Please select a frequently asked question from below to get the appropriate answer. What are the advantages of leasing rather than buying my new vehicle? What is a car lease? If I lease I don’t own the car, do I? Will leasing save me money, and if so how much? Isn’t leasing just a rip-off? Is leasing right for everyone? Are there people who should not lease? Don't leases limit the number of miles you can drive? Is it true that I can lease without a down payment? What are the advantages of leasing rather than buying my new vehicle? That's the big question. There are many reasons why leasing might be a better choice than purchasing your next vehicle. There are also people for whom buying is a better choice. You should really consult with one of our lease professionals to help determine which is better for you. However, since you asked, here are some of the leasing advantages. Cars are a depreciated asset. Every day you own a car it is worth less than it was the day before. Leasing lets you pay only for the part of a vehicle's life that you actually use. Leasing offers lower monthly payments than purchasing the same vehicle. The ability to drive a new car at regular intervals, with less of a down payment which is an advantage. For people who use their car for business there may be significant tax advantages for leasing, and with a Anthony Lease it doesn't count against your line of credit. What is a car lease? A lease is just a different way to finance a car. When you lease a car you agree to drive it for a specified period of time. Rather than paying for the entire value of the vehicle, you only pay for the value that the automobile is expected to lose over that time. This is why lease payments are lower than comparable purchase payments, because there is a large portion of the vehicle's value for which you are not paying. If I lease I don’t own the car, do I? No, the lender who underwrites the lease owns the vehicle. However, keep in mind that this is also the case when you finance a vehicle purchase. Until you make the final payment, the bank owns the car you “bought.” With the average price of our cars well over $80,000, many people need to finance their cars for six or seven years but trade that car in before it is paid off. These people never own the cars they “bought.” Will leasing save me money, and if so how much? That depends. Leasing certainly can save you money. For a given vehicle the lease payment can be from 20-40% lower than the purchase payment. Also leases generally do not require a large down payment which allows you to keep the money you already have. However, some people decide to keep their payments the same and instead drive a nicer car for the same money. The choice is yours. Isn’t leasing just a rip-off? Absolutely not. In fact, while leasing is not for everyone, for many people leasing is the best choice for financing a new car. As much as we need them, automobiles are a depreciating asset (they go down in value). Think of it this way. What if someone wanted to sell you a stock, and they guaranteed you that every day you owned it, it would be worth less than it was the day before. Would you buy it? That is the way cars are - only we have to have them. There is a saying in financial circles, “If it appreciates buy it. If it depreciates, lease it.” Is leasing right for everyone? Are there people who should not lease? No, leasing is not the best choice for everyone. Leasing is the right choice for many people, but there are certainly people for whom leasing is probably not right. If you are unsure, check with our leasing professionals to determine whether leasing is for you? Don't leases limit the number of miles you can drive? Yes. The question of mileage limitations is one of the most commonly asked questions regarding leasing. One of the primary factors involved in calculating a lease is the vehicle's "residual value." This is the value that the car is projected to retain at the end of the lease term. In order for the lease lender to properly set the residual value of your vehicle, they need to know approximately how many miles the automobile will display when, and if, you give it back at the end of the lease. For example, consider two different vehicles that are identical in every way except that one of them has 30,000 miles and the other has 90,000 miles. Even if they looked the same, they would clearly have two completely different values. For this reason, mileage is important in a lease and you should give some thought to how many miles you typically drive in a year. Don't sign a lease for 10,000 miles per year if you know you are going to drive 15,000 miles, and likewise don't pay for an 18,000 mile per year lease if you know you are only going to drive 12,000 miles per year. Is it true that I can lease without a down payment? Yes, generally all that is required to get into your new leased vehicle is your first two month's payment. If you wish to lower your monthly payment you can put some money up front as a down payment. This is called a "capitalized cost reduction" or "cap cost reduction." Examples of these can generally be found in the very fine print of newspaper ads that some dealerships run which portray cars with ridiculously low lease payments.