Car leasing 101

[Anonymous]

I am considering, for the first time in my life, leasing a car. What happens if car is damaged (paint chips, and little dings here and there)? What are the some basic lease 101 types of things I should be aware of? TIA

[Anonymous]

Go to the Edmunds leasing forums

https://forums.edmunds.com/discussions/tagged/x/leasing/p1

[Anonymous]

Right now is one of the worst times to lease a car with the markup on prices. It’s basically double what you should be paying during normal times.

There shouldn’t be any additional charges if you return the car with normal wear and tear. But your understanding of normal wear and tear could be different from the manufacturer so you should find how exactly how it’s measured. They typically will also make sure your tires have enough tread left and no excessive damage on the wheels. Dealers will normally offer excess wear and tear insurance if you think you need it, but if you’re someone that takes care of your car, you generally won’t need it.

You can find more info about leasing at leasehackr.com.

[Anonymous]

This may be the historically worst time to lease a car. Virtually no manufacturer incentives such as rebates and lowered money factor (interest rate). Dealers are not earning holdback or quota based incentives under stairstep programs. Dealer markups due to lack of supply. Lowered mileage caps.

Run the numbers carefully and beware dealers who manipulate the sales process. Focus on (1) out the door price (total drive off in Leasing parlance, including “money down” (deposit) and payment of multiple security deposits (MSDs)), (2) monthly payment and (3) residual value (RV), that is, the buy out price at the end of the lease). Dealer will almost certainly try to screw you on a low ball trade in and rolling that into the deposit/MSD to lower monthly payment.

Remember that with a lease you effectively are paying only the cost of depreciation over the period of the lease). The only potential upside is you have a small business and can take the write off. Caveat emptor.

Here’s one place to research info:

https://forums.edmunds.com/discussions/tagged/x/leasing

[Anonymous]

Depending on the brand, it can be a good time to lease right now. Depends on what their supply looks like. Some brands are just now catching up on inventory as their factories are producing more cars. People are tightening their budgets with inflation and looming recession. So for some brands, inventory is sitting on the lot.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Depending on the brand, it can be a good time to lease right now. Depends on what their supply looks like. Some brands are just now catching up on inventory as their factories are producing more cars. People are tightening their budgets with inflation and looming recession. So for some brands, inventory is sitting on the lot.

What brands are sitting on the lot?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Depending on the brand, it can be a good time to lease right now. Depends on what their supply looks like. Some brands are just now catching up on inventory as their factories are producing more cars. People are tightening their budgets with inflation and looming recession. So for some brands, inventory is sitting on the lot.

What brands are sitting on the lot?

I've seen excess inventory at Jeep and VW.

[Anonymous]

How about Subaru?

[Anonymous]

I've leased Merecedes for for years but just bought my last one as it was a much better deal than leasing again. Regarding car damage, they usually say the dent or scratch shouldn't be bigger than a credit card. You can have multiple (within reason). Also if you lease again from them, they're generally more lenient, or have been in the past.

[Anonymous]

Start here: https://leasehackr.com/. People report what deals they’ve found and great tips for negotiating. Most important is to do most of the communications and haggling via email. Once you’re in the dealership it’s much harder to walk away. They’ll do anything they can to get you on the phone or in person but hold your ground!