BEWARE LOW-COST LEASE

With car sales slumping, makersof luxury cars like BMW, Audi, andSaab are rolling out tempting leaseoffers that promise you the chanceto save some serious cash over thelife of a lease. But what you seeupfront isn't always what you get.Toget the low-cost lease, you have toagree to a 10,000-mile annual limit,or 30,000 miles over a 3-yearlease. Most industry officials admitthat a 10,000-mile annual limit istoo low for the average Americandriver, but if you exceed that mileage,you'll pay up to 25¢ a mile forevery mile over the limit. The alternativeis to buy extra miles, whichmeans making higher monthly leasepayments, often wiping out the"bargain" that you had hoped to get.