Leasing a car in college?

I'm going to be a sophmore in college and was wondering if leasing a car for 3 years is a good idea. I plan on getting a Ford Fiesta for 36 months. I know I wouldn't have to pay for repairs if I bought a car used, and I would also be getting good gas mileage. Would leasing a car be a good idea or not.

First you need to find a deposit. Then you must pay 36 monthly payments plus regular servicing as stipulated by the contract and also carry full insurance for the vehicle. A the end of the 3 years you hand it back and walk away, waving goodbye to all the money you've paid into the car. Or you get the chance to pay the current retail value of a 3 year old student owned used car.
No; for a student leasing a car is never a good idea.

Unless you're over 21 with an income, no one is going to lease you a car without a co-signer. Also, leases come with restrictions upon the number of miles per year you can drive without incurring fees - usually it's 12,000-15,000/year - which might be well within a reasonable range for you. You are also responsible if there's any damage and will likely have to put a down-payment on it - sometimes sizeable, sometimes not - and at the end of the lease, you will have to have saved enough to put a down-payment on another vehicle since you will have no equity in the car. Leasing can be a good idea for some, not so good for others. But I'm guessing you will need a parent to be willing to take on the payments should you decide not to pay… Oh yeah and if you get into some kind of accident that is not covered by insurance, you still have to fix the car even if it's just some minor issue you wouldn't fix if it was your own car or if the repairs cost more than the value of the car.

Terrible idea.

Why not buy a $3,000 car and run liability insurance?

You will save over $5,000, not have to worry about driving too much and have a car after 36 months.

Plus college towns are horrible on cars, dings/scratches/vandalism will likely mean a fair amount of damage and anothe wad of cash lost over 3 years.

Many grads can't even qualify to lease. You need great credit, a full time job. So you don't qualify without a great cosigner, even if you have one, its a terrible idea.

Buying a brand new car is right behind leasing in "bad financial decisions".

And chances are you can't do either.

Not to mention your insurance would kill you.

Don't lease this car. It's a disaster to do so.