Auto Dealers Offer Hefty Lease Discounts on Certain Cars

Dealers are offering generous discounts on lease deals for compact and midsize cars, according to Wantalease.com, an online automotive marketplace.

Prices on most of today’s popular leases are holding steady or slightly increasing from last month, Wantalease reports. 

Twenty-two different vehicles maintained their prices from the previous month, while twenty-four slightly increased, showing prices are holding steady or coming off seasonal promotions entering the new year.

In total, 76% of today’s popular leases retained or slightly increased their monthly payments from December.

Dealers have continued to offer aggressive prices on compact cars. Three of them are currently offered at less than $200 a month: Chevrolet Cruze ($189), Honda Civic ($179) and Ford Focus ($159).

“Overall, lease prices seem to be consistent with holiday sales from last month, showing that manufacturers and dealers are still hoping to move their remaining inventory entering the new year,” says Wantalease.com Executive Vice President Scot Hall.

“Lower prices on fuel and tax reform in 2018 encouraged consumers to spend more, so it will be interesting to see if this momentum can continue into 2019,” he adds. 

The vehicle that saw the largest price drop is the Honda Accord, offered at $249 per month in January compared with $315 last month.

The vehicle with the largest increased monthly payment is the BMW X5 (20.95%) currently offered at $925 per month.

(This is a corrected version of the original story that had said the Volkswagen Jetta currently has the lowest lease price, according to Wantalease. The Jetta previously had the lowest monthly lease.)