When you lease a car, you agree to pay to rent your vehicle for a certain amount of time, often 2-3 years. If you are unsure about what car is best for you in the long run or you do not want to commit to purchasing a vehicle, leasing is a smart, affordable option. Along with the more affordable pricing, however, comes a limit on how much you can drive. This leads lessees to often drive less miles per year than vehicle owners.
Leases limit the amount of miles you can drive per year. This number often lies between 12,000 or 15,000 miles per year. These mileage limit rates correlate with the standard pricing for a car lease. However, if you plan on driving more than the standard limitations, you have two options.
Firstly, you can find a lease that has a higher limit. This is called a high-mileage lease, and it allows you to drive up to 18,000-20,000 miles per year. Keep in mind that you will be paying extra for this extra mileage limit, leading to a more expensive lease. Your second option is to try and negotiate with the leasing company to increase your prospective mileage limit and pay a higher amount.
It is extremely important that you follow your lease agreement in terms of the mileage limitation. If you drive over the limit, the yearly penalty can amount to thousands of dollars.
With these lease mileage limits in mind, lessees drive an average of around 12,000-15,000, corresponding to the average mileage limits for car leases.
As mentioned above, penalties for going over your lease’s limit can be very expensive. Thus, most lessees abide by their lease limits.
If you plan on driving more than the allotted mileage for a lease, consider leasing a high mileage vehicle, as the extra payment now is well worth avoiding aggressive fines.