Used GM cars a great deal. Especially those that are just a year old. They don't depreciate much from the 2nd year to the 4th year. GM could possibly move alot of metal in their pre-owned program with a good lease program.

Using a sample from my local dealer here is what I see;

2007 Impala LT

6500 miles for $14,999 (a decent deal for a used Impala)

Using KBB and assuming 12,000 miles per year, the same car is worth $8,500 as a trade in (good cond)

This is around $180 per month in depreciation. A subvented lease could bring it to $225 per month with no money down.

2007 Cobalt LS

23,400 miles for $9,995 miles (standard going price for such a vehicle)

Using KBB and assuming 12,000 miles per year, a Cavalier (2004) is worth $4340 as a trade in (good cond)

This is around $158 per month in depreciation. A subvented lease could bring it to $199 per month with no money down.

Here is how I see it. If GM subvented leases of GM certified cars;

1. Residual values would increase because less cars would become available

2. Used GM cars would become "hot" increasing residual values

3. It would get people into the GM fold at a low cost

4. The end of lease cost would be low enough that most people would keep the car, or it would make the perfect tax return car purchase.

Try it on a GM car you would consider and see what # you come up with.

Personally I hate leases, but I think this is a brilliant idea. With the economy in the crapper, lot of people will be looking for cheap wheels.

Someone at Gm needs to look into this.

Chris

I think it's great. Both the Impala and MAXX are leasebacks and they are a great value. We got 16K off MSRP on the Impala when we bought it and 14K off the MAXX. All that and they both had less than 10K miles :AH-HA_wink:

No.

I'll stick with better used cars.

I'll stick with better used cars.

Agreed, and still purchase them. The whole point, usually, of a used car is to avoid the largest part of depreciation but still get a great car, and leasing would just take it to a whole new...well...unnecessary level, IMHO.

It would probably be a good idea for those to whom a lease would be attractive. One of the main reasons for a lease is for those people who want something new often. Kinda like the wife, she's got a Cobalt, its got like two years left on the lease and once its over with, she's going to want something new, and it'll probably be a lease too simply because she doesn't want a long-term vehicle purchase. Meanwhile I'm the opposite, I tend to buy a vehicle for the long term. I still say it'd be a good idea to bring more people into the GM fold as long as the used car isn't a lemon and put a bad taste in someone's mouth.

I don't like the idea of mileage limits on leases and I like paying in cash, so I'd just go ahead and outright buy used.