Car buying guides
How lease and finance offers work, what each number in an offer means, and what to ask a broker or dealer before you visit.
Guides
5Sep 27, 2026How to read a car offer before you callWhat each number in an offer means, what it leaves out, and what to ask the broker or dealer before you visit.Sep 27, 2026Car broker or dealer: who you are buying fromA dealer sells cars from its own lot. A broker finds a car for you through dealers and charges for the service. Here is how that shapes the price, the paperwork, and who you deal with.Sep 27, 2026Lease or finance: the same car, both waysShould you lease or finance a car? Take one vehicle and look at it both ways: what leaves your account each month, what you hand over at the start, and what you hold when the term ends.Sep 27, 2026Due at signing, line by lineThe due at signing figure is several charges added together. Here is what usually sits inside it on a Los Angeles lease, and which parts are worth a question.Sep 27, 2026Mileage limits: how to pick one before you signA lease mileage limit is easy to skim past and costly to guess. How to estimate your yearly driving, what exceeding the limit means at turn-in, and what to do when an offer omits it.