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LeaseWise Complete Brochure
Dear Fellow Consumer,
Thank you for your interest in our LeaseWise
service, the only independent, nonprofit, new car leasing service in the
country.
Very few consumer transactions are as deceptively
simple as entering into a new car lease. But this seemingly simple
transaction is fraught with consumer risk. The financial complexities of
the many elements of a new car lease such as the money factor, residual,
assignment fees, contracted and un-contracted excess mileage charges,
gap insurance, purchase option costs, and dealership participation, can
be insurmountably confusing to even the most savvy shopper, and provide
fertile ground for the growth of consumer fraud. No wonder the attorneys
general of many states have already launched investigations into
allegations of extensive leasing fraud, and the federal government has
made attempts to provide regulatory assistance through the Federal
Reserve Board’s Regulation M.
Growing from the successful experience of
thousands of new car purchasers who have used our CarBargains service,
we have developed the LeaseWise service to provide value and
confidence for those of you who wish to lease a new vehicle.
By using LeaseWise, you will -
- Make dealers bid for your leasing business,
- Be confident that you are getting the best deal
in the market,
- By-pass hassles and high-pressure sales
tactics,
- Avoid having to negotiate,
- Eliminate those last minute
"surprise" fees and charges,
- Know what the lease contracts really say, and
- Have our nonprofit consumer organization with
you throughout the leasing process.
Since we began offering the LeaseWise by
CarBargains service, the savings on competitively bid leases have been
dramatic -
Mercedes S Series 3 yr. lease - Savings from low to
high bid - $2853
Chevy Tahoe 2 yr. lease - Savings from low to
high bid - $2620
Honda Accord 3 yr. lease - Savings from low to
high bid - $1090
Lexus LS Series 3 yr. lease - Savings from low to
high bid - $5036
Ford Explorer 3 yr. lease - Savings from low to
high bid - $3842
Nissan Pathfinder 4 yr. lease - Savings from low
to high bid - $2093
And these were savings within a competitive
bidding environment that has already been shown, through our CarBargains
program, to produce dramatically lower costs than most consumers can
expect to get shopping on their own.
Here’s how the LeaseWise service works:
- You tell us the make, model, and style of the
vehicle you wish to lease, along with the lease term (24, 36, or 48
months) and the yearly mileage you desire.
- We will consult our database of over 40
possible lease plans and determine which plans will produce the lowest
monthly payment for your vehicle, lease term, and requested mileage.
- We will then get at least five dealers in your
area to bid against one another to lease that make, model, and style of
vehicle for that term and mileage. Each dealer commits to a markup or
markdown from factory invoice cost. Any additional fees or mandatory
add-ons are itemized and fully disclosed.
- We verify the terms of each dealer’s
recommended lease plan, as well as whether any lower cost lease plans,
found through our data analysis, are available at each of the bidding
dealers. All the pertinent numbers are verified. These include:
- Money factor
- Residual
- Miles per year included
- Fee for contracted excess mileage
- Fee for un-contracted excess mileage
- Assignment fees
- Gap insurance costs
- And more
The verification of these terms will account for
any dealer interest rate markups, subsidized lease programs, or special
incentive provisions which might be applicable to your car and lease
program combination.
- When all the competitive bids have been
gathered and verified by fax, we calculate a Monthly Payment Index that
ranks each dealer’s monthly payment against all the other bidding
dealers for both the dealer’s recommended lease plan and, if
different, the lowest cost lease plan available at each dealership. We
also calculate a total cost index that rates the overall lease plan
cost, should you choose to purchase the vehicle at the end of the lease
term.
- We send you a report that includes:
- Dealer quote sheets, which show how much above
(or below) factory invoice cost each dealer has agreed to sell/lease
the vehicle, and the name of the manager responsible for the
commitment.
- Factory invoice cost information for your type
of car or truck.
- Detailed financial terms for each dealer’s
recommended lease plan and, if different, the lowest cost lease plan
available at each dealership.
- An index table that shows you how each
dealer’s quote compares for lowest monthly payment- and for total
cost, if you decide to purchase the vehicle at the end of the lease.
- A detailed worksheet that allows you to
calculate your monthly lease payment (minus tags, taxes and title)
for the vehicle equipped the way you want.
- Information on each lease plan’s contract
provisions for early termination, disposition fees, end of lease
purchase options, insurance requirements, default, excess wear and
tear, and more.
- An explanation of any available
manufacturer-to-customer rebates.
- Other useful information on the language of
leasing, extended service contract pros and cons, and low cost
service contract options.
- You call the bidding dealership of your choice,
speak with the manager responsible for your quote, and make arrangements
to execute your lease.
We encourage you to send us a photocopy of your
final lease contract to help us monitor the system.
What if I decide I want to purchase instead of
lease, or I’m just not sure?
The LeaseWise by CarBargains report secures
quotes for both purchase and lease (the purchase quotes are actually
necessary if you choose to use a non-manufacturer lease finance source).
We even provide worksheets for both scenarios.
What about options? Do I need to decide on them
now?
No. You only need to tell us the make, model and style of the vehicle you want (the only exceptions to this are Honda and Acura, where all the options are dealer-installed). The dealers bid an amount above or below the total factory invoice cost. You are, in effect, paying invoice cost for each option or option package you choose (in a very few cases, dealers may place bids relative to total MSRP). In this way, the quotes you receive will be applicable to any vehicle of the type we shopped that is available in your market. If you are purchasing the vehicle, even factory order quotes are obtained, if applicable. When leasing, however, lease finance terms change so frequently, that your LeaseWise report will be most applicable to vehicles which already exist in your area.
How close will the dealers be to my home?
We maintain a computer file of all dealers in the
country. When you order our service, we identify dealers close to you
and get them to bid. In urban areas they might all be close to your
home. In more remote locations, the distances could be larger.
What about rebates?
If you are entitled to a manufacturer-to-customer
rebate on the car you are leasing, we will tell you so in your
LeaseWise report. You can then choose to receive a check from the
manufacturer or you can have the dealer apply the rebate to your lease
to reduce your capitalized cost.
If there is a secret factory-to-dealer rebate on
your vehicle (money which the dealer may do with as he chooses), the LeaseWise
competitive bidding process will squeeze out much of this additional
dealer profit, resulting in additional savings to you. You have a real
leg up in this area because the staff of LeaseWise by CarBargains
does ongoing national research on the availability of dealer rebate
programs through its CarDeals rebates and incentives newsletter.
MoneyMagazine
- "... MONEY [had] correspondents in five cities comparison shop three internet buyers
[Auto-by-tel, AutoVantage, and CarPoint] vs. CarBargains. The result: In nine out of ten
comparisons, the lowest CarBargains bid beat the lowest Internet bid, even after
adding in the service fee."
- Kiplinger’s Buyer’s Guide The New Cars
- "CarBargains has gotten lower quotes than
other car-buying services in several consumer tests."
- ABC News,20/20
- "CarBargains, a non-profit buying service,
got the best deal - $3,000 off the sticker price."
- Good Housekeeping
- "Can save you hundreds of dollars on the
price of a car."
- Motor Trend
- "CarBargains delivered the best new-car price
in our search."
- Mark Eskeldsen, What Car Dealers Don’t Want You To Know
- "[CarBargains] not only produces a good
price, it also spares the consumer the hassles and high-pressure sales
tactics."
- Jack Gillis, The Car Book
- "We believe it’s a great value"
There is no magic to the LeaseWise service.
It is founded on proven competitive bidding techniques, constantly
updated financial information on over 50 lease financing sources (both
banks and manufacturers), detailed analysis of actual lease contracts, a
thorough understanding of the leasing process, knowledge of the best
bids we are getting for hundreds of other customers, and years of
experience. Most consumers will find the scope of this information
impossible to duplicate on their own. Without it, however, the consumer
is extremely vulnerable to subtle (or blatant) manipulation of the
financial terms of lease arrangements, in order to put more and more
profit in the dealer’s pocket.
- How would you know that Ford Motor Credit has a
secret Lease Finance Charge calculation?
- How would you know that on a particular Lexus
lease, Key Bank Leasing produced the lowest monthly payment, but
Toyota Motor Credit produced the lowest total cost if you purchased
the vehicle at the end of the lease term?
- How would you know that secret dealer rebates
were available as markdowns on the cost of the vehicle if you used
one particular lease plan, but not another?
- How would you know that different dealers,
quoting the same lease plan, can use widely varying interest rates?
- How would you know that one lease plan versus
another could save you up to $600 on gap insurance?
The complexities and variations in leasing are so
numerous as to overwhelm even the most conscientious shopper. The LeaseWise
service puts you in control in a way that is impossible on your own.
We get dealers’ bids by phone and then confirm
them by fax. The dealers know that they will not get future
opportunities to bid if they fail to follow through as they should.
Failure to honor a confirmed bid has been extremely rare. Should any
problems or questions arise, LeaseWise by CarBargains is only a
phone call away.
If you are able to get a lower monthly payment
than you would get under the terms of the quote of our lowest quoting
dealer, in the same time frame and area, without using our information
as leverage, we will refund our fee.
A copy of your lease contract and vehicle window sticker will be required as proof of the transaction.
LeaseWise by CarBargains is a service of
the Center for the Study of Services, an independent, nonprofit consumer
organization, founded in 1974 with the help of funding from the U.S.
government’s Office of Consumer Affairs. The Center’s purpose is to
provide consumers information to help them get high quality services and
products at the best possible prices. The Center is totally independent,
has no relationships with any auto dealers, and accepts no advertising.
The Center also publishes a national newsletter called CarDeals, and various national books, including the Consumers' Guide to Hospitals and the Guide to Top Doctors.
The Center is supported entirely by subscription
payments and donations from individual consumers who subscribe to our
magazines, and by fees for our information services. We do not accept
support from businesses and our publications carry no advertising.
If you have any questions now or upon receipt of
your LeaseWise report, please give us a call at 800-475-7283. We
look forward to helping you get the best deal on your new car purchase
or lease.
Sincerely,
Robert Krughoff
President
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