Car Leasing: Four Considerations

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Car Leasing Projected Mileage

The prospect of leasing a car presents many considerations; so many in fact, that it can put off potential lease-holders, finding themselves confused by all the different aspects.

To defeat this confusion and to hopefully encourage you to look again at the issue of leasing, we look at four areas of practical concern.

Projected Mileage

How many miles do you drive on average? Per month, per year? Understandably, leasing companies often put limitations and even penalties upon the amount of miles their vehicles can run in a 12-month period. The average motorist will do about a thousand miles a month, 12,000 per year. If you are going to be in that ball park, all well and good. If you are going to be doing considerably greater mileage, you will have to investigate the applicable restrictions, and determine if your likely mileage will make leasing an unlikely prospect for you.

Financial Outlay

When you purchase a car you have a lot of initial outlay, and the expectation of repair costs down the line. With leasing you have a fraction of the money to find up front and significantly less chance of sizable repair bills with the 3 years or so of leasing your car, Having said that, some vehicles do hold their money to a degree, and while only very cars can genuinely be seen as investments, with leasing you will have no opportunity to make your money back.

Living Location

Where do you live? Living in a inner-city location and living in the remote countryside are two extremes of the car-necessity spectrum. Living in a city will perhaps render car-ownership a luxury due to frequent public transportation, congestion and little available parking. At the other end of the scale, living in the country you will almost certainly require a vehicle for day to day life. Many of us will be in-between the two extremes, and may well move over the course of time.

Moving is a benefit of leasing; if you move and you no longer require a car, or find you need a different type it can be far easier to exchange a leased car than to sell your present ride and buy a new one.

Business Use

There are both challenges and benefits to owning your own car. One of the benefits of business-ownership is being able to claim back money spent on leasing vehicles as a business expense.

All in all there many benefits in leasing, though it is up to you to decide if they combine to offer you the best deal for your motoring.