On this Friday’s episode of McGrath’s “Finance Friday” Ben “Rusty” Rusnak and Kristin Eschweiler dive into, seemingly, the most confusing aspect of the automotive industry… Leasing!
Why do you have to choose a mileage package? Is it mine, do I own it? How to I “turn it in”? As well as the highly debated, why would I ever lease over buying a vehicle??
Never Fear! Rusty and Kristin are here to answer them in this ridiculous episode filled with “how bow dah”‘s and Disney Princess lyrics. Plus, the Finance Friday pair are available to contact if you have any further questions not just on leasing, but nearly everything! (Rusty has great taste in music if you’re looking to spice up your playlist.)
Here’s a breakdown of everything we covered on Finance Friday #3:
“Is a lease always 3 years?” Our finance frontiers expressed the popularity of the 36 month lease, as well as the 39 month lease that Rusty dubbed “The Honey Hole” of lease terms. Indeed, those are our most popular term choices but duration ranges from 24 (2 years) to 48 months (4 years). Kristin then brought up a little known option; the “1 Pay”. This comes into play when someone wants to pay cash up front for a vehicle and their best choice is to pay for the car at a lower cost than buying outright because they know they will trade out in a short amount of time, such as an amount of time that lies within a lease term. They pay less up front, stray away from maintenance cost, and are in a new vehicle within their desired frequency. Kristin says “keeps the money in your pocket”.
Next, we have one of the most common questions to ever walk through the doors of McGrath Family of Dealerships, ahhh, “Why would I lease over buy?” Rusty explains it in, well… Rusty fashion. “I like shiny things, and I like to get them as much as possible… I’m the same with cars”. His biggest qualm being, he doesn’t want to trade into a new car every 2-3 years when he has that itch and then be rolling in inequity; still owing a lot of money on the last. He likes to stop the snowball effect by leasing and canceling out the possibility of vehicle depreciation and still owing money on top of that. If you are already in an inequity situation Rusty explains in the video how we can get you out of auto debt in a short amount of time via leasing.
The third question of the day was, “Is cash down required?” Cash down helps in a plethora of ways when financing an auto purchase, including a lease, but is not “required”. Cash down can put you in a bracket for better interest rates, manufacturer programs, and more. Simply put, cash down now = less money paid later and lower payments. “It’s always a good idea”, Kristin said. In a previous episode of Finance Friday the duo stated 20% down to be an ideal amount -that goes for buying and leasing.
“How do you get out of a lease?”
Well Rusty had his own way of explaining what happens at the end of a lease period…
To answer the question, there are 3 different ways to get out of a lease. 1. Simply turn the vehicle in 2. Trade it in to lease a new or buy. 3. Buy out the vehicle, own it, and continue to drive it! This does not have to be the full amount, we can finance it like a normal purchase!
The last question Rusty and Kristin touch on is “how does mileage work in a leasing situation”. Mileage limits range from 10,000 to 18,000 miles that are allowed to be put on a vehicle per year that it is leased. This is a total amount at turn in, not an annually collected number. Rusty ensured the smartest route is to get a protection plan, that we provide called “Smart Lease Protect”, as a lower penalty in the event that you may go over your chosen mileage plan.
And if you are currently in a lease and wondering how you can get out early, come on into the dealership! We can help you get out of that lease, and into a new lease or into a purchase!
With the rebates we offer, you may qualify for a new car at the same rate you’re paying now!
If you skimmed down here and don’t like reading… you can just watch the video here… or up there ↑
Previous Episodes of Finance Friday:
