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Signing a car lease can be a big commitment since you agree to drive a vehicle for a fixed number of miles and months. Knowing which car leasing mistakes to avoid can help you decide if leasing a vehicle is right for you and ensure that you get the best deal possible.
We at the Home Media reviews team will explain common car leasing mistakes to watch out for, standard lease terminology you should know and the pros and cons of leasing a car. If you’ve set your sights on leasing a vehicle, we recommend shopping around and researching your options. Several of the best auto loan rate providers we recommend for 2022 offer lease loan options.
Drivers who lease vehicles save an average of $115 per month compared to those who finance vehicle purchases, according to Experian’s Q4 2021 State of the Automotive Finance Market report.
However, your lease can be costly if you don’t read the fine print. Avoid these five common car leasing mistakes before you lease your next vehicle.
Every new vehicle comes with a manufacturer’s suggested retail price (MSRP). The MSRP is a suggestion of how much you should pay for a car purchase. You can negotiate the capitalized cost of your leased car, which is the overall amount you’ll pay to lease. This can result in a lower monthly payment or a lower down payment due at signing.
However, keep in mind that negotiation doesn’t work in all cases. Some leased cars already have a reduced price set by the manufacturer and the dealer.
In addition to the overall price, you should negotiate several other things before signing a contract. These include fees and the cost of add-ons like gap insurance. You can also discuss increasing the mileage cap for your leased vehicle to ensure you get the most value for what you’re paying.
Negotiating the mileage in your lease contract can help you spend less money if you plan to hit the road a lot. According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, Americans drive an average of 13,476 miles per year. Most car leases include an annual mileage cap of 10,000 or 12,000 miles per year, below the national average.
If you think you may exceed the cap in your car lease, paying for more miles up front will be less expensive than the penalty you’ll pay when you turn your car in. Most dealers will refund you for any unused miles if you pay for extra mileage before signing your contract.
In addition to your state’s car insurance requirements, lenders might require you to purchase gap insurance as a condition of your lease. Gap insurance pays for the difference between what you owe on your car and what your car is worth if it’s totaled in an accident or stolen.
If your dealership doesn’t require gap insurance, consider purchasing it as add-on coverage. Most dealers offer this auto insurance coverage, and it could save you thousands of dollars if you get in an accident.
Taking care of your leased car will save you money in the long term when you return your vehicle to the dealership. Almost all car leases allow for normal wear and tear, like minor scratches and dirt on the upholstery. However, anything that can be considered excessive wear may cost you.
Keep up your regularly scheduled maintenance on your leased vehicle and repair any collision damage to avoid unnecessary costs. Also, making improvements to the vehicle without approval from your leasing company can cost you. The company could charge you to remove any modifications made to the car.
Long-term car leases generally last more than two years, which means your vehicle’s new factory warranty could expire during your lease period. While warranties vary by manufacturer, most limited warranties last up to 3 years/36,000 miles.
Consider matching the leasing period to the length of your car’s factory warranty when negotiating the terms of your car lease. If this isn’t possible, you may want to purchase an extended warranty to cover unexpected repair costs.
Editor’s choice for auto loan refinancing with low interest rates.
If you decide that leasing a car is right for you, here are some steps you should follow:
When leasing a car, it’s essential to understand the terminology to avoid making car leasing mistakes. Here are some common terms you might encounter when leasing a vehicle:
When you lease a vehicle, you rent it from a dealership for a specified amount of time. Once your lease period ends, you can return the vehicle or purchase it for a predetermined amount. That’s different from buying a car, which makes you the owner once you pay the loan off.
These are the pros and cons of leasing a vehicle:
A car lease generally comes with a three-year or four-year contract. If you’re happy with your leased vehicle, you may decide to purchase it before your contract expires. Auto Approve and myAutoloan are two lenders we recommend reaching out to if you want to learn more about your lease buyout options.
Auto Approve can be a good choice for those who want to purchase their leased cars since the company offers loans to help you buy your lease out. The lender handles titling for your vehicle and finding the right loan for your buyout. You can also purchase gap insurance and an extended auto warranty from Auto Approve that can be built into your loan.
Auto Approve has a strong reputation among industry organizations. The company has an A+ rating from the BBB and is accredited by the organization. Customers on Trustpilot give Auto Approve high ratings, with an average score of 4.7 out of 5.0 stars.
Read more: Auto Approve review
An online lending marketplace, myAutoloan lets you comparison shop for car loan rates, refinance auto loans and lease buyout loans. Annual percentage rates (APRs) for lease buyouts begin at 1.99% for those with good credit. Term lengths of up to 84 months are available.
Within the auto financing industry, myAutoloan has a strong reputation. It holds an A+ rating and accreditation from the BBB. The marketplace also has a 4.3-star average rating on Trustpilot.
Read more: myAutoloan review
There are certain car leasing mistakes that can cost you. You shouldn’t sign a lease contract without negotiating the price of the car you want, shopping around for car leasing quotes and estimating the number of miles you’ll drive each year. Once you have a leased vehicle, you shouldn’t keep it in poor condition or purchase insurance that doesn’t meet your lender’s requirements.
The major drawback of leasing a car is that you don’t build equity in the vehicle. You make monthly payments on the car, but you won’t have ownership over it once the lease expires.
One of the biggest disadvantages of leasing a car is that you’ll always have a car payment. This is because when you lease a car, you’ll never get equity in it or own it. Another downside is that if you exceed the mileage limit in your contract, you’ll owe the dealership more money.
If the dealership or lease company accepts it, you can return a leased car that has problems for a refund of your leasing costs, repair costs and any related rental charges. Keep in mind that the lease company may reject your claim.
Because consumers rely on us to provide objective and accurate information, we created a comprehensive rating system to formulate our rankings of the best auto loan companies. We collected data on dozens of loan providers to grade the companies on a wide range of ranking factors. The end result was an overall rating for each provider, with the companies that scored the most points topping the list.
Here are the factors our ratings take into account:
*Data accurate at time of publication.
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