Q&A: Lease or buy? Not a cut-and-dried answer
QUESTION: Advice, please, on whether we should lease or buy a car? We are a senior couple and tend to keep our vehicles for a while. Can you help with some pros and cons?
—Paul Paradise, Kissimmee, Fla.
ANSWER: A couple of years ago, good leases were hard to come by, but in this current market, there are quite a few. Most of the leases you see advertised are "subvented" leases, which are backed by the manufacturers, and typically discounted — these are the leases you see advertised by manufacturers, available for the same price at every dealer.
These are usually pretty good offers, but are seldom very negotiable, unless you have a trade-in vehicle — you can dicker on the value of it. Other, non-subvented leases are usually offered by dealers themselves, and can vary from one store to another.
What is the advantage of leasing? Usually a lower down payment, and lower monthly payments. Customers who want a new vehicle every few years are well-served by leasing. People who hang on to their vehicles for a while, usually paying them off, are not — a lease gives you nothing at the end of the contract, and you'll either have to buy the vehicle at a pre-set price, or lease or buy another one.
All leases also have a mileage limit, sometimes as low as 8,000 to 10,000 miles a year. If you drive more than that, you'll pay extra for each mile over your limit.
The best thing to do is work the numbers — see what it costs to buy and to lease a vehicle you are interested in, and see if the limitations of a lease are worth it. Remember that if you decide to terminate a lease early, it will cost you. There are, however, services like the Miami-based LeaseTrader.com, which seeks to match up lease customers who want out of a lease and customers who want to lease for a shorter period of time.
This story posted by LeaseTrader.com, the automotive service company that lets people transfer out of their Car Leases early. If you're looking to swap a lease or transfer out of your car lease, please visit www.leasetrader.com