Still new to leasing and have been seeing 39 month leases show up. Why would someone want to pay for 12 months of car tabs but only use three months of them?
Am I missing something?
Thanks.
What do you mean by 12 month car tabs?
@Splattered He probably means DMV registration.
@Desslok The residual for 39 months might be the best, which is why some people do 39 months. It’s very common with Infiniti leases.
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Car tabs aka DMV/Plate registration fees.
Thanks for the explanation @Jon.
Gotcha, wasn’t familiar with the term!
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No worries @Splattered. We are all learning here, well at least i am. 
Some states annual registration is only a nominal fee, <$50, so not a huge deal if the 39 month lease saves money each month. Also, some manufacturers have pull ahead offers where the person can get out of the lease a few months early to obviate the additional registration fee.
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Sadly, here in Washington State some counties the fees can add up to ~$500+ to help fund a pipe dream of rapid transit.
Many automobiles only have a 36 month factory bumper to bumper warranty. A 39 month term may take you out of bumper to bumper coverage (electronics, etc) although most power-train warranty periods are longer. I like being under full warranty in a leased vehicle and don’t want to take any chances even if only for 3 months.
A 39 month lease term may also have a lower residual factor, resulting in a higher payment. The Chevrolet dealer tried doing everything to get me to sign a 39 month lease on a Traverse when I leased one back in September of 2014. The 36 month lease payment was actually a bit lower due to a higher residual, and I didn’t have to pay those extra 3 payments of $334.00 which really added about $1000.00 more to the total cost for the 39 month lease.
A 39 Month Lease was typically favored as term on advertised leases. Its worked well for the manufactures warranty and the residual value in the car let the lease payments be most attractive. – The term on the lease is generally negotiable.
As others have indicated by Tabs, you are referring to State registration/tags/stickers
In some states those fees are returned the plates or surrendered or you can put those your new car and apply it to the new vehicle…I don’t think you lose that money.
I thought you can request the prorated fee amount from the DMV. Don’t quote me on that.
Just quoted you on that.
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And given that it is a state level function, the answer will vary from location to location.