Why lease a luxury car? Luxury car leasing is different How is it different? It’s not that luxury cars are simply more expensive, or that the leasing process is different, but it’s different because the people doing the leasing are different from the average automotive  consumer. Many high-end automotive consumers have different priorities, different values, bigger bank accounts, different philosophies about money,  and prefer to transact business differently than less affluent people. As a result, … Read More

Is it smart to buy your leased car and pay off your lease? Most auto leases provide the leasing customer with the option to buy their car at the end of the lease, or buy prior to the end of the lease. This is called a “lease buyout.” To buy out your lease at lease-end simply means you purchase your vehicle from the lease company – either with cash or a loan — for the guaranteed … Read More

What Happens If You Wreck a Leased Car? There are some very specific things that need to be done if a leased car is involved in an accident First, call 911 and report the accident to the police, even if relatively minor — and even if you are at fault. A police report is important in resolving disputes and establishing facts and fault in an accident situation. Insurance companies want to see police reports. Second, call your insurance … Read More

Car Insurance for 16 Year Old Male Drivers — Finding Best Rates Finding affordable insurance for high-risk teen drivers Since 16 year old teens cannot legally sign contracts, including car insurance agreements, they typically get insurance coverage by being added to their parents’ existing auto insurance policy. Until they are 18 years old, teens cannot buy their own insurance. If a teen is added as a occasional driver for an existing family car that is … Read More

Does it make a difference what car you lease or buy? Choosing a new car is more than selecting price, style, and color If you’re not a “car person” you might easily assume that most car brands pretty much the same except for price and design details — that Ford is about the same as Chevrolet, which is the same as Toyota, the same as Honda, same as Hyundai, same as Audi, same as Chrysler, … Read More

How to Find Car Invoice Prices to Get the Best Deals Car dealers buy wholesale and sell retail, the way most businesses work. They buy vehicles from the car manufacturer (all car dealers are independent businesses, not owned by a manufacturer) for a specific price (invoice price) and mark up that price (sticker price) when selling to customers. It’s the same way that JC Penney, Walmart, Amazon.com and most other companies work. However, there seems to … Read More

Is it possible to lease a used car? The short answer is no — but yes, maybe. Why not? Beginning in October 2008, finance companies, banks, and independent car leasing companies in the U.S. virtually stopped leasing used cars. Even new-car leasing almost came to a halt. The Great Recession drove most independent car leasing companies out of business, and banks simply got out of the business altogether. Since then, used car leasing has essentially … Read More

Trade Leased Car – Smart Idea or Not? Is it possible to trade a lease car when buying or leasing a new car? If you are leasing a car and are considering buying or leasing another car, is it a good idea to trade the leased car before the old lease is finished – or is it better to wait until lease-end to trade – or neither? Trading a leased car is not quite the … Read More

Why lease a Maserati?   The three most popular models of Maserati are the Ghibli, Gran Turismo, and Quattroporte, all of which are popular leases. These vehicles are leased more often than more common consumer vehicles because they are expensive to purchase and appeal to people who enjoy trading vehicles every couple of years. Leasing offers a good solution. Lease residual values (future resale values) are relatively high for most exotic cars such as Maserati, … Read More

Do you need good credit to lease a car? You must have good credit if you want to lease a car — usually better credit than if you were buying your car with a loan. Since leasing is often confused with renting, it’s a common misconception that leasing doesn’t require a credit check or a good credit score. Many car companies and banks lost money on car leasing in the last few years due to … Read More

Ways in which dealers can deceive customers when leasing a car Car dealers often resort to common tricks and deception to entice consumers to lease when it may not be in the consumer’s best interest. This is why it is so important to understand how leasing works and to be able to make your own decisions, without a dealer’s “help.” Here is a list of the top leasing tricks used by dealers: 1. “We will … Read More

How does car financing work? How do car loans and leases work? One of the most misunderstood concepts about buying or leasing a new car is how auto financing really works. Dealer financing, specifically, is often misunderstood. We’ll explain it later, but the key concept to understand is that car dealers do not finance car loans and leases. However, dealers can most certainly affect how you finance and the interest rate you pay for financing. … Read More

What’s Special About BMW Lease Deals? BMW stands apart from other car companies in offering more and better car leases For the last few years, BMW has been offering the best lease deals on more of it’s vehicles than any other car company. It does it every month. And this month, at the time of this writing, they have over 75 special leases across their entire product line from coupes, sedans, convertibles, X-Series SUVs, Z4 … Read More

Which is Best — Special Lease, Rebate, or 0% APR Loan? New cars often come with multiple incentive offers from car companies When car manufacturers offer incentives on brand new cars, it often comes in multiple forms between which customers much choose since only one can be used. For example, rebates typically don’t apply to special leases because those leases usually include already discounted prices. And a rebate cannot be used if a low-interest or … Read More

Is it possible to lease a car with zero money down?  Lease with no down payment, and no cash up front Yes, it is very possible to lease a car with little or no up-front down payment cash — zero dollars down. In fact most car leases, even those advertised with a “required” down payment, are also available with $0 down, possibly depending on credit requirements (see explanation below). This is one of the benefits … Read More

Credit Score – How Important is Your Credit Score? – How to Get Your Score Low credit scores and credit problems need your attention Many consumers today don’t understand the importance of personal credit scores and how it affects their everyday lives now and in the future. Some are not aware that credit scores exist, or that credit scores are readily available and accessible online. Your credit score can determine what you pay for auto … Read More

What is a Single Payment Lease and How Does it Work? Does a pre-paid car lease save money? Single-pay car leases (also called pre-paid leases) are often an option for people who want to lease and have the cash to completely pay off the entire lease amount up front. It eliminates monthly payments and might save money. Such leases are sometimes called one-pay, or simple-pay leases, depending on lease finance company. However, is it smart to … Read More

The Real Math of Lease vs Buy New car – financially, is it better to lease or buy? If asked whether it’s better to buy or lease a new car, many people would give answers such as, “leasing is like renting, you’ll have nothing to show for your money,” or “you throw your money away when you lease.” To some extent, those answers are correct, but it has less to do with leasing than with … Read More

Is it possible to lower payments by refinancing a car loan? Refinancing an auto loan can be a good way to reduce monthly payments. However, it often doesn’t bring the benefits that borrowers expect. Let’s take a look. How auto refinancing works A car refinance loan is no different than any other used-car loan. You determine the payoff balance on your old loan, arrange for a new loan, get a check from the bank or … Read More