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One effect the coronavirus pandemic is having on car leasing companies is that many of them don’t want you to end your contract. As a result, you may see your lease extended as a “courtesy.”
The reason for this is because the economy has caused used car sales to slow to a crawl. That means automakers like Ford and General Motors are resorting to automatically lengthening car leases, according to Bloomberg.
“They are not cooperating with people at the end of the lease,” money expert Clark Howard says. The problem is that it’s causing two financial burdens the customer didn’t ask for:
Furthermore, most vehicles are parked. To pay full insurance on a car you’re not driving right now is a waste of money, Clark says.
If you’ve reached the end of the lease and it’s a vehicle you don’t need, Clark suggests that you take the following three steps:
The bottom line is that you shouldn’t ever find yourself in a position where you have to pay for a vehicle or auto insurance beyond your lease if that’s not your desire.
If the leasing company tells you to drop the vehicle off somewhere but there’s no one there to accept it, Clark says to get the vehicle cleaned up and then make sure you protect yourself.
“Take a thorough video of the interior and exterior of the vehicle and take a lot of pictures,” Clark says. That way, you’ll have plenty of proof that you turned in the vehicle in good condition.
This post was last modified on April 29, 2020 8:17 am
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