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How to negotiate the best car lease?

Jacob
February 26, 2021
Car Lease Basics

Negotiating a car lease can be tough! Here are our top tips for negotiation:

Never Pay Anything Down

Zero down car leases are always more beneficial to the buyer. The more of your money you can keep in your pocket out of the door means your budget will be free for other things.

Research

You should spend about 80% off your car leasing time dedicated towards research!

Research the Cars

Take a look at all of the car brands out there and find what you like best. Cars with higher residual value will cost you less to lease.

Research The Lease Deals

Take a look at all the car leases and compare the national car lease specials with your local dealer lease specials.

Research the deals other buyers got

You can find out what deals other people got on their leases by checking forums like Edmunds Forums and LeaseHackr.com forum.

Get Quotes Online

Email multiple dealers and get quotes. Your time will be more efficient if you can get them over email, rather than going in person.

Make them Compete

Show the lowest offer you get to another dealer and see if they can beat it. They often will!

If you want a quick overview of the process, check out this video:

If you want a more in depth video, watch here:

Jacob

Jacob is the Editor-in-Chief of the site Car Leases™, where he leads a team focused on clear, bias-free guidance that helps drivers negotiate smarter leases and avoid costly surprises. His editorial playbook is simple: explain money factors and residuals in plain English, show the math, and keep every article aligned with up-to-date incentives, tax rules, and real-world pricing. Under Jacob’s direction, Car Leases™ covers the full lifecycle of leasing—from negotiation and financing to lease transfers, EV leases, mileage limits, and end-of-term strategies—so readers can make confident decisions fast.

He also steers the site’s transparency standards: clear affiliate disclosures, reader-first recommendations, and an emphasis on sustainability (the site runs on carbon-neutral hosting via AccelerHosting). Those practices reflect Car Leases™’s mission to provide accurate, current information freely to readers.
Car Leases™

When he’s not untangling lease jargon, Jacob is testing calculators, pressure-testing “too good to be true” zero-down offers, and editing deep dives on high-interest topics like Tesla and other EV leases. His goal is constant: turn complicated lease terms into decisions you can trust.

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