What Makes the EZ Lease Different From a Traditional Car Lease?
Not all car leases work the same way. The biggest differences often don’t become obvious until you trade in your vehicle or decide to end your lease early.
In this episode of Inside the Lease, Kelly Strausser and Chase Kennemer explain how D&M Leasing’s EZ Lease differs from a traditional bank lease and why that difference can save customers money, reduce surprises, and make trading vehicles easier.
They discuss why some lease payoffs are higher than expected, how simple interest payoffs work, why D&M titles every leased vehicle in its own name, and how that approach can save the average Texas customer about $1,000 in sales tax on their next lease.
If you’ve ever wondered why one lease feels more flexible than another, or why a trade-in payoff came in higher than you expected, this episode answers the questions consumers ask most.
In this episode you’ll learn:
- What is the EZ Lease, and how is it different from a traditional car lease?
- Why are some lease payoff amounts higher than expected?
- What is a simple interest payoff, and why does it matter if you trade early?
- How does D&M Leasing help customers save money on Texas sales tax?
- Why does titling a leased vehicle matter when you switch between brands?
- Why does working with one leasing consultant throughout the entire process create a better experience?
Whether you’re researching your first car lease, comparing lease offers, thinking about trading in your current vehicle, or trying to understand how lease payoffs work, this episode explains what separates the EZ Lease from a standard leasing contract.
Inside the Lease is the official podcast of D&M Leasing, the nation’s largest direct-to-consumer car leasing company. Each episode answers the questions people ask most about car leasing, auto financing, lease buyouts, negative equity, vehicle values, interest rates, and today’s automotive market so you can make smarter financial decisions before your next vehicle.
What Is D&M Leasing’s EZ Lease?
D&M Leasing’s EZ Lease is a leasing program built entirely around removing the fees and penalties that come with a traditional bank lease.
On this episode of Inside the Lease, Kelly Strausser and Chase Kennemer explain how the EZ Lease differs from a traditional lease, and why that difference tends to show up most at trade-in time.
Under many traditional leases, the vehicle is titled in the lender’s name, not the customer’s. That distinction matters more than most people realize. If a leased vehicle’s value climbs above its contractual payoff, some lenders have found a way to charge the customer for that difference at trade-in, even though the customer has been making payments the entire time.
Chase points to a real example. A customer trading in an Escalade found the bank had marked up the payoff by thousands of dollars beyond the contract amount, simply because the vehicle was worth more than expected. D&M built the EZ Lease specifically to remove that kind of markup from the equation.
A lease payment is lower than a loan payment because a lease is structured around a residual value, a guaranteed future value set at the start of the term. A driver leasing a $50,000 vehicle with a $25,000 residual pays down the difference between those two numbers over the term, not the full purchase price.
With a simple interest payoff, that residual number is the payoff. If the car ends up being worth more than $25,000 at trade-in, that extra value belongs to the customer, not the bank. Kelly and Chase note that this is not the case with every lease on the market. Some lenders will raise the payoff to match the higher resale value rather than honoring the original contract number.
Every EZ Lease vehicle is titled in D&M’s name, regardless of make or model. That consistency creates a real financial benefit for repeat customers in Texas. When a trade-in and a new lease are titled under the same owner, state tax law only requires sales tax on the difference between the two vehicle values, rather than the full price of the new one.
Kelly and Chase estimate this saves the average customer around $1,000 in sales tax each time they trade. Because D&M can lease any make or model under its own name, that savings applies even when a customer switches brands, something a manufacturer’s own captive lease program typically can’t offer.
Kelly estimates that leasing makes financial sense for roughly 70 to 80 percent of drivers. The exception is a driver planning to keep a vehicle for around ten years and able to pay cash upfront. In that specific case, buying tends to produce a lower total cost of ownership than leasing does.
For most other situations, shorter terms, changing needs, and the ability to trade without penalty tend to outweigh the benefits of a traditional purchase.
Kelly and Chase point out an industry pattern that often goes unnoticed. At many dealerships, the person who sets up a lease is rarely the same person a customer reaches when it’s time to trade or end the lease. D&M structures the EZ Lease around a single leasing consultant who manages the relationship from the first phone call through the final trade-in, so customers are never explaining their situation to someone new.
The EZ Lease was built around the parts of traditional leasing that frustrated customers most, unexpected payoff markups, early termination penalties, and inconsistent service. Removing those pieces is what allows D&M to offer a lease that behaves the way customers expect it to, from the first contract to the last trade-in.