r/CarLeasingHelp

Driving from NYC to Upstate. 4times/week. What are the most reliable companies to lease from? Should I find one in NYC or in the Upstate? What to look for? Never leased in USA (or anywhere). Dumb girly here. Any advise will be highly appreciated!❤️

Checking different websites, but don't know what to look for and how to not get taken advantage of bc I'm a girl who's not educated on cars (my fault, I know)

​

So, my sister and her husband and 2 kids moved from South Carolina to Cleveland just under 2 years ago.

We just found out that the car they had then and still have still has a South Carolina plate, with tags that expired in June 2025 (yes 2025).

Best off, the vehicle is a lease and as far as we can tell they didnt tell the leasing company they moved.

My question: what's going to happen when theyre inevitably caught with expires out of state plates?

It's a Chevy equinox on a lease through either ally or GM financial

EDIT: My main question foe this sub. Wouldn't they be in default right now of the registration is expired? They didnt even tell the lessor they moved so if theyre still making payments its based on their old sc address.

I am planning on leasing a car and am trying to figure out what questions I need to ask when I am there? I have the basic questions covered on mileage, wear and tear, maintenance (oil, tire rotation etc). I am looking at and Outback and GAP is included.

What are some non standard questions I should be asking? TIA

Looking for some advice in terms of leasing a new RAV4. Here’s my situation: would be trading in a 2019 RAV4 LE that I’ve received offers from some dealerships between 13k and 14k for (payoff is $9800). I wanted to do trade in only, zero cash down. I have decent credit at about 716 and my partner is co-signing with me since I’m a full time student and he has decent income. I don’t want to pay over $400/mo for this lease- which I figured was feasible since the deals listed online ask for $3999 down and you can lease for $300/mo. I figured if I got the higher value on my trade in that would cover that.

Problem number one that I’m facing: obviously this car is out of stock everywhere and hard to get a hold of.

Problem two: these dealerships simply do not care to work with me since they have no cars on the lot.

I’ve spoken to people at about 6 dealerships in my state, none of them care to give me time of day unless I’m looking for one of the higher end plug in models, which I can’t afford. One dealership told me I would need trade in AND an additional $4000 cash to get anywhere at or below $400/mo (which I will not do for a lease). One dealership offered me only $11,000 on trade so we couldn’t make it work. Many of them won’t even give me a quote at all so I don’t even know what they’d require. All that being said: what am I doing wrong? Is it insane to think that the base model LE no add ons etc (which is about $33-$34k) could be at $400/mo? Any advice is appreciated. I’ve never leased a car, I’ve only ever financed but I really need those lower monthly payments and no maintenance cost rn. Because I already drive a RAV4 I’m hoping to stick with the same car, it fits my lifestyle very well. Not a car person at all so please don’t recommend a Camry to me 🥲 If you’ve read this far thank you and I appreciate the advice!

Hi,
My lease ends in two months and I need to change my brake pads as the light came on. Can I use Textar for the front brake pads? BMW said OEM and their parts say BMW on it, but when I google it says it’s ok to use?

Hi all,
I’m looking to add this beauty to my garage!

Max discount I’m getting on a $90K msrp is 15.5% plus i qualify for $3K in rebates.

Is this the Max dealers can do? Can it go lower?
Since the new model will be out next month, should I wait till next month and see if the rebates get better?

Credit score 870. Recently got a 2026 genesis G70 sport prestige for 24 months 7500 miles a year (15000 total). It is a loaner though and already had 2,500 miles on it. However the condition was pristine. I did $6500 down (this included taxes and fees and first month etc with the actual down payment itself being around $2500). Monthly is $368.

After reading some more I understand that it makes zero sense to actually put money down on a lease. In hindsight I would 100% have refused any downpayments even if I had to pay $400+ in a month. As honestly, it is not an issue for me either way. But it just does seem like you're getting a bulk of the cost out of the way (which is clearly bad for a lease since I'm not recouping that upfront payment if anything happens to my car).

The residual is 36,000.

Thoughts on this deal? Am I sucker?

MSRP: $72700
Discounts: $6550
Adjust Price: $66150

Doc fee: $175
Tax: $3162.87
Non tax fees: $96.93

36 months, $3000 down, 12000 miles: $882/month

Initially they said around $1000/month. I was hoping and pushing for around $800 but they didn’t budge. Is this a decent deal or should I keep looking?

Thanks in advance!

Everything I've read in the past told me that it's a slim chance that a leasing company will charge excess wear and tear for minor things if you initiate a new lease. So that is what we did. The original lease was a 2024 CX90 PHEV.. with the $12500 federal and state credits our payments were great. However, as EV prices have cooled the car value was almost $10k less than the buyout. So we decided to lease a new 2026 CX70 PHEV. A little cheaper, not as many options, but we enjoyed the CX90 and didn't need the third row, just the cargo space. Fast Forward 5 months and I have calls from a collections company telling me I owe $2100. No invoices, no mail, nothing. First phone call came from collections. Now I have a black mark on my credit report.

This was our family vehicle for 2 years. No accidents. We did a thorough cleaning before turning it in. The only thing I was aware of was a minor quarter sized ding in the windshield. It's hard not to think that Mazda is dinging me for minor wear and tear because they were so underwater on the buyout. I called and asked for the invoice, still nothing except they confirmed the amount. This is some shady stuff. I will not be buying or leasing another Mazda ever again.

Just accepted a lease offer for a 2026 Mazda CX-90 Premium Plus AWD trim for $599 p/m at 12K miles p/yr for 36 months. "Zero Down" but $1,995 all in for inceptions. Should I pull the trigger?

I have a 2024 Mach-E Premium AWD Extended Range that I absolutely LOVE. My lease is up in December, and my buyout is around $33,500.

The problem is that the buyout doesn’t feel like an especially great deal, and I’m trying to figure out what makes the most sense financially.

My options seem to be:
Finance the ~$33.5k buyout (probably means a higher payment unless I put a decent amount of cash down)

Lease another EV

Buy something else

Go back to gas, which honestly makes me sad unless it’s for a car that I’d love…

I really like having a ~$400/month car payment and would ideally like to stay under $500/month. The only other EVs I’ve really been interested in are MINI Coopers and BMWs, but those don’t seem likely to be cheaper. I’m also hesitant to buy a used EV because of how quickly the technology/value seems to be changing.

For those who have been in a similar situation, what would you do?

What EVs are realistically worth looking at right now if I want to lease or finance something for <$500/month? Or should I just buy out the Mach-E and accept the higher payment?

I really don’t want to go back to gas, but I also don’t want to make a dumb financial decision just because I love my car.

Edit: I live in Nebraska

Hi everybody,

I returned my leased car about a month ago, and I received my liability statement today. They charged me around $1,400 for a cracked windshield and a grille issue.

The statement said I could view the pictures and full inspection report on the OPENLANE website. I pulled up the report, but it looks completely clean. There are no pictures showing any damage, nothing mentioned about the windshield or grille, and the report shows chargeable wear as $0.

I also have photos and a video from when I returned the car showing that the windshield was not cracked and there was no issue with the grille.

I’m wondering how this process works. Is the OPENLANE inspection report considered the official inspection, or is the liability statement what matters?

How can I dispute or appeal these charges? Should I contact the dealership, the leasing company, or OPENLANE directly?

Has anyone had a similar experience?

Hi all, we are new to leasing. Here's a breakdown of our lease OFFER with money factor of .00171 with 61% residual. Payment of $733.67/mo. Any help would be appreciated!

MRSP. $58432

DISCOUNT. 2K

REBATES. $2250

DOWN PAYMENT. 2K

TRADE-IN. 1K

DMV/REG. $750

DOC FEE. $200

ACQUISITION FEE. $699

CAPITALIZED COST REDUCTION. $4166.44

DRIVE-OFF. $1083.56

How do I go about negotiating? I assume we negotiate off the MSRP?

Thanks so much in advance!

I’ve already got an approved loan for the residual value and I’m putting some cash down too. The dealership knew the lease was up and was all over me so I gave them a chance and they know I already have an approved loan The dealer rate is actually the best. Not by much at all. But will I get screwed in other ways? And why do they absolutely insist that I come in person to do this? I’d rather handle all electronically. Is there any advantage for me to doing the deal at the dealer? Seems like a waste of time for all parties.

Hi guys, my car lease is almost up. I’m interested in leasing a new vehicle but curious about positive equity and such.
My residual value at end of lease is 22,000 for 2023 Toyota Rav 4 LE.
My most concern is a dealership offering or lowballing the current market value for the vehicle to avoid putting the positive equity into a new lease or a new financed car.
Any help on how to avoid this happening or ensure I do not get shaft by the dealership into a low value offer?

Hi, first post here. I am nearing the end of my 3 year lease of a 2024 VW Cross Sport. I drive very little (I live 2 miles from work, so no major commutes). I have about 9,500 miles on it. I've never leased before, so this is new territory for me. The vehicle is in great shape, and I like it, but would prefer something a bit smaller (thinking of a Honda CR-V). I'd like to return it to the dealership, but want to be financially-wise about my decision. I'm not opposed to keeping it a bit longer.

If I turn it in, I will be forced to buy a new car at the same time, so that I'm not carless, which means I can't wait for my perfect vehicle and will have to go with what's available, not necessarily what I want. The stress is real!

According to my lease, the residual is $28,000 and Kelly Bluebook puts my car's value at about $24,000.

Please help! Thanks!