Where are the Cheap Car Leases?

May 20, 2010

Where are the best deals in car leasing right now?

The answer: almost everywhere. Nearly every car manufacturer is currently offering some great special lease deals on at least a few of their models and styles. With the exception of some General Motors leases, nearly all the lease deals now being offered come from non-American car makers.

These deals come and go. Some months are better than others. If you are looking to lease a Honda, for example, you missed the big $0-$0-$0-$0 promotion in March and April. However, the current Honda deals are almost as good.

Nearly all manufacturer-backed car lease deals are actually good deals and well worth considering if you like the models and styles being promoted. Most of the deals require some money up front (due at lease inception) but if you don’t have the cash, you would have to pay about $20-$30 more per month for every $1000 you can’t pay. It doesn’t change the fact that the lease is a good deal — it simply means you pay more per month to get the deal..

Most of the cheapest promotional lease deals are in the $200 range, more or less. These are generally 36 month leases, 12K miles per year, and usually require some down payment cash (as discussed above) and your first month’s payment.

Here are examples of some of the best lease deals going right now:

Honda Civic – $159 a month, $1399 up front
Hyundai Sonata – $199 a month, $2399 up front
Hyundai Elantra – $159 a month, $1399 up front
Kia Sorento – $209 a month, $2669 up front
Kia Soul – $129 a month, $2279 up front
Mazda3 – $239 a month, $0 up front
Nissan Cube – $199 a month, $2449 up front
Nissan Altima – $199 a month, $2999 up front
Scion xD – $187 a month, $837 up front
2011 Toyota Camry – $189 a month, $1999 up front
Toyota Matrix – $149 a month, $2949 up front.

You can get free quotes on any of the above vehicles from Edmunds.com.The quotes will automatically include any cash-back rebates or discounts that are currently available.