Leasing a car is an excellent choice for a lot of people. They choose to lease a car for a few years, then give it back and lease another one. This way they avoid the value of their car depreciating. But there are a ton of other more specific advantages if you meet the right criteria.

First off, leasing options are most appealing to professionals who use the car to travel a lot or for work specific purposes. But leasing certainly isn’t limited to that. People chose to lease for all sorts of purposes. Some people even chose to lease just so they can have a newer car every few years.

There are plenty of options for you as you go through the leasing process. It’s important to choose a good leasing company, a good car manufacturer, and a good financier. We are going to walk you through as much of the process as possible!

But let’s check out some of the pros and cons of leasing and buying!

Buying vs Leasing

Surprisingly, the costs of purchasing a car as opposed to leasing a car can be significantly higher. After the down payment, taxes, monthly payment plus interest, and not to mention the cost of long term repairs and replacements. Purchasing a car can cost you several times the amount to car is worth after depreciation.

However, once you buy the car off, or if you pay cash for it, you own it! It’s now an asset. This is something that leasing wont be able to offer you unless you choose to purchase afterwards. Sometimes the leasing payment can go toward the principle balance of the car and sometimes not. If you think that’s even a remote possibility, make sure your contract compliments the lease to purchase option before you sign the lease.

If you only use the car to get to and from work on a day to day basis, and you opt for a smaller, sensible, fuel efficient car, purchasing might be the best option for you. However, if you use your car for business purposes in anyway, it’s never a bad option to look into leasing. If you use your vehicle for work purposes, you can deduct nearly all of the leasing expenses.

We’ve poured through a lot of expense reports in the past few weeks. We’ve found that almost always, over the lifetime of someone owning a car, they often pay more for that car than if they were to lease it, by a lot. In most cases people who purchased cars would pay almost double than those who leased instead.

Although both options have their benefits, for companies or professionals who have to travel and move a lot, it appears that leasing might be the best option for you.

Our Recommendations for the Best Car Leasing Companies

There are plenty of car leasing companies you can go through, however, just like insurance companies, there are some outstanding companies and some companies you would want to stay away from. For the most part, it’s easy to hold leasing companies liable. I mean, if you’re going to lease, you’re usually in sync with your finances, and you have an idea that leasing a car is a better fit for you than purchasing.

• Autoflex Leasing: Autoflex has been around since the early 80’s. Really, since the early days of commercialized car leasing. Therefore, they helped pave the way for other car leasing companies. They certainly take pride in their customer service and leasing programs. They are also a BBB accredited business. They have an overly simplistic program called FLEXLEASE. This comprehensive program offers just about every make and model, it has no security deposit, no down payments, and very competitive monthly payments. Autoflex prides themselves in offering a simple, customer friendly experience. We’d highly recommend them!

• Allstate Leasing: It’s important not to confuse Allstate Leasing with Allstate Insurance. They might have the same name, but they are certainly different entities.  Allstate Leasing began in 1969, and they mostly catered to businesses, naturally. They’ve grown into one of the largest leasing companies in America, with a highest concentration of coverage in the mid-Atlantic region. They pride themselves in excellent customer service and fulfilling transportation requirements of large corporations. Although, they do still offer consumer services independent of a corporate contract. Additionally, if you see a vehicle you’d like, but they don’t have it on the lot, they will gladly track it down and deliver it to your driveway! That’s good service.

• Shaker Auto Leasing: Shaker is based out of Ohio, and they are one of the oldest and largest around their neck of the woods. Shaker is definitely a more independent based leasing companies. They love to take care of the little guy. If you are anywhere close to this region, we’d recommend giving them a try. Where they lack filling large, nation orders of corporate conglomerates, they make up for by providing an excellent leasing experience for people. They allow you to build your own car, so you can choose any type of car you want and deck it out with the latest technology. They’ll even deliver it right to your door. Additionally, they also excel at consulting. They consult individuals and companies alike, and they even consult banks on various leasing methods. They are an all in one leasing corporation what definitely deserves a look.
• D&B Auto Leasing: D&B Auto Leasing will continually show up in the top leasing companies no matter where you look. They have been around since 1976 by a couple of guys in Texas who then sold it to the current owners who turned it into the largest leasing company in America for individuals. D&M is a dynamic leasing company. They offer tons of different leasing options, trade-in options, and end of leasing purchase options. They also offer a bunch of options for companies who might be interested in fleet leasing. However, where they excel is their simple process. They have outstanding customer service reps, they have a user-friendly website, and they even offer free quotes. For those who are looking for a company to lease from, we highly recommend D&M.
• LEASEbyNET: We’ve all heard the insurance commercials about a company who was “born online” and “majors in efficiency.” Well LEASEbyNET didn’t make those commercials, but they might as well have. They truly are a company that has been efficient since the day of their online conception. They haven’t been around as long as some others, but they make the car leasing process so easy that they make up for their relatively young age. They haven’t had any trouble getting a swarm of customers in recent years. That’s partly due to their simple system, and it’s also due to the fact they do not forfeit the customer service experience for efficiency. Also, if you have a particular vehicle in mind, let them know! They’ll locate it, find the best price, and deliver it to your door step. Additionally, instead of referring leads over to leasing companies, they help you every step of the way by locating the vehicle, negotiating with the leasing company, and delivering it. It really doesn’t get much easier than that!
• LeaseByTel: LeaseByTel has one purpose: getting the job done. They are an efficient company who can get you the car you want at a good price. They aren’t necessarily on the top of our list, but that is mostly because they do not have the resources as some of the other companies we have come across. They are easily reached, easy to deal with, and they provide excellent customer support. They also offer door to door service so you don’t have to deal with car dealerships. Also, in contrast to other companies, they allow you to switch to a different car or purchase your car at the end of your lease. More specifically, LeaseByTel has been in business for 20 years, they pride themselves on having great customer service, and they choose to work with interest banks instead of manufacturer’s financing. This give you a plethora of options before, during and after your lease. If you are looking for a quick and simple leasing process, we highly recommend LeaseByTel, they have certainly earned a look from the average consumer.

Who Leasing Isn’t For

The name of the game for leasing companies is having the leased vehicles returned to them in excellent shape. To make sure that happens, leasing companies do tend to put strict mileage restrictions on their vehicles. For instance, most leasing companies generally restrict their miles per year that are put on the vehicle to between 12,000 and 15,000. If you expect to regularly drive entire regions or across the country, we would recommend buying instead. If you go past the mileage restrictions, you will be accessed a penalty which might add up to thousands depending on how far it was driven.

Additionally, there are also “wear and tear” fees. The leasing company expects the vehicle back without dents, scratches, tears, cracks, etc. If you do return it back with any cosmetic defects, you should certainly count on an invoice for the damages. That being said, anyone who tends to be hard on their vehicles might not want to lease. After all, we are using leasing to save us money in the long run. You should ask yourself the conscience question: how have your vehicles turned out in the past? If you have a history of tearing them up slightly, spilling coffee, etc. We would advise you to rethink the leasing option.

Leasing is for those who have a relatively stable financial future. If you are uncertain about your finances 60 months from now, we’d advice you to think about purchasing instead of leasing. Leases are only effective if they aren’t broken. Therefore the lease is airtight for the duration of the agreement. If you do wish to break the lease completely, there will almost certainly be hefty termination fees that will accompany the lease termination. However, if you decide to break the lease in exchange for another, there could possibly be a deal worked out.

Final Thoughts

Leasing is a complex choice that requires planning, research, good judgement. Believe us, we do think that leasing can be the best option for a lot of people. But as we’ve stated before, it’s not the best choice for everyone. We strongly recommend that everyone who is interested in leasing think it through as best as possible before making any concrete decisions. Also, it’s very important to know where you will be 36-60 months from now. Is your job stable? Will you be moving overseas? Will you have to drive your car over 12,000 miles a year? These are all things that are important to take into account before you make your decision.

We would strongly recommend you search through all of the car leasing companies that we have provided here. Check them out and see what deals they can provide to you. We would also recommend that you try searching through local car companies. They tend to have area specific deals, and they might be able to cater to you better than the national conglomerates. If you’re unable to locate any leasing companies in your town, try checking with the local chamber of commerce. If you do not have one in your town, they will know about it, further, they should know where to find one.

We hope that we have provided some insight into your decision to lease or purchase! If you have already decided to lease, then I hope the companies that we have provided will serve you well! If you have any questions, concerns, or comments about the process of leasing or any of the companies, especially if you have dealt with the companies, please feel free to leave us a comment below, and we will get to it as soon as possible. In the mean time, happy hunting!