If you are wondering whether it is possible to lease a car online, don’t. Not only is it possible, but many times the best way to lease a car in today’s world is the online car market. Many individuals are getting tired of going to a local dealer to spend an entire day negotiating, dealing with multiple people, and all just getting an offer on one kind of make and model. Online car leasing eliminates these issues and has a broad list of enticing reasons for you to go with this new route of car leasing. This method of car leasing is just growing in popularity because of the recent pandemic, which caused more people and businesses to go online, and also because of a huge convenience factor.
Although it is a better option for most people, it may not be the best for everyone and you should learn all about before. Today you’ll learn the difference between leasing from a dealer and securing a lease online, preparing for a lease, working with a lease broker, and about some great companies to work with.
Why Leasing a Car Online Is a Growing Trend
Compared to all the other industries and practices, car leasing has been quite slow in its development of car lease offerings online. The reason is primarily because a car just like a home is a big-ticket item and often requires a physical interaction to get a complete experience so you know exactly what you are getting. But now with advances in media such as HD photography, video, augmented and virtual reality, and 360-degree camera viewings, you can get a pretty close experience about a car before jumping into one.
This advancement along with the recent COVID-19 pandemic has caused a huge increase in the online car leasing market. However, this only showed the potential of what online car leasing offers and now it is becoming an extremely in-demand service. With online car leasing you are opening yourself to many options, better offers, less wasted time, no sales gimmicks, and lots of savings. As more and more people realize how amazing online car leasing is, we will soon see it become the primary way to lease a car in the near future.
Now that you understand the factors that are making online car leasing popular, let’s see what you need to actually lease a car online.
What Do You Need to Lease a Car Online?
Requirements to lease a car online do not differ from the traditional lease process except for the part where you can just sit at home and watch your favorite Netflix show while someone else does all the legwork. You do have to provide documentation such as proof of income, bank statements, credit reports, and, of course, your driver’s license. And let’s not forget your credit card or bank info if you are going to be putting a down payment on your car lease. Once you submit everything and select a car or list of cars with your specific specifications, you simply sit back and wait for the offers to come in and pick the one most attractive to you.
We covered a list of things you’ll need to get ready for an online car lease deal, so let’s take a moment and review the pros and cons of car leasing.
Pros and Cons of Online Car Leasing
As we mentioned throughout the article, so far there are many pros to online car leasing. The primary one is the convenience of filling out one application and getting offers and ready to sign deals in front of you the same day with a few clicks of a mouse. Also, online car leasing is definitely going to bring a ton of savings since you can shop deals nationwide and have companies compete for your business versus being at the mercy of your local dealership. Last, when you shop for a car lease online, you are by default going to be doing more research and using tools like calculators, consumer reports, and comparisons of different cars to make a more educated decision, which results in a better buying process.
Now, at this point, it sounds like there is no reason to use a traditional way of securing a lease, but this is simply not the case. Regardless of how many virtual showings and photos you look at, one thing a local dealer can offer is to see, drive, and feel the vehicle in person, which is a must for some buyers. Another con is with online car leasing there is a bit of a delay from the time you get your lease on when your car will be delivered. This can be a few days and sometimes a week or two, depending on where the vehicle is and when the car transport can pick it up for delivery.
If time is not an issue and you are quite confident in your ability to pick a car virtually, then online car leasing is still the best way to go. If not, then your local car dealer is probably going to give you the leasing experience you need.
So how do you get the most out of online car leasing, let’s review some of the best tips.
Best Practices for Online Car Leasing
- Work with a broker– Most people think of going to their favorite manufacturer’s website to get a lease and there is nothing wrong with that but why would you when you can fill out a simple online form with an online lease broker to get access to deals and specials from all manufacturers nationwide. Plus, you get to compare and only select the best deals.
- Prep Properly-get all the documents required for a lease and see if you can make improvements to your credit report by removing old collections and paying down some of those credit cards. This can give your credit a boost so you can get a much better payment.
- Research Cars– Not all cars are created equal, with many being low in features, having mechanical issues, and often not being the best value.
- Go for higher residual– Most folks don’t know that lease payments are based on the deprecation cost of the car, so the less deprecation the car will have the less you’ll pay monthly for a car.
- Negotiate- Whether you are working with a dealer or a car lease broker, never take the first offer and be aggressive with your negotiation so you can offer the top offer.
- Review the terms: Once you have the contract in front of you, review all the fine print to see if you don’t get into something you didn’t expect, like high overage fees or additional hidden charges.
- Prep your driveway– Probably the most important step is to make sure your driveway is clean and ready for your new car to be delivered. Once you get the delivery, the driver is going to ask you to check the car and sign a form.
If you are really hands-on type who likes to do lots of research and already has their mind set on an exact car, they want you can always work with the manufacturer to secure a lease on their website but for most the reason to go online is to have less to do and that’s where the role of a lease broker comes in. Now we are not talking about a mom-and-pop shop that makes a few calls but rather national online platforms that allow you to shop, compare, and apply for lease deals on their site. A great lease broker will educate you, get you the best specials available, and do all the negotiating and paperwork process on your behalf.
Having knowledge is helpful specifically if you navigating the car lease on your own, however, you can just use a reputable lease platform that will take 90% of the work out of the equation. Below is a list of some of the top leasing platforms.
Best Online Car Leasing Platforms
There are not that many lease brokers that can provide you with online lease services and great customer support, but we have a few that are amazing for online lease services. But you need to know exactly what you are looking for before picking one, some work with a group of dealers, and others are more of an independent broker who can get you a car from anywhere. When working with online lease brokers, you have to make sure is not just a lead company collecting information to resell to dealers in your area, and let us tell you there are a lot of them online. But do not worry, our list of companies has been well-vetted and can get you closer to securing your online lease deal.
DriveOZ
User-Friendly Interface: DriveOZ is one of the easiest-to-navigate and appealing-looking sites that make it easy to compare leases and educate yourself.
Price Transparency: Upfront pricing is gathered from the best offers with no hidden fees or surprises.
Wide Range of Cars: DriveOZ is one of the few online car brokers that have their own inventory and can shop with every brand in the country to ensure you are getting the best deal.
Customer Support: Unlike other online brokerages that only focus on online, DriveOZ still values a human touch so they will assign an industry veteran who will guide you through the process and answer questions.
Finn
Instant Quotes: Finn offers customers instant quotes from major car makers and models available to you with a few clicks of a mouse.
Flexible Terms: The platform provides options to select multiple terms, so whether you’re looking for a short-term or long-term lease, they can get it for you.
Paperless Process: The entire leasing process is digitized, so you really don’t need to leave your computer to get a car delivered to you.
Reviews and Ratings: You can read all the reviews and ratings on different makes and models to make a more informed decision before securing a car for your lease.
TrueCar
Price Comparison: Also allows you to instantly shop deals with their network of dealer partners.
Certified Dealers: The platform only partners with certified dealers.
Trade-In Options: If you have an existing vehicle you need to trade, TrueCar can accept your trade-in.
One-of-a-kind website: TrueCar has one of the best-looking, functioning, and content-rich websites online.
In Summary
As you can see, online car leasing is growing rapidly and is only going to continue doing so especially as technology continues to evolve. No longer do you have to wait hours at a local dealership just to get a standard lease offer or have to negotiate like you’re at an auction. With the rapid growth of digitalization, more and more online lease companies are taking a large share of the market by offering a smooth, money-saving, and convenient lease-buying process. Like never before, you can compare leases with different cars from different manufacturers, fill out the application online, and get your car delivered all from your smartphone or laptop.
Now that you are well informed about being able to apply and secure a car lease completely online, why not start with DriveOZ? DriveOZ has a user-friendly website with helpful shopping tools to calculate your payment and compare lease deals. Besides providing transparent pricing and the ability to get you into any car of your choice in the country.
So, if you’re ready to get your next dream car lease, contact DriveOZ today by clicking here or by calling one of the car lease consultants today.
Good luck with your car leasing!