Tuesday, February 7th, 2012 at 1:51 pm
Though we didn't get the Mini Cooper Lease deal mentioned in our February Lease Ratings, there is a couple of offers from MiniUSA that deserve special attention:
Mini Lease One:
- Lease the Mini Cooper Hardtop with absolutely 0-Down Payment and no security deposit for $249.00 a month for 36 months. This Mini Lease Deal is based on the Hardtop Mini Cooper with an MSRP of $21,450. That's an LVR (Lease Value Ratio of 1.16%: - $249/$21,450) Not great, but not bad either for a car that is somewhat trendy, novel and catches the eyes of many on the roads. The MINI HardTop is equipped with a 121HP, Fuel Efficent 16-Valve, 4 Cylinder engine that delivers 28MPG in the City and 36MPG on the Highway.
Read the rest of this entry
Friday, February 3rd, 2012 at 4:36 pm
What are the Pros and Cons of Hybrid cars and should we lease them? In order to answer this question, we need to consider our Average Car Payment and take it a step further by including fuel costs into the figure. Before we do that though, a few more considerations should be made and here is where the question over buying vs leasing a car gets interesting. How long must we own and drive a hybrid automobile before our savings in gas pays for the extra investment we made for the Hybrid vehicle? The more miles we drive, the more quickly we are likely to benefit from the savings on gas. High Mileage drivers may be excluded from a car lease due to exceeding the 10,000 or 12,000 mile a year allowance on most lease contracts. To make matters even more complicated, most high mileage drivers have an unusually high percentage of freeway mileage over city mileage. The savings in gas on the freeway over a non-hybrid car are not nearly as impressive as the city mileage. Many of our smaller, economy family sedans like the Hyundai Elantra, Chevy Cruz, Honda Civic and Toyota Corolla are averaging near 40MPG on the highway. Even some of the middle sized sedans such as the Accord, Camry and Malibu are reaching low to mid 30mpg's on the highway. A Hybrid car like a Toyota Prius might get 50mpg on the highway, so the savings over an economy or mid-sized sedan is really only 20-25%. In the city is where real fuel savings can be made. Hybrids do as well or better with fuel economy in city than on the open freeways. If you're getting 48-50mpg on your Prius, you can be saving as much as 50% over a mid-sized family sedan. Also, city mileage drivers tend to stay within the mileage allowance limits of your typical lease contract. With these factors in mind, what are Hybrid Cars Pros and Cons?
Read the rest of this entry
Thursday, February 2nd, 2012 at 1:01 pm
4x4 Leasing is an affordable way to lower your average monthly payment on a vehicle that costs more than your typical 2-wheel drive car. SUVs and 4x4 vehicles are typically bigger, heavier, less fuel efficient and more expensive to maintain than the typical 2-wheel drive sedan or hatchback. Typicall, 4x4 leasing is not as popular as it is with other cars. There are a couple of reasons for this:
- 4x4 drivers typically like to drive their cars and maintain them for a much longer time.
- Residual value and money factor on 4x4 vehicles is usually not as good as it is with most cars
While it may appear as these two factors are exclusive from one another, they actually have much in common. The owner-loyalty mindset among drivers of 4 wheel drive cars is based on their driving needs and desires which might include lots of annual mileage in heavy duty circumstances like hauling, towing and off-road four-wheeling. So, under extreme circumstances, 4x4 Leasing might not be an option for some - particularly anyone who drives significantly more than 12,000 miles a year. The way SUVs are used also illustrates why the incentives, residual values may not be quite as conducive to subvented lease offers. On the other hand, one who does require driving under some of these circumstances shouldn't necessarily be dissuaded from leasing a 4X4 or SUV. If your annual mileage is below 15,000, and you can keep the car in reasonably good shape for 3 years, 4x4 leasing can still save money over the course of a lifetime of driving these types of vehicles. So, with that said - let's see what type of Lease deals are available on 4x4 Trucks and SUVs.
Thursday, February 2nd, 2012 at 9:36 am
Not much has changed this month. Cadillac and Chevrolet seem to always have a couple of cars in the top spot.
Toyota Leasing, outside of the new 2012 Camry has really slipped and Honda remains strong with its low subvented, 0-Down Leases on nearly all of their models. Here is how it all shakes out for the Month of February.
Car Lease Deals Ratings for February 2012
| | | | | | | | |
| # | Model | PMT | DOWN | MSRP | TERM | TOTAL COST | AVG | LVR |
| 1 | 2012 Cadillac CTS Sedan | $385.00 | $0.00 | $38,165.00 | 36 | $13,860.00 | $385.00 | 1.01% |
| 2 | 2012 Chevrolet Malibu w/1LS | $179.00 | $1,360.00 | $22,755.00 | 24 | $5,656.00 | $235.67 | 1.04% |
| 3 | 2012 Honda CrossTour 2WD V6 | $340.00 | $0.00 | $31,150.00 | 36 | $11,900.00 | $330.56 | 1.06% |
| 4 | 2012 Infiniti G25 Journey Sedan | $399.00 | $0.00 | $35,995.00 | 39 | $15,561.00 | $399.00 | 1.11% |
| 5 | 2012 BMW 328iX Sedan | $349.00 | $3,225.00 | $40,145.00 | 33 | $14,742.00 | $446.73 | 1.11% |
| 6 | 2012 Nissan Sentra 2.0 SR | $169.00 | $1,830.00 | $19,230.00 | 39 | $8,421.00 | $215.92 | 1.12% |
| 7 | 2012 Infiniti G37 Journey Sedan | $439.00 | $0.00 | $38,900.00 | 39 | $17,121.00 | $439.00 | 1.13% |
| 8 | 2012 Honda Pilot LX 2WD | $340.00 | $0.00 | $29,280.00 | 36 | $11,900.00 | $330.56 | 1.13% |
| 9 | 2012 Toyota Camry | $219.00 | $1,950.00 | $23,925.00 | 36 | $9,834.00 | $273.17 | 1.14% |
| 10 | 2012 Volkswagen Passat 2.5L S | $219.00 | $1,780.00 | $23,460.00 | 36 | $9,664.00 | $268.44 | 1.14% |
| 11 | 2012 Mazda6 | $246.00 | $0.00 | $21,480.00 | 42 | $10,332.00 | $246.00 | 1.15% |
| 12 | 2012 Nissan Maxima S | $309.00 | $2,690.00 | $32,905.00 | 39 | $14,741.00 | $377.97 | 1.15% |
| 13 | 2012 Nissan Rogue S AWD | $209.00 | $2,790.00 | $24,240.00 | 39 | $10,941.00 | $280.54 | 1.16% |
| 14 | 2012 Chevy Cruze w/2LS/MH8 | $159.00 | $1,410.00 | $18,465.00 | 24 | $5,226.00 | $217.75 | 1.18% |
| 15 | 2012 Volvo S60 | $299.00 | $2,994.00 | $32,175.00 | 36 | $13,758.00 | $382.17 | 1.19% |
| 16 | 2012 Mercedes C250 Sport Sedan | $349.00 | $3,660.00 | $38,175.00 | 33 | $15,177.00 | $459.91 | 1.20% |
| 17 | 2012 Mazda CX-9 | $389.00 | $0.00 | $31,605.00 | 42 | $16,338.00 | $389.00 | 1.23% |
| 18 | 2012 BMW 335iX Sedan | $519.00 | $3,725.00 | $49,695.00 | 36 | $22,409.00 | $622.47 | 1.25% |
| 19 | 2012 Volvo C70 | $449.00 | $2,494.00 | $41,325.00 | 36 | $18,658.00 | $518.28 | 1.25% |
| 20 | 2012 Mercedes E350 Luxury Sedan | $579.00 | $3,294.00 | $56,565.00 | 24 | $17,190.00 | $716.25 | 1.27% |
| 21 | 2012 Honda CR-V | $330.00 | $0.00 | $25,205.00 | 36 | $11,550.00 | $320.83 | 1.27% |
| 22 | 2012 Mazda3 4-Door | $228.00 | $0.00 | $17,695.00 | 42 | $9,576.00 | $228.00 | 1.29% |
| 23 | 2012 Infiniti M56 RWD Sedan | $849.00 | 0 | $65,745.00 | 39 | $33,111.00 | $849.00 | 1.29% |
| 24 | 2012 Toyota Venza | $339.00 | $3,475.00 | $33,079.00 | 36 | $15,679.00 | $435.53 | 1.32% |
| 25 | 2012 Volkswagen GTI | $279.00 | $1,720.00 | $24,765.00 | 36 | $11,764.00 | $326.78 | 1.32% |
| 26 | 2012 Toyota Prius | $239.00 | $3,510.00 | $24,985.00 | 36 | $12,114.00 | $336.50 | 1.35% |
| 27 | 2012 Chevy Corvette Coupe w/1LT | $589.00 | $3,950.00 | $50,500.00 | 39 | $26,921.00 | $690.28 | 1.37% |
| 28 | 2012 BMW X3 xDrive 28i | $459.00 | $3,475.00 | $38,995.00 | 36 | $19,999.00 | $555.53 | 1.42% |
| 29 | 2012 Volkswage Golf R | $469.00 | $1,530.00 | $35,810.00 | 36 | $18,414.00 | $511.50 | 1.43% |
| 30 | 2012 Nissan Juke S AWD | $269.00 | $2,730.00 | $22,730 | 39 | $13,221.00 | $339.00 | 1.49% |
