Companies with a need for a number of vehicles for its employees would save a huge amount of corporate funds with commercial car leasing. This allows companies to provide employees with transportation benefits without tying them to paying for the full brand new cost of vehicles. Commercial car leasing provides affordable yet presentable and elegant stylish sets of wheels for key employees and executives.

Leasing is much like renting. Here are important points about leasing:

1) There are huge savings in leasing for those who do not really intend to purchase a vehicle. Upfront payments are low with automobile leasing at around only 30%-50% of the down payment amount required for the purchase of a new vehicle. Even the monthly payments are slashed by about 50% as compared to that of a new vehicle purchase. This results in lower recurring costs for companies providing vehicles for their employees. There are even tax savings that can be enjoyed with automobile leasing.

2) An important part of any lease is the lease contract. Anyone entering into a lease agreement should know what the provisions of the lease contract are. An experienced corporate logistic or purchasing officer would most probably be familiar with certain terms in the contract and would most likely be able to navigate himself through the intricacies of a lease contract. Negotiating is an exercise that any company officer should not pass up especially since there are a number of cars involved - a substantial business for any car dealership.

3) There are a number of items that should be raised in any negotiation. Lease and payment details should be foremost in the list of items to be taken up. The usual automobile lease tenor is about 24 to 36 months. During this period regular monthly payments are required of the lessee. The amount of payments will depend on how much down payment was paid up front. A security deposit may also be required of the lessee. While regular payments may seem low, the total cash outlay computed to determine if there is actual benefit from the lease.

4) Mileage limits should also be negotiated. Studies show that most people would have mileage usage averages of about 15,000 miles per year. Any automobile lease offer that has a mileage cap of less than this would actually be disadavantageous to the lessee as additional payments will be required for excess mileage at the end of the lease period. It might be wiser to take on monthly payments that are a tad higher for the higher mileage cap than to make additional monthly payments at lease end.

5) The sales tax is another negotiating point that is most often taken for granted because it is hidden away in the fine print. Again, consider the total outlay in determining if a deal is beneficial. Different states would have different sales tax rates that are imposed on the capitalized cost. While there are fixed rates for the sales tax, the manner in which they are applied could impact total cash outlay.

All the provisions of the commercial car leasing contract, especially those concerning payments and lease-end provisions, should be reviewed carefully taking into consideration the company's corporate direction and manpower assumptions. Get help from a trusted advisor as needed!