Chrysler leasing days are over
According to an article at detnews.com by Eric Morath called “Lease woes sting automakers” Chase Auto Finance, one of the leaders in lease lenders as well as Chrysler Financial has already dumped leasing and more are on their way. If you have leased a car/truck/SUV in the past, times are changing and so is leasing. Yes, you can still lease a car from dealerships, but it’s going to get more expensive and harder to find a lender. The reason being that automakers are having a harder time finding buyers for the used cars after the lease period is over and they end up taking a loss in the end. Rumors have circulated that Ford Motor Co.will be raising their leasing prices on trucks and SUVs to the point of impractical. Ford would not comment on these rumors, but it would make sense. Leasing is not making the money for these automakers as it was now that the automotive market is down the most it has been in 15 years.
The luxury cars will not be pulling the leasing plug though. GM and Ford, which own Cadillac and Lincoln, lease upward of 75% of their new Cadillacs and Lincolns. If they got rid of leasing, this would shut down these high end vehicles. Luxury cars are leased most of the time, so if you want a luxury car, you should have no problem leasing them.
It makes sense for the banks to do away with leasing especially trucks and SUVs and are losing value alittle more each day the gas is over $4.00/gallon. Best bet would be to find a good deal on a fuel efficient car, buy it, and not worry about leasing anymore!