The easiest way to get behind the wheel of an expensive luxury / sports car if you can’t afford to buy it cash or through a loan is to lease it. Basically, what you do in leasing is that instead of putting a loan for the entire cost of a vehicle, you borrow an amount for the cost of a car brand new minus what it will be worth (estimated value) at the end of the leasing period. This results to lower monthly payments even though you’ll have to pay an extra amount if you want to keep the car.
Even though most automaker’s in the U.S. are beginning to either cut back on leasing like BMW and General Motors or quit it altogether like Chrysler, this form of ownership remains quite popular in the luxury car segment. According to a study from .D. Power & Associates’ Power Information Network (PIN) that was published on ‘BusinessWeek’, the 10 most commonly leased vehicles in the U.S. belong to the luxury segment. -Continued
From the 10 vehicles with the highest lease share, seven belong to German automakers with four of those being BMWs. The 7-Series tops the list with a lease share in 2008 of 85.3% (!) followed by Saab’s 9-7x with an equally mind-blowing, 82.2%.
BMW 7 Series
2008 lease share through Aug. 10: 85.3%Starting price: $77,625Sales through July 2008: 8,190 Sales through July 2007: 8,634Percent change: -5.1%
Saab 9-7X
2008 lease share through Aug. 10: 82.2%Starting price: $41,145Sales through July 2008: 2,321Sales through July 2007: 3,259Percent change: -28.8%
Audi A6
2008 lease share through Aug. 10: 74.1%Starting price: $42,950Sales through July 2008: 6,321Sales through July 2007: 6,410Percent change: -1.4%
BMW Z4
2008 lease share through Aug. 10: 70.7%Starting price: $37,525Sales through July 2008: 4,116Sales through July 2007: 5,420Percent change: -24.1%
Mercedes-Benz E-Class
2008 lease share through Aug. 10: 70%Starting price: $52,775Sales through July 2008: 25,101Sales through July 2007: 25,473Percent change: -1.5%
Land Rover Range Rover
2008 lease share through Aug. 10: 69.6%Starting price: $78,450Sales through July 2008: 4,775Sales through July 2007: 6,610Percent change: -27.8%
BMW 6 Series
2008 lease share through Aug. 10: 68.6%Starting price: $77,425Sales through July 2008: 4,218Sales through July 2007: 5,190Percent change: -18.7%
Audi A4/S4
2008 lease share through Aug. 10: 68%Starting price: $32,700Sales through July 2008: 26,770Sales through July 2007: 25,205Percent change: +6.2%
BMW X3
2008 lease share through Aug. 10: 67.3%Starting price: $39,425Sales through July 2008: 11,257Sales through July 2007: 16,926Percent change: -33.5%
Jaguar XJ Sedan
2008 lease share through Aug. 10: 65.8%Starting price: $64,500Sales through July 2008: 1,514Sales through July 2007: 2,500Percent change: -39.4%
Via: BusinessWeek , Data: J.D. Power & Associates’ Power Information Network