Interested in Leasing A Honda Odyssey? Here’s What To Know

Published November 2, 2021
in Car Buying Tips

Honda is one of the most popular car manufacturers for larger SUVs, but the Odyssey is a bit of a mixed bag when it comes to features and functionality. While the 2022 Odyssey release has been more successful so far than its predecessor, there are still plenty of things to consider if you’re thinking about leasing a Honda Odyssey.

We’ll talk about the pros and cons of leasing a Honda Odyssey, when you might be better off buying instead of leasing, and how the markets are impacting the Odyssey right now. Plus, we’ll go over some important things to know before you sign a leasing agreement.

Let’s take a closer look.

Advantages of Leasing A Honda Odyssey

Leasing any car comes with a few key advantages that are worth considering for any consumer. For one thing, leasing prices are usually lower than the cost of a car payment on the same vehicle. That means you can still get the advantages of owning and driving a new vehicle but with less money out of your pocket each month.

You may also want to lease your new Honda Odyssey if you aren’t sure whether an Odyssey is the right car for you. A short lease will give you a new car for several months, but the option to switch to a different vehicle lease if you’re not sure you need an Odyssey.

Leasing also comes with some important tax advantages that can make leasing your next car a lot more affordable than buying, at least in the short term.

Because leasing can be a more affordable option, you may also be able to upgrade the trim level on your Odyssey without breaking the bank. If you have a family, or even if you just prefer to travel in luxury, the additional features of higher trim levels may be important.

Plus, since Odyssey’s are a little on the expensive side of class-average for the highest trim level, leasing is an even better deal.

NOT JUST FOR CAR SHOPPING

The CoPilot app isn’t just for buying a car - our new CoPilot for Owning tool will help you keep track of recalls and gives you advice on which scheduled maintenance tasks are most important.

Should You Lease A Honda Odyssey Or Buy

Choosing between leasing and buying a Honda Odyssey can be difficult. Right now, Odysseys are in short supply because of pandemic-related supply issues, which means that the prices are running high for both leases and purchases.

That said, leases are still a slightly lower monthly payment on average, even if they aren’t as favorable compared with the MRSP.

Even without the financial advantages, there are still reasons you may want to lease over buying or reasons you might want to buy instead of leasing.

Leasing a vehicle tends to be a better option for people who want to own a vehicle for 3 years or less, especially if you like to trade up for the latest model when they’re released.

Many people also appreciate the tax advantages of leasing or avoiding the higher maintenance costs of an aging vehicle. These are all good reasons to lease.

However, if you’re someone who would prefer to own the same car for years, especially if you want to own it for 5 years or more, you may want to buy.

Buying a car may be more expensive up front but usually becomes the cheaper option within 5-6 years of car ownership.

High use drivers may also be better served buying their new Odyssey instead of leasing a Honda Odyssey. Right now, almost all lease agreements are for 10k miles or less during the lease, which means that high mileage drivers will probably have to pay an additional mileage fee at the end of the lease.

THE BEST CARS FOR SNOW

Winter driving impacts young and experienced drivers alike. We’ve compiled a list of the best cars for snow, so you can get from Point A to Point B as safely as possible.

Is The Honda Odyssey A Good Vehicle To Lease?

Under normal circumstances, the Odyssey would probably be a reasonable leasing option. It has relatively good value retention and is a highly rated SUV, though its sales are slightly less popular than some of its competitors from other brands.

However, with the current supply-side crunch, the Odyssey is more of a toss-up as a rental vehicle. The short supply of this model means that dealers are selling and leasing high, and the value of a lease compared to the MSRP of the vehicle isn’t great.

That said, there are other reasons you might want to lease an Odyssey instead of buying it. As a large 3 row SUV, the Odyssey is a great family car and a good option for people who do a lot of carpooling and short-distance group travel.

Leasing an Odyssey may also give the supply issues some time to correct, bringing prices down so that buying an Odyssey is a little more affordable. It’s also just more affordable to lease a car first and then buy it when buying is an option at the end of your lease.

Overall, we would say that the Odyssey is a good lease vehicle if you specifically want an Odyssey. But there are better value alternatives available if you’re just in the market for a large 3 row SUV.

THE BEST USED MINIVANS ON THE MARKET

When it comes to hauling a lot of people and cargo, the minivan is hard to beat. We’ve factored in reliability, affordability, and functionality to create this curated list of the 8 best used minivans on the market today.

What Should You Know Before Signing A Honda Odyssey Lease

There are just a few things you should know about car leases before you sign on.

For one thing, while car leases have a lower tax rate than buying a car outright, many places do still have a use tax on the vehicle. That use tax is usually lower than the taxes for buying and owning a new car, however, so it’s still a financial win.

You should also look at the early termination fee, extra mileage fee, and any other fees that can be assessed at the end of your lease. That way, you’ll know what to expect and can budget for the whole end-of-lease bill.

Lastly, pay attention to whether your car lease is an open-ended lease or a close-ended lease. Open leases mean you may be assessed additional fees if the car’s value depreciated more than expected during your lease in addition to any other fees. However, you may also get a partial refund or rebate on your lease if the value hasn’t depreciated as much as expected.

Close-ended leases protect you from those extra fees since there are only certain fees that can be charged at the end of this kind of lease. But that also means there is no chance of getting a rebate.

Final Thoughts

If you’re thinking about leasing a Honda Odyssey, now might not be the best time, but it’s also not the worst. These vehicles are in slightly short supply, but that may mean that the lower prices for a lease instead of a car payment are even more valuable to some consumers.

Get a Curated List of the Best Used Cars Near You

The CoPilot car shopping app is the easiest way to buy a car. Tell us what you’re looking for and we’ll search the inventories of every dealership in your area to make you a personalized list of the best car listings in your area.

Only looking for newer models? CoPilot Compare is the search engine for nearly-new cars. Only see cars five years or newer with low mileage — CoPilot Compare is the best way to find off-lease, early trade-in, and CPO cars.

The best part? CoPilot is built using the same technology that dealerships use to buy and sell their inventories, so we have more info on each vehicle than competitors. CoPilot doesn’t work with dealerships, so there are no sponsored posts or other shady practices — just the most info on the best cars. Check out our About Us page to see how CoPilot works.