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Officially Official: Chrysler resumes leasing

John Neff — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 16:29:00 EST

Filed under: Car Buying, Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep

It's been well over a year since you could lease a Chrysler, Dodge or Jeep vehicle, but as of tomorrow, that will all change. Chrysler LLC has announced it will once again offer leases on all 2010 model year vehicles through GMAC beginning Thursday, September 17th.

You may recall that leasing was one element among many that contributed to a downward spiral of events leading to Chrysler filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy earlier this year. The crux of it was that many vehicles were being returned at the end of their leases with a value far lower than what automakers were expecting. The difference between what they thought these vehicles would be worth at the end of their lease and what they could actually be sold for was money out the window.

In addition to the return of leasing to Chrysler dealers (what's left of them), the automaker has announced additional incentives for the remainder of September including up to $4,500 of Consumer Cash or 0% financing for 72 months on select 2009 MY vehicles, up to $3,000 of Consumer Cash on select 2010 MY vehicle and $1,000 of Owner Loyalty Bonus Cash for current Chrysler vehicle owners on all 2009 and select 2010 MY vehicles.

[Source: Chrysler | Photo by Scott Olson/Getty]

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Officially Official: Chrysler resumes leasing originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 16 Sep 2009 16:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Chrysler to resume leasing vehicles soon?

Chris Shunk — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 14:28:00 EST

Filed under: Car Buying, Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, Earnings/Financials

2009 Dodge Ram - Click above for high-res image gallery

In late July 2008, Chrysler announced that it would stop leasing vehicles effective August 1. The news helped exasperate the decline of Chrysler group vehicle sales while giving customers fewer options for getting into a new vehicle. After leasing was discontinued, Chrysler's market share dropped from 11.3% to 9.2%. The decline came in part because of Chrysler's very public bankruptcy proceedings and its lackluster product lineup, but there is little doubt that the end of vehicle leasing was also a major contributor to the automaker's precipitous decline.

In an effort to get back on the right track, Automotive News is reporting that dealer sources say leasing could return to the Pentastar as soon as September 18. Chrysler is reportedly waiting until after next Tuesday to make an announcement so it can look over residual value data from the Automotive Lease Guide before making a final decision. Chrysler, which uses GMAC as its finance arm, could follow General Motors' lead and offer leasing only on select vehicles. AN estimates that the Dodge Ram, Journey, Nitro and Grand Caravan, the Jeep Grand Cherokee and the Chrysler Town & Country could be among the vehicles ready for lease duty.

Gallery: 2009 Dodge Ram

[Source: Automotive News]

Chrysler to resume leasing vehicles soon? originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 11 Sep 2009 14:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Chrysler gets specific about this whole lease business

John Neff — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 09:58:00 EST

Filed under: Car Buying, Chrysler

With all the news swirling around about the downfall of leasing among the Detroit 3, Chrysler has decided to stick Stuart Schorr, Senior Manager, Sales, Mopar and Dealer Communications, in front of the mic to clear up a few things. The first point he makes is that Chrysler LLC dealers can still offer leases to customers from other financial institutions besides Chrysler Financial. While this is true, some of those financial institutions have also backed out of the business of leasing Chrysler vehicles, including Chase Auto Finance. We're not sure how many lease backers that leaves, but the ones remaining will likely be forced to raise lease prices, much like Ford has done with its truck and SUV leases, to protect themselves from losing tons of money when vehicles leased today are eventually turned back in. The second point made by Schorr is that all current leases are not affected and their lease terms will remain in effect. Well we would hope so! Third is that Chrysler Financial will waive the disposition fee if a current lease owner decides to buy his or her vehicle at the end of the lease term. LeaseGuide.com tells us that this fee usually amounts to between $250 and $450. Here's some friendly advice - do not buy your lease vehicle at the end of its contract. Unless you've driven a ridiculously low amount of miles (not likely), your vehicle is worth way less than what Chrysler thought it would be and the disposition fee will not make up the difference. You would effectively be letting Chrysler Financial off the hook for overestimating the car's residual value. Schorr's fourth point is that employee leases and company cars are not affected. Cool, 'cause we were pretty worried about that. At the end of the day, leasing is still a viable option for many people who find the cost agreeable, as we've no doubt learned this past week that the financial institution backing the lease is shouldering the risk.

[Source: Chrysler LLC]

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Chrysler gets specific about this whole lease business originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 30 Jul 2008 09:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Chrysler offering even more incentives to close out July

Jeremy Korzeniewski — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 16:59:00 EST

Filed under: Car Buying, SUV, Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, Earnings/Financials

The automotive sales sector is in a major state of flux as consumers continue to run from SUVs and pickup trucks into smaller, more fuel efficient cars. One manufacturer hit especially hard by this transition is Chrysler, a company that recently posted the worst fleet average fuel economy numbers of all major automakers in the U.S. due to its truck-heavy lineup. Still, the automaker has built up a large supply of Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep utility vehicles that they have got to get off dealer lots somehow. To ease consumers into the fuel-thirsy utes, Chrysler has introduced new incentives of zero-percent financing for 72 months on the 2008 Dodge Durango, Chrysler Aspen and Jeep Grand Cherokee and Commander.

While the lack of any financing charges will certainly impact the bottom line, it is nothing compared to the losses the automaker has been hit with over its past lease deals. In fact, truck and SUV residuals are so bad these days that Chrysler Financial has gone so far as to completely cut leasing out of its available portfolio starting August 1. The financing deals announced today are scheduled to continue through Thursday, July 31.

[Source: Automotive News - sub. req'd]

Chrysler offering even more incentives to close out July originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 25 Jul 2008 16:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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