Top Car Leasing Questions Answered

Deciding whether to lease or buy depends on many factors. Do you drive a lot of miles annually? Do you like to keep your vehicle for a long time? If so, then car leasing might not be your best option. However, if you enjoy getting a new car every two to three years and have no interest in the trade-in/selling process of your current vehicle, you could be a prime candidate for an automotive lease. Basically, the difference between auto leasing or buying really comes down to your financial, automotive, and personal priorities.

Also, it is worth mentioning that some owners find high mileage leasing to be more beneficial in terms of financial safety and security than vehicle ownership. Statistically speaking, despite the overage fees you may pay when returning a high mileage leased vehicle, it is likely that you will come out ahead, compared to buying a car. High mileage causes a significant reduction at resale, but with leasing, it's already taken in to consideration. Additionally, the more time you spend on the roads, the more susceptible to accidents you will be. Therefore, if or when that accident occurs on your own vehicle, you would receive wreck history on CarFax, as well as a resale/trade-in deduction for vehicle damage. With leasing, you are not responsible for the deduction in value from that accident.

There are many benefits of leasing a car that you just can't get with other auto financing offers. These benefits include maintenance provisions, not needing to trade-in or sell an old vehicle, and lower payments. For more details on the benefits of car leasing, our vehicle finance department is on hand to answer all of your questions.

Most dealerships and manufacturers offer zero-down lease deals. Like any financial product there are varying factors that qualify or disqualify customers from these types of leases. Factors such as credit payment history, credit scores, etc. Just don't forget that paying nothing down typically means greater monthly payments. Vehicle leasing, like traditional auto financing, works like this: the more you put down, the less you pay monthly

Yes, you can lease a used car. This type of 'used car leasing' is a little known 'secret' among car dealers but most dealerships do offer Certified Pre-Owned leasing specials on CPO vehicles less than four (4) years old and with less than 48,000 miles.

Normally a lease deposit is refundable at the end of a lease. At least this is true when all leasing contract requirements have been met. Please note that a deposit (a.k.a. a security deposit) is not the same thing as a down payment. Down payments are not refundable but security deposits typically are. It is important to note some leases require non-refundable deposits. Therefore, read your lease agreement diligently and ask questions before you sign on the dotted line.

Most auto lease contracts have buy-out clauses in them in case you fall in love with your car and would like to buy it. Keep in mind the purchase price of the vehicle may vary. This depends on the vehicle's residual value when the lease agreement has expired. There are options to purchase your leased vehicle before the contract has been fulfilled. For this, however, you must speak with a financing manager. Only they can provide these buy-out details and take care of any early termination fees that may apply.

Typically, a credit score of 619 or lower is classified as "subprime". While a subprime borrower won't typically be automatically declined, a credit score lower than 619 means you will typically have to pay a higher interest rate and/or down payment. There are a lot of steps you can utilize to improve your credit score like apply for too many loans, employment history, and consistent on-time payments.

While it is not impossible, it is difficult to lease a vehicle if you have a poor credit rating and no money for a down payment. Most zero-down lease offers require a healthy credit rating. But don't worry, there are plenty of options available for car shoppers with less-than-stellar credit scores. To explore your leasing options, simply contact our financing team.

Typically speaking, yes, you can trade in your leased vehicle at a different dealership. It must, however, be an authorized dealership for the vehicle manufacturer. It's probably obvious, but you can't turn a leased car into any other brand of dealership. You can, however, turn your leased Ford into any authorized Ford dealership across the nation. Again, assuming all your lease contract obligations have been fulfilled.