The Comeback of Leases

Your alarm clock didn’t go off this morning, and now you’re rushing to get out the door on time. What a way to start the week. You can hear your coffee brewing in the kitchen- good, at least you have that. Now if only you could find the other dark blue sock. Its mate is held tightly in your hand as you dig frantically in the mound of laundry that lives in the laundry basket at the foot of your bed. Why is laundry such a daunting task??

Victory!... well almost, your hand that was digging through the pile of clean clothes rises holding a navy sock. Darker than the dark blue, but at this point, you just need to get out of the door and no one will really be able to tell the difference.?

You slip your shoes on; the socks are mostly hidden by your pant legs. You place the lid on your metal coffee mug, grab your keys, and head out the door. You’ll make it to work in time, a sigh of relief.? You’ll address the laundry tonight. Maybe you can multitask and fold it during your TV program. Mismatch socks almost forgotten, you start to think about a list of clients to call about the inventory the dealership has piling up.?

Fun fact: Next to dishes, laundry is one of the most daunting chores for Americans to do. As a result, many of us have piles of laundry to dig through as we rush out the door. Another fun fact: keeping special pages on websites for dealerships is the equivalent of folding laundry. Staying up to date on trends in the automotive industry, we can see that, in a similar fashion to our laundry, our inventory is piling up, especially in comparison to previous years.?But we have tools to help mitigate these obstacles- showcasing lease specials on your specials page.

Unlike the qualms of mismatched socks, this issue is much more detrimental to our dealerships. So now what? Well, if we really want to lean into our laundry analogy (we totally do), maybe it’s time to air some of that laundry out.?

Data is starting to point to a future of new buyers who don’t actually want to own their car, they want to lease it or be a part of a car subscription program. Trends of higher insurance is one of many factors. Technology is another large factor, we’ve been conditioned to upgrade our phones every two years or sooner so we have the latest technology, and now we want that same cadence with our cars. Finances are the last big reason, leases make vehicles more accessible. When ownership of a vehicle might not be feasible, a lease on a vehicle often is.?

Looking at Fuse Dynamic Payments data from 2023, we see a significant volume difference between lease specials and finance specials being offered. Why might that be? Simply put, Lease options are more competitive when it comes to a more affordable dollar amount.

So why aren’t we showing more leases? Some of us may be uncomfortable showing customers multiple offers for a vehicle. For others, it may be that we just don’t know how to write up a lease offer. It hasn’t been a popular option in the last few years, so why learn the process? Whatever the reason might be, it’s time to address it. We are no longer facing the same obstacles of pitching leases to buyers. The worry of “not owning” their ride or high-mile options are days of old.??

With Dynamic Payments, a dealer can show different leases and how the payments factor without having to do manual calculations. Now, a dealer is educating the consumer on the possibilities for a specific vehicle with the different deal types. We allow you to customize the deals a purchaser will see on your special page and we tell you exactly how to write up the lease agreement- taking away all of the headaches.?

One last laundry fact (because why not?): The average person claims it takes about 30 minutes to fold a load of laundry, which is almost double the typical length of one of our discovery calls for Dynamic Payments. It doesn’t take a lot of searching on the internet to discover that people who fold their laundry or, in general, just don’t avoid those daunting tasks tend to be happier people. Thirty minutes a week greatly increases your quality of life. What could a one-time 15-minute demo call do to your quality of life at work?