Car Leasing/ Car Rental: Leasing Tricks and Traps to AVOID

A car salesperson’s job is to get as much money out of you as possible, and every new element you add to a deal offers yet another opportunity to do so. Let’s say you decide that leasing is for you and sit down to do the paper-work. All of a sudden you’re facing additional charges for “conveyance,” “disposition,” “acquisition,” “preparation,” and the like. Say what? “Oh, don’t worry,” you’re told, “we’ll just roll them into the lease.”

Like fun you will! Charges like these are pure dealer profit, and they are completely negotiable. To give yourself the leverage you need, bargain with two dealers at once and play them off against each other.

Second, watch the “capitalized cost” listed in the lease agreement. Some dealers are not above letting you negotiate the price down all you want and then filling in the car’s sticker price in the lease contract. The capitalize cost of the vehicle should be the price you negotiated based on the dead cost and dealer profit, plus taxes and incidental fees like maintenance agreements. If that amount is not filled in on the lease agreement, the dealer is trying to pull the wool over your eyes.

Third, it happens all too often: Consumers think they’re signing a purchase contract, but, because the salesperson has artfully positioned his of her hand over the document title, the consumer ends up signing a lease agreement instead! You can avoid this by insisting on holding the documents in your hand and reading them before signing.