Hmmm, one would think that we have seen the end of car leasing at it exists in Canada. Chrysler Canada and GM have both pretty much gotten out of leasing, at least for now, there are rumours floating but who knows. BMW, from what I have heard here has decided to also get out of leasing and have turned that aspect of their business over to a leasing company.

At one time, as a car salesman, you would explain the differences between leasing a car vs buying and of course leasing would come out ahead mainly due to the lower monthly payment and the fact that people like to switch out of a car every 36 - 48 months. As a salesperson, I LOVED leasing. It made sense, you drove a car around for a set term, didn't have to worry about the value of the vehicle at the end, using it as a trade or ending up upside down (where you owe more for the vehicle than what it is actually worth). The only thing you did have to worry about was ensuring your kms weren't over and that you were responsible for damages.

Like anything else we have come around full circle again where Owning is Better Than Renting. Your vehicle is an asset with financing because you own the car, whereas a lease you were just renting it per se.

What's next? I am sure that as the mfg's realign themselves you'll see a lot of different advertising out there for rates and programs based on financing instead of leasing. Look at the advertisements for Mazda, Toyota even Honda even they have quietly made the change and are promoting more on the "owning" side of things rather than "renting"

Resources

 www.squidoo.com/denniseryder

www.squidoo.com/carleasingdeal