Don’t be TRAPPED into Leasing For the Rest of Your Life

I’ve written several articles on which is the better choice, leasing or buying your next car. As a rule of thumb, I recommend buying because it’s less complicated and offers fewer opportunities for car dealers to deceive you. I also issue a special warning to seniors who, because of health issues, may not be able to drive at some point during their lease contract. They, or their *estates, are still obligated to make the remainder of the payments.

However, there is another negative on leasing which I was remiss in not mentioning in prior articles, and this applies to all age groups. When you buy a car, you’re building equity ownership in the car you’re driving; leasing is just like renting and you build zero equity. If you buy a new vehicle and finance it for 36 months, you can build equity from 50% of the original cost to has much as 70%. The average new vehicle today costs about $40,000, leaving you with an asset worth from $20,000 to $28,000!

Why is this important? According to USA Today, 40% of U.S. adults don’t have enough savings to cover a mere $400 emergency! The median amount of the average American’s savings account is only $4,830. When you buy a home or a car, you’re forced to save. More and more Americans are renting their apartment or homes and leasing their vehicles.

The auto manufacturers and auto dealers are focusing almost exclusively on leasing rather than selling today, for good reasons. Car dealers make substantially more money when they leaseinstead of sell, over $1,000. The likelihood of you repeating with the car dealer and the manufacturer is much higher when you lease vs. buy. Why? You must return the lease car to the car dealer, and the dealer begins soliciting your next lease about 6 months before your current lease expires. If you don’t repeat with that dealer/manufacturer, there’s a penalty called the “lease disposition fee”, about $350. There’s also the likelihood that you will be charged more for “above normal wear and tear” if you buy or lease a different brand. It’s easy for manufacturers and dealers to lure you into leasing, because almost everybody thinks in terms of monthly payments, not the purchase price. If you feel like you can fit the car into your monthly budget, you don’t care what the purchase price is.

That’s why so many people are now caught in the “lease trap”; not just the lease trap but forced to repeat with the same make of car they leased previously. They have no equity for a down payment on a purchase and are penalized if they switch to a different make of vehicle.

When you’re caught in the “lease trap”, you’re also precluded from buying a used car. Leasing companies and banks won’t lease used cars. A good, late model used car is a better value than a new one. It retains its value much more than a new care. Many people with limited savings and income should be buying used cars instead of new ones, but cannot if they were lured into the lease trap because of a low monthly payment.

If you’re fortunate enough to have a substantial savings or investment account that allows you to make the necessary down payment when you purchase a vehicle, that’s great and this article doesn’t apply to you. Unfortunately, it does apply to many people that are being lured into the LEASING TRAP.



*Legal pre-arrangements can be made to protect the lessee’s spouse from liability