When leasing a car, keep tabs on the fees you’re being charged. A good number of people (including myself) have or will forget to thoroughly look over the lease contract before signing it. I mean, if you negotiated the numbers and at the end, the monthly payment is what you agreed it to be, what is there to worry about?? Well, there is this “turn-in fee” or “disposition fee” which banks will charge you at the end of the lease, if you choice to return the car. They claim it is to pay for inspection/cleaning of the vehicle so they can put it back on the lot for sale. This might be the case, but I still think that fee is bogus. So, before you sign your life away for the next 24-36 months, be sure to ask the finance guy to point out all the lease-end fees, because they usually won’t. Not to mention that the contract is this VERY long form, which makes it easy to miss things like that. Is there a way to avoid something like the “disposition fee”? Yes, some lenders, such as Acura, waive that.

Other fees towards at the end of your lease that you should watch out for are wear-and-tear. You will get slammed with fees if you don’t have a good set of tires with threading, dings and scratches above you alloted limit, etc… So even if the car is a “rental”, be sure to take care of it.