Lease a Car With No Monthly Payment and Nothing Down Sounds too good to be true. Well it’s true but there’s a small catch. Isn’t there always a catch? Here’s How it Works When you lease a car, the monthly payments are lower than if you purchased the same car with a loan — because you’re only paying for the cars depreciation in value over the life of the lease, not the entire value . That’s … Read More
Police Auctions for Cheap Cars
Is it possible to get good car deals in 2014 at police auctions? Police impound, seized-car, and surplus auctions can be a great place to find car bargains Cars that are routinely auctioned or sold by government law enforcement agencies can range from junk vehicles abandoned by owners, to vehicles seized from lawbreakers, to surplus police vehicles that have been replaced with newer vehicles. Vehicles of all types can be found at police auctions. Some … Read More
Car Auctions for Cheap Cars
Car Auctions for Cheap Cars Where are the car auctions? There are a number of different types of auto auctions, conducted by a variety of types of auction companies. Each auction is different: different rules, different type of vehicles, different restrictions on who can participate, and different payment methods. Some auction companies restrict all or some of their auctions to licensed car dealers. Others may conduct completely open auctions, open to anyone, including dealers. Let’s … Read More
Repossessed Car Auctions – Bank Auctions
Repossessed Cars for Sale – Repo Car Auctions – Bank Repo Car Sales How and where to buy repo cars at bargain prices. What is a repo car? When a car owner fails to make on-time loan or lease payments, the bank or finance company will repossess the vehicle — take it back — “repo” it. Typically, the buyer will be given a chance to catch up on payments or be made a payoff offer … Read More
Government Car Auctions – Good Deals?
Government Auctions – Seized and Surplus Auto Auctions Is it possible to get cheap cars at government car auctions? Various U.S. government agencies, as well as state, county, and city government agencies, regularly conduct auctions of property and equipment, including vehicles of all types. Some of the vehicles are “surplus”, meaning that they are no longer needed and have probably been replaced with newer vehicles. Although these cars, trucks, and other vehicles have been well … Read More
Public Car Auctions – Cheap Cars?
Public Car Auctions for Cheap Cars Is it possible to get good deals at public car auctions? Yes. It is very possible to get good deals on used cars at public car auctions. But you have to know where to find them and how to participate. Types of public car auctions A great many car auctions allow only licensed car dealers to buy. However, other auctions are also open to the public and can be … Read More
Rebuildable Wrecked Cars for Cheap
Rebuildable and Repairable Wrecked Cars Find repairable vehicles and project cars for great bargains As an alternative to leasing a brand new car, wrecked, flooded, or damaged cars are often repairable and can make cheap daily drivers or project cars for buyers willing to make the necessary repairs. Properly rebuilt cars can be just as reliable and safe as any other car. Salvage cars can be a great opportunity to save money and have a little … Read More
Damaged Cars Make Cheap Deals
Buy repairable salvage, flooded, and damaged vehicles at bargain prices Along with hurricanes, floods, hail, and tornadoes come destroyed and damaged cars, trucks, and other vehicles. Some are new cars that have been hail-damaged, wind-damaged, or flooded while sitting on dealer lots. Others are used cars that had been owned by individuals, dealers, and businesses. Many of these vehicles have been totaled by insurance companies– written off as total losses but available for purchase. These become … Read More
Who Makes Money in Car Leasing?
Understand who profits from leasing There are four parties who potentially benefit — make money — from car leasing: Car dealers Car manufacturers Car finance companies Customers 1. Car Dealers Make Money with Leasing There are a number of ways that car dealers make a profit from leasing. First, like with any other method of payment, dealers buy vehicles from their manufacturer for a wholesale price (“dealer invoice price”) and sell at a retail price … Read More
Lease Option
The term, lease option, in car financing typically refers to the availability of leasing as one of the ways to acquire a new car. The other options are 1) paying cash, and 2) a loan. All car dealers offer leasing as a option for those who prefer it. For many automotive consumers, leasing offers advantages. Approximately 30% of all new-car sales today are leases. Luxury cars are leased at even higher rates. Although having a lease … Read More
Zero Down, Zero Payment Car Lease
Is it possible to lease a car with no cash down and no monthly payments? Yes — in the right situation. Let’s explain. Most car leases require a cash down payment, including first month’s payment. They also require that you make payments each month for the term (length months) of the lease. The sum of all those payments is the total amount paid for the lease. It is possible to pre-pay the total, in cash, to avoid monthly … Read More
Due at Signing
The term, due at signing or cash due at signing, refers to the total amount of cash that is due at the time a car lease contract is signed. The amount due at signing can include first month’s lease payment, various official tax and title fees, a down payment (cap cost reduction), sales tax on the down payment, and possibly a security deposit. A “lease acquisition” fee is also sometimes included. The acquisition fee is always … Read More
Acquisition Fee
The term, acquisition fee, as it relates to car leasing, refers to an administrative fee that is included in all leases. It is sometimes called a “bank fee” or “assignment fee.” The fee is sometimes not disclosed in a lease contract. An acquisition fee is charged by lease companies, not dealers. Dealers typically do not make a profit on this fee, although some lease companies may “kick back” part of the fee to dealers as … Read More
Estimate Car Lease Payment
Estimate Lease Payment Amount When You Don’t Have All the Numbers Our popular Lease Calculator will calculate actual car lease payments accurately — to the penny — as long as you know all the factors of a lease, such as net capitalized cost, including any added fees, cap cost reduction, money factor, residual value, term, and sales tax rate. But it’s not always possible to know all the figures if you’re simply in the shopping stages of … Read More
Car Leasing Myths – What’s True?
What are some common myths about leasing a car? Car leasing is often misunderstood primarily because it’s a bit more complicated than buying with a loan. Furthermore, these misunderstandings are frequently propagated through casual conversations among friends and family, and through the Internet via forums, answer boards, and “expert” advice web sites. Let’s take a look at the most common of the myths about car leasing: 1. Leasing is like renting, which means no down payment, … Read More
Lease Agreement – Lease Contract
The term lease agreement or lease contract, in car leasing, refers to the legal contract that is signed at the time of lease inception in which the lessee (person who is leasing) agrees to the conditions of the lease set by the lessor (lease finance company). This includes the price of the vehicle that the lease is based on, any other costs and charges, trade-in credit (if any) the term (lease months), mileage allowance, monthly payment … Read More
Mileage Fee – Mileage Penalty
The term mileage fee or mileage penalty in car leasing refers to the per-mile charge at lease-end for excessive miles driven during the lease — miles over the limit allowed. Lease mileage fee is generally $0.15 per mile for cars that cost up to $30,000, $0.20 a mile up to $50,000, and $0.25 or more for cars that cost more than $50,000. The fee for some luxury vehicles may be higher. Mileage charge is always … Read More
Lease Formula
The term, lease formula, in car leasing, refers to the math formula used to calculate monthly payments. The standard formula used in the auto leasing business by car companies and dealers is explained in detail, with examples, in the following article: Lease Payment Formula. Although the strict time-value-of-money (TVM) formula for leasing is a bit more precise, the car leasing industry has chosen to go with the simplified standard formula, as discussed in our article referenced … Read More
Lease Tax
The term, lease tax, in car leasing usually refers to sales tax and how the tax is applied to a lease. The way that sales tax is applied to car leases varies by state. The most common way, and the way it’s done in most states, is that sales tax is applied to the monthly payment, not the entire value of the vehicle. This is one of the benefits of leasing. Using this method, as … Read More
Wear and Tear
The term, wear and tear, as it relates to car leasing, refers to one of two conditions in most car lease contracts. First, lease contracts specify that the lessee is responsible for replacing normal wear-and-tear items such as tires, wiper blades, light bulbs, and brakes should it be necessary during the lease. Second, contracts specify that there should not be excessive wear-and-tear when the vehicle is returned at lease-end. If a leasing customer returns his … Read More
Rent Charge
The term, rent charge, in a car lease contract is used to show the total of all finance charges for the life of the lease. It’s sometimes called “Lease Charge” or “Lease/Rent Charge.” The term is deceptive because it has nothing to do with renting. It’s simply a term that has been held over from the commercial equipment leasing industry. Some lease companies are doing away with the term and simply calling it what it is, … Read More