drive off

"Motorists claiming to have no means of payment account for 70% of incidents which re-emphasises a shift away from drive-off incidents," she added.

The strange, serendipitous, 60-year saga of a historically significant but long-missing 1960 Chevrolet Corvette finally reached a measure of closure on Saturday with its sale for a somewhat disappointing $685,000 “hammer price” at a court-ordered auction in Amelia Island, Fla. A sales commission of about 10 percent made the final “drive-off” price $785,500.

Normally, Edmunds recommends that you spend only the drive-off fees, usually the first month’s payment, registration and the startup fees, to begin a new lease.

And make sure your drive-off payment is protected by gap insurance in the event of an accident in the first few months of driving.

“The worst part about a drive-off disaster is that you often don’t know you did it until you make your first stop, several hundred miles down the road,” Johnson said.