I leased a vehicle once and it was a very good deal for me, even when I traded it in. I'm sure there's different kinds of leases, but here's how the whole thing went down.
I leased a gorgeous, flame red, '97 Dodge Ram in 9/96, that I still miss today. It was a $25K truck and with about $6K in cash and trade, the payment was only $279 a month for 48 months. I knew I was not building up any equity in the vehicle, so to ensure a downpayment for my next vehicle, I invested over $100 every month. That way I always had a very low payment, but I could vary the amount invested each month based on various unexpected factors. I took fantastic care of that truck and after 42 months and 60K miles, it still looked new.
In 3/00 I wanted the '99 Astral VX at my local dealer. I checked with the lease company to get my lease payoff figure on the Ram of $13.2K. The trade-in value of the truck was $13.8K, so I was happy about that. My savings grew to over $6K, so that VX was gonna be mine for sure. No lease this time. My truck looked so nice, they gave me $16K for it! Yes, I traded a leased vehicle and came out with almost $3K!
I payed $28K for the VX. With $9K in cash and trade, and 1.9% Isuzu financing of just under $20K for 60 months, my payment is only $372 a month. I have 1.5 years left and only owe $7K on my VX. I could have easily gotten out of my VX at any time during the loan.
The moral of the story is, you can sell or trade a leased vehicle at any time and come out smellin' like a rose. But you must put down as much as you can in cash and trade so you can get out quick if you have to. That goes for financing to buy also. Ya never know what life is gonna throw your way. Always think way ahead into your next vehicle when buying or leasing. Always take great care of your vehicle. It makes a huge $$$ difference at trade-in time.
If you can't afford the loan payment and think a no-money-down lease is the way to go, think again. It's a very, very risky deal. And never let the lease run out and give the vehicle back to the lease company. They will go over it and send you a huge bill for every little thing that's wrong.
Mark
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