CINCINNATI—The growing interest in leasing has led to the introduction of an online marketplace where consumers can shop for lease deals nationwide.
The website, Wantalease.com, is another sign that leasing is moving mainstream, becoming an option for more consumers when they shop for a vehicle. It’s a trendline credit unions will want to watch as the vehicle financing market continues to evolve.
Just as consumers have become accustomed to shopping for a new car on the many online car-buying sites, Wantalease.com offers the same service for lease deals across the country, said Scot Hall, EVP of operations for the website.
“It’s hard for consumers to find out all that is offered when it comes to leasing, as all the deals are hard to find and compare,” said Hall. “Wantalease.com brings more of the consolidated, focused digital car-buying experience to lease shopping.”
More Demand Coming
Hall, who also is EVP for Swapalease.com, a site that allows consumers to transfer existing leases to another person, sees more leasing demand on the horizon. He pointed to leasing now topping 30% of all new car sales.
“We are at a point where leasing is accounting for a lot of the new car activity,” Hall noted. “More than one in three new cars rolls out of the dealer lot with a lease. And when you look at luxury cars, it’s even higher. BMW in 2016, for the first time in its history ended a year with more than 50% lease penetration.”
Many experts have stated that leasing will continue to grow as car prices move higher, interest rates increase and consumers look for ways to keep the monthly payment dow
Scot Hall
n. Some experts have predicted that leasing someday may reach levels projected in the U.K.—above 50% of all new car sales. The only headwinds in leasing’s way, sources have stated, is the glut of high-quality cars coming off-lease that are driving down residual values, forcing automakers to increase lease prices.
“The deals on Wantalease.com represent new car lease offerings we found across the country from different manufacturers and dealers,” said Hall, who noted that the website refines the data to show the best deals for each vehicle on which a lease if offered. “Manufacturers run national deals as well as regional ones. We monitor all these monthly.”
'Fine Tuning' Shopping
Consumers can shop on the site by choosing a city and then the make and model of a car to see if a lease is being offered.
“This is not an exact science, but what you will find on Wantalease.com is the most attractive lease deals being offered,” he said. “We fine tune the shopping.”
Hall said it is difficult to predict where lease penetration will be in the next five years.
“I would like to believe there is still a lot of room for leasing to grow—and cars are not getting cheaper nor repairs less sophisticated and less expensive,” Hall said. “People like to keep their cars under warranty, get the latest technology, and keep payments down. And, I think that people are changing their entire mindset regarding their cars. I think more are simply seeing their cars as a monthly payment as opposed to an asset.”