Insurance and Financial Information


How To Decide Between Buying And Leasing A Vehicle From BMW Of Chatsworth

by Ben Pate

To decide whether to buy or lease a car in California, like from your local Chatsworth BMW Dealerships, it may be helpful to understand the difference between purchasing a car, either new or used, outright versus leasing. There are different costs and insurance implications for each option, and each type of contract serves different purposes.

In most cases, leases have lower monthly payments than traditional car loans. When that is the case, a person can drive a newer, more expensive vehicle without the higher premiums to cover the new car price. There is more to the story, however.

A lease does not make you the owner of the vehicle. In fact, your payments are to the owner of the car for the use of it for a set period of time. At the end of the lease, the car is returned. Some leases will grant an exception to this and offer an option to purchase the car, but there is usually an additional fee to consider. However, since the car is returned, a person with a lease does not have the bother of selling a used car or being disappointed by its trade in value. If getting a new car often is a priority, this might be worth considering.

If you choose traditional car financing, you will make monthly payments over a certain number of months. At the end, when all the payments are complete, the lender releases the title, and you own the car outright. This may be a good option if you are looking forward to a time when you can be free of car payments.

To figure the costs of a lease, calculate the monthly fee and multiply the number of months. Add in insurance, which may be at a higher level. Since you do not own the car, it may be required of you by the owners. Nezt, add in additional fees. This should give you a rough estimate of the costs of the lease. Then, you can compare it to traditional financing.

Sometimes the fine print of Orange County BMW Dealers leasing contracts contain important information. For example, a clause concerning mileage may be included. Some leases limit the number of miles their cars can be driven each year. Typically the limit is between thirteen and fifteen thousand miles. Above this limit, there is a fee charged for every mile driven. If you are a person who has heavy mileage, the lease option may not be for you.

Gap insurance is a type of insurance that both people leasing cars or buying them with standard financing might consider. It pays the difference, the gap, if the car is totaled and is worth less than you still owe on the lease or loan. This may be thousands of dollars, and gap insurance protects you from this liability.

If you lease from Chatsworth BMW service center, know that cars typically cannot be returned prematurely without paying a penalty. If you chose to buy your car outright and decide to sell it, you are only required pay off any lien holders at the time of sale. Learning the differences between different types of car financing at BMW automobile dealers Orange County may help you find the deal that is right for you.

Published July 28th, 2010

Filed in Personal Finance