Best Car Lease Deals 2012
Where are the best lease deals this year?
Look for promotional leases
As you might already know, the very best car lease deals for 2012 will be the special promotional leases that are frequently offered by car manufacturers and their dealers.
These deals are better than customers can negotiate on their own.
Why is that, you might ask?
It's because when a car company puts together a special lease deal, it can (and usually does) manipulate the vehicle price (capitalized cost) on which the lease is based, as well as the money factor (finance rate), and the lease-end residual value. All of these factors, when modified and combined together, can make for an outstanding low-payment lease deal.
On the contrary, when a customer attempts to negotiate a lease deal on his own, price is the only factor he can haggle with a dealer. The other factors, money factor and lease-end residual value, are set by the dealer's finance company and cannot be changed or negotiated. Therefore, customers have a very limited ability to affect car lease payments, while car manufacturers (and their finance companies) have a much broader ability.
This is not to say that customers can't get good lease deals when special manufacturers' deals are not being offered. A good price on a vehicle that already has a naturally high residual, combined with low finance rates that are common these days, can still make a great deal. (See the Lease Kit for list of vehicles with high residual values)
Where are the best lease deals in 2012?
The best lease deals in 2012 are on those vehicles on which manufacturers have decided (or will decide later) to offer special lease incentives.
BMW currently has some of the best lease deals in the business and we see it continuing through 2012. Deals are being offered across the entire BMW model line of over 50 models and styles, so regardless of the price range or style that customers want, they should be able to get a good deal.
Mercedes also is offering a number of great lease deals on selected models and styles. Leasing is very popular among luxury car drivers. It's a great way to preserve cash and still drive a high-end car.
Honda and Toyota have traditionally offered great lease incentives and will continue to do so throughout 2012, although the number of models and styles will be limited and will vary from month to month. Toyota's deals will also vary by the region of the country due to the way it splits it distributorships and finance companies. Look for especially good deals on the Honda Civic, Honda Accord, and Honda Pilot.
The new redesigned 2012 Toyota Camry is currently available for only $209/month for 39 months, or $219 for 36 months. Also look for some good leases on Scion, Toyota's cool youth-targeted vehicles. The nice Scion tC has a special lease offer of $239/month, 36 months, with only $650 down. The xB is available for $229 and the tC for $219.
Cadillac has been offering a number of good leases, with $0 cash down, on selected styles of the Cadillac CTS, Escalade, and SRX.
There will be a relatively modest number of special lease deals on American car brands (General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler) who are still recovering from the recent economic meltdown which caused them to stop leasing altogether. As 2012 progresses, we should see a growing number of special lease incentives from these companies. Lincoln and Cadillac are currently offering a number of good lease deals.
Even without special lease offers, General Motors (Buick, Chrevrolet, Cadillac, GMC) is currently offering some very high cash-back rebates, which reduces prices, which reduces lease payments.
You can get the new North American Car of the Year, the 2012 Hyundai Elantra for only $179/month for a 36 month lease. This is an outstanding deal on an outstanding car. Hyundai is currently offering a number of attractive promotional leases on most of its models.
The cheapest lease deals of $199/month or less will be available on various models and styles of Mitsubishi, Hyundai/Kia, Subaru, and Nissan. For example, the 2012 Nissan Sentra 2.0 SR can be leased now for only $169/month, 39 months, $1830 down. See Best Car Lease Deal for Less Than $200 for more details.
Zero cash down leases are now being offered by Infiniti, Acura, Honda, Cadillac, and Fiat.
Look for expecially good lease deals on leftover 2011 models, when you can find them. Dealers need to get rid of the old models to make room for the new. These are brand new cars with full warranty and, in most cases, very little different than the newer models. Some 2013 models are now arriving, which means good deals on leftover 2012 vehicles of that brand.
The absolute cheapest lease is $99/month on the SmartForTwo 2012 Smart Pure coupe — the small cute car that can park anywhere and gets all the attention when driven around town. This is a great lease offer.
How do you know when a lease deal is a good deal?
A low lease payment is not the best indicator of a good car lease deal.
A better way is to use a Lease Deal Calculator that analyzes the total cost factors of a deal and tells you if it's a good deal, poor, just average, or an outstanding deal. The tool is free and is tremendously useful to anyone considering leasing.
Although most promotional leases offered by car manufacturers are deals worth considering, and are better deals than customers could negotiate for themselves, it's always a good idea to evaluate each deal and compare multiple deals to make sure you get the best deal possible. The free Lease Deal Calculator lets you do just that.
Summary
The best car lease deals for 2012 are on the promotional deals offered month-to-month by car companies and their associated dealer networks. Deals can vary by brand, by model, by month, and by region of the country. See Cheapest Lease Deals for additional details.
Before you decide to lease, make sure you understand how car leasing works and how to determine if you are a good leasing candidate. That's what the Lease Guide is all about.
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