I am often asked why rent-to-own cars are so expensive. While they may seem a little more expensive at face value, you must look a little bit deeper into the pricing to understand why they may seem more costly than a traditional bank-financed vehicle.
Once you dig deeper you may realize that most rent-to-own cars are indeed reasonably priced.
What makes a rent-to-own car look expensive?
The first major factor that always makes a rent-to-own car look expensive is the added extras that are included in the monthly payments which are not normally included in a bank-financed vehicle.
Vehicle Insurance
All rent-to-own cars already have insurance which is added to the monthly payment that you see. This is possibly the most major reason why rent-to-own cars are expensive when you first look at the face value of the monthly payment.
Some rent-to-own companies will have a fully comprehensive insurance policy while a few may have a less costly balance of 3rd party, fire and theft policies. However, all rent-to-own cars are already insured and this adds largely to the monthly rental figure that you see.
Bank-financed vehicles do not have insurance costs added although they will insist that you take out an insurance policy before they will allow you to drive your new vehicle.
Vehicle Tracker
All rent-to-own vehicles come with a tracker system fitted to the car. This is a standard feature that helps to protect you and aids in the recovery of your vehicle should it be stolen.
Recently one of our agents received a late call from a client that had entered into a rent-to-own vehicle through her. The client whispered that he and his wife had been hijacked and were locked in the boot of the vehicle. The agent immediately activated the tracker and within 15 minutes the vehicle was recovered, the suspects arrested and the client and his wife were set free from the boot of the car. Without the tracker system, the ending would not have been so good for the client.
Once again Tracker is not included in the bank-financed vehicle monthly payments but most insurance companies will insist that you fit and maintain a tracker device to your vehicle.
Maintenance Plan
Some rent-to-own vehicles, depending on the dealer, may also include a maintenance plan in the monthly payments. Always check carefully what is included in your deal and what is not included in the deal before signing any contract.
Risk Factor
One of the main reasons that you would be considering a rent-to-buy vehicle is due to your credit record being impaired. You have perhaps been blacklisted, are under debt review, have a low credit score, etc.
In short, you have been unable to secure financing from a bank and now seek an alternative financing option to be able to buy a car.
Car dealers who make rent-to-own cars available to you, understand that there is a much higher risk involved in the deal. They, therefore, have to factor in that risk factor when calculating the monthly installments on the vehicle that they are selling to you. The higher the risk the greater the rewards.
Conclusion
As can be seen from the above, rent-to-own vehicles have a lot of costs already included in the monthly payments quoted which are not included in the quoted payments on a bank-financed deal. This explains why rent-to-own cars seem to be expensive when first viewed at face value.
In short, a rent-to-own car monthly payment could be described as an end cost to the user while with a bank-financed deal there is a heap of hidden costs that the user will still need to take into account to reach the end cost to themselves for the vehicle they have purchased.
In many instances and depending on your circumstances, you may discover that a rent-to-own vehicle could prove to be better suited to you than a bank-financed deal even when you fully qualify for bank financing.