Early Termination
Most leases early termination terms can be very unpleasant for the consumer, particularly if the termination is forced, i.e., the car is totaled in an accident or stolen. Insurance pay-outs, in such cases, often fall far short of the balance due on the lease leaving you holding the bag. Many leasing companies will offer “gap insurance” for only a few dollars a month extra which is a wise investment.
There is a very good reason why it is so expensive to get out of a lease. Consider that your monthly payment is made up of two parts: depreciation and interest. The depreciation payment part is calculated by taking the difference between the cap cost and the residual (the total depreciation over the lease) and dividing it by the number of months.
But we all know that a car undervaluates more rapidly in the earlier years with the biggest hit occurring the day you drive the car off the lot. So when you terminate the lease before you have paid all of the depreciation, you will likely be required to pay the difference between what the car is worth and how much you have paid on the depreciation. This difference is often referred to as the “gap”.
Some lease contracts will stack the deck against you with the terms for early termination. For example, some Nissan Motors leases require the sum of all remaining payments be made before they will release you from the lease. Always read the fine print of the lease contract and understand your exact liabilities for early termination before you sign.
Higher Credit Requirements
Since the expensive car you will be driving for the next 2-5 years belongs to someone else (the leasing company), the owners want to be assured that you will make the payments on time and will not trash their car. The credit worthiness standards, therefore, tend to be higher for leases than conventional loans. In other words, if you have a troubled credit history you may have problems getting approved for a lease.
Insurance Cost
Leasing companies conduce to require higher amounts of insurance coverage than you may normally carry. This could impact your insurance cost considerably. Find out the requirements and then get an estimate from the insurance company before signing on the dotted line.
No Ownership
Technically, when you lease a car, you are renting it. The leasing company contains ownership of the car and you pay for the privilege of driving (and maintaining) it.
Mileage Limitations
Almost all leases limit the number of miles per year by imposing fees typically 10 to 15 cents per mile over 15,000 miles per year. If you put a lot of miles on a car, these fees can add up quickly.