Looking to lease for the first time...

[Hammettf2b]

Have some questions about leasing. First off, I drive less than 5k miles a year. Are there extremely low mileage leases I can look into? What are some things I should look for? Not really looking to put a big down payment. Can I get a 0 down payment deal even if they don't advertise it? The main reason I want to lease is because I like the idea of always having something new. I don't mind paying for the convenience.

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[beowulf]

I don't think there is a low mileage lease at that level, I think 10,000 miles is about as low as you will find. But what would happen is that you would have lease equity if you end going below the allotment and the more under you are the more equity you will have i.e. the car is worth more than the buyout at the end of the lease because of the low mileage. You can roll that equity over to your next lease.

https://thegarage.jalopnik.com/what-is-lease-equity-and-how-can-i-use-it-1595834519

 

[Hammettf2b]

I don't think there is a low mileage lease at that level, I think 10,000 miles is about as low as you will find. But what would happen is that you would have lease equity if you end going below the allotment and the more under you are the more equity you will have i.e. the car is worth more than the buyout at the end of the lease because of the low mileage. You can roll that equity over to your next lease.

https://thegarage.jalopnik.com/what-is-lease-equity-and-how-can-i-use-it-1595834519

Seems easy enough. Thanks for the info!

 

[Bjorn Le]

There are low mileage leases but I've never heard of anything as low as 5,000 a year. In Canada at certain manufacturers there are 10,000KM/year leases, which 6213.7 miles. For the second question, yes it's possible but it depends on the dealer, manufacturer, model, and other factors. We had a down payment less than $500 on a leased 2016 GTI my partner is driving but I'd wager it's not a very comparable scenario.

 

[rynryn]

A friend of my customized a low mileage lease with Audi for her q5. She doesn't drive very much because she's out of town much of the year. I think she said she drives 5k/yr. It wasn't advertised but when she called to set up her order she specifically asked if it was possible to customize it and they did it. I don't know the details, sorry. I'm sure it varies by dealer what they can or can't do.

 

[Bjorn Le]

A friend of my customized a low mileage lease with Audi for her q5. She doesn't drive very much because she's out of town much of the year. I think she said she drives 5k/yr. It wasn't advertised but when she called to set up her order she specifically asked if it was possible to customize it and they did it. I don't know the details, sorry. I'm sure it varies by dealer what they can or can't do.

Actually for leases it's not up to the dealer unless they have in-house financing (and even then I'm not sure if they can "lease" a car in the same sense using their own credit). If they don't, or if the customer doesn't want it, the credit agency handles it. For Audi, it's VCI (Volkswagen Credit Inc.) and they set what's allowed. Luxury brands are more flexible in customizing though, so I can see a non-advertised lease being possible. That's why a dealer isn't collecting your lease payments, it goes to the credit agency. Dealers get a set amount for each lease they make and get first chance to buy the car at the end of the lease.

 

[rynryn]

Actually for leases it's not up to the dealer unless they have in-house financing (and even then I'm not sure if they can "lease" a car in the same sense using their own credit). If they don't, or if the customer doesn't want it, the credit agency handles it. For Audi, it's VCI (Volkswagen Credit Inc.) and they set what's allowed. Luxury brands are more flexible in customizing though, so I can see a non-advertised lease being possible. That's why a dealer isn't collecting your lease payments, it goes to the credit agency. Dealers get a set amount for each lease they make and get first chance to buy the car at the end of the lease.

that's how i figured it worked. I've not tried to negotiate a lease myself so i really have no idea what's possible. She said her payments are lower than her last one, so that's a fairly good indicator i guess or she could have got an additional discount somewhere.

 

[NyQuil]

One issue with leasing is that you're beholden to some extent to the dealer for maintenance and the need to use OEM parts.

I had to replace a windshield and it was not cheap.