Save Money By Leasing A Used Car In The US

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TWB proudly presents...

Car leasing is a convenient alternative to a long-term car hire and resulted in a substantial cost savings for us in Italy. I'm definitely a big fan of leasing.

We have hired cars in lots of countries around the world. But there are situations when a car lease can make a lot more sense. We leased a Citroen car in Europe which was ideal for our 18-day Southern Europe road trip.

Recently I found out about DriveTime in the United States and their intriguing “Cancel Anytime Lease”. The name says it all – you can lease a car and return it any time you like without any penalties. No commitment at all!

This is perfect if you’ve moved city or state, or perhaps family are visiting for a while and sharing your car isn’t an option. Or maybe you want drive the sports car of your dreams without being tied down. In our case, we’re planning a long road trip across the US in 2015 and were considering buying a car. But then there’s the hassle of selling the car later. DriveTime may just save the day.

Update: I've found out afterwards that DriveTime is only available to US citizens.

Who’s DriveTime?

DriveTime have 128 dealerships located across 24 states in the US.  Over 7,700 vehicles are available at any given time and they’ve provided over 500,000 vehicles over the years. They are basically a used car dealership network and bank combined in one.

What do you need?

Not much actually. Bad credit is not a problem. All that’s needed is a single down payment (on average US$895), and fortnightly payments of about $200. This covers the 1,500 monthly miles package, but can be upgraded to 2,000 monthly miles for an extra cost. For additional peace of mind they provide up to 3 free oil changes per year and a limited warranty on the vehicle’s engine, transmission, air conditioning, and drive axles.

Car quality

If you’re hiring a car in the short term, chances are is going to be used… very used.  And normally you don’t worry about it because you’ll return the car in a few days or weeks. But the real benefit of a car lease is the savings over the longer term. But that also means using the same car month after month, so you want to make sure it’s in excellent condition. So what I like about DriveTime’s cars is they go through a rigorous check and reconditioning process. This video explains more:

To lease or not to lease...

...That is the question! When you’re visiting a new destination for a couple days, a simple hire car will do the job. But there are definitely situations when a car lease makes much more sense (and cents, I couldn’t help myself!). If you’re in the US and thinking about a long-term car hire, then DriveTime’s car leasing options are a very compelling alternative.

If you know of a friend or family member who might benefit from leasing a car, please take a few seconds to share this article with them. They’ll love you for it!

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of DriveTime. The opinions and text are all mine.

Josh Bender is the co-founder of TravelWithBender.com and loves to save money... in this case, on cars.

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