If credit applications are an indication, the environment for car leasing may be the strongest since the recession, one firm has discovered.
LeaseTrader.com, an online car leasing marketplace, said it saw the rate of credit application approvals increase for first-time customers during the final quarter of 2010. Credit application approvals increased by 4.5% since the start of October and have continued in positive territory to begin 2011.
Sergio Stiberman, CEO and founder of LeaseTrader.com, said having good credit is the most important factor in anyone's ability to lease a vehicle. Credit is analyzed differently when applying to take over a lease compared with credit analyzed to lease a new car at the dealership, according to LeaseTrader.com. In taking over a lease, the amount of credit a person has, combined with credit history, is analyzed to determine whether they can assume a lease.
According to Stiberman, unlike a dealership, a person's credit score is not analyzed to determine which category of pricing they qualify for when shopping for the best payment. The same person could have the credit to lease one vehicle in both scenarios but fail to qualify for the similar payment at the dealer level, he added.
CU Xpress Lease Inc., a leasing program for credit unions, recently said it had surpassed its monthly goal of $1 million in auto leasing activity nearly four months after launching.
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