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Most people shopping for a new car ask themselves that question all the time. In fact, there are many questions that surround whether to buy or lease a vehicle. What are the benefits of one over the other? Would my payment be lower if I leased? What if I decided to buy the car after, would there be a penalty? Recently, these questions became very real to me when I found myself having to shop for a new car following the untimely death of my husband’s previous vehicle. The deceased was the typical “Dude” car – huge engine, power everything and it was bright yellow. For the new car, I wanted him to get something a bit more sensible; He wanted everything he had before and then some. So, as you can imagine, shopping was a lot of fun (insert sarcasm here). I am glad to say, however, that what we ended up with made us both very happy and satisfied. We ultimately agreed upon a brand new dark gray metallic mid-sized sedan with lots of nice features to please the gadget fanatic in my husband, and a fuel efficient engine to please the economical budgetista in me. And for the first time in our adult lives, we leased! As it turns out, Experian Automotive’s recently released State of the Automotive Finance Market report showed that lots of folks are making that same decision. In fact, this quarter’s report said that automotive leasing achieved the highest level since the organization began tracking the data in 2006. According to the report, leasing accounted for a record 27.5 percent of all new vehicles financed, up from 24.4 percent in Q1 2012. Additionally, findings showed that the average monthly payment for a new vehicle financed in Q1 was $459, down from $462 in Q1 2012. While leasing a vehicle can help consumers achieve a lower monthly payment, the report also showed a rise in loan term lengths (65 months in Q1 2013, up from 64 months in Q1 2012) and a decrease in interest rates (4.5 percent in Q1 2013, down from 4.6 percent in Q1 2012), which helped to keep payments low for new vehicles financed. In Q1, the average loan amount for a new vehicle financed increased by $628, going from $26,020 in Q1 2012, to $26,648 in Q1 2013. The average used vehicle loan increased $461, going from $17,071 in Q1 2012, to $17,532 in Q1 2013. Check out the full press release. For more information on this report and other automotive-related insights, please visit www.Experian.com/Automotive.

Consumers are can now be notified when their personal information is being used in an authentication transaction, allowing them to assess whether or not they recognize and expect their identity to be in review by a business. The service enables consumers to respond to the notification, and in cases of potential fraud, to be directed to seamless and effective resolution assistance. “In the war against fraud, financial institutions, retailers and identity monitoring service providers must deploy innovative technologies that can accurately detect identity theft as close to a transaction as possible,” said Julie Conroy, research director for Aite Group. “Bringing consumers themselves into the fraud prevention process provides another layer of vigilance, which enables businesses not only to better protect their customers and prevent losses, but also to establish a stronger relationship with the consumer.” The ability to accurately alert potential fraud victims as close to a transaction as possible provides business clients and their monitored consumer base with the tools needed to head off potential identity theft while it is in flight. With this service, Experian is helping its clients give consumers additional insight to their identity usage well beyond traditional credit inquiries. As online and mobile transactions continue to explode, consumers want to be alerted not only to inquiries to their credit profile, but also to any use of their personal information in non-face-to-face transactions. Precise ID Personal Protection Alerts enable direct-to-consumer service providers to engage consumers by notifying them when their identity has been verified across any of Experian’s identity authentication services. Within seconds, the service alerts consumers via text, email or mobile app during a transaction involving their identity and gives them the opportunity to stop identity theft before it occurs. The product is designed to provide accurate and timely notification to consumers via its partners that provide identity monitoring services. Alerts contain detailed information that allows individuals to quickly recognize and assess the legitimate or fraudulent use of their identity. In cases of potential fraud, consumers are directed to reconciliation services and, if necessary, to the financial institution, retailer or other service provider that initiated the transaction.

When it comes to credit, who is winning the battle between men and women? The latest credit trends study, released today from global information services company Experian, compares the financial differences between men and women, revealing that, overall, women are better at managing their money and debt.