05.14.08

Buying or Leasing a Car? How to Avoid Car Dealer Rip-Offs

Posted in General, General Leasing, Car Leasing, Buying versus Leasing at 2:39 pm by LeasingRus

car dealerThe only thing drivers despise more than rising fuel costs? Shrewd car dealers.

They are among the country’s least-trusted business providers. The 2007 Better Business Bureau/Gallup Trust in Business Index reported that only 16% of survey respondents had a “great deal of trust” or “quite a lot of trust” in auto dealers; 17% indicated as much for real estate brokers and 21% for cellphone and wireless providers.

What’s behind this suspicion? Consumers have complained to the Better Business Bureau that some dealers inflate charges, pressure buyers into purchasing features Read the rest of this entry »

05.07.08

Top 13 Most Fuel-Efficient Cars

Posted in General, General Leasing, Take over a car lease at 3:22 pm by LeasingRus

lease a mini cooperThose worried about ballooning gas prices can whittle their weight, keep their tires properly inflated and avoid long idles. 

Or they can head to a Toyota dealer and ask about the Yaris.

The $13,165 subcompact is the most fuel efficient in its class, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. It gets 29 mpg (12.3 km/l) in the city and 36 (15.3 km/l) on the highway. Drivers paying $1.50 a litre can expect to pony up $2,000 a year if driving 25,000 kilometres. Read the rest of this entry »

04.03.08

Ten Cars That Lose Value Fast - So Why Not Lease?

Posted in General Leasing, Transfer a car lease, Auto lease, Terminate a car lease at 2:38 pm by LeasingRus

SedonaWhat better reason to lease when you discover your the vehicle you bought last year is in the top 10 of vehicles that depreciate the fastest. Like the US housing market, these cars values drop so quickly, you’ll be scrambling to sell it to the next buyer. Then again, the alternative to vehicle financing you could have opt for was to lease, giving you safety of not owning a depreciating vehicle outright, with the added benefit of trading in the vehicle for the next latest model on the market. Alternatively, rather than waiting for the lease contract to expire after 3 to 5 years, you could have sought to terminate a car lease early, through such lease assumption services from AutoLeaseBreakers.com.(Forbes) Some cars just don’t age well. Even a great value buy in the new-car market can bomb in the used-car market with low resale values.

Vehicles like the Kia Sedona minivan and Lincoln Town Car look good, perform well and often are purchased new at bargain prices. But take a closer look at them three years later, and their value has decreased at an accelerated rate. By the time a car owner is ready to unload one of these vehicles, the owner is often surprised to learn that the car has lost more than 50% of its value. Read the rest of this entry »

12.18.07

Should I Buy or Lease a Car in 2008?

Posted in General, Car Leasing, Buying versus Leasing, Financing, Auto lease at 8:29 pm by LeasingRus

Sure, approximately 80 percent of auto consumers either pay cash or finance their purchase with a loan, but you’re considering joining the other one-fifth of intrepid consumers willing to forgo ownership for a new set of wheels and the short-term benefits that leasing provides.

Buy or Lease?Maybe you’re self-employed and can write off your leasing payment as a business expense. Or maybe you’re trying to get into a luxury model for less upfront cash. Or maybe you demand the latest safety and technology innovations and don’t want to be saddled with a 60-month loan term. Or maybe you just like driving a new car every couple years.

“The question you have to ask yourself is, ‘Is there a special reason I need a new car every few years?’” says Art Spinella, president of CNW Marketing Research in Bandon, Ore. “For most consumers, the answer is no.”

But maybe you’re in the minority. Maybe your answer is yes.

It’s true that leasing has diminished in popularity as automakers have offered low-interest financing and cash-back offers to buyers. Leasing rates dropped from 29.2 percent of retail car sales in January 2001 to 23.2 percent in February 2006. Read the rest of this entry »

10.31.07

Top 10 Things to Never Say to a Dealer

Posted in General, General Leasing, Car Leasing, Buying versus Leasing at 12:29 pm by LeasingRus

The dealership experience can be extremely stressful, but it doesn’t have to be. You could know everything there is to know about the cars you’re considering, but that’s only a fraction of the buying process. If you want that seductive new sedan at a good price, you’re probably going to need to know what to say — and more importantly, what not to say.

Car DealerSome people loathe the whole car-buying experience simply because they anticipate getting conned. A few hundred dollars isn’t a big deal on the price of a luxury car, but it’s the idea of smart shopping and that sense of getting a good deal that’s especially important. For luxury car buyers — notoriously labeled the shrewd shoppers — a good deal is icing on the cake.

“The educated consumer is the one who will drive away with the best deal and the best experience,” says Rob Gentile, director of car-buying products at Consumer Reports.

To help you take the driver’s seat in the buying experience, first learn to play the game, and you might even end up doing some smooth talking of your own.

Ready, Set, Go!

1. “I’m ready to buy now.”

This is an admission of weakness and an invitation for the dealer to throw out a price that’s slightly below the manufacturer’s suggested retail price (MSRP) to see if you’ll take the bait. It shows that you’re too eager and willing to consider an offer, and it also gives salespeople the advantage by allowing them to talk you up as opposed to you talking them down. But by adding some very precise parameters, you’ll sound confident and strong from the start. Read the rest of this entry »

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