The United States mortgage meltdown over the past year can be responsible for the current "unstable" state of our economy and influence of high gasoline prices, but now analysts are saying expiring automotive leases could be the next pitfall. Residual values of large sport utility vehicles have plummeted, down as much as $6,000 on average per vehicle alone. According to CNW Research of Oregon, nearly 800,000 sport utility vehicles will have expiring leases this year, resulting in problems for auto lenders. Those lenders are banks, credit unions, car companies captive finance firms, who will be facing a $5 Billion dollar loss in 2008 alone and a projected $5.24 Billion in 2009.

Unlike the mortgage meltdown which came back to hurt consumers, there is an advantage to those who purchase their leased vehicles at their current value, which is thousands of dollars less than it would have been three or four years ago. Experts believe only 20 percent of owners will take advantage of these "instant discounts" though. An example of this can be found at Kelly Blue Book. If you price a 2008 Chevrolet Suburban 2500 with the 6.0 liter eight cylinder option, four wheel drive, automatic transmission with leather upgrades, you stand at around $43,000 USD. That same vehicle with 24,000 miles and 2 years of usage can be found for less than $20,000 on dealer lots.

Another example would be the popular 2008 Toyota Land Cruiser, equipped with a 5.7 liter eight cylinder engine, leather, etc will set you back around $64,000. Two years later, that same model can be found for around $34,000. Talk about depreciation. If you thought $4.00 per gallon was bad, wait till you trade your sport utility vehicle in and discover its current value.

AUTOWEEK