Make an Informed Decision on Buying vs. Leasing

The decision to lease or buy a car is one that many of Irvine Subaru's orange County customers are faced with during their visit to our dealership. Of course, the decision is always relative to personal circumstances. However, if you're well-informed before entering our dealership, you can feel empowered the moment you walk through the door and that's what we want for you and your experience.

You'll be pleased to know that our finance team is extremely knowledgeable and works in tandem with numerous lenders to get our customers optimal financing as well as the best car lease deals. Our dealership also works with many lenders throughout the Anaheim area, including credit unions and finance companies.

There are a few important questions that Tustin shoppers need to first ask to determine the option that is best for their current financial situation and plans. Keep in mind that used vehicles generally can't be leased.

How long do you anticipate keeping the car?

The biggest difference between buying and car leasing is what occurs at the end of the contract. When buying a new vehicle, at the end of the contract, the car is yours to keep as long as all payments have been satisfied.

With a lease, you can either turn the car into the dealership or keep it. Keeping it requires new financing or other means of paying the agreed-upon purchase price. If you plan on keeping a car for a long duration, then buying may seem like a wise decision. But if you're like many people in Laguna Niguel, there's an appeal to getting something new every three to four years. Estimating how long you anticipate keeping the car should be a primary factor in making your decision.

Can you make a substantial down payment to keep your monthly payments within your budget?

There's no rule that says you need to have a certain amount for a down payment; however, lenders typically like to see a reasonable amount to reflect your commitment. After all, it's a partnership agreement. Would you want to do business with someone who is only capable of an extremely minimum investment? Probably not! But lenders take that risk every day, and it may result in a higher annual percentage rate (APR).

With a lease, the down payment and fees are already established, rather than using your finances. Although there are instances when a higher down payment is requested, typically you can budget exactly how much is needed before you even take your first test drive. It's an exceptional benefit and takes a lot of the guesswork out of your decision.

 

Do you have a challenging credit score that could impact being approved for buying or vehicle leasing?

Every application is based on a person's credit situation, regardless if it's a lease or purchase. With that being said, there is no secret in our industry that car leasing lowers the lender's risk. During the risk assessment, it is understood that the car most likely will be returned at the end of the contract, which is a factor that the lender takes into consideration when deciding to make a credit decision.

When you choose to purchase, a larger down payment is generally helpful to off-set a low credit score. Additionally, you have ownership of the equity in the vehicle and it can be included in your financial portfolio as an asset, as long as you've reduced the liability enough. The cause of a low credit score can sometimes be due to being financially overextended and a lease is an option to maintain a budget that may be better managed.

Discuss Your Options with Irvine Subaru in Lake Forest

If you would like to discuss buying vs. leasing further, we welcome you to stop by our dealership or give our finance team a call. You can also get a head start on the process of getting approved by filling out our secure online credit application.Our commitment is to always provide our customers with a satisfying experience, and we look forward to assisting you with your decision.

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Important Privacy Information

Privacy Statement

Introduction
As a valued customer, we want to ensure your private information is kept private and only shared with those companies who are authorized either by yourself or as allowed or required by law. This document explains our privacy policy, gives you reasons why we ask for the type of information we do, and if we do reserve a right to share information with non-affiliated third parties, lets you "opt-out" of our reservation to do so. Please take a moment to read this entire policy.

Collection of Information
The purchase of a motor vehicle requires considerable accumulation of nonpublic personal information. For example, if we sell or lease you a vehicle - extending you credit at your request - we will receive information from you in order to determine your creditworthiness. We may also obtain information from a credit-reporting agency. We may also obtain information from third parties such as employers, references and insurance companies.

Some of the information we obtain from you may be required by state of federal agencies, such as the Department of Motor Vehicles or the Internal Revenue Service. This information may be required even if you were to pay cash for your vehicle. Examples would be a driver's license or social security number.

Protecting Your Information
We safeguard nonpublic personal information according to established industry standards and procedures. We maintain physical and electronic safeguards that comply with state and federal law. We restrict access to nonpublic personal information about you to those employees and outside contractors who need to know the information to provide product or service to you. We prohibit our employees and agents from giving information about you to anyone in a manner that would violate any applicable law or our privacy policy.

Information Sharing
Unless we have indicated our desire to share your nonpublic personal information with non-affiliated third parties (by checking the box in the section below), we share information:

A) For everyday business purposes, such as to process transactions, maintain account(s), respond to court orders and legal investigations, or report to credit bureaus.

B) For purposes of processing a sale or lease transaction as your request or authorize, such as submitting information to third party financial institutions that may be requested to take an assignment of the contract or verifying insurance coverage information.

C) When using outside service providers to help us provide you with products and services. Before providing information to our service providers we enter into contractual agreements prohibiting them from disclosing or using the information other than for the purpose it was disclosed.

D) With "Affiliated" companies. Companies that are affiliated with us include any company that controls us, any company we control, or any company under common control with us.

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I am interested in purchasing or leasing a vehicle and request that my Consumer Credit Report be obtained, at no cost to me, in order to help determine the types and extent of financing which may be available to me.
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Hours

  • Monday 9:00 am - 8:00 pm
  • Tuesday 9:00 am - 8:00 pm
  • Wednesday 9:00 am - 8:00 pm
  • Thursday 9:00 am - 8:00 pm
  • Friday 9:00 am - 8:00 pm
  • Saturday 9:00 am - 8:00 pm
  • Sunday 10:00 am - 7:00 pm

Frank's Irvine Subaru

23663 Rockfield Blvd
Directions Lake Forest, CA 92630

  • Call or Text Sales: 949-837-3500
  • Service: 949-837-3500
  • Parts: 949-837-3500