When you are about to lease a new car, you might not pay a lot of attention to the details of the leasing program and you probably don’t examine the leasing company’s transfer policy, but maybe you should. As more drivers become interested in leasing, three main areas -- lease program conditions, time to transfer and customer service -- have become important to consumers and to car manufacturers who would like to retain their business in future years.
So who offers the most consumer-friendly lease deals? European luxury brands such as BMW and Mercedes-Benz have traditionally received top marks in these areas and continue to do so today. But the domestic brands (Ford, General Motors and Chrysler) have all become stronger within the lease marketplace, and customer retention levels have risen due to their lease programs and policies, according to leasing expert LeaseTrader.com. In addition to making better cars than they did a few years ago, the domestic vehicle manufacturers have altered their leasing policies so that transferring a lease is no longer a hassle. The improved customer service is exemplified by the fact that time-to-transfer rates have shortened over the years. Japanese brands, on the other hand, have been slow to adopt these consumer-friendly leasing policies. As a group, they scored the lowest, according to LeaseTrader.com members.
“Companies with friendlier lease transfer policies are rewarded with high retention rates on LeaseTrader.com,” says Sergio Stiberman, CEO and founder of LeaseTrader. “Flexibility and adapting to customer needs are very key in leasing today, and customers will stick with a brand simply because its policies allow drivers to exercise their right to transfer on their own terms.”
That right seems to be gaining in importance with consumers. An example of that is the recent experience of Chrysler Group. Today, Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge are leased under Ally Financial, which offers a lease program that is more favorable to consumers, compared with its previous lease finance company, Chrysler Financial, according to LeaseTrader customers. The time-to-transfer rate has shrunk down from 75.5 to 19.3 days, its customer service has improved and drivers are now released from their contract during transfer. All this has led to a marked increase in the brands’ customer retention.
While this is an improvement, BMW’s lease transfer program enables transfers in just three days -- a leading reason why it scores the highest among customers. The Japanese brands and their associated lease companies don’t have similar policies, and their brand retention figures for those involved in the lease transfer market are much lower. Lease-heavy brands -- like Jaguar and Land Rover, which are now leased through Chase Automotive Finance -- also received low customer retention scores because of similar unfriendly lease policies, according to LeaseTrader users.
