Bamaman
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
I worked for 24 years for a major auto manufacturer and managed the largest lease fleet in the U.S. I also taught common everyday car salesmen how to sell leasing vs. retail sales in order to increase their commissions.
I could write a novel about automobile/truck leasing, as there are so many angles to leasing a vehicle. I'm not going to get into it here.
But let me say that retail leasing is essentially financing a car with a balloon payment in 24, 36 or 48 months. This requires a customer with a high FICO score and good credit.
Many people know how to purchase a car--driving a hard bargain. With leasing, you're going for the lowest monthly payment. Unfortunately, very few people know how to lease a car, and their lease is based on the dealer being paid "MSRP" for their lease by the manufacturer's finance source.
If a dealer offers you a car that would cost $400 per month to buy, you might have an advertised lease payment of $299. If you offer the dealer $225 per month, he might can take the deal. PAYMENTS ARE NEGOTIABLE ON LEASES.
Another angle is that manufacturers often throw out large sales incentives on leases--much like they do on cars/trucks purchased. They can throw rebates to the dealer, or they often will buy down the inherent interest rate the lease is based on--or both. This is when leasing gets to especially be a bargain.
My current car is a Lexus IS, which I bought for the long term. Fortunately, my family owns a Lexus dealership and I can get in one at dead cost--$4K less than others would pay. I could probably lease such a car for about the same monthly payment as a VW Golf or Honda Civic. Hey, that'd be a great deal.
As a retiree, we're keeping our cars longer and just buying them. My 75,000 mile driving has dropped to 40K per year on 3 cars. We have the Lexus, a 2012 Civic and a new Ford Explorer (people hauler.) I also have an old diesel Ford F250 to haul my fifth wheel trailer.
I'm careful to drive low depreciating cars that are very durable--which makes them solid values.
With the average car costing $32K and trucks pushing $50-60k MSRP, you're going to see many people leasing cars that really cannot afford new vehicles. Maybe lease customer will one day figure out how to negotiate their transportation needs without making their car salesman rich.
I could write a novel about automobile/truck leasing, as there are so many angles to leasing a vehicle. I'm not going to get into it here.
But let me say that retail leasing is essentially financing a car with a balloon payment in 24, 36 or 48 months. This requires a customer with a high FICO score and good credit.
Many people know how to purchase a car--driving a hard bargain. With leasing, you're going for the lowest monthly payment. Unfortunately, very few people know how to lease a car, and their lease is based on the dealer being paid "MSRP" for their lease by the manufacturer's finance source.
If a dealer offers you a car that would cost $400 per month to buy, you might have an advertised lease payment of $299. If you offer the dealer $225 per month, he might can take the deal. PAYMENTS ARE NEGOTIABLE ON LEASES.
Another angle is that manufacturers often throw out large sales incentives on leases--much like they do on cars/trucks purchased. They can throw rebates to the dealer, or they often will buy down the inherent interest rate the lease is based on--or both. This is when leasing gets to especially be a bargain.
My current car is a Lexus IS, which I bought for the long term. Fortunately, my family owns a Lexus dealership and I can get in one at dead cost--$4K less than others would pay. I could probably lease such a car for about the same monthly payment as a VW Golf or Honda Civic. Hey, that'd be a great deal.
As a retiree, we're keeping our cars longer and just buying them. My 75,000 mile driving has dropped to 40K per year on 3 cars. We have the Lexus, a 2012 Civic and a new Ford Explorer (people hauler.) I also have an old diesel Ford F250 to haul my fifth wheel trailer.
I'm careful to drive low depreciating cars that are very durable--which makes them solid values.
With the average car costing $32K and trucks pushing $50-60k MSRP, you're going to see many people leasing cars that really cannot afford new vehicles. Maybe lease customer will one day figure out how to negotiate their transportation needs without making their car salesman rich.