Leasing
Lease payments, lease-end choices, and when keeping the car makes sense.
Buying your leased car vs another used one
What you already know about the car you lease, set against what you would have to guess about someone else's.
Ending a lease early
The ways out of a car lease before the end date, and how each one is priced.
Excess wear and tear, and what gets charged
A mock turn-in inspection sheet, zone by zone: what usually passes as normal wear and what gets billed.
Going over your lease miles
A mileage projector for your lease, then what to do with the number it gives you.
How a lease payment is calculated
Depreciation fee, rent charge, tax: a lease payment derived line by line, with one worked example.
Is gap coverage already in your lease?
Where to look in a lease contract for gap protection, and the exact words to search for.
Lease or buy, six years out
Leasing twice vs buying once, tracked year by year for six years, illustrative figures.
Leasing vs buying an electric car: a debate
Lease or buy an EV? Both sides make their case, rebut each other, and a referee sums up.
Leasing when you drive a lot: the mileage math
Higher allowance, overage charges or buying: one table, three annual mileages, illustrative rates.
Paying cash for a lease buyout, or financing it
Ten if-then rules for paying cash or financing a lease buyout, each with the reasoning behind it.
Reading the fine print on a lease ad
One illustrative lease ad, decoded line by line, from the headline payment to the last footnote.
Residual value, explained
A textbook buyback, told in full, then mapped onto the residual value in a car lease.
Sales tax when you buy out a lease: what to ask
Treatment varies by state. Ten questions that get you your state's actual answer.
Should you buy out your lease?
A checklist and an equity worksheet for deciding whether to buy your leased car.
Taking over someone else's lease
A lease transfer, argued out between the person leaving and the person stepping in.
The disposition fee, examined
The last charge on most leases: what it covers, when it applies, and how to stop it surprising you.
The last 30 days of a lease, day by day
A countdown checklist for a lease's final month, from the first decision to the signed return receipt.
The lease payoff call, as a call log
Every question for the payoff call, what to write down, and why each answer matters later.
The money factor, and how to convert it
A cut-out conversion card for lease money factors, then one quote converted and priced.
Twelve questions before a lease buyout
The twelve questions to answer before you buy your leased car, and why each one matters.
When your leased car is worth more than the payoff
One leased car, three markets: positive, flat and negative equity, each worked through.
Your options at lease end
Return, buy or trade: three doors at lease end, and the steps behind each one.