Loan options turn car buyers into owners.

(From The Prague Post)

Byline: Will Tizard

Lenders lure drivers by offering auto shoppers alternatives to leasing

About 300,000 cars are sold in the Czech Republic each year, according to one industry group. But most of those transactions aren't actually sales, with ownership changing from dealer to customer. Instead, they're leases.

But at least two major lenders are eyeing that market, betting that an increasing number of customers would rather own their cars outright.

"We know that people want to be the owners of cars," said Jan Piskacek, spokesman for GE Capital Leasing, which unveiled its AutoCREDIT loan this summer. "With standard leasing, the owner of your car is the leasing company. If you …