 TITLE: Should You Buy Your Car When Your Lease Is Up? CONTENT: How to Pay for Your Lease Buyout\n--------------------------------\nOnce you've decided to buy your leased car, the next step is financing the lease buyout. Leasing companies and dealerships may offer to arrange financing, but you'll boost your bargaining power (and potentially save money) by getting preapproved for a car loan from a bank or credit union before you approach the leasing company.\nTo get the best financing offers, check your credit report and credit score several months before your lease ends. If your score is lower than you expected, improving your score before you shop for a loan can help you get a better interest rate.\nOnce your credit score is shipshape, you can start going over your financing options and submitting loan applications. It's wise to submit multiple preapproval applications to a variety of lenders to shop around for the best interest rate. Credit scoring systems generally treat multiple loan applications in a short period as one application, so submit all your applications within a two-week period and they'll be combined into one hard inquiry as far as your credit scores are concerned. Alternatively, getting prequalified for a loan will give you a ballpark idea of your financing costs without any impact to your credit. END