The option to lease a brand new car appeals to many people. Lower monthly payments, minimal upfront costs, and driving the latest models every few years sounds enticing. However, what leasing gives with one hand, it takes with the other via some substantial drawbacks.
Before signing any lease paperwork, you must weigh numerous factors where leasing falls short for a lot of drivers. Explore the blog to discover the 10 reasons not to lease a car and make an informed decision about your automotive choices.
Overview of Car Leasing
First, let’s recap how leasing works at a basic level. Leasing involves paying to essentially “rent” a vehicle long-term from a dealership or third-party leasing company. The lease runs for a fixed period, usually 2-4 years for cars.
As the leaseholder, you make monthly payments that mainly cover the vehicle’s depreciation during your contract term plus some fees and interest on financing the remaining value. You don’t build any equity and must return the car at lease end unless you arrange a separate purchase option.
If you’re considering alternatives, explore the options to lease a used car for potentially different advantages. Additionally, for those with credit challenges, delve into the possibilities to lease a car with bad credit. Pros for those less concerned with ownership include lower payments than financing to buy and driving a perpetually newer vehicle. However, disadvantages loom in several areas.
10 Reasons Not to Lease a Car
While leases may appear straightforward or even clearly better at first glance, sticking points arise upon peering deeper across these key areas:
Mileage Limits and Fees
Probably the #1 unpleasant lease surprise are mileage restrictions with painful overage penalties. Most lease contracts allot drivers between 10,000-15,000 miles yearly. Driving further incurs per-mile fees from $0.10-0.30+ atop your usual payments.
These dwarf rental car overage charges and make leasing wildly expensive for anyone not diligently tracking odometer readings. It’s also risky budgeting if your driving needs spike. Before leasing, honestly assess your projected annual mileage.
Early Termination Penalties
What if you must exit a lease well before completion due to life events, a new job, or just dislike for the vehicle? Brace for impact. Breaking car lease contracts routinely incurs fees from hundreds up to thousands of dollars. This covers the leasing company’s administrative hassles and projected lost payments.
Additionally, you’ll likely need to pay off the remaining principal balance on the lease. With most deals lasting 2-4 years, ending just one year in can leave you paying out 18-36 months extra with nothing to show for it. Evaluate whether you can commit before locking in.
Lack of Customization Options
Part of properly maintaining a leased vehicle means returning it close to original condition. This allows dealers to sell it as a more valuable certified pre-owned model after your lease expires. Most leasing contracts prohibit anything beyond minor accessories like floor mats or seat covers.
Larger modifications like suspensions, audio systems, or performance parts often violate the terms. At best, you’ll pay hefty reversal fees. At worst, altered cars get rejected upon inspection for buyouts or lease extension eligibility. If you like custom rides, leasing severely limits you.
Responsibility for Maintenance and Repairs
As the leaseholder, you remain liable for your vehicle’s mechanical upkeep, damage repairs, and restoration of excessive wear-and-tear before contract end. Think dings, interior stains, bald tires, and chipped paint needing remediation.
Unlike longer ownership terms where repair costs spread over years,29797 short lease stints concentrate expenses against quicker asset depreciation. This multiplies their financial impact. Don’t expect leasing companies to cut you breaks assessing return condition either.
Higher Effective Interest Rates
Surprising drivers, leasing hides steeper interest costs than financing a car purchase. Lacking collateral ownership, leasing stacks risk pricing atop normal depreciation. Borrowing $30,000 at 5% to buy a car translates to $1,500 yearly financing interest.
But with nothing to repossess, that same principal leased may carry a 10% annual rate. Now your yearly interest doubles to $3,000 – ignoring other lease fees. So despite lower payments, leasing bleeds you via bigger unrecoverable interest unless you buyout the car afterwards.
Inability to Resell or Trade-In
As touched on above, zero vehicle equity Accumulation seriously handcuffs buyers in between lease terms. With no resale or trade-in leverage, you must begin every subsequent car deal from $0 instead of rolling positive value forward.
Depending on purchase timing, buyers may access thousands in carry-over equity for the next down payment. But serial leasers get stuck in an expensive “rentership” cycle unless they stockpile their own savings cushion to break out.
Insurance and Registration Costs
Lastly, don’t overlook yet-higher insurance premiums and potential registration/title fees levied on leased cars in some states. Compared to owned vehicles, insurers consider leased models higher claims risks due to contractual requirements mandating full collision/comprehensive coverage. This drives rates up.
Likewise, certain locales classify leased vehicles under more expensive “rental” designations incurring extra registration expenses for you. Taken together, these recurring costs nibble away further at deal savings beyond just monthly payments.
Extra – Poor Credit Effecting Car Leasing
The simplest backstop when low credit threatens quick lease denials is adding a cosigner exhibiting prime credit marks. Their assumed shared risk provides hesitant lenders enough assurances to gloss over hiccups dragging down the primary applicant’s score. Just ensure cosigners fully grasp their financial obligations for making good on the lease terms if difficulties arise. When leveraged judiciously, trusted cosigners can temporarily override one’s own Bad credit to make leasing possible.
When Can Leasing Still Make Sense?
Weighing the above considerations, leasing clearly falls short for many budget-focused families and buyers preferring ownership. Yet some situations do warrant closer lease looks:
Desire to Always Drive New Vehicles – Serial new car lovers probably care least about trade-in values or modifications. To them, minimized exposure to repair risks and stylistic obsolescence keeps leasing in play.
Accessing Out-of-Budget Models – Occasional lessees may leverage cheaper payments to access more luxurious rides than they could finance purchasing outright. The trade-offs merit the short-term status bump.
Businesses Wanting Tax Deductions – Lease payments qualify as deductible operating expenses for some organizations, notably outside sales teams needing vehicles. Factor this benefit against personal leasing pitfalls.
Low-Mileage Drivers – Lastly, those clocking way under 10,000 miles annually see fewer lease downsides related to heavy mileage constraints. Infrequent drivers should still evaluate other realities cautiously.
If any describe your situation, proceed with fully open eyes, prudent budgeting, and an early lease exit contingency fund just in case.
Key Considerations Before Committing to a Lease
Entering any lengthy auto financial commitment without exploring alternatives often leads to suboptimal decisions and regrets down the road. Before leaping into a years-long lease obligation, take time to:
- Calculate total lifetime costs against simply financing a quality used vehicle
- Research typical ownership costs over holding periods matching your lease term
- Model worst-case lease break scenarios derailing your finances
- Test-drive multiple vehicles to pin down preferences
- Assess your average annual mileage needs
Undertaking these evaluating steps now positions you to determine if the benefits of leasing really outweigh the drawbacks explored above over applicable timeframes. Don’t let great monthly payments camouflage bigger overall costs or risks. Optimizing total transportation expenses pays dividends for years driving happiness.
Extra Suggestions.
Experts suggest the Best Time to Lease a Car begin with major sales cycles for dealerships. For example, significant lease discounts often materialize when new model year vehicles first reach showrooms between July and November as dealers clear outgoing inventory. Holiday weekends, month-end quota crunches, or year-end clearance sales may also spur lease incentive deals.
FAQs
What are typical annual mileage limits on leases?
10,000-15,000 miles per year is standard across most auto lease contracts. Drivers staying within this range avoid excess mileage fees. Lower allowances under 10,000 miles do exist but raise rates.
Do all lease deals charge early termination fees?
Nearly every lease agreement assesses substantial termination penalties should you break the contract early. Some waive fees under extreme circumstances like military transfers. But end payments before maturity normally incur hundreds to thousands in fees.
Can I negotiate better lease terms with dealers?
Yes. Although lease contracts appear rigid, many components have wiggle room if you negotiate properly. You can bargain the capitalized cost, money factor (interest), fees, lease length, mileage allowance, and more to improve pricing.
Is gap insurance advisable when leasing a car?
Gap coverage helps pay off remaining principal should your leased car get totaled. Without it, you must satisfy the balance while no longer holding the vehicle. Gap insurance mitigates this risk for relatively affordable monthly premiums alongside standard legally-mandated policies.
Are lease down payments required?
Unlike financing, most leases do not require sizeable down payments. However, those able to put a few thousand down may access better monthly rates and overall lease pricing. Putting zero down preserves flexibility but lifts payments. Weigh your budget and savings reserves.
