I am thinking about leasing a Chevrolet Trailblazer SS.

Please tell me what I need to know going into this..

Thanks

I used to work as the Financial Services Director in a Ford dealership.  Leasing works great for some people, doesn't work for others.  If you drive a lot of miles in a year or have a habit of damaging your vehicle, you should probably stay away from them.  

Leasing is not as predatory as it used to be.  There was a time when leasing companies screwed the customer every single time, but those days are long gone.

Leasing is nice because you pay sales tax as you go, rather than as one big lump sum, the payments are lower and you can write off 100% of the payments if it is a work vehicle.  

Never, ever get into a lease over three years long.  You will regret it before the end because even though you may want a new car, you can't get out of your lease as easily as you can get out of a financed vehicle.  The other nice thing is you don't have to pay for it if the value of the car tanks in the next few years.  Say your residual is $10k and they appraise it for $6k due to market conditions.  You can hand them the keys and walk away clean.

Be aware that at the end of the lease, they expect the car back in a sellable condition.  They will bill you for broken windshields, dents, burns or tears in the seats etc.  They'll also bill you for excess mileage.  The mileage is set at the beginning of the lease based on how much you expect to drive.  15,000 miles a year is average for most people, if you drive more than that, be sure and set it up for more.

That's about all I can think of that you really need to know.  Your dealership should have a presentation about this all set up and probably scripted for their salesmen.  You might ask to see it.

Good helpfull advice.  

What happens if GM is GONE?

My parents leased a vehicle when my Mom got into real estate back in the '70s.  My Dad later said "never again".

Leasing is good for the dealership.

You do the math.

Its good for the dealership because they sold you the first car, which they're paid for in full by the leasing company.  Then in 2-3 years you come back to them in a position of equity on your car and they get the opportunity to sell you another one.  

I looked into a lease one time.

I told the salesman I expect to drive 35,000 miles a year.

He turned and walked away.  

GM's lease rates have skyrocketed in the past 6 months due to the changes in the residual values used.

This was part of the reason Chrysler got out of the game.

I just turned in a Cadillac CTS from a 3 year 45k mile run.
The same car with the same terms was 25% more per month.

My inlaws just refused to accept an ordered Buick because the per month rate had been "updated" and was now.............. quite frankly absurd.  They got a Mercedes, comparable vehicle, same term and mileage for 35% less per month.

This is the other shoe that hasn't fully dropped with regards to GM.
Nobody is going to be able to afford to lease shit from them going forward, it's now cost prohibitive.

It's your money but I'd be looking around at all of your options.  Every manufacturer, buy, lease, new, used.  There are deals to be had.  A GM lease isn't likely one of them.

When they fail, maybe you'll get to keep the car for free?

NEVER, NEVER, NEVER LEASE ANY CAR...

Always buy...

And always buy USED.

Look at it this way:

You are getting a vehicle that SHOULD be servicable for 5-10 years...

Under a lease, you make payments for the privledge of 'borrowing' it for 2-3, you can only drive a set number of miles before you get charged more... And you will ALWAYS have car payments, forever...

If you BUY (and are not the frivalous type that has to have a NEW car every 2-3 years) then you get a car for 5-10 years, which you will eventually pay off (or will pay for outright)....

Leasing is never worth it, period...

+1

its a flease....

It's good for them because you were an uninformed buyer, and they not only sold the car but sold it at a price higher than had you cut a good deal (sometimes thousands less than MSRP). They're getting it two ways, both in selling a car for more than you could have bought it outright for, and then getting kickback from the leasing companies.

A wise buyer doesn't pay monthly to NOT own a car.

Leasing is the mechanism of someone who hasn't made wise choices with their money, or wants to pay $350 a month to rent one.

By contrast, you can buy a year old car that someone ELSE has paid all the depreciation on, walk away with a very nice car and in two years turn it around and sell it. And, if you did the math on how much you actually paid per month to own that vehicle, you'd be VASTLY cheaper than a lease.

Keep arguing the side of the dealer, it's almost charming to hear bad economy presented as a good thing.

Leasing gets you into a vehicle you normally can't afford.  Having said that, I have leased vehicles before.  Once while I was in the Navy, and the second time, a couple years later, after I made a poor choice and purchased at a high interest rate.  

The only plus side of a lease; the vehicles is generally under warranty for the term of the lease.  Not due to any additional warranty when leasing, but the length of the lease.

This was a bonus while in the Navy, when we were home on the weekends, I didn't have to waste time working on a broken truck.

Looking back I should have bought a good used vehicle, kept it and drove the wheels off it.  I'd have about $40,000 dollars more in my possession, that I could have used as a down payment on a house.....

Buy one that's 1 or 2 years old for huge money off original sticker.  TB's are a dime a dozen right now due to lease returns from 2-3 years ago.

Don't lease!
NN

I lease all my vehicles through/for my business.



I usually lease the low end model, right now it's a Nissan Altima at $199/mo.



At the end of 36 months, I'll have $7200 in payments + $1500 Down = $9600 into it.



After 3 years, the car will have a private party value of $9115 given it's in "good" condition, with 45K miles driven in 3 years.



The car new is $21K, so if I were to buy it, and sell after three years, I'd be looking at a loss of ~$12K as opposed to the $9600 I lost on the lease.



Also, when I lease, I'm able to deduct 100% of the car+insurance through my business.



And then to top it all off, I don't have to deal with fucking tire kickers chewing me down and low balling me when it comes time to sell it.  I just drive it right o back to the dealership and hand over the keys.