New car leases are more expensive due to a significant change in market conditions. An inventory shortage is making it harder to find popular vehicles, and manufacturer incentives are down. In some cases, automakers aren't even bothering to advertise lease deals because cars are so hard to find at dealers.
ADVANTAGES. Leasing a car is much cheaper than buying it outright, because you're only paying a percentage of the total price. You won't have to worry about fetching a good price or finding a buyer for it when you're done, as the dealership will take it back from you.
When it comes to getting the best deal, buying is generally much better than leasing. It also gives you more flexibility in how you use your car.
If your main goal is to get the lowest monthly payments, leasing could be your best option. Monthly lease payments are typically lower than auto loan payments, because they're based on a car's depreciation during the period you're driving it, instead of its purchase price.
On the surface, leasing can be more appealing than buying. Monthly payments are usually lower because you're not paying back any principal. Instead, you're just borrowing and repaying the difference between the car's value when new and the car's residual—its expected value when the lease ends—plus finance charges.
To find out how much of your monthly payment will be interest, add the vehicle's purchase price to its predicted residual value and then multiply that by the money factor. In the case of our $50,000 car: $50,000 + $30,000 = $80,000. $80,000 x 0.0028 = $224 per month, which is the finance fee.
Leasing allows you to keep your car payment in check. Also, as mentioned earlier, leasing is a good way for automakers to package incentives and rebates into an attractive monthly payment. These incentives may be more generous than the discounts or low-interest rate offers given to traditional cash buyers.
As long as your leasing company reports to all three credit bureaus—Experian, Equifax and TransUnion—and all your payments are made in a timely manner, an auto lease can certainly help to build or establish your credit history.
1. Getting a lower monthly payment: Making a sizable down payment will certainly reduce your monthly lease payments, but it probably won't save you a ton of money compared to the overall cost of ownership while you lease. That's because a low money factor means negligible interest charges.
If you expect to go over your allotted mileage for your lease — typically 10,000, 12,000 or 15,000 miles — then purchasing your vehicle after the lease might save you from the extra fees and penalties for going over your mileage. But be sure that those fees do outweigh the price you'll pay to purchase the vehicle.
You can end your car lease contract at any time by applying for an early termination. Early termination is when a customer wishes to terminate their lease contract early before the end of the contracted term.
Breaking your car lease will not inherently affect your credit rating—but it will if you fail to pay any remaining balances with your lender.
In some cases, it's possible for somebody with a credit score below 600 to be approved. In others, certain lenders will not be willing to approve these people. But, in order to qualify for the lowest lease rates and best terms, it's clear you'll want a credit score in the prime or super prime range (above 700).
Leases, loans and your credit
Car leases or loans are liabilities, and your payments are included in monthly debt ratios. If you apply for a mortgage, student loan, or credit card while making car payments, you may qualify for a lower amount than if you didn't have them.
Before you hit the dealership you should take a moment to decide what monthly car payment you can afford. To cut to the chase, it's smart to spend less than 10% of your monthly take-home pay on your car payment, so you can keep your total car costs below 15% to 20% of your income.
Financial experts recommend that your monthly payment should be around 10% to 15% of your monthly take-home pay. Additionally, your total monthly car expenses should be no more than 20% of your monthly income, and this includes your car payment, insurance, maintenance and gas.
Your budget on that $30,000 car is $300.00 monthly. In reality, it rarely pays off to put any additional money down on a car lease in order to reduce your monthly payment.
Mileage overage
Under-mileage: If your estimated mileage will be under your allowance, you can just return the vehicle at the end of the lease. If you purchased additional mileage (but didn't use it), this is often refundable, but there is no credit for being under the mileage in the lease contract.
Typically, you can only request to buy the car in the final month of the lease agreement, so it doesn't leave you much time to arrange a new car if you don't reach an agreement on the value. Don't forget to haggle! Ask for a lower price if you don't think the finance company's value is fair.
Can you sell a leased car? The answer is yes! And there's never been a better time to do it. Due to a high demand for used cars and a shortage in used car inventory, people with a car lease that's nearing the end of the lease term can sell their car and potentially end up making a profit.
These days, lessees have several options at the end of a car lease, including doing a lease buyout, buying out the car then reselling it, transferring the lease, doing a trade-in, or extending the lease.