Auto Leases?

[scrapgal123]

I have recently noticed an increase in commercials for car leasing programs. Have the banks loosened their restrictions for leases? Are leases easier to qualify for than a purchase? It seems that almost every make has a lease program available, even for the lower end models.

 

[MomToOne]

Yes, lending criteria in general have loosened up a bit and leases are a bit easier to get because more companies are open to them again.

One major thing that helped leases come back to life was a stabilization of used car prices (although this happened a bit earlier). The leasing company needs to be able to predict the value of your car on the wholesale market at the end of your lease. When SUV values tanked a few years back, many companies took a lot of losses with their leases on those vehicles.

 

[princessnoelly]

The factories are also pushing for dealers to push leases. The new car sales have slowed and many people are budget minded. The days of 0% are gone for a while since it's so cheap to finance a car now (don't need special rates from the factories most credit unions are offering under 3%). Leasing rates are good and then there is a big influx of used cars in the market in 24 or 36 months.

Leasing makes sense for some buyers but you have to realize it's like renting- you get nothing at the end. Unless, you go over your miles and have damage and then you get a bonus bill!

 

[cassandrap83]

Yes, but you're still looking at having at least a 700 credit score to lease at most places.

 

[leight]

we just leased a new 2011 Camry-and they were looking for a 720+ score