One of the fastest growing markets today is auto lease swapping. The idea of allowing someone to assume your existing lease to get you out early or your trading your lease for another may seem confusing but to some it can be a life saver.
Many people are taking advantage of this to not only get a lower monthly payment, but to put them in the brand they most prefer. Whether you are looking at domestic models such as GM or Chrysler, or something with a little more luxury such as Mercedes or BMW, lease swapping can be a viable option for many.
Every month, car lease specials are advertised with fantastic low payments to entice the buying public to take the plunge and lease. People looking for BMW Lease Los Angeles specials have ample opportunity with the large number of dealers in that area now joining the ever growing dealer lease population.
So is there a catch to all of this or can one really get a great deal while easing the burden of another. It all depends on your perspective but make sure you do your homework all the same.
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Lease Swapping - A Viable Alternative
Swapping you lease out for another has been catching on of late. There a quite a few companies tha allow you to place your existing lease on their website and essentialy allow other to take over the lease. This can prove to be a big money saver.
Whether you a looking for a domestic, such as a GM or a Ford, or you want a luxury car such as a Lexus, lease swapping is a vialble alternative to many.
If you were looking to lease a BMW and you reside in Los Angeles, a common goole search would be BMW Lease Los Angeles. This would allow you to see all the lease websites that pertain to leasing a BMW in LA, including lease exchange.
In these hard economic times, lease exchanges make sense to some and should be considered.
Whether you a looking for a domestic, such as a GM or a Ford, or you want a luxury car such as a Lexus, lease swapping is a vialble alternative to many.
If you were looking to lease a BMW and you reside in Los Angeles, a common goole search would be BMW Lease Los Angeles. This would allow you to see all the lease websites that pertain to leasing a BMW in LA, including lease exchange.
In these hard economic times, lease exchanges make sense to some and should be considered.
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Leasing a BMW is Alive and Well in Los Angeles
To paraphrase Mark Twain, reports of leasing's death are greatly exaggerated. Even while auto sales hover at depressed levels not seen since the recession of the early 1980s, the major leasing players -- luxury carmakers -- are still writing leases. Some, including Acura, BMW and Mercedes-Benz, are even throwing money into the deals to lower monthly payments.
Banks and carmakers retreated from leasing last year after truck and SUV sales cratered due to soaring gas prices. Gas guzzlers languished on dealers' lots and owners tried to dump them, which decimated their resale value. Financial institutions that had written truck leases -- mainly the financing arms of the Detroit automakers -- lost a bundle when leasers turned the vehicles in. As a result, General Motors and Ford put the brakes on SUV and pick-up leases, and Chrysler is no longer writing leases at all.
Many affluent areas are reporting an uptick in leasing. Out west, BMW Lease Los Angeles Dealers are not feeling the pain they were a few months back. Leasing is picking up in other markets as well.
Pros of leasing
Although the game has changed a bit, much about leasing is the same, says Tarry Shebesta, president of LeaseCompare.com. Leasing still makes sense if you trade in every few years and always have a car payment. You get all the perks of driving a new car but, because you pay only for the depreciation during the time you lease the vehicle, you also get lower payments than if you had bought and financed it. And with most lease terms, the new-car warranty never expires. That's why luxury cars (and until recently, pricey SUVs and pickups) are leased so often.
You also have the ability to ride out economic turmoil of the sort that rocked leasing last summer. For example, owners of trucks and SUVs had to eat the loss in value of their vehicles when they traded them in. But if you leased, the bank (or the carmaker's financing arm) took the resale-value hit, not you.
Digging for a deal
Before you can spot a bargain, you need to understand leasing jargon. Residual value (or resale value) is what the vehicle is expected to be worth at the end of the lease and is the same as, or close to, the purchase price you'd pay then. Money factor is the interest you'll pay. You multiply that number by 2,400 to get an estimate of the annual percentage rate. Capitalized cost is the price of the car.
As carmakers struggle to move vehicles, you'll see more leasing incentives -- known as subventing. A subvented lease may feature an artificially low money factor or an inflated residual value, both of which lower your monthly payments. Shebesta notes that when you compare lease terms, you may find that a high residual value and a high money factor could produce the same payment as a low residual and a low money factor. The latter is a much better deal because you'll end up with a more realistic value, meaning you'll pay less if you decide to buy the car.
Choosing a high residual value to lower monthly payments might be worth it if you plan to turn in the car at the end of the lease. But because you're not paying enough each month to keep up with the actual depreciation, you'll pay a few grand more than market value if you want to buy it. And if you have to turn in the car before the lease is up, you'll owe a bundle in addition to the early-termination fee.
Before you hit the dealers, pit the carmakers' lease terms against leases from independent leasing companies and banks at LeaseCompare.com to find different options. For example, Honda Financial recently offered a 36-month lease on a base-level Acura TL (price: $35,715) for $399 a month. It assumes a residual value of $22,143, which is also the purchase price. Running the same numbers on LeaseCompare.com, we found a three-year lease on the TL for $464 a month with a purchase price of $20,708.
Plus, the LeaseCompare deal allows 12,000 miles a year, compared with 10,000 miles from Honda Financial (with a 20-cent-per-mile penalty on additional miles). If you drive the extra 6,000 miles over three years, the LeaseCompare deal saves $1,200 on mileage.
Banks and carmakers retreated from leasing last year after truck and SUV sales cratered due to soaring gas prices. Gas guzzlers languished on dealers' lots and owners tried to dump them, which decimated their resale value. Financial institutions that had written truck leases -- mainly the financing arms of the Detroit automakers -- lost a bundle when leasers turned the vehicles in. As a result, General Motors and Ford put the brakes on SUV and pick-up leases, and Chrysler is no longer writing leases at all.
Many affluent areas are reporting an uptick in leasing. Out west, BMW Lease Los Angeles Dealers are not feeling the pain they were a few months back. Leasing is picking up in other markets as well.
Pros of leasing
Although the game has changed a bit, much about leasing is the same, says Tarry Shebesta, president of LeaseCompare.com. Leasing still makes sense if you trade in every few years and always have a car payment. You get all the perks of driving a new car but, because you pay only for the depreciation during the time you lease the vehicle, you also get lower payments than if you had bought and financed it. And with most lease terms, the new-car warranty never expires. That's why luxury cars (and until recently, pricey SUVs and pickups) are leased so often.
You also have the ability to ride out economic turmoil of the sort that rocked leasing last summer. For example, owners of trucks and SUVs had to eat the loss in value of their vehicles when they traded them in. But if you leased, the bank (or the carmaker's financing arm) took the resale-value hit, not you.
Digging for a deal
Before you can spot a bargain, you need to understand leasing jargon. Residual value (or resale value) is what the vehicle is expected to be worth at the end of the lease and is the same as, or close to, the purchase price you'd pay then. Money factor is the interest you'll pay. You multiply that number by 2,400 to get an estimate of the annual percentage rate. Capitalized cost is the price of the car.
As carmakers struggle to move vehicles, you'll see more leasing incentives -- known as subventing. A subvented lease may feature an artificially low money factor or an inflated residual value, both of which lower your monthly payments. Shebesta notes that when you compare lease terms, you may find that a high residual value and a high money factor could produce the same payment as a low residual and a low money factor. The latter is a much better deal because you'll end up with a more realistic value, meaning you'll pay less if you decide to buy the car.
Choosing a high residual value to lower monthly payments might be worth it if you plan to turn in the car at the end of the lease. But because you're not paying enough each month to keep up with the actual depreciation, you'll pay a few grand more than market value if you want to buy it. And if you have to turn in the car before the lease is up, you'll owe a bundle in addition to the early-termination fee.
Before you hit the dealers, pit the carmakers' lease terms against leases from independent leasing companies and banks at LeaseCompare.com to find different options. For example, Honda Financial recently offered a 36-month lease on a base-level Acura TL (price: $35,715) for $399 a month. It assumes a residual value of $22,143, which is also the purchase price. Running the same numbers on LeaseCompare.com, we found a three-year lease on the TL for $464 a month with a purchase price of $20,708.
Plus, the LeaseCompare deal allows 12,000 miles a year, compared with 10,000 miles from Honda Financial (with a 20-cent-per-mile penalty on additional miles). If you drive the extra 6,000 miles over three years, the LeaseCompare deal saves $1,200 on mileage.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)