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| Car Leasing Services |
There are certain drawbacks but to this practice of leasing a car. These are some of them:
- You are not the owner of the car when the lease period expires. You basically rent, not acquire, the car. So you don’t save any equity in the car to use towards paying for another vehicle.
- At the end of the day, say 8 years, the cost of leasing several cars will most likely exceed the purchase price of a new or used car.
- Lease terms generally carry steep penalties. You may have to pay penalties if:
- You go beyond the number of miles in your lease contract.
- You fail to keep the interior and exterior of the car in good condition.
- You drive the car roughly and cause significant wear and tear on the car’s performance and appearance.
- You may want to return the car before your contract expires.
Leasing a car is more favorable than buying a car when you:
- Don’t have the money to buy the car.
- Want to drive a car that’s out of your budget range.
- Won’t likely exceed the mileage cap in the lease contract – which is usually between 10,000 and 15,000 miles per year.
- Can take good care of the car’s exteriors and interiors, paying particular attention to avoid nicks, spills and other cosmetic damages to the body of the car.
- You expect to lease another car when the current car’s contract expires.
- Surpassing the mileage cap on your lease can cost you around 10 to 15 cents per mile. The dealer will inspect the car just before the lease expires, and you’ll also be charged for excessive wear and tear, if any.
How to Lease a Car?
Car leasing is not that difficult than buying a new car. But to get the best deal on the car your take on lease, you must still follow some steps:
- Type of Car - What kind of car do you need? SUV, convertible or a sedan?
- Models - Make a list of car types in your price range. You can reduce non-lease costs by including models with favorable gas mileage, high dependability; top safety features and low insurance premiums
- Go for a test drive - Once you have shortened your list to a few selected models, take each car for a test drive. Pay particular attention to factors like comfort, visibility, braking, steering, internal noise and shock-absorption. At this stage, you shouldn’t mention your intentions of leasing the car.
- Inquire about safety features - During your test drive, ask the salesperson of the leasing company whether the vehicle comes with anti-lock brake systems (ABS), electronic stability control (ESC) and head-protecting side air bags. All are valuable safety features.
- Compare lease deals - Once you return home from the car leasing company, calculate the lease deals on offer and figure out how much you can afford to pay monthly.
- Talk about the price first - Once you’re ready to return to the dealer to strike a deal, don’t tell the dealer you plan to lease until after you have negotiated a purchase price. Most people who lease are unaware that their monthly payments will be based on the final agreed-upon price.
- Look for cheap car leasing services. Every company does have cheap and affordable car leasing services.
- Start Negotiating the Price - Negotiate the final price of the vehicle up from the rock-bottom cost to the dealership. Your monthly payments will be based on the price you and the salesperson settle on. That price will fall somewhere between the dealer’s wholesale price and the manufacturer’s suggested retail price.
- Beware of Sales Chatter - Your salesperson may try to push you toward closing the deal by focusing on the relatively low amount you’ll have to pay each month. This, however, will add to the total amount you’ll pay.
- Paying the Lease Amount - The larger your initial down payment, the lower your monthly tab will be. As with any bill, you’ll face penalties if you fail to make payments on time. Also, returning your leased car early, before the loan term ends will typically result in a penalty, unless you are trading in the car for another leased or purchased car.
