Car Leasing Up 21 Percent from Last Year: Edmunds.com Reveals Top Five Lease Deals

SANTA MONICA, Calif.--Automobile leasing is on the rise, up 21 percent from last year. Edmunds.com, the premier resource for automotive consumer information, today named the best current national lease deals. The complete story, Best Lease Deals for the Holidays.

“As interest rates rise, leasing is becoming a more attractive option for consumers,” said Alex Rosten, Manager of Pricing and Market Analysis at Edmunds.com. “Leasing allows car buyers to have lower monthly payments and get better ‘bang’ for their buck.”

Edmunds.com is the only Web site to identify the best lease deals using a numerical formula rather than subjective opinion. The calculation takes into account the average transaction price of the car and then determines the savings provided by the lease.

Currently, the top five lease deals available nationwide are:

Year		Make		Model		Trim Level		Monthly Terms		Monthly Payments		(a)Drive-off Fees
2007		Audi		A4		2.0T Quattro AWD		24		$379		$954
2006		Mazda		Mazdaspeed6		Sport AWD		24		$269		$2544
2007		Saab		9-7X		4.2i SUV AWD		27		$429		$2999
2007		Mercedes-Benz		CLK-Class		CLK350 Coupe		27		$449		$3994
2007		Subaru		Outback		3.0R L.L. Bean Edition AWD		24		$299		$2923
(a)“Drive-off fees” include lease acquisition fee, first month’s payment and any required capital cost reduction (down payment).

“Deciding whether to buy or lease is confusing for many consumers,” said Philip Reed, Senior Consumer Advice Editor at Edmunds.com and co-author of Edmunds.com’s Strategies for Smart Car Buyers. “We recommend leasing to consumers who want to switch cars every two or three years. Buying is better for people who plan to keep their cars through the life of their loan and beyond.” Reed recommended that consumers who are still unsure which path to choose should take advantage of the tools on Edmunds.com such as the Buy vs. Lease Calculator and the Leasing Quiz.

Reed also provides the following tips for consumers who are considering leasing a vehicle:

• 1. Limit your down payment: Contrary to popular belief, down payments are not necessarily required for leases. Down payments will help to lower monthly lease payments, but it is typically in the consumer’s best financial interest to put little or no money down to fully benefit from leasing’s low finance rates.
• 2. Negotiate your mileage limit: Leases include a maximum number of miles that the car can be driven without incurring a surcharge, and that maximum is negotiable. The average consumer drives approximately 14,000 miles per year. Make sure your lease mileage limit matches your needs. Additional miles can cost up to 35 cents per mile, which can become a major expense.
• 3. Negotiate the price of the car: Monthly payments are normally calculated based on the assumption that the car’s value is the manufacturer’s suggested retail price (MSRP). Negotiate using the Edmunds.com True Market Value^® for a fairer and typically more affordable monthly payment.
• 4. Shop around: Not all lease deals are heavily advertised. The automakers’ national and regional lease programs can be researched at no charge within Edmunds.com’s Incentives and Rebates database. Individual dealerships can offer further discounts. Shop around for the lowest monthly payments and upfront costs.
• 5. Make apples-to-apples comparisons: Leasing can be confusing because there are so many factors to consider: down payment, monthly payment, term of lease, allowed mileage, drive-off fees, interest rates. Evaluate all the factors as you compare and make a decision.

To find the most current prices and deals in your area, check out Edmunds.com’s True Market Value (TMV) pricing tool and Incentives and Rebates database. For more information on leasing, visit Edmunds leasing articles, including 10 Steps to Leasing a New Car and Dissecting the Deal – How to Spot a Good Lease.

About Edmunds Inc.

Edmunds Inc. publishes three Web sites that empower, engage and educate automotive consumers and enthusiasts. Edmunds.com, the premier resource for automotive consumer information, launched in 1995 as the first automotive information Web site. Its most popular feature, the Edmunds.com True Market Value^®, is relied upon by millions of people seeking current transaction prices for new and used vehicles. Edmunds.com was named "Best Car Research Site" by Forbes ASAP, has been selected by consumers as the "Most Useful Web Site" according to every J.D. Power and Associates New Autoshopper.com Study(SM), was ranked first in the Survey of Car-Shopping Web Sites by The Wall Street Journal, and was rated "#1" in Keynote's study of third-party automotive Web sites. Inside Line launched in January 2005 and is the most-read automotive enthusiast Web site. CarSpace launched in February 2006 and is an automotive lifestyle social networking Web site for anyone with an interest in automobiles. The company is headquartered in Santa Monica, California, and maintains a satellite office in suburban Detroit.