Unbiased Reviews by Real People
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Unbiased Reviews by Real People
Leases aren't all bad-My words of wisdom...Oct 27, 1999 Write an essay on this topic.I wanted to elaborate on JohnW's epinion of auto leasing. I just entered a second lease on a new Honda Accord and wanted to comment on a positive experience from Honda. From a first time leasee's perspective, I would agree that there are some costs that aren't emphasized by all car leasing companies up front. A few months into my first lease, I received a letter from my leasing company that the state I registered the vehicle in was billing the finance company X dollars for the year excise tax. Some states do this, others do not. My leasing company gave me a friendly heads up that in a month or two I would be receiving a bill for my portion. I later learned that this would happen each year in that state, and I later verified this requirement in my lease agreement. Regarding interest rates-In both my lease experiences I was advised of the APR of my lease/loan. If you're a perspective leasee, you should know a few things going in- 1) You can ask for the APR of the loan-JohnW's statement that many are 20% is not what I have found. Both my leases in '97 and '99 were under 8%. 2) You can and should negotiate the selling price of the vehicle. Don't pay sticker! Many models offer a manufacturer paid kickback to the dealer of a percent or two, so don't fall for that "you're fleecing us" song. You'll arrange leasing through one of a variety of finance companies, and this company doesn't really care what price you pay for the car. Looking in the paper for those "get this fabulous '2000 brand-X car for $299 a month" is trouble. That's assuming you pay a pre-arranged price (possibly sticker) for a certain model. 3) Speaking of ads in the paper-add a few bucks a month to each for taxes-most exclude them in the 'big print' Plan on a bit more for taxes, licensing & acquisition fee (this varies by leasing company) 3) At the end of your lease, your company may allow a one time lease extension for 1 to several months. If you're near the end of your lease and aren't sure what you wish to do next, ask your company if you can extend a few months.  |
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