Limit Lease For Free

You can negotiate a high-mileage leaseup to 30,000 miles per yearbut you'll pay extra for the increased depreciation.

It's common for leasing contracts to have annual mileage limits of 10,000, 12,000 or 15,000 miles. If you exceed those mileage limits, you could be charged up to 30 cents per additional mile at the end of the lease.

Usually, standard new-car leases limit mileage to between 10,000 and 15,000 miles a year. However, if you drive more than 15,000 miles a year, a high mileage lease of a new car may still be a better option than purchasing a car.

The vast majority of leases allow you to drive between 12,000 and 15,000 miles per year. Anything over that will result in large penalties when you turn the vehicle in at lease end. If you were to drive over 20,000 miles per year, your penalty could be in the thousands of dollars.

Another reason to avoid putting any money down is because in most states, you will need to pay taxes on that amount. (If you roll it into the monthly payment, you'll still pay taxes, but it will be paid off slowly over the life of the lease).

Typically, there is a 2% point difference between 12,000 miles and 15,000 miles. If you plan to drive more than the mileage specified in the lease you can pay for the excess mileage up front, or at the lease termination. Typically, paying for up-front mileage is less expensive.

A high-mileage lease could be a good idea if you like to have a new car every few years and you drive more than the typical 12,000 to 15,000 miles per year.And if you finance your lease, this can mean higher monthly payments to help make up for the increased depreciation.