Best Car Lease Deals for Feb 2009

Several good car lease deals were available in February despite the fact that many car-makers have pulled back on their end-of-year clearance programs. Our favorite lease program in the fall was Volkswagen's "Sign Then Drive" event, which offered low lease rates and $0 due at signing on VW's most popular models.

As a general rule, you're more likely to find attractive leases on a car-maker's more sought-after models - and that's good news for most buyers.

It may seem strange that dealers offer more attractive lease deals on their better-selling models, but there is a good reason. If you're a dealer, offering a lease is a risk. The dealer bets that when the lease is up and a customer returns the vehicle, it will still be worth a lot of money and the dealer can resell it for a total net profit. But if the car depreciates fast, which is more likely on poor-selling models, the dealer or car-maker could lose money because it can't sell the off-lease car for much money. This is partly why Chrysler disbanded its leasing program in July of last year - its cars depreciated so fast that leasing became a money-loser.

So who is still offering great lease programs now?

Volkswagen. Despite ending the Sign Then Drive program, Volkswagen is still offering good lease terms. Three of its fuel-efficient, small cars - Jetta, New Beetle and Rabbit - can each be yours for $199/mo + $1,999 at signing for a 36-month lease. When VW offered no-money-down leases under the Sign Then Drive event, these cars leased for $269/mo. So even though the current program requires you to cough up $1,999 up front, you actually save several hundred dollars in total lease costs because of the lower monthly payments, compared to the no-money-down offer.

Lincoln. If you're looking for a little more luxury or an American nameplate, Lincoln is offering a no money down deal through the end of March. Available on both the Lincoln MKX and MKS, the deal is no down payment (after cash back) no first month's payment and no cash due at signing. The lease rates for the deal are $529 per month for 39 months on the MKS and $99 per month for 39 months on the MKX. Taxes, title and tags are extra, but in this market you may be able to negotiate that.

Toyota. Toyota runs all of its specials by region. Lease offers in Florida could vary greatly from offers in Chicago, so you need to check with local Toyota dealers to see what they'll offer you. See below for the best deals.

Honda. Honda has several great national lease offers running through early March, as shown below. There may be even better regional offers, so be sure to contact local Honda dealers for the best deals.

Hyundai. If you buy or lease a new Hyundai before Feb 28, the newly announce Hyundai Assurance Program will allow you to return the car to Hyundai with no further financial obligation if you lose your job. While gimmicky, this is a great way to get some worst-case scenario protection from a company that is still offering decent lease rates. There are stipulations, so be sure to check out the Hyundai Assurance program's website for more details.

Nissan. A few good lease offers remain, and Nissan is one of the few carmakers offering solid lease terms on SUVs - with special deals on both the Rogue and Murano.

Source: http://usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/cars-trucks/Car-Lease-Deals/

Just three questions to ask on car leasing vs. buying

1. Have you crunched the numbers?

Not sure whether you want to commit to the car for a long term? Break out the calculator. Use BankingMyWay's (Mainstreet's partner site) lease vs. buy calculator to crunch the numbers for you. If keeping your monthly payments down is most important to you, know that the short-term monthly cost of leasing is usually less than the cost of buying. (On average, monthly lease payments are 30% to 60% lower than loan payments for the same car, same down payment, etc.). This holds true even when compared to 0% or low-interest loans. Plus, in an ownership arrangement, auto dealers will likely require more money down than with a lease deal.

2. How important is ownership to you?

When you buy a new car, you pay for everything, including its upfront value, plus finance charges, plus fees. In return you get equity, which is essentially the car’s resale value, or what you can expect to get back if you sell it or trade it in. And when you finish making payments, you’ll be free and clear. But is a long-term equity deal a good one? After all, the longer you own and drive a vehicle, the less equity you have. When you’re leasing, you’re only buying the time you will use the car, meaning the amount it will depreciate in the time that you drive it. That keeps monthly payments down, but leaves you with no equity at the end of your contract.

3. What about repairs?

When you lease a car, you’re not really the owner. But when it comes to car maintenance and repairs, not being the owner can be a good thing. By and large, any type of repair will be covered under your manufacturer's warranty. (And your car’s always almost brand new, so the risk of something going really wrong is rather low.) Car owners, on the other hand, have a vested interest in car care and maintenance. That can include keeping on top of oil changes and brake pads replacements as well as keeping the body scratch- and dent-free. Leasers as a rule find themselves less concerned with the details, since it’s not going to be their problem down the road.

Also, when leasing, be aware of additional fees (including security deposits and any lease-end charges) so they don’t take you by surprise. Expect to make your first monthly payment when you sign your contract.

When it comes to buying or leasing a car, there is no right answer. Buying and leasing both have their pros and cons, so the key is to look hard at your own situation and preferences before you sign a contract.

Before Shopping for your Car Lease

Before you shop for a car lease, there is critical information that you should gather concerning the feature and terms that you'd want to consider before signing any car lease agreement. The checklist below will aid you in gathering such information.

Many vehicle leasing terms and conditions are completely negotiable, so you can often tailor fit a lease to your driving habits and financial needs.However, it's vital that you understand all the lease provisions before signing, because once signed the contract terms are final and non-negotiable. Researching leases and gathering information from automotive manufacturer's publications, newspaper/magazine articles, the Internet, advertisements, consumer publications, automotive dealers, and Manchester vehicle leasing agents will help you negotiate and secure the best lease for your needs.

Have you selected a vehicle? _______________

If so, which make/model/options _____________________________________________

* Consumer guides, automotive publications, and Internet sites are excellent sources of information that can help you choose the right vehicle.

What amount can you afford to pay up front? $________

What can you afford to pay each month? $________

What can you afford to pay at lease-end? $________

* Consider beginning, middle, and end-of-lease costs, not just the monthly payment.

How many years or months do you anticipate keeping the vehicle? __________(years/months)

How many years or months do you typically keep a vehicle? __________ (years/months)

* The lease should fit your needs and business requirements. Don't sign a lease with a term longer than you intend to keep the vehicle, because you may have to pay a substantial early termination charge. The earlier you terminate the lease, the greater the penalty may be.

How many miles do you typically drive each year? __________

* Be realistic--underestimating the mileage that you put on a vehicle could cost you greatly at the end of your lease contract. Consult the odometer on your current vehicle to determine your estimated yearly mileage.

Do you want a lease with an optional end-of-contract purchase option? ________

* You may want the option to purchase the vehicle at the end of the car/van leasing period. Keep in mind, however, that the purchase option terms within the lease may modify other terms in the lease.

What is your current automobile insurance coverage for:

1. Bodily injury, property damage $________

2. Liability $________

3. Collision and comprehensive $________

What are your insurance deductibles for:

1. Collision $________

2. Comprehensive $________

* Your lease may require you to carry a higher level of insurance than you currently carry.

Car that runs on water

People from all over are starting to notice DIY hydrogen generators for cars. They are turning to such alternatives because of the obvious increase in gas prices and to help cut cost when spending for their automobiles. Spending for gasoline being the number cost in car maintenance, many people have realized that running a water powered car can be a great option for their pockets. Moreover, it is not very difficult to convert your car engine and make your own DIY hydrogen generator for cars. Cars run on water easily help you save and improve your fuel economy by almost 50 percent.

The Good Side

There are several good benefits when you run a car on water.

1. Using a water powered car is cheaper than your existing gasoline or diesel engines.
2. The DIY hydrogen generator for the cars is easy to construct and install into your existing cars. All of the parts necessary can be obtained at your own local shop or hardware stores. Most of these parts are very common, inexpensive items. You don't need to order them and spend a lot of time looking for specialists who can offer you the services and the car parts.
3. Water powered car engines burn cleaner fuels compared to other cars. It also gives out less harmful carbon dioxide emissions. Because of this efficiency, you will notice that your water fuel also contributes to your cars performance, making it more efficient.
4. Cars run on water have engines that receive less wear and tear, in contrast to regular cars engines running on gasoline or diesel. This greatly helps extend your engine's running life and lessens the carbon buildup, cutting down costs for automobile repairs and maintenance.

How It Works

A DIY hydrogen generator or HHO generator for cars is simply a homemade hydrogen generator that you can easily put together yourself. You can also install it in your car and the parts you need are affordable and easy to find. Hydrogen generators operate using electricity to break down the water molecules to create hydrogen and oxygen atoms. This then creates what we call HHO gas or sometimes referred to as Brown's gas. So when this HHO gas mixes with regular gasoline and the air mixture inside your car's engine, the resulting mixture burns with more efficiency and power thus giving you more mileage for your automobiles.

Auto leasing moves up a gear

Canadian auto dealers are reporting their highest level of lease transactions since July, suggesting the possibility automakers are inching back into leasing after pulling back last summer.

Retailers surveyed said 22% of the deals they struck with customers on new cars during the first 11 days in January were leases, according to data released yesterday by J. D. Power & Associates.

Leases dropped down to 17% of Canadian transactions in November after representing more than 40% of the market for several years.

"It's possible we're seeing some loosening up of the [credit] situation, illustrated by a move back to lease," J. D. Power analyst Tom Libby said yesterday on a conference call discussing the Canadian auto market.

Automaker captive finance companies like Chrysler Financial are also slowly clawing back their share of the retail auto finance business in Canada, Mr. Libby said.

General Motors Corp. and Chrysler LLC pulled back on subsidized leasing in July after credit market pressures and declining residual values for trucks and SUVs in particular made car leasing less profitable for them.

The two automakers told their dealers to steer their customers to finance or cash transactions instead.

Chrysler has blamed its inability to secure lease funding in the capital markets as one reason for its double-digit sales decline in November and December.

"We need that lease funding available in the marketplace to allow consumers to be able to purchase vehicles," Reid Bigland, Chrysler Canada president, said in an interview.

The U. S. Treasury aimed yesterday to help Chrysler do just that, approving a US$1.5-billion loan to Chrysler Financial so it can extend new loans to car buyers. GMAC LLC, the auto lender tied to GM, became a bank holding company and won US$6-billion in support from Washington last month.

The Canadian government pledged similar help in December but has yet to say how it will do so.

J. D. Power is forecasting new vehicle sales of between 1.4 million and 1.6 million units in Canada this year. The annual sales rate in 2008's fourth quarter was 1.48 million units.

"Any recovery is likely to be quite slow," said J. D. Power economist Robert Schnorbus. "There is still lots of risk, lots of uncertainty.

nvanpraet@nationalpost.com

Source: Financial Post

Car Lease Takeover

Car lease takeover is basically assuming someone else's leased car under the same terms that were originally agreed upon. Assuming someone else's car lease is good if you will only need the car for a short period of time. Since a part of the lease period is already used up, car lease takeover or car lease assumption is usually good for about 1 to 2 years.

A takeover car lease seems to be a win-win situation both for the original lessee and the takeover lessee. The new lessee must make sure that he can handle the monthly payments since leasing companies will not grant a lease to anyone who has a bad credit. If the new lessee fails to meet payments, the company may (or will) hold the original lessee responsible.

When taking over a car lease, it is very important to check for wear and tear. You should take a mechanic at the dealers and must check the current condition of the car; each and every component. If you, as a takeover lessee, miss anything - you will be responsible for the repair and the maintenance. If there are excess in wear-and-tear, you can deposit a claim amount and the original lessee will get the amount refunded. Also, you should ask the original lessee the records (a.k.a receipts) of all the maintenance and repair works done to the car.

Mileage is always an issue in car leasing since a lessee is only given a limited annual mileage. Before assuming over the car lease, the new lessee must check how many miles are left and if it is good enough since an excess in mileage will mean an additional charge at the end of the term. In order to secure more protection, the takeover lessee must take an added insurance for the vehicle. Check whether gap insurance is in effect, as it would protect the vehicle from accidents and thefts.

BMW uses Internet Protocol underhood

There's a variety of flavors of in-car networking standards that corral the large number of embedded computers and nodes present in the modern automobile. BMW Research and Technology, an R&D division of BMW, has found Internet Protocol up to the tasks that the other standards currently perform. BMW engineers used a standard PC and connected it up to the expected gear -- ECUs, engine and chassis control systems, even a multimedia server for the entertainment system. The reasoning behind using IP versus the more specialized protocols is to anticipate future needs and requirements, as well as reducing costs. Costs drop because fewer specialized components are needed, and the new version of IPv6 is even better than the more than fine performance from IPv4. It's a little spooky to think that your fly-by-wire throttle could be trying to chat with the engine using the same technology that we use to send instant messages, but IP proved itself capable enough even for critical safety functions. The research is ongoing, but BMW's work bodes well for adding functionality and decreasing costs. Adding aftermarket goodies should be fairly painless and service shops will also have an easier time of it by going with a more universal language. Imagine surfing the web with iDrive, though. Blech.

Source: AutoBlog