Written information | Buying and leasing services | Evaluating information for credibility | Obtaining information on consumer rights in leasing

Print. You can find information about leasing in your local library, at bookstores, and at newsstands from

• Newspapers
• News magazines
• Personal finance magazines and books
• Consumer magazines
• Automotive publications (books and magazines)
• Brochures from consumer organizations (for example, your state's attorney general's office; your local Consumer Protection Agency; federal consumer information and consumer protection agencies, such as the Federal Citizen Information Center, the Federal Reserve Board, and the Federal Trade Commission)
• Brochures from automobile manufacturers, dealerships, lessors, and leasing companies
  Brochures from financial institutions that offer leases

Electronic. You can find information about leasing on the Internet by searching on these key words:

• Auto leasing (automobile leasing or auto* leasing)
• Car leasing
• Consumer leasing
• Vehicle leasing

You can also search car-related web sites for features and information they may have on leasing.

Buying and leasing services

Some firms offering car-buying services also offer car-leasing services. For a fee, these services provide you with price information that you can use to negotiate with a lessor of your choice. Some buying/leasing services will actually shop around for a lease for you. For example, you tell them you want to lease a Spark EX with air conditioning, power windows, and a sun roof for 36 months and 36,000 miles and that you are willing to make a $1,500 cap cost reduction. They will then get competing bids from dealers within a certain radius of your home (for example, within 25 miles). The bids are usually considered a fixed-price offer, although you may still find some room to negotiate.

In addition to providing price information, these services usually provide some educational resources (reprints of articles or copies of brochures) for you to review before going to the dealership or leasing company.

Evaluating information for credibility

As you review the information you receive, ask yourself the following questions:

• How objective is the source? Does the information seem balanced?
• Is the information from a disinterested third party or from someone trying to sell you something?
• Does the information seem to be complete?
• What important pieces might be missing?
• Does the information seem to be accurate?

You can double-check the credibility of information by using a variety of information sources.

Obtaining information on consumer rights in leasing

The federal Consumer Leasing Act and some state laws may provide you with additional consumer rights not covered in your lease agreement. For information on these laws, contact your state's consumer protection agency or attorney general's office.

If your lessor is a bank, you can contact the bank's regulator, listed below.

For banks that are members of the Federal Reserve System:

Federal Reserve Board
Division of Consumer & Community Affairs
20th & C Streets, NW – Stop 800
Washington, DC 20551
888-851-1920 (TTY: 877-766-8533)
www.federalreserve.gov

For national banks (banks with national in the name or N.A. after the name):

Comptroller of the Currency
Office of the Ombudsman
Customer Assistance Unit
Suite 3710
Houston, TX 77010
(800) 613-6743
www.occ.treas.gov

For state-chartered banks that are not members of the Federal Reserve System:

Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
Compliance and Consumer Affairs
550 17th Street, NW
Washington, DC 20429
(202) 942-3100 or (800) 934-3342
www.fdic.gov

For federal savings and loan institutions and federal savings banks:

Office of Thrift Supervision
Consumer Programs/Compliance Policy
1700 G Street, NW
Washington, DC 20552
(202) 906-6237 or (800) 842-6929
www.ots.treas.gov

For federally chartered credit unions:

National Credit Union Administration
Office of Public and Congressional Affairs
1775 Duke Street
Alexandria, VA 22314
(703) 518-6330
www.ncua.gov

If your lessor is not a bank (for example, if it is a captive finance company or an independent leasing firm), you can contact:

Federal Trade Commission
Consumer Response Center
600 Pennsylvania Ave., NW
Washington, DC 20580
toll free (887) FTC-HELP (382-4357)
www.ftc.gov