Auto Loans Made Easy: Should You Lease or Buy?
A Credit Article Contributed by Brandie King
Auto Loans Made Easy: Introduction
To make it easy for you to choose between leasing your auto or buying it with a loan, below you will find the advantages and disadvantages of each method. Always make sure that, whether you choose to lease your vehicle or to buy it, you shop around for the best deal on both the lease or loan and the auto price itself, because it is very easy to get taken for a "ride" by unethical dealers.
A new vehicle is normally one of the biggest purchases and investments that you will make and it deserves for you to put a lot of time and thought into it. Make sure that you are getting the best deal by comparing prices and rates, take time to decide if you really need a new vehicle right now and whether or not you can actually afford it. The process of getting an auto loan or lease will be made that much more easy by doing the proper research beforehand.
You should never rush into getting an auto loan just because it seems easy.
Auto Loans Made Easy: Advantages and Disadvantages of Leasing a Vehicle
Some of the advantages of leasing your vehicle are that you will have lower monthly payments, lease terms are usually shorter than loan terms, you can get GAP Insurance, and you can pay the sales tax over a longer period of time. GAP Insurance is an insurance that is available to pay the leasing company for the vehicle should it be totaled or stolen during the term of your lease.
Some of the disadvantages of leasing a vehicle include the fact that you do not own the vehicle (you are paying on the lease to use a vehicle that belongs to the dealership), there are mileage restrictions (you will be charged fees if you go over the mileage limit), you have to be extremely careful with the vehicle (there are fees you will be charged for excess wear and tear), and you will have a hard time getting out of the lease before the end of the lease term (you will be charged early termination fees), and you normally have to have very good credit to lease a vehicle.
Auto Loans Made Easy: Advantages and Disadvantages of Buying a Vehicle
The advantages you get by buying a vehicle are that there are not any mileage or wear and tear restrictions, you will get the satisfaction of actually owning the car, you do not have to worry as much about the state of your credit, and you will be able to sell the car whenever you wish.
Disadvantages of buying a vehicle are that your monthly payments will normally be bigger than they would be with a lease, the loan term is longer than that of a lease term (you will have to pay for longer), you will most likely have to pay the entire cost of the sales tax at the time of your purchase, and you will be accountable for all of the repairs on the vehicle once the warranty expires.
