Can You Lease a Used Car?

The Answer: Leasing Used

Let's just jump right into it. As we said, we can offer a clear answer to the aforementioned question, "Can I lease a used car?" The short reply to this is, in fact, yes! Let's elaborate on that a little, though.

Typically, you'll find that the pre-owned models that can be leased are not decades old and would be best qualified as a certified pre-owned vehicle. Certified pre-owned-often shortened to "CPO"-has its own set of strict parameters; but we'll get into that later.

Otherwise, used car leases should more or less follow the same structure as your average new-car lease. That's a loan term of two or three years, and so on.

What's the Difference Between Used and CPO?

While used and CPO vehicles are well taken care of individually, there are some advantages that come with certified pre-owned. For one, they're closer to your usual new car. This means they're a late model year and have a limited number of miles-usually less than 60,000.

Certified pre-owned rides also offer a manufacturer-backed warranty.

Does It Make Sense to Lease a Used Car?

So, with all this information, you might be asking yourself, is it worth it? At this point, would it be better just to lease a new car? As with anything, this ultimately comes down to your preference; but it's worth noting that car leases typically operate under monthly payments going toward a vehicle's depreciation during the time of its use.

Since used car leases are, well, used, you'll find that they're more likely to depreciate at a slower rate than a new ride. In brand-new vehicles, a lot of depreciation occurs within the first few years.

That means that when you're paying for your used car lease, you're more likely to pay less, as opposed to a new lease.