Auto Lease, Auto Leasing, New Cars, Automobile Lease, Automobile Leasing

<BODY bgcolor="FFFFFF"> <CENTER><IMG src="images/title.GIF" alt="Auto Lease, Auto Leasing, New Cars, Automobile Lease, Automobile Leasing" align="top" width="535" height="50"></CENTER> <P>This auto leasing guide exposes the most common leasing scams for new automobiles and new trucks. Also includes information on how to find great <A href="http://www.e-newcarprices.com" target="_blank">new car prices</A>, new cars, low-cost auto loans and insurance, free quotes and more.</P> <CENTER> <H1>Auto Leasing Guide</H1> </CENTER> <HR size="4" width="100%" align="LEFT"> <P><B><FONT color="#0000ff" size="4">Is It "Leasing" or "Fleecing"?</FONT></B></P> <CENTER><B><I>"Consumers are getting gouged far too often...<BR> It's more like auto fleecing than leasing."<BR> --Ralph Nader</I></B></CENTER> <P><FONT size="4">M</FONT>ost dealers have been telling prospective car buyers that leasing is a great idea. Well, they're half right -- it is great for dealers. On average, dealer profit on a lease is twice that of a conventional purchase. Even better, customers who lease usually have to return the cars in 2-3 years, giving dealers more chances to make huge profits off the same people. So why is it called "fleecing"? Because, even though some people do end up with good lease deals, many have been victimized by outrageous overcharges.<BR> <FONT size="4">S</FONT>ince most people don't understand how leasing works, dishonest dealers have been able to take advantage of consumers by using deceptive lease-vs.-buy comparisons; quoting lower prices or interest rates, then using higher ones in the lease; and quoting higher trade-in allowances than people actually receive. Since full disclosure is not yet required by law, few people have known the crucial details of their lease transactions -- and even fewer realize that they have been cheated.<BR> <FONT size="4">I</FONT>n 1995 ABC's <I>PrimeTime Live</I> did an undercover investigation that found deceptive leasing practices being used at five out of the ten dealers they visited. That same year, a statewide investigation in Florida resulted in 55 Toyota dealers and their distributor setting up a $4.5 million restitution fund to settle complaints of overcharging on leases. (Other leasing investigations are now under way in 22 states.) On May 14, 2000 KCBS-TV announced the results of its three-month undercover investigation of 14 new-car dealerships in Southern California. Some of the biggest dealers in America were caught red-handed by hidden cameras -- lying, cheating and overcharging customers on new-car leases and purchases. For more details, see the <A href="http://www.channel2000.com/news/specialassign/news-specialassignment-20000519-202007.html" target="_">"Car Dealers" stories</A> in the KCBS-TV Web site.</P> <P><B><FONT color="#0000ff" size="4">Money Saving Tip<BR> </FONT></B><FONT size="4">T</FONT>o get the best possible deal on a new car or truck, do all of your homework <B>before</B> signing any contracts or putting any money down. Dealer tricks (like secret APR increases, packed payments and other common rip-offs) can quickly erase any discounts or other savings that you think you're getting, so learn how to calculate your own monthly payments. Use the Internet to get at least five quotes before you start negotiating with dealers. For free (no obligation) quotes on <B>new</B> cars & trucks, click on <B><A href="http://www.stoneage.com/auto/pr/pr1.cfm?src=431&menu=0" target="_">Stoneage,</A></B> <B><A target="_blank" href="http://service.bfast.com/bfast/click?bfmid=32978053&siteid=36056741&bfpage=getaprice">Autoweb,</A></B> <B><A href="http://www.commission-junction.com/track/track.dll?AID=1110013&PID=563870&URL=http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Evehiclesonline%2Ecom%2FPurchase%2Easp%3FHome%5FID%3D2" target="_">VehiclesOnline,</A></B> <B><A href="http://click.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/stat?id=Wzy1e0BRD6w&offerid=17401.10000008&type=3&subid=0" target="_">InvoiceDealers,</A></B> and <B><A href="http://click.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/click?id=Wzy1e0BRD6w&offerid=12696.2&type=3&subid=0" target="_">CarsDirect.</A></B> To make sure you're not missing out on a better deal, get quotes from all six services!<BR> <B><FONT color="#FF0000">For more Money Saving Tips,</FONT></B> <B><A href="links.html" target="_top">Click Here.</A></B></P> <P><B><FONT color="#0000ff" size="4">The Secret Price Increase (The "Flip")<BR> </FONT></B><FONT size="4">T</FONT>he "flip" is a common trick that's been used to overcharge many people on leases. After a buyer agrees to purchase a vehicle at a negotiated or advertised discount from MSRP, the salesperson convinces them to lease the vehicle instead -- "to lower their monthly payment." Before cap cost (price) disclosure was required, a dishonest salesperson would simply use a non-disclosure lease to secretly raise the price of the vehicle. These price increases were typically $1,500 to $2,000 (some were $5,000 or more), and victims rarely if ever discovered the overcharges.<BR> <FONT size="4">N</FONT>ow that cap cost disclosure is required by law (nationwide as of 1/98, two years earlier in a few states), secret price increases are more difficult to pull off. However, some salespeople have been so bold (and so greedy) that they have attempted it, anyway -- and succeeded. Most people don't understand how leasing works, so dishonest salespeople can still get away with price hikes by using one of the following tricks.<BR> <FONT size="4">F</FONT>irst, using a cap cost in a lease that's higher than the negotiated (or quoted) price is not even noticed by some people because they don't know what cap cost represents. (It's the "selling price" of a vehicle that's used to calculate lease payments and it's supposed to be the same as the price that was negotiated, quoted, or advertised by the dealer.) Second, if a higher cap cost is noticed, the salesperson might say that that figure has no effect on their monthly payment; they're not buying the vehicle, the leasing company is; and the cap cost is set by the leasing company so it's not negotiable. (Those are all lies.) Third, a higher cap cost is sometimes explained away by saying that it includes finance charges (another lie). Since most people are used to paying thousands of dollars in interest on car loans, this lie sounds believable.</P> <P><B><FONT color="#0000ff" size="4">Deceptive Lease vs. Buy Comparisons<BR> </FONT></B><FONT size="4">T</FONT>o trick people into leases, salespeople often use deceptive comparisons that are designed to make even bad lease deals look better than conventional purchases. Instead of comparing lease payments to 5-year loan payments (the term that buyers commonly choose), salespeople may use the higher payments on 4-year or 3-year loans to make the purchase look unattractive. Don't fall for the trick of comparing similar terms, because a lease is nothing but a long-term rental agreement, while a conventional loan involves ownership.<BR> <FONT size="4">A</FONT>nother trick that's used in deceptive comparisons is the quoting of inflated loan payments -- again, to make purchases look more expensive than leases. Inflated lease payments may also be quoted, with the "extra" money going towards a secret price or APR increase. Since few consumers understand how lease payments are calculated, many have agreed to leases with monthly payments that were inflated by $75 to $100 or more. (And that's why you should always figure out your own loan and lease payments.)</P> <P><B><FONT color="#0000ff" size="4">The "Cap Cost" Mistake<BR> </FONT></B><FONT size="4">E</FONT>ven if they're lucky enough to escape the dishonest sales practices, the typical leasing customer fails to negotiate the price and terms, resulting in the loss of thousands of dollars on each lease transaction. For example, an informed buyer might only pay $18,000 for a car with a sticker price of $20,000. However, someone else who leases the same car at the terms offered by the salesman (usually at the sticker price) would end up with monthly payments about $67 higher (on a 30-month lease) than they would be if the lease was negotiated down to the $18,000 sales price.</P> <P><B><FONT color="#0000ff" size="4">The "Down Payment" Mistake<BR> </FONT></B><FONT size="4">D</FONT>own payments are often required on leases to make bad deals look good. Don't fall for this! A down payment on a lease is nothing but "monthly payments in advance," and the more money down, the greater the chance that a lease is good for the dealer, but not for the customer. (In leasing, down payments don't affect the residual or build any equity, they just lower the monthly payment.) For example, an advertised "$299 per month" 30-month lease based on $1800 down is the same as $359 per month with no down payment. Be sure to analyze all leases based on no down payment (no cap reduction), and learn how to figure out your own payments so you're not ripped off!</P> <HR align="LEFT" size="4"> <P><B><A href="residuals.html" target="_top"><FONT size="4">Leasing Secrets 2: How to Get Great Lease Deals</FONT></A></B><BR> <B><FONT size="+1">B</FONT></B>e sure to visit this new section to learn how to avoid common rip-offs and how to get great lease deals. <B><A href="residuals.html" target="_top">Click Here.</A></B></P> <HR align="LEFT" size="4"> <P><B><FONT color="#0000ff" size="4">Lower Payments, Higher Finance Charges<BR> </FONT></B><FONT size="4">L</FONT>easing companies love leasing because it usually allows them to make a lot more interest on every car they finance. First, since they're not required by law to disclose the effective APR that's being charged, they don't disclose it. Because of this loophole, a lot of leasing companies have charged higher interest rates on leases than they have on loans. (They have to disclose those.) Second, since less principal is being paid off in a lease payment, total finance charges on a lease will usually be higher than they would be on a loan -- even when the balance, term and APR are the same for both.<BR> <FONT size="4">F</FONT>or example, on $20,000 lease and loan balances, at 8% for 3 years (50% residual on the lease), total finance charges on the lease would be $3,608. On the loan, total finance charges would only be $2,572. So you would pay $1,036 more in finance charges on the 3-year lease than you would on the 3-year loan. In fact, the finance charges on this 3-year lease are just a little less than the total finance charges on a 5-year loan (same balance and APR). Worse yet, since lease residuals are often inflated by lenders, and lease charges are based partly on the residual, many leases will have higher finance charges than our example because it had a conservative residual.<BR> <FONT size="4">T</FONT>he bottom line: Paying off less principal in a lease lowers the monthly payment, but it also causes higher finance charges. This is why credit card companies encourage people to make only minimum payments -- the lenders get more finance charges that way. And that's one of the dirty little secrets of leasing: <B><I>It's the automotive version of minimum payments on a credit card.</I></B></P> <P><B><FONT color="#0000ff" size="4">Warning to Car Buyers<BR> </FONT></B><FONT size="4">M</FONT>any car buyers who rely on the Internet as their only source of information end up paying a lot more than others who do a little more homework. How much more? Typically $500 to $600 on your average $20,000 vehicle, and sometimes as much as $1,500. (Even more on higher-priced cars.) Why are these people paying so much more -- for the same vehicles? And <B>what secrets do the "smart shoppers" have</B> that enable them to get better deals? <B>INFORMATION!</B> Car buyers with the best information get the best deals, and smart shoppers know how -- and where -- to get the best information. (They also don't mind paying for it.)<BR> <FONT size="4">T</FONT>oo many people make the mistake of thinking that all they need is the magic "dealer invoice" number to get the best deal. Thinking that "dealer invoice" is the same as "dealer cost" is mistake #1, which is usually followed by mistake #2: thinking that they can always get accurate dealer cost information on the Internet, for free. Mistake #3 is not knowing the actual prices that "smart shoppers" are paying for the same vehicle. Mistake #4: thinking that a dealer who belongs to an Internet buying program is going to give them the lowest price in town. Mistake #5: not researching loan and lease rates before visiting the dealer. Mistake #6: believing the dealer when he says, "The best rate I can give you on a loan (or lease) is X%." Mistake #7: not knowing how to calculate their own loan/lease payments. Mistake #8: buying a service contract from the dealer at the quoted price. Mistake #9...Are you beginning to get the picture? <B>There's a lot more to getting a great deal</B> than most people realize, and you're not going to find <B>all</B> the information you'll need in a Web site.<BR> <FONT size="4">H</FONT>ere's a true story of mistakes made by one Web-surfing car buyer: "Fred" works in the computer industry and is an experienced Web surfer. When he mentioned to a friend that he was in the market for a new car, his friend told him about a car buying book he had read and how much money he had saved by following its advice -- which included paying for <B>accurate</B> "dealer cost" information. But Fred thought that was silly because he knew how to find everything on the Internet, for free. (Or so he thought.)<BR> <FONT size="4">W</FONT>hen Fred was ready to buy, he used a popular Web site to get his free "dealer cost" numbers. Then he went to the dealer to make an offer. After a little haggling, the dealer agreed to sell the car for $800 over invoice, stating that "normally, we like to make more than $800 on a car, but we'll accept your offer." Since <B>Fred thought the dealer was only making $800</B>, he was convinced that he was getting a great deal. What he didn't know was that the dealer's <B>real cost</B> was a lot lower than invoice due to secret dealer incentives that were worth about $1,300. (So the dealer made $2,100 on Fred's car, not $800.) And he also didn't know that other people (the smart shoppers) were buying the same vehicle for hundreds below invoice. <B>The bottom line: Fred overpaid by at least $1,000</B> because he tried to save a few bucks by using free "dealer cost" information.<BR> <FONT color="#ff0000"><B>Money Saving Tip:</B></FONT><B><FONT size="+1" color="#ff0000"> </FONT></B>Don't overpay on a new car or truck! Get the <B>real dealer cost</B> numbers (plus other valuable car buying and leasing secrets) by ordering a <B><A href="http://www.fightingchance.com" target="_">Fighting Chance Information Package.</A></B></P> <HR align="LEFT" size="4"> <P><B><FONT color="#0000ff" size="4">Book Exposes Ford's Deceptive Leasing Practices<BR> </FONT><FONT size="+1">I</FONT></B>n <B><I>Leasing Lessons for Smart Shoppers,</I></B> the author exposes the deceptive leasing practices that were taught to salespeople by Ford Motor Company's lease trainer. He also tells how Ford ignored outrageous acts of overcharging, offered kickbacks to dealers for increasing their customers' finance charges, and concealed payoff balances from customers (which gave dealers another chance to overcharge them). For more details, see <B><A href="fordlease.html">Ford Lease Information</A></B> and <B><A href="leasingbk.html">Leasing Lessons for Smart Shoppers.</A></B></P> <P><B><FONT color="#0000ff" size="4">Find Out If You Were Cheated on a Lease<BR> </FONT><FONT size="+1">M</FONT></B>ost lease victims don't even know that they were cheated because their lease contract did not disclose the actual selling price (or the APR). To find out if you were victimized by a secret price increase, a "disappearing" down payment or trade-in, or an overcharge on an early payoff, use the following worksheets: <B><A href="capcost.html">The Price You Really Paid</A></B> and<B> <A href="payoff.html">Estimating Your Early Payoff.</A></B></P> <HR align="LEFT" size="4"> <H3 align="left">Automobiles, Trucks - RESOURCES:</H3> <P align="left"><B><A href="http://www.stoneage.com/auto/pr/pr1.cfm?src=431&menu=0" target="_">New Car Prices, New Cars - free quotes.</A></B></P> <P align="left"><B><A href="http://www.commission-junction.com/track/track.dll?AID=310662&PID=563870&URL=http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Epeoplefirst%2Ecom%2Fdefault%2Ecfm%3FPFFSRCID%3DALCJ01GENERIC%2A%2A%2ATL0005%2A%2A%2A" target="_">Auto Loans Online.</A></B></P> <P align="left"><B><A href="http://www.warrantygold.com/carinfo" target="_">Extended Warranties, Service Contracts.</A></B></P> <P align="left"><B><A href="http://wsf.carfax.com/cfm/general_check.cfm?partner=CRI_0" target="_">Automobiles, Trucks - History Reports.</A></B></P> <P align="left"><B><A href="http://service.bfast.com/bfast/click?bfmid=9439958&siteid=31848967&bfpage=166x44logo" target="_">Credit Reports.</A></B></P> <P align="left"><B><A href="http://www.autoleasingsoftware.com/cgi-bin/partner.pl?carinfo.com" target="_">Auto Leasing & Car Buying Software.</A></B></P> <P align="left"><B><A href="http://www.fightingchance.com" target="_">New Cars - Dealer Cost.</A></B></P> <P align="left"><B><A href="http://www.carinfo.com/auction.html">Trucks, Automobiles - Multiple Quotes.</A></B></P> <P align="left"><B><A href="http://www.checkbook.org/auto/carbarg.htm" target="_">Car Buying & Auto Leasing Services.</A></B></P> <P align="left"><B><A href="https://secure1.insweb.com/cgi-bin/auto.exe?id=LdDSgHv76MNbuqKlkbwtsVzyKpe" target="_">Auto Insurance, Car Insurance Information.</A></B></P> <HR align="LEFT" size="4"> <P><a href="http://www.carinfo.com/">[Home/Front Page]</a>  <a href="http://www.carinfo.com/carbuyingtips.html">[Car Buying Tips]</a>  <a href="http://www.carinfo.com/newcarbuying.html">[New Car Buying]</a>  <a href="http://www.carinfo.com/autoleasing.html">[Auto Leasing Secrets 1]</a>  <a href="http://www.carinfo.com/carleasing.html">[Car Leasing Secrets 2]</a>  <a href="http://www.carinfo.com/fordlease.html">[Ford Lease Info]</a>  <a href="http://www.carinfo.com/newcarresearch.html">[New Car Research Center]</a>  <a href="http://www.carinfo.com/autorepair.html">[Auto Repair Secrets]</a>  </P> <P> </P> <P><FONT size="-1">Copyright © 1998-2008 by Technews Corp.</FONT></P> </BODY>