Tour Britannia is a six year old event that has become one of the UK’s premier race tours. The event is designed for historic cars that drive through the countryside of South Wales and the West Country. The course goes through the Cotswalds and finishes at Silverstone. The cars in this rally follow a course through the British countryside on rural roads and have races each day on racetracks located along the route. Tour Britannia was inspired by the classic rallies of the 1950′s and 1960′s. In this spirit, this rally is a great event because it offers luxurious social events as well as exciting races over the entire course of the event.

Mille Miglia

The Mille Miglia is a 1,000 mile race across the Italian countryside and through the independent country of San Marino. It usually occurs each May in Italy and starts in Viale Venezia in Brescia then proceeds through Bologna, Spoleto, Siena and Florence finally arriving in Rome and then returning to Viale Venezia for the finish. This rally is world renowned for its classic cars and was one that famous car-maker Enzo Ferrari raced in.

Mille Miglia North American Tribute 2011

This year the inaugural Mille Miglia North American Tribute event will be held in California from August 14th to August 17th. This rally was inspired by the original Italian Mille Miglia and will be a yearly event that traces the California coastline. The race will start in Pebble Beach, California, and then run up the coast through the scenic landscapes of Carmel and Santa Barbara and the Napa Valley and will finish at the shores of Monterrey. As drivers are introduced to the charms of the Italian countryside in the original Mille Miglia in Italy, so also will drivers of the Mille Miglia North American Tribute be introduced to California’s wondrous scenery.

AvD Oldtimer Grand Prix

The 2011 AvD Oldtimer Grand Prix will be held at the Nurburgring racetrack in Germany from the 12th to the 14th of August this year. This event showcases classic car racing not only on long distance rallies but also on short racetracks. The AvD Oldtimer Grand Prix is one of the oldest car rally and racing events in Europe. It traces its heritage back to the 1920′s and the days of racing legends like Rudolf Carraciola. This year a special feature of the AvD Oldtime Grand Prix will be the enamel lamps that will line the Nurburgring Historical Paddock which is being restored to its original state.

A friend is thinking about dumping her old rust bucket and getting a new set of wheels. Her current car is the first one she ever bought and she found it for cheap on Craigslist. The car has done her well over the last couple of years but she’s moved up in the corporate world and is ready to buy a new car.

One of the first questions she asked me was, “Why shouldn’t I just lease instead of buy?”

Leasing does have its advantages:

• Get a brand new vehicle every 2-3 years
• Always have your vehicle covered by an extensive warranty
• Lower down payment
• Generally lower monthly payments
• You never have to deal with the hassle of trying to sell your car

But, unfortunately, leasing has one major disadvantage: guessing the residual value of the car (or the depreciated value of the car after the lease ends) is really hard to do. The residual value is what you have to pay, at the end of the lease, to purchase the vehicle. The problem many customers have with negotiating residuals in their contract is that the customer isn’t aware of the rate of depreciation for that particular vehicle. Makes and models depreciate at different schedules and forecasting the rate of depreciation is difficult.

As an example of a poorly negotiated residual value, let’s say you’ve negotiated that your residual on a lease is $12,000. This means that after the lease is up in three years if you want to buy the car you need to pay $12,000. But what if three years down the line, that the car is worth only $9,000?

That residual value is more than the car is worth and you cannot re-negotiate the residual value after you sign the contract. This puts the customer is in a difficult situation because the calculus needed to decide whether or not to purchase the car after lease becomes even more complicated.

Leasing can have some other costly disadvantages if you’re not careful:

• Not watching the odometer: Leases have very strict mileage restrictions that, when you surpass them, get very expensive very quickly.
• A total loss is often considered early termination: If you’re involved in an accident and the car is a total loss, your insurance company will pay for the loss of the car but you’ll likely be stuck with some heavy early termination fees.
• You have to return the car in good shape: You and you’re leasing company probably have a very different idea of what a 2-3 year old car that is in good shape looks like. Expect to get every small ding and scratch repaired before you turn in your vehicle or be prepared for some heavy fees.
• Bank or acquisition fee: After you negotiate the lease terms, you can expect the salesman to drop an approximately $500 bank or acquisition fee on you.
• Increased insurance costs: Leasing companies often require drivers to have more insurance coverage than the state mandates. So expect your premiums to go up slightly.
• Leasing is financially complicated: Do you know what Cap Cost is? How about Residual Value or Money Factor? The information disparity that exists between the average person and a salesman means that you probably won’t the value for your business that you deserve.

Buying a car, instead of leasing it, has essentially the opposite benefits and disadvantages. When you purchase a vehicle you are essentially buying an asset (albeit a depreciating one) that you increasingly own as you make your monthly payments. When you pay off your loan you not only get to use your car without additional payments, but you re-enter the car market you can sell your vehicle to capture the car’s “unused value.” And, of course, you don’t necessarily have to spend as much time worrying if you were able to forecast the car’s residual value when you purchase it.

Financially, leasing doesn’t make sense for most people. If you are debating whether to buy or to lease, you should really err on the side of buying unless there is a specific reason for you to lease.

For some small business proprietors, lease payments may be tax deductable as a business expense (check with your accountant). Others who don’t own their business but use their vehicle for business purposes, such as realtors, may also be able to deduct their lease payments as a business expense (again, check with your accountant). If you are able to deduct your lease payments that would may be a compelling reason to lease a vehicle rather than buy one.