A Brief Introduction About the Auto Lease Agreement
An auto lease agreement is a contract that enables the person to get a vehicle for using it temporarily for a certain period. An individual gets access to use the vehicle based on certain terms and should return it to the owner after completing the lease period. So, here, the advantage is that the person doesn’t have to spend much money on buying the vehicle rather than lease it for two to five years by paying less cost.
Who Takes the Auto Lease Agreement?
In a vehicle lease agreement, the lessor and the lessee will be involved in it. Here the lessor is the legally registered owner of the vehicle, and the lessee is the person who is leasing the vehicle from the lessor. Here the lessee needs not to be an approved driver, but he/she can be a normal individual. But he/she has to follow the terms and requirements of the auto lease agreement. So the lessee is allowed to lease the vehicle from the lessor based on agreed terms. Sometimes, the agreement allows the lessee to purchase the same leased vehicle at the end of the lease term.
Purpose of the Auto Lease Agreement
An auto lease is a popular type that helps an individual to rent a car or other vehicle from the lessor for a certain length of time. Here the lessee has to make monthly lease payments to the automobile leasing company. The purpose of this agreement is to protect the lessor’s vehicle from any damages by the lessee and also to get back the vehicle at the end of the lease without any issue, as some lessee may cheat and steal the vehicle.
Contents of the Auto Lease Agreement
An auto lease is almost similar to renting an apartment, and one should return the vehicle to the lessor at the end of the else, which is similar to how a person moves to a new house once the lease for the current apartment is over. Automobile lease forms not only include lease payment terms but also include penalties for the wear and tear of the vehicle or mileage of it. So when the lessee returns the vehicle, he might have to spend additional money on other stuff.
Choose a type – The first thing is that you have to choose the right vehicle. So choose what kind of car if you want to lease a car such as a sedan or an SUV, etc. Since there are a lot of models that will come under your price range, you can choose the right one based on gas mileage, top safety features, and low insurance premiums, etc.
Take a test drive – Once you narrow down the list of models to a few models, you can request it for a test drive to check the various features such as comfort, braking, steering, etc.
Ask about safety – While making the test drive, the lessee should ask about the safety features of the vehicle, such as anti-lock brake systems (ABS), electronic stability control (ESC), and protective airbags.
Compare lease deals – The lessee should not decide to lease the very first vehicle they see but should look at different private auto lease companies and compare the various lease deals and check how much you can pay for the lease amount. You can even negotiate the final price of the vehicle at the lessor and ask for a good amount.
Paying the lease – It is better to make a larger initial payment to lower your monthly payments. You should make payments on time to avoid any penalties.
How to Draft the Auto Lease Agreement?
While drafting the auto lease agreement, one can just refer to the sample auto lease agreement available on the internet. The lessor has to include the important clauses such as the details of the parties, lease rates, duration of the agreement and dates and place of collection and return of the vehicle, obligations of the parties, warranties and indemnities, variation, notices, governing law, disputes, and arbitration.
Negotiation Strategy
Since the lessee’s monthly payments are based on the final price you fix with the lessee, ensure that you negotiate the final price of it properly. The price that you are going to fix will fall between the lessor’s wholesale price and the manufacturer’s suggested retail price.
Benefits & Drawbacks of the Auto Lease Agreement
Pros:
- The lessee can just pay monthly lease amounts and not needed to pay the down payment. Leasing a vehicle becomes less hassle to the lessee.
- When the lessee pays a larger initial payment, then he can just pay lesser monthly lease amounts.
- One can lease the latest model of car to get the advantages of the model’s features.
Cons:
- Though you make monthly payments, you will end owning the vehicle, and it is more expensive to pay other penalties for the wear and tear or mileage of the vehicle.
- The lessee can use the vehicle, but there is a limit in the mileage of the vehicle; otherwise, the lessee has to pay penalties for extra mileage.
- The lessee is responsible for the maintenance of the car, and also, the lessee can’t customize the car too.
What Happens in Case of Violation?
When the lessee gets out of the lease early, then the lessor will charge for extra payments or penalties(1). Other disputes may subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of the particular state or country(2).
Leasing the vehicle can be the best way to spend a lesser amount. In some cases, the agreement lets you own the vehicle at the end of the lease after paying some amount at the lessor. Thus, an automobile leasing enables the lessee to drive a more expensive and the latest model car but still paying a lower lease amount per month to the lessor.