Chrysler to get out of leasing business



DETROIT - Chrysler LLC said Friday its financial arm will get out of the auto leasing business by the end of the month because economic conditions have made leasing more expensive than buying, for both consumers and the company.

The move comes as Chrysler Financial is in the process of renewing a $30 billion credit line with banks amid a startling drop in values for leased trucks and sport utility vehicles that are coming back to automakers as leases end.

http://finance.comcast.net/www/news....25/1018986.xml

 

It would be interesting to see the numbers they used to reach that conclusion. My sense is they just want to blame it on the economy, but not being an accountant, I sure could be wrong.

I know lots of people like the option, so of course it's good for them.

But except for the lower payment for the leasee, I always thought leasing was more expensive...

At the end you end up with two choices:

• buy at a higher than used price, OR
• walk away empty handed

I could never find a way to justify it.

Also I could never stay under the mileage restriction - I put nearly 5000 miles per month on my cars, it just wouldn't work for me no matter how I cut it.

 

This is bad for buyers, too. It reduces the number of low-mileage used cars. As for the reasoning, I think dealers were getting too many lease returns with less residual value than expected. Chryslers just don't have good resale value.

 

Their service was A W F U L ! I'm not surprised by this. My buyout was 14k for a car with 8000 miles on it. I consider it an ok deal.
Pat

 

Great deal in my opinion.

 

That is waht the dealer that I got my car from said as well.
They said that they lease 25% of their new sales.
We will see how is it going to go.
Buying a new car with a great depreciation is not a very good idea.

 

It's shocking. I wonder if any of the other automakers will follow suit.

 

Sign of the times. Someone has to buy the leases on the secondary market and who wants it in used cars when you can't even trust home mortgages.