Many car dealers are currently offering attractive car lease deals to well-qualified buyers that are interested. While these deals may seem great at first look, leasing a car is not for everyone and can end up costing those that make a bad choice a great deal of money. Before making a decision on whether to sign a car lease, there are a number of things that must be considered. Here are some things that you should think about.
Weigh The Pros And Cons Of Leasing A Car
There are a number of benefits to leasing that make leasing a car an attractive option to a wide range of people. Leasing a car helps you afford a more expensive car while paying significantly less than someone that is buying the same car. If you find that you do not like the car, you can return it at the end of the lease period and have no further obligations with it. It is very expensive to terminate a lease early and it can be difficult to find someone to assume the remainder of your lease, so be prepared to stay in the vehicle for the entire lease term.
Unfortunately, there are a number of things that can make the cost of car leasing more expensive than you expect. When you sign a lease for a vehicle, you are limited in the amount of miles that you can put on the car and if you go over this amount, you will owe the dealership a per mile rate for every mile that you drove over the limit. Many car-leasing deals require a down payment before the car can be driven off of the lot, but if the car is totaled before the end of the lease term, the insurance company will only pay the leasing company so you will lose your down payment.
Consider The Cost Of The Buyout
One of the biggest drawbacks to signing a car lease is that you do not own the car at the end of the lease period, leaving you will nothing to show for the thousands of dollars in payments you have made over the course of the lease. If you want to own the car outright, you will have to pay the cost of the buyout at the end of the lease, which can be a significant amount if you took advantage of one of the dealer’s leasing deals. Be sure you fully understand how much you will be paying if you decide to buy the car by carefully going over the terms of the contract before you sign.