My fiance wants to lease a new Lexus or Mercedes Benz. He has his own business so there is a writeoff of some kind. But I don't understand leasing. Since we are getting marries, the car will be mine in a way. Can anyone explain to me why people lease? Is it easier to lease than to buy on credit?
Lower payments via leasing in most cases. Also with leasing you can do it to be deductible as a business expense. However, YOU DONT OWN A LEASED VEHICLE. period end of story. The finance company owns it.
People lease because of the lower monthly payment, which allow them to have more of a car for the same monthly payment. Usually they don't realise is the fact that after the lease the vehicle is NOT yours, that is unless you pay the rest of the money in a bulk payment. Most people don't want/cannot afford that. PLus, when you lease, you have to deal with mileage limits (12-15k miles per year). For businesses it's an entirely different story. As far as I understand, a lease can be considered a business expense and you can write it of... and that makes a huge difference
Sorin and sam both made good points. Also, no down payment is required for most leases. I leased Mercedes for years. Economically it is not a good idea. Buying a Mercedes or Lexus and driving it for 10 years or more is much more of a bargain. If your fiance drives clients around he may need to lease a new car to impress his clients. In that case a lease can make some sense. But you will still pay more in the end.
I forgot to mention that many people believe that the end of January is the best time of the year to lease a luxury car like Lexus or mercedes because the market is slow and the factory provides incentives to lease. I always found the best deals in January myself.
If you lease, you have to watch the mileage like a hawk, or pay $$$$$ and after three years, you don't get to keep the car. I would check into buying and leasing...run the numbers both ways.
Besides those obvious benefits, a lease is usually a low out of pocket option. I have used it numerous times. Also, you can lease with an option to buy and a Mercedes or Lexus is a very desirable car that holds value well. http://www.creditsense.com
On the mercedes or lexus lease is there any way to compute an interest rate equivalent? The lease uses "lease factor" what ever that is.
check www.edmunds.com... I think they have a way to convert money factor into APR... BTW, edmunds is a great site to check if you're planning a new car
Thanks for the Edmunds web site info. They have all kinds of stuff for us to use regarding the mercedes lease.
