a lease, the full payment can be written off.

 

Leasing is not a bad thing, I like to drive new cars and I've been leasing cars for 20 years, my last lease was a $70,000 2008 Lexus LS 460, I negotiated a cap cost of $62,000 and the residual was set at $32,000. At the end of the lease the NADA trade in value of the car was $38,000 so I bought the car. I've had leases where the NADA trade in value was much less than the residual, I just turned them in and went to the next vehicle.

One thing to be aware about a lease, if you negotiate a purchase price on a buy and get a good discount then ask for a lease, they will figure the lease on the MSRP if you are not careful, bottom line they should figure the lease based on the the negotiated purchase price. So you really need to know how a lease works.

Whether you lease or buy with financing you do not own the bike until you have the titile in your hand. With an open end lease you have the option to buy the bike at the end of the lease period for the residual so why not make it your own.

Since we don't know about the details of the lease offered by the OP's dealer it's hard to say if it's a good deal or not. If they set the "residual" at a percentage of the base bike plus any installed dealer options, you would need to load the bike up at the time of purchase if you want to personalize it. Then again if it's a closed end lease and they set the two year residual at $10k on a $20k bike it would not be a good deal.

Do not enter into a lease unless you understand how they work, if you know how they work you might be able to get a lease to work for you. If you don't understand how they work it's best not to even go there.

 

I've been leasing cars, trucks and Jeeps for the past 9 years. It all depends on your financial situation. I'm fortunate enough to be able to afford a $400/month payment and I like new cars, so I lease 'em and dump 'em every 3 years. Advantage is that I get something new every 3 years and they're always under warranty. That's $400/month and NO down payment and 15,000 miles/year.

I could see leasing as a potential to sell more CVO's. With a high resale value (or residual value) like the CVO's have, the portion that you're paying for may make the monthly payment more affordable. This leasing business for H-D motorcycles may be interesting...........

 

Thanks for reminding me that it's wise to give a dealer $10,000 to avoid paying the IRS $1800. Since we're talking 36 months that would be 3300/year. So each year you pay the dealer $3300 to avoid paying the IRS around $600.

Hell, you could buy a $20K bike with cash and keep it for 3 years and sell it to recoup some money. Your example has you dumping 10K every three years and walking away with nothing. All to avoid paying the IRS 600/year.

Coincidentally, you used the exact example I wanted to cite. You just threw out one of the best myths out there. Would you like me to wow you with my 4th grade math to show you where you're still coming up short? I bet you would also keep a mortgage on your home for the tax deduction. LOL

 

LOL. Naaa I am good. I have come full circle and right where I want to be.

 

Stop being a troll dude, we get it. You dont like leases. You are entitled to your opinion. Have you ever leased a vehicle before? Do you actually know how a lease works?

Maybe you got raped on a lease deal, so now you are coming in here yapping about how leases are bad.

You keep saying that leasing is such a bad idea. It is not for everybody but it would be beneficial to some people that actually trade in their bike every three years or so. Do you think that 90% of BMW owners actually own their vehicles? Do you ever wonder how some house wife is driving around in a porche 911 turbo. (other than opening up her legs).

 

I think that the big picture here isn't jsut the money and that is what I was trying to say in my previous post. There are alot of people that put ALL of thier money into buying their bike. Some have more money than others, not being an ***, but you seem to be one of those.

With that being said, if the MOCO does this lease deal on bikes, the market is going to be FLOODED with used bikes. For those that want to trade in later or sell to another and buy a different bike, their bike isn't going to be worth as much. Not to mention that HARLEY will make more bikes to keep up with the leasing program and flood the market even more. Look at the economy now. It still sin't that good and this is just another BLOW....

 

At our company we have a fleet of vehicles and lease them all. I don't want our reps driving around in and representing our company in 5+year old vehicles. We would never "pay off" our vehicles and realize any long term cost saving associated with operating the vehicle after it is paid off. The tax applies in the scenario when a person or company has no interest in keeping the vehicle long term. And guess what? There are many people/companies that fit this profile. If you're gonna have a payment, might has well write off the full amount of it. Oh, and our company pays about 40% fed tax so that is a hefty savings to get exactly what we want, which is a fleet of shiny new vehicles every 30 months. It works for us and many other companies.

 

Seems like everyone is bashing leasing these days. My family has beeen in the car business for 60 years. So, I've been in the car business since I was born. Currently, I am the Finance Manager at a large dealer. Obviously, when I buy a car, I get the best deal. Leasing, for me, is by far the best deal. People are often confused about the real advantages of leasing. The primary advantage to leasing is security. It eliminates the unknow. I'm sure many of you have owned more on a car than it was worth at one point or another. On a closed end lease, your worse case scenario is you break even. The most common reason I hear most people don't lease is that they drive too many miles. Leases are actually designed for higher mileage drivers, as the future value of their vehicle is the most volitile. For Ford, the mileage cap is 50,000 miles per year. Buying a car is like gambling or investing in the stock market as leasing is to bonds. With leasing, you will rarely win big (of course, I had a offer of $5000 profit when my last lease ended), but you can't loose.
I'm sorry, but it really bothers me when people state what they precieve as "fact" only to prove their ignorance. Ok, my rant is done.

 

The best saying here is borrow for business cash for consumables.

To the car salesman that touts leasing. Total BS. I am in a position to pay cash for my vehicles and have had over 130 of them since 1956.

I can buy a new car and sell it in two years for half the cost to lease the same vehicle for 24 months.

Leasing unless it is a tax deductible business expense is an exceptionally stupid financial move. But then a fool and his money are soon parted.