The following is a guest post from Alpha Car Finance on what to focus on when getting a car lease.
Congratulations on your decision to get a car lease. But before you sign the contract, are you happy with the conditions stated? You’re not planning on signing that document without reading it, are you? That wouldn’t be smart. Take your time to go through the contract carefully, and take note of any discrepancies you want to discuss with the agent before anything else.
Best Deal on your Lease
Communication is the key to get the best out of anything. And you need to communicate for the dealer to know what you are comfortable with, so they can make any adjustments to the contract as needed. This way, you can make the car payments on time at a price you can be okay with, and they can trust that you will take care of the vehicle until the lease is up. Here are a few tips to help you get the best deal:
Study the terms. You don’t go into battle unarmed. Why? Because you will be killed within five minutes. The same can be said when dealing with car dealers. Know their lingo. Find out what their terms mean. If you know what they’re talking about, there’s always less chance of them pulling the wool over your eyes and taking your money. Learn what terms like cap cost, residual value, disposition fee, and purchase option fee mean. These can help keep you from falling into debt and make sure that you are paying for the car fairly.
Know how much you can handle. Take some time to sit down and go over your finances. How much are you spending a week? A month? Is there enough left over for the car you want? Is your job stable enough for this lease? Create a list or use a spreadsheet to make things easier for you to organise and evaluate how much money you can spare each month for the payments. This way, budgeting will be a lot easier and a lot less of a hassle.
Make sure the car is in stock. Canvass the car lot and see if they have the vehicle of your choice parked outside. Having the car on their lot and you expressing an interest in it gives you the upper hand. The dealer will be looking to get rid of it as soon as possible as it is sitting on valuable real estate.
Test Drive. On your visit to the site and after talking to the agent about the overview of the contract, ask to test drive the vehicle. Drive it around the block a few times, preferably with the dealer in the passenger seat. This way, if you notice anything off about the experience, for example, a rattling, the engine making a funny noise, air-conditioning issues, electrical issues, etc. They will be able to see for themselves. This puts the both of you in the middle ground, as you are both aware of the car’s current condition even before anything is signed. This opens up a discussion, where you can go back and forth and settle with an agreement where a contract can finally be drawn.
Double Check the contract. When you are presented with the deal, go over it carefully, even better to have someone with you so they can help you double check. If you see anything that you don’t understand, ask the dealer to explain it to you in detail. And if there is something in the contract that you don’t like, then it may be time to walk away and find another dealer. Otherwise, sign the contract.
It can be hard to find a lease for a car dealer that is honest about their products and services. But they are out there. In the meantime, arm yourself with knowledge, and the know-how to get the best deal for your lease.
Zach is the author behind Four Pillar Freedom, a blog that teaches you how to build wealth and gain freedom in life.
He quit his day job as a data scientist in 2019 because he was able to earn enough income from profitable websites to replace his salary. He now teaches people how to start and grow their own profitable websites from scratch in the Income Community.
Zach's favorite free financial tool he's been using since 2015 to manage his net worth is Personal Capital. Each month he uses their free Investment Checkup tool and Retirement Planner to track his investments and ensure that he's on the fast track to financial freedom.
His favorite investment platform is M1 Finance, a site that allows him to build a custom portfolio of stocks for free, has no trading or maintenance fees, and even allows him to set up automated target-allocated investments.
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