Car Lease Information – Number One Expense People Forget About When Leasing a Car
Car leasing has been around for a bit now and if you have leased a car (or a few) there are still questions that you should always ask. Things change over time, especially at the time when you turn in your leased car and knowing things ahead of times prepares you better for the duration of your lease and afterwards.
Here are some things to think about and structure your lease accordingly:
1. How many kms (or miles, as the case may be) do you drive on a regular basis? If your driving habits are about to change because your lifestyle has changed then you need to give some that to that and compensate for it. One of the biggest charges at the end of a lease is kms overages. You can lessen that expense in a couple of wasys:
a. you can determine the amount of kms at the onset. Many people really have no idea. There are typically two lease alternatives that deal with kms. You can opt for a 20,000 km/year lease or 24,000 km/year. If you know that you won’t do over 24,000 go for it. That way you are protected. If you do less that 24,000, no you won’t get the excess back, but you will be protected.
b. half way through your lease if you know that you are going to be over, call and buy excess kms. Costs vary from brand to brand as to how much per km. This way you are paying over the remaining term as opposed to paying the lump sum at the end.
Overage on your kms (or miles) is one aspect of leasing we give no thought to during the course of our term. Only at the end do we tend to suck back and reload and realise that we have a huge bill facing us. Take the time, look at your situation as you go and if need be buy extra kms on the fly!
