How to Lease a Car Leasing a Car Explained This web site is one of the most popular automotive sites on the Internet, and the most popular for people looking for information and advice about how to lease a car. We have found that many people arriving here are looking for quick, easy to understand advice and information about how to lease a car — and not make mistakes — from an independent online source … Read More

Ready-Made Lease Deals – No Negotiating, No Stress On this web site, we spend a lot of time discussing how to get the best car lease deals, how to negotiate with dealers, and how to determine which cars make the best leases. One of the things that automotive consumers hate most about buying or leasing a car is the time-consuming and stressful negotiations with a dealer salesperson. With all of that being said, there is a … Read More

Is it better to buy a new car — or a used car? This question of new-vs-used may get you a quick answer from many people — always buy used. But not so fast. There’s more than one answer. And it depends on your personal preferences and finances.  With a record 18 millions brand new vehicles projected to be sold this year, it’s obvious that some people thing buying new is the answer. Those people … Read More

Is There a Best Time to Buy or Lease a Car? The short answer to the question of when is it best to buy or lease is … when everybody else is NOT buying. A car dealership is like any other business in that they are eager to keep sales flowing. When sales are slow, good car deals are more likely to be available. Notice in the above paragraph that we used the word “available” and … Read More

Cut Your Car Payment in Half Cars have become an expensive commodity and most people feel they pay more than they are comfortable with. Monthly car payments are a major part of many folks’ financial expenses and are an obvious target for reductions. There are several ways in which car payments can be lowered. Depending on individual situations, some ways can be better and more practical than others. And there can be tradeoffs which factor into … Read More

Break a Car Lease? End a Lease? Terminate a Lease? Exit a Lease Early? What are the options and least expensive way to end a car lease early? As you may already know, getting out of a car lease is not as easy as getting in. Quitting a lease means backing out of an original agreement that provided for low payments over a specified number of years. Those low payments are made possible only if … Read More

What is Equity in Car Leasing and How to Know If You Have Any Equity in a car lease (or loan) exists when the value of a vehicle exceeds the amount remaining on its lease or loan. The amount of the difference is called equity. It’s also possible to have negative equity — when a vehicle’s value is less than the amount remaining on its lease or loan. We discuss that case in this article. How … Read More

A Simple Tool to Help You Escape a Car Accident Car accidents happen. They happen every day to hundreds of drivers. Some are minor; others are more serious and complicated. The most important thing to do when a car accident happens is to exit the vehicle, if possible, and get help. Getting out of a damaged vehicle quickly can be a challenge. Doors can be jammed and access to seatbelt releases can be restricted. You’ll … Read More

How Does Flipping a Car Lease Work? We typically hear the word “flip” used in conjunction with buying and reselling houses or used cars for a profit. However, leased cars can also be flipped, but in a different way and only under certain circumstances. Let’s explain how you might flip a car lease. When a car lease is initiated, the lease finance company estimates, and we emphasize the word “estimates”, the value of the car … Read More

How Does Negative Equity Affect a Car Lease? What is negative equity anyway? Negative equity exists when a car loan or lease’s outstanding balance is greater than the current value of the car. It’s sometimes called being “upside down” or “under water.” Negative equity can affect a car lease in several ways. If you are looking to lease a new car and you have an existing loan on a current vehicle that you plan to trade, having … Read More

Car leasing in Ohio is a bit different than in most other states The way that the state of Ohio applies sales tax to car leases is based on the sum of lease payments. Most states only tax individual monthly payments (and down payment). For example, in Ohio, if lease payments are $300 a month and the lease term is 36 months, the total of all payment is 36 times $300 = $10,800. If the … Read More

Frequently Asked Questions About Car Lease Calculations Car leasing involves more math than buying a car, or buying with a loan. We frequently see common questions about the math of leasing that we’ll answer here. 1. How do I calculate car lease payments? To calculate monthly payments for a car lease, you must know the amount being financed in the lease (Capitalized Cost), the lease-end Residual Value, finance rate (Money Factor), and number of lease … Read More

Is Car Leasing Stupid? Why Not Lease? Put another way, is it smart to lease a car? We frequently hear people saying that it is stupid to lease car — that it’s smart to avoid leasing. We’ve even heard some so-called financial “experts” say similar things. Problem is, the advice is based on misconceptions and lack of real understanding of leasing. Some of the reasons given for advising against leasing You return your car at … Read More

Understand Car Lease Residual Value What are lease residuals and how to find them? Residual value (“residuals”), in car leasing, refers to the estimated — repeat, estimated — wholesale value of a leased vehicle at the end of the scheduled lease term. The longer the lease, the lower the residual value, as compared to the original MSRP sticker price. Residual values play a key part in the calculation of lease monthly payments since leases are … Read More

Why You Shouldn’t Lease Your Next Car Car leasing is a very popular way to drive a car but it can be a really bad idea for many people. Unfortunately, it’s impossible to easily remedy the situation once a mistake is realized. If you have considered leasing your next car, the following are reasons it would be a bad decision for you: Your only reason for leasing is for the low payments Low monthly payments … Read More

Is it possible to change or add to a car lease mileage allowance? It depends. If at the beginning of a lease, the answer is yes. If in the middle or end of a lease, the answer is no. At the time a lease is initiated, before the contract is signed, it is possible (with most lease companies) to “buy” extra miles if you feel you might them. For example, a normal lease offers 30,000 … Read More

Buyer’s Remorse — How It Affects Car Buyers We’ve all experienced it. We buy something and almost immediately regret having done it — sometimes for good reasons, sometimes for no reason at all. It’s called buyer’s remorse. If your purchase was for a pair of shoes at Walmart, no problem. Simply return them and get your money back. However it’s much different if buying a car. It’s not unusual for a car buyer to feel … Read More

Consequences of a Car Repossession Unfortunately, there are times when you might find that you can no longer make your monthly payments on your leased vehicle. In that case your choices are: 1) voluntarily return the vehicle (voluntary repossession) or 2) wait for the vehicle to be picked up (involuntary repossession). In either case, the amount you still owe on your lease will be calculated by the lease company according to the terms written in … Read More

Car leasing is similar to renting, but is technically a loan, with significantly lower payments because part of the amount borrowed is re-paid by returning the car at the end of the lease. Lease-end “return value” (called residual value in leasing) is subtracted from the sale price of the vehicle at the beginning of a lease, and is based on expected number of miles to be driven and average wear (called depreciation in leasing). This significantly reduces … Read More

Purchase Your Leased Vehicle? Good Idea or Not? All consumer car lease contracts provide an option to purchase at the end of the lease. Purchase price is set by the lease finance company company at the initiation of a lease. Although a car dealer prints the purchase price in the contract you sign, he simply obtains that value either electronically or from a data sheet provided by his lease company. Dealers have no authority to … Read More