Lease a a 510 vs Buy a 508?

[mallu2u]

I totally dislike the fact that I have to pay E* $5 a month for leasing my 510 dvr. And therefore I started looking for a 508 to replace it. But seems that the best price I can a 508 would be just shy of $200. Now my Q is- Is it worth buying the 508 for that price? I would break-even after 40 months ( at $5 bucks/month).

Then I started thinking. Over the next 3 yrs who knows what technology might come out or whether 921 is dirt cheap as well. Or the same for HD Tivo (they might start making such that D* TV independent). Ultimately my plan to record HD from my OTA antenna. Coz I do not like the quality of SD that much, esp when I watch it over my 60'' Sony XBR. Guess I am spiled by HD now.

Am I missing something? Having a hard time making the justification of spening 200 now. What do u guys say? Should I lease 510 or buy it. If it were $50, I would not think twice and just go for it. But $200 makes me think a bit.

[finniganps]

The payback isn't really 40 months IMO because you OWN the 508 vs. lease the 510. Let's say that you decide after 2 years of leasing your 510, you dump E* and go to D*. You've spent monthly fees of $120 ($5X24 months). But you can sell your 508 for at least $125 - even the non-PVR receivers are getting $100 (eg. 4900) on e-bay. So your net cost on the 508 would be $75 ($200 cost less selling price $125) for 24 months of ownership. Owning is cheaper in this scenario.

Obviously I can't predict the price of a 508 in two years, but as I said the 4900's are still getting about $100 and that doesn't have ANY PVR abilities and is more than 2 years old too!

Just my 2 cents, but I think it's A LOT cheaper to own the 508 unless you don't want to hassle with selling it. Plus I don't want to give E* the $5/month. If you keep the 510 for MORE than 40 months you just keep digging that hole, plus you resent paying the $5, when it can be avoided.

There is one other BIG unknown with this analysis. It assumes that E* WON'T charge a $5 fee on the 501, 508 and 721 in the future...we don't know that for sure.