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But how can you understand? Start by reading the contract -
including the small print. Regardless of whether this is your first
purchase or lease agreement, it’s your responsibility to read that
contract and to question anything you don’t understand. If you
still aren’t confident that you understand, it’s your right to have
someone else look over the contract. An attorney will typically
charge only a minimal fee to perform that service. Remember that the
car dealer, sales personnel and even the finance companies are
working for themselves. None of them are looking out for your best
interests.
A contract for either a lease or a purchase will include terms
that may be unfamiliar. For example, you may find the words,
“open-end lease” in the contract. This means simply that the return
date is not defined. While it seem that this infers that the date
for returning the leased car is entirely up to the buyer, that’s not
necessarily the car.
The warranty may be a separate document and this is also
something that should be read carefully before the signature.
Knowing the basics will help but don’t assume that you know what the
contract says. You may void the warranty by failing to do a
particular thing or even by using an unapproved product, such as oil
for an oil change. |
