Q.I'm thinking of leasing an Acura MDX. I have a 2001 Acura with a trade-in value of about $14,000. The lease payments would be $319 a month for 36 months, with $2,000 due at signing. What happens to the value of the car I would be trading in?

A.Your Acura dealer probably will apply the trade-in value of your current car to the total cost of the lease.

When you lease a vehicle, you're paying for the depreciation while you drive it, interest on the loan the leasing company took out to buy the vehicle and sales tax on your part of the purchase price.

With $2,000 due at signing and 36 monthly payments of $319, the dealer has put a total cost of about $13,500 on your lease.

The $14,000 you have in trade-in value covers all of that and a little more up front. That means you should be able to lease that crossover for a little longer than 36 months, or have a few extra miles added to the contract, and have no monthly payments at all.

Of course, when the lease is up, your $14,000 will be gone. But you'll have enjoyed three payment-free years.

The only other thing you should do is consider whether it would be cheaper in the long run to buy your MDX. Our "Buy or Lease" calculator will run the numbers for you.