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How leasing actually works
Three decisions on your side, a lot of paperwork on ours. This page covers the whole process, the vocabulary and what happens at the end.
- NJ licensed dealerLicense #D-0000 (demo)
- 4.9 from 1,284 driversVerified review average
- Fourteen lender panelBanks and captive finance
- Soft check firstNo hard pull until you agree
- Delivery in 48 hoursHudson, Essex and Bergen
- Nine years in HudsonFounded 2017 on Marin Blvd
The Apex flow
Three decisions, then we bring the car
Leasing gets complicated when nobody explains the order of events. Here is the whole process, in the order it actually happens.
Median time from approval to a car in your driveway: 41 hours.
01
Choose your car
Pick from ten sample offers, or tell us the shape and budget and we will find the car. Every figure you see is the figure we quote: monthly, term, miles and due at signing on the same card.
- Filter by body type, payment or mileage allowance
- Talk to a person, not a chat bot, at (201) 555-0157
- We will say when a car is wrong for your block or your mileage
Step 01Choose your car 02
Choose your equipment
Trim, colour, wheels, mileage allowance and term. This is where the monthly payment actually gets decided, so we show the difference each choice makes before you commit to anything.
- Mileage allowances from 7,500 to 25,000 miles a year
- Terms of 24, 36, 39 or 48 months
- Winter tires, roof racks and liners priced up front
Step 02Choose your equipment 03
Sign and drive
A soft credit check first, a firm approval second, then delivery. We register the car, put the plates on and hand you the keys at your address, usually within 48 hours of approval.
- Soft credit check before anything hits your report
- NJ registration, title and plates handled by us
- Delivery across Hudson, Essex and Bergen counties
Step 03Sign and drive
Typical timeline
Applying to driving, hour by hour
These are our median figures, not a promise. A factory order or an unusual credit profile stretches things, and we will say so on the first call rather than the fourth.
- Day 0You applySix minutes online or fifteen on the phone. Soft credit check only.
- Within 2 hoursLender answersIlana works the panel and comes back with the realistic options and what each one costs.
- Day 1Terms in writingMonthly, term, mileage, due at signing and the fee schedule, on one page.
- Day 1 to 2Documents and platesLicense, income proof, insurance declaration. We file the NJ registration and title.
- Median 41 hoursDeliveryAndre brings the car to your address, fits the plates and runs the walkthrough.
Leasing is pure convenience
What is written into every Apex lease
The reason people stay with leasing is not the payment. It is that the car stops being a project. Here is what we fold into the monthly figure rather than leaving on your plate.
- Scheduled maintenance for the full term
- Road hazard tire coverage on every offer
- NJ registration, title and plate transfer
- Delivery to your address, paperwork included
- Free wear-and-tear inspection 90 days before hand-back
- Mileage allowance adjustments at signing
- E-ZPass transponder transfer help
- A named person who answers the phone, not a queue
- 72-hour swap windowIf the car is wrong for your block, your garage or your family in the first 72 hours, we swap it for another vehicle in the same payment band.
- Lease-end inspection, earlyWe book a free wear-and-tear inspection 90 days before your lease ends so nothing is a surprise on hand-back day.
- No mileage guessingWe look at your last two years of driving before setting an allowance. Buying miles up front is always cheaper than an overage charge.
- Written disposition termsDisposition fee, excess wear standards and early termination maths are printed in plain English and handed over before you sign.
The vocabulary, decoded
Eight terms cover almost every line on a lease worksheet. If somebody uses one of these without explaining it, ask.
- Capitalised cost
- The negotiated price of the car, which is what the whole lease is built on. Lower it and everything else falls with it.
- Residual value
- What the lender says the car is worth at the end of the term, set as a percentage of MSRP on day one and fixed for the whole lease.
- Money factor
- The interest rate expressed as a small decimal. Multiply by 2,400 for the approximate APR. We print the APR because the decimal is deliberately opaque.
- Due at signing
- Everything you pay on delivery day: first payment, acquisition fee, registration and title, plus any capitalised cost reduction you choose.
- Acquisition fee
- A one-time lender fee for setting the lease up, usually $595 to $995. It is either paid up front or rolled into the payment.
- Disposition fee
- A fee charged when you hand the car back instead of buying it, typically $395. Often waived if you lease again with the same lender.
- Excess wear
- Damage beyond the lender's written standard. The credit card test is the usual shorthand: bigger than a credit card gets charged.
- Gap protection
- Covers the difference between the insurance payout and the lease balance if the car is written off. Included in most of our lenders' terms.
And at the end of the term
Four options, and we walk you through the maths on all four rather than steering you to the one that suits us.
- Hand it back, pay any wear or mileage charges, walk away
- Buy it at the residual fixed on day one, plus the purchase fee
- Extend month to month for up to six months at the same payment
- Roll into the next lease, usually with the disposition fee waived
Questions we get asked every week
If yours is not here, call and ask. We would rather answer it before you sign than after.
All common questionsNot at the first stage. We run a soft credit check to see which of our fourteen lenders is realistic for you, and a soft check does not affect your score. A hard inquiry only happens once you have seen the terms and told us to proceed.
There is no single cutoff. Our panel includes lenders that work with scores in the low 600s, though the monthly figure and the due at signing both rise as the score falls. We will tell you honestly what band you are in before you commit to anything.
Often, yes. Several of our lenders accept international credit files, a large first payment or a qualified co-signer. Bring proof of income and residency and we will work through the options with you.
Dents larger than a credit card, scratches through the paint, tires below the tread minimum, cracked glass and torn upholstery. Normal stone chips, light scuffs and worn floor mats do not. We book a free inspection 90 days before hand-back so you can fix small things cheaply.
Yes. The buyout figure is the residual value printed in your contract plus a purchase fee, and it is fixed on day one. If the used market is strong at that point, the buyout can be a genuinely good deal, and we will tell you when that is the case.
A fee charged by the lender when you hand the car back rather than buy it, typically $395 on our sample offers. Most lenders waive it if you lease another vehicle through the same finance company, and we chase that waiver on your behalf.
Call (201) 555-0157 with anything not covered here.
Ready when you are
Apply with a soft credit check, or call and talk it through with a person who will tell you when leasing is the wrong answer.
Soft credit check first. Offers are samples, subject to credit approval.