If you're a longtime listener, you know that Clark has frequently bashed vehicle leasing. He's called it a recipe for financial disaster, and he's said it's only good if you like new wheels every few years or have a special factory-subsidized lease.

Well, the penny-pinching guru now has egg on his face.

Earlier this decade, automakers were really pushing leases on SUVs. The monthly payments were calculated based on what the automakers thought the vehicles would be worth 3, 4 or 5 years later.

But now that gas is so expensive, no one wants SUVs and their value has dropped severely. So the value of a typical SUV may be down $10,000 when you turn it in. Automakers are suffering billions in losses as a result. Chrysler has stopped all leasing completely, and both GM and Ford are seriously cutting back.

So if you ignored Clark's longstanding advice and leased an SUV, you look awfully smart right now. But this was an unusual circumstance. The reality is that domestic automakers can't afford the costs of leasing. The luxury European brands will still do them. But the real bargains in luxury cars are always used.

If you have need for an SUV -- because of your business or family life -- this is the best time to buy a used one. Zig when others zag.

Meanwhile, the best deals on fuel-efficient car are Korean -- Kia and Hyundai. But beware that neither really holds its value when it comes to resale.

CLARKONOMICS: Clark was recently talking to a radio station manager who was very upset that he routinely trashes auto leasing. As it turned out, leasing was a great idea for this guy.

In fact, if you're the kind of person who gets "new car fever" every couple of years, leasing may be the perfect option for you -- especially if you like luxury cars.

Yet auto lease defaults are way up. For most people, they're really just a financial noose around the wallet.

So what can you do if you're over your head in a lease? You may want to try getting approval for a qualified person to take over your lease. Clark suggests LeaseTrader.com as one website where you can begin your search.

Here's one caveat, though: If you have a giant gas-guzzling SUV, you probably won't find many takers willing to get you out of your lease!

Finally, car buyers may be able to steal a deal on vehicles that are returned to the dealer after being leased. Again, this is especially true when it comes to luxury cars. You may even find that a 3-year old luxury ride that's already been leased once will be a better deal than a brand-new mid-priced model.

Clark frequently fields one question from the public when he's on the road during his book tours: "When is it right for me to lease a vehicle?" With the leasing market up about 25 percent year over year, it's a great time to address this question again. There are two circumstances when doing a lease is acceptable: The first is if you like new wheels all the time and you only want to worry about gas, oil changes and routine maintenance on your vehicle. Then it's OK to lease a new car every two or three years, but no longer than that. The second instance is when luxury automakers offer factory-subsidized leases where they eat a lot of the cost. Luxury automakers hate to cheapen their brands with a bona fide sale, so often they offer such leases to help move extra product. But other than in these two circumstances, don't lease. And stay away from four or five year leases unless you want to face financial Armageddon, Clark says.

Meanwhile, the strong growth in leases means that in a few years there will be great deals on two and three year old cars when they enter the used auto market. Clark is a big fan of used cars, but be aware that you must always have them inspected by an independent mechanic before you buy. Finally, beware of one cousin of the long-term lease -- the balloon loan. This is the kind that starts with an extra cheap monthly payment, but at the end of five or six years you may owe the lender up to $10,000 or even $15,000. And by then, your vehicle's worth won't be able to keep up with that inflated balloon rate.

An oldie and mostly baddie is back -- car leasing! Clark thought the practice had gone the way of the dinosaur since manufacturers, dealers and consumers all got burned by it. The question now is, "When does it make sense to lease a vehicle?" There are really two such situations. The first is when you're talking about luxury automobiles. Luxury brands don't want to give discounts and cheapen their image, so they do it in a hidden way by subsidizing the lease. BMW is a great example of this -- almost two-thirds of their vehicles are now leased. Jaguar and Audi are other luxury brands that are very into leasing. The other situation where leasing is OK is if you like new wheels all the time and you don't mind that depreciation is demolishing your wallet. Then leasing a new car every 24-36 months is understandable.

But be honest with yourself. Make sure your lease doesn't come with an exceedingly low mileage allowance and beware of excessive wear-and-tear assessments in the future. The average leased vehicle gets hit with wear-and-tear charges to the tune of just under $2,000. When you get a leased vehicle, you should take extensive photographs of the interior and exterior so there's no question when you return it in top shape. And if you do spill something in the car or tear the upholstery, fix it before returning the car. It will be one-fifth cheaper for you to pay to have it repaired. Finally, before you return the leased vehicle, make sure you've gotten a third party to do a thorough inspection of the car. This alone could save you up to $1,500 in unnecessary turn-in fees.

The moving truck company U-Haul has put people's lives at risk because of terrible safety issues. There is a huge lack of proper maintenance and safety checks that go on in the company. So, if you need a trailer or truck to move stuff, look at their competition. The LA Times wrote a story on the issues that U-Haul has had and found all these problems. Many people have been hurt badly because of these terribly maintained fleets of trucks.

What rights do you have when you buy a car? Many people make the wrong assumption that they have three days to return a car. It’s not true. In California, there is a new “Car Buyer’s Bill of Rights,” but it’s pretty watered down after the car dealerships got involved. So what does it allow you to do? You can buy a “grace period” when you purchase the car, if you decide you want to return the car for some reason. Another tenet is that a “certified” car has to meet certain criteria. People pay a lot more money for “certified” cars, even though they may not be in any better condition. Except in California, it’s still buyer beware around the country. Thirdly, if you finance a car at a dealership, the dealer marks up the loan a bit more. That’s standard procedure. But if you go to a credit union, you will get much lower rates than banks and especially at the dealership. If the California law does anything for people across the country, it is to remember “Buyer Beware.” In most states, once you sign the paperwork on a car, you own it. There is one exception and that is CarMax, which offers a right to return for a set number of days. If you take these steps and thoroughly price shop, you will avoid a lot of hassle and trouble.

Clark never thought he'd be telling you this, but there are a couple very rare circumstances when it is okay to lease a car. Click here to get the scoop!

The percentage of people leasing cars was falling, but it is now back up to more than 20%. As leases increase, so do sales pitches for leasing. Clark believes leasing can be major trouble. Do not be a payment buyer, which means you only think about what it will cost per month. Think about the whole picture.

Positives of leasing:
-if you want a new car forever, and you can cycle in and out of a car every 24 months, leasing may work for you
-if there is a special deal on a lease from a manufacturer to help sell the car, a lease may work

Negatives of leasing:
-you don’t know your future and you don’t know where you will be in five years (children, new job, new home, etc.)
-the turn in of a leased vehicle can be ugly and brutal with lots of penalties for unusual wear and tear. You must make sure you photograph the car thoroughly before you turn it in. And make sure you are present for your car inspection and get a copy of the report.
As the leasing market increases, the used car market gets better and better. A used car customer, who buys a car that was originally leased, does not take the car’s depreciation hit because the original leaser has already paid.