How to spot a good car lease

Leasing has long been thought as the cheapest way to keep up with the industry’s newest and most talked about trends and vehicles.

The jury, however, is still undecided on leasing: with the industry high on hype and low on detail, it can be hard to distinguish between a genuine good deal and a up-selling initiative .

How do you know a good deal when you see one? The best car leasing tips

Firstly, you need to investigate if any down payments will be stated on the short term car lease.  A down payment refers to the lump sum amount that you pay initially ,wether it is in cash, non-cash credit or trading allowance, In order to reduce your monthly payment.

You should think hard before putting money down on a lease as not only will you get a rough deal,due to the fact you are in essence forfeiting the general rule of short term car leasing: which is not putting any cash down upfront,and the money is not recoupable at the end of your lease.

There is one other big disadvantage which is if in the event your car should get damaged or stolen, your insurance and the gap cost will not cover the loss.

Mileage Limit

The majority of leasing companies allow a limit of 45,000 free miles over the length of a 3-year lease.  This may seem like a good deal at first, but when you break it down it only comes to 15,000 miles over a 12 month period so it’s not difficult to see why people have difficulties staying within this limit. 

 Even people working from home can easily  putt 15,000 miles on their cars each year.

If you exceed the mileage limit, the penalty for each excess mile can be as high as 20 pence.

This will quickly add up over the length of your lease:for instance an additional 4,000 miles a year over of a 3-years lease contract, will end up costing an extra £2,400 in excess mileage charges! You need to be realistic about your mileage needs, especially if you have to regularly commute over long-distances,and think about negotiating excess mileage charges before you sign the contract.

Consider padding the miles that you expect to use as it is more economically to contract for the extra miles before you sign than it is to pay the extra charges when your lease ends.

Sales Tax

Sales tax is usually capitalized and added to each of the monthly payments.
However, some dealers will choose not to include it in their calculations to make the advertised lease payments seem even lower.

Instead they will state in the small print that the monthly payment excludes “sales tax”.
 Read the small print carefully looking out for any extra, hidden costs not included in the advertised monthly payment.

Be on the lookout for any irregular fees that can typically slip through the cracks other than those including sales tax, registration and title fees.  Don't forget car lease take over is an option.