Does anyone know if you have to make a down-payment or any other fees if you lease another vehicle from the same dealer at the end of your lease?

 

You never HAVE to put anything down on a lease.

 

I wish I knew more about this business!!! So many loopholes and 'gotchas' that I don't know about!

 

Since we're on the topic of leasing, is it preferable to put a downpayment on a lease or just lease with as little initial outlay as possible?

 

As little as possible unless you want to buy down your monthly payment, or put multiple security deposits

 

I would not put anything down.

 

Depends on what you think you can afford each month. In general, the more money down up front, the less the payments will be each month. That's why dealerships and automakers advertise their lease rates based on either X number of $$$$$ (or no $$$$$) down.

Though not everyone may agree, I myself tend to be of the school of thought that it is better to get as much of one's payments out of the way, as quickly as possible, and have less of the balance hanging over your head each month in debt.

 

It really shouldn't depend on what you can afford every month. If you are leasing because you cannot afford the payments, you should not be leasing.

When you put money down on a lease, you are just prepaying lease payments. If the vehicle were to be totaled or stolen or something, you loose that downpayment money because the insurance company pays the vehicle owner...Lexus Financial Services...not you.

If you have some amount of money to put down, put it in a bank account and make a chunk of the payment out of it every month, then the money stays with you and is safe.

If you rented an apartment would you put $5000 down to lower the monthly rent? No...same thing here.

 

Perhaps not, but that's exactly why a lot of people do lease, though......they get a lower monthly payment than if they buy, and, as a result, can drive upmarket vehicles that they couldn't afford to purchase. A significant portion of Lexus. Mercedes, and BMW new-vehicle transactions are actually leases, not purchases....it keeps those dealerships in business.

 

I'm well aware of that. To the OP's question...don't put money down on a lease. If you can't afford the payments without money down, lease something cheaper.

Just because lots of other people do it doesn't make it smart.

 

Not a 100% true if a car is stolen or totaled on insurance payouts, a member here like a year ago had his Lexus stolen and totaled by insurance when found. The car had a cash value of around 39K and the buyout from LFS was around 36K, the person who leased the car got a check for 3K from their insurance company for the difference. I think he only put minimum down also when he leased.

 

That would be the exception, not the rule...and that assumes the buyout price is below the market value. On most of these new leases...it isn't...until maybe right before the end of the lease.

 

Boom.

 

And that's why a lot of people pay the monthly minimum on their credit card--so they can buy a bunch of stuff they can't afford. Just because a lot of people do something, that doesn't mean it's wise to do. There's truth in the age-old mother's question: "If all of your friends jumped off a bridge, would you do it too?"

 

I'm not sure, though, that you can directly compare auto leases to credit cards. A leased vehicle is only "yours" for 2-4 years, and doesn't really belong to you in the first place, but, legally, to the bank or dealership/manufacturer (in effect, you're renting it). Most of the things that people buy with credit cards (even if they max the cards out or over-stretch their credit limits) iare not things that they are going to have to return after a few years and have the physical condition of those things checked....it's charged to their account, it's theirs, and that's generally the end of it.

A little off-topic, maybe, but I want to add that I never, EVER allow interest to build up on a credit card. I always pay it off in full, each month. I've seen a lot of people get into serious financial trouble by misusing or being careless with credit cards...that double-digit interest can build up faster than Donald Trump's ego. The best and safest rule is....if you charge it, pay it off.