Understand what automobile leasing is — and what it's not

The concept of leasing is fairly simple, yet many automotive consumers don't completely understand it and are often skeptical, even afraid of it. It is frequently misunderstood as a kind of "rent-to-own" scheme hatched up by clever dealers to separate good people from their money.

There are even well-meaning but misinformed "experts" who are quick to advise against leasing because "it's all a scam" or "it's the same as renting and you throw your money away" or "it's only good for businesses."

In fact, leasing is a well-respected and common financial concept that has been used in the commercial world for decades as a method of financing buildings, equipment, and vehicles — although it is still relatively new to most automotive consumers.

Car leasing is not renting, as many people mistakenly believe. Because many consumers still are not sufficiently informed, there have certainly been cases in which mistakes have been made and in which customers' lack of knowledge has been taken advantage of, sometimes fraudulently.