IMO, you only lease if you can write it off for taxes, or you can't afford the payment if you were to buy it. In which case, you probably should lower your standards a bit. The lease isn't held by the dealership in general, it is held by say GMAC, Honda Finance, etc. The dealership sells/leases you the car, then they sell the paper to Honda Finance etc. The dealership could care less if you make the payments or what you end up paying out at the end of your lease, as it isn't their problem. Leases are usually calculated to be more expensive to pay out than what they are worth, mainly to get you into get another lease rather than to buy out the car you have been driving. Sometimes you get lucky, and whatever you leased will hold it's value better than the finance company estimated, so it makes sense to buy out your lease. But in general this is not the case. As far as negotiating your lease, it's always worth a shot. But remember that the cards were stacked against you from the start, so the lease holder will probably only go for it if the value of the car you leased has tanked for some reason, and the paper they paid for on it is worth less than what they said you could buy it out for. As always, DO YOUR RESEARCH on what the car is really worth.
