Lease Questions - Ask Here

CarMan@Edmunds

Hmmmm this is a very interesting situation, jonty12. Unfortunately I have never heard anything like it before and do not have an answer to your question. Sorry that I couldn't be of more help.

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CarMan@Edmunds

I am glad that you find this discussion so interesting, lmp180psu (nice user id by the way, I am a big Lions fan myself). You are correct that different banks have different rules about what one's credit score needs to be to qualify for their top credit tier. For instance, Lexus Financial Services requires a FICO of 700+ to qualify for their Tier 1 money factors. On the other hand Nissan Motor Acceptance Corp. only requires a score of 620+ to qualify for their most attractive lease rates. It all depends upon what bank you are looking to lease through, some are a lot more lenient than others.

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lmp180psu

for answering my questions. I am surprised how "low" Nissan's standards are, but i guess that is good for the consumer. Nice to know you are a Lions fan; I can't wait to watch the Lady Lions B-Ball game this weekend! (I know women's B-Ball is not very popular, but I like all sports)

footie

Hi Car_Man - good to see you take some well-deserved time off!

Do you have Acura RL MF's and residuals for Massachusetts. 3 and 4 year 12K or less mi/yr. Inception fees, etc.

They've had a $499/yr lease for a while, but I am curious as to the general T's and C's.

Thanks for great work!

lmp180psu

Hi again Car Man. Could you give me the residual and money factor for an Altima 2.5 S, 12K and 15K miles per year for 36 months. Also if someone doesn't qualify for the "best" rate offered (credit score is slightly lower than cutoff), what kind of rates should people expect to pay ( example if score is 600, on a Nissan lease with a cutoff of 620, like from you previous post to me). This info is for a friend. Thanks again !

mlattin

I keep hearing that it is going to "cost a lot" to get out of my '02 Xterra lease. How much is a lot, and how is this amount figured? My lease is through NMAC, and they say my early termination fee is the amount owed to them minus the wholesale amount. Is the wholesale amount the same as trade in? and if so, why is it that I get a range of 14k through 17k for trade value on the different appraisal sites? (KBB, NADA, Edmunds, Blackbook)

Thanks,
Megan

jefhack

Thanks Car Man! That's exactly what we needed to hear, right on.

Side question...do you think we'd have a better shot at getting a great deal on the Murano lease in August than now? Just speaking in general terms based on any seasonality patterns that you're aware of.

Car Man Listener for five days now... :-))

BTW, ESPN Radio has been the best thing since sliced bread on the NY airwaves... :-)

CarMan@Edmunds

No problem, lmp180psu. I am glad that I was able to help you out. We are...Penn St.

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CarMan@Edmunds

Thanks footie. Before I answer your question, I should mention that Acura's current lease program is only scheduled to run through Monday March 31st. Last month Acura was providing lease money factor support on the 2003 RL, but I have heard that Acura terminated its special lease money factors for this model and has replaced them with dealer cash. So if you were to lease a 2003 Acura RL through American Honda Finance Corp. this month for 3 years with 12,000 miles per, its base lease money factor and residual value should be .00220 and 49%, respectively. The numbers for an otherwise identical 4 year lease should be .00205 and 42%. In lieu of special lease money factors, I believe that Acura has $3,500 dealer cash on this model that may be used to negotiate a lower lease capitalized cost. As far as what is due at lease signing goes, you would have to pay your vehicle's first month's payment, a lease security deposit of that payment rounded up to the nearest, $25 or $50, a lease acquisition fee of $550, and any down payment that you choose to make (which preferably should be $0).

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CarMan@Edmunds

Hi again lmp180psu. The 620 credit score cutoff that I mentioned in an earlier post, is the lower limit of Nissan's 3rd credit tier. It currently allows consumer who qualify for its top 3 tiers to take advantage of its most attractive lease money factors. I have never seen them publish any sort of lease program for consumers who do not qualify for their 3rd credit tier. It is possible that they do have a program for consumers whose credit scores are below 620, but if they do I do not know what it is.

If your friend qualified for Nissan's top 3 credit tiers and was to lease a 2003 Nissan Altima 2.5 S through Nissan Motor Acceptance Corp. this month for 3 years with 15,000 miles per, its base lease money factor and residual values should be .00170 and 53%, respectively. The money factor for an otherwise identical lease with only 12,000 miles per year should be exactly the same, but the residual value should be 1% higher.

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CarMan@Edmunds

Hi Megan. There are three main ways that consumers can get out of their leases early. One is to find someone who is willing to assume their monthly lease payments. This is often very difficult to do and frequently requires the person who is looking for someone to assume their lease to sweeten the deal by paying money out of their own pocket. The second method would be to jut pay your remaining lease payments and turn your vehicle in. Obviously this is going to cost money. The third main way for consumers to get out of their leased vehicles is to purchase the car or truck that they are leasing and try to sell it on their own or trade it in on their next vehicle. The problem with this method is that leased vehicles are often worth less money in the real world than it costs to purchase them. If this is the case, and it often is, then consumers who do this are forced to take a loss, which they will pay out of their own pocket or roll over into their next vehicle's loan. There is a good article on this subject that it available here at Edmunds.com. Click on the following link to check it out: Leasing Tips - Answers to Three Tough Leasing Questions.

If you choose the third option, you first need to figure out exactly what your truck is worth on the open market right now. You can do so by looking up its Edmunds.com True Market Value and also by stopping by the "Real World Trade-In Values" discussion over on the Smart Shoppers Message Boards and asking some of the knowledgeable people there for their opinions. Once you have a good idea of what your truck is realistically worth, place a telephone call to the bank that you are leasing it through and ask them what it will cost to buy it out right now. Banks sometimes are willing to negotiate lease-end purchase prices with consumers, but since you are not near the end of your lease you don't have much bargaining power and it is unlikely that they will be willing to work with you. Once you
have these two prices, compare them and the difference is how much money you will make, or more likely how much money you will lose by purchasing your truck and selling it at this time.

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CarMan@Edmunds

You're welcome, Jefhack. It is difficult to predict what manufacturers' future lease programs will be like with any degree of certainty. I personally don't think that it will be significantly more or less expensive to lease a Nissan Murano in August than it is now. Vehicles' residual values naturally fall as the model year progresses, making them more expensive to lease. However, manufacturers often offset these lower residual values with enhanced lease money factors. Also, dealers are usually more willing to negotiate later in the model year. Of course, only time will tell for certain what will happen to this vehicle's lease program.

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mlattin

In the leasing tips link, it says that if you turn in your keys early it will go on your credit report as a repo. Is this in all cases, or just if you don't pay the early termination fees?

squirreljam

Carman - sorry if this is getting repetitive...

Still think the BMW 3 is a great car - just want to look at all the alternatives. Can you give rv and mf on 2003 Infinity G35 4dr manual trans for 36 months, 15K miles per?

Thanks - Squirrel

clpurnell

Are nissan and infiniti's credit tiers the same? Do you know what kind of score it takes to get Acura's best rates? TIA

carman54

i am interested in leasing a 2003 Accord LX auto 4 cyl.36 mos..15k. nothing down..I got a quote of 265.00 a month .Is this a fair price or can I do better??

tex701

Hello Car Man - and thanks a lot for the very useful advice on this board.

Just a couple of quick questions...

- If deciding on a lease, is it that the only reason one would have to contact multiple dealerships would be to negotiate a better dealer price? I take it that they all have to adhere to the same corporate lease terms?

- I'm looking at the X5 and GX470. From the information in previous posts, it seems to me that the historical lease terms on the BMW are much more favorable - residuals over 60% on 12k, better money factors, not to mention that it seems the X5 has room to negotiate off the MSRP, while the GX470 doesn't appear to yet. I ran numbers, and I got $682 for the X5 (62%/36-mo./12k/.0025, $48k list, $46k TMV), while the GX470 showed $801 a month (58%/36-mo./12k/.0023, $51k list, $50k negotiated). Do these numbers even come close to reality?

Thanks in advance for your advice.

spamuel

I'm interested in a 3-year lease on a 2004 Sienna XLE Limited and I would like have an idea of what the residual will be.

Thanks!

gperr

Car_man,

can you please provide the March Residual and MF for 2003 Civic Sedan Ex Auto. In Southern NJ- philly area

36, 48, & 60 months

10K /year & 12K/year

any difference in residual or money factor between EX sedan Auto with and without Side airbag package

Info for an older family member on a fixed income. i advised it would be better to buy this car at 1.9% for 60 months and not to lease for such a long period of time- but a really low payment for 5 years for someone on a fixed income is what they want.

thanks again.

Gregg

jak001

car man
please advise resid and money factor for 2003 highlander 4x4 limited 36 and 39 months 15k per year. thanks. i appreciate your help

wep68

LX and EX for 36months with 12K miles

Thanks so much for your help

wep68

Any experts (Carman)

Can I roll the aquisition fee, doc fee, and security deposit and title into the cap cost?

Does that have any negative sales tax ramifications, do those items become taxable if rolled in, but are not taxable if paid upfront? I live in Calif.

Does the desination fee get included in the MSRP when calculating a residual?

Thanks for your help!

nbm

Could you please tell me the money factor and residuals for the EXT LT leather and LT leather for 12k, 15k 3yrs and 12k, 15k 4yrs in Texas. One dealer told me since I am a Teacher they will give me 125. behind invoice. Where does a credit score of 666 fit in the tiers?

Thank you for your help.

gene1980

Carman,

Can you give me the lease numbers for a 2003 Toyota Prius. MSRP = 20,980; negotiated price = 18,500. I'm in N. Virginia and would like a 3 year 15k/year lease.

Thanks.

nlkleinberg

Hi Car_man:

Here's another one.

Just bought my car but I was so nervous I missed it when the salesman calculated sales tax. The GG tax (and in fact Destination) was included in the MSRP and he reckoned the tax on the entire sale amount (MSRP less my $1750 discount). When I discussed the deal later with someone else it suddenly occurred to me that it seems reasonable that the GG should be DEDUCTED from the negotiated price before calculating the tax; come to think of it and in light of what's been said in this thread, should there be sales tax on Destination fees as well?

I know you're tired of hearing this but, anyway, thanks for giving me the info I needed to make my deal and in advance for this subtle (but potentially expensive) point.

=NLK=

jak001

car man, i already asked for figures on 03 highlander and am back already. my wife thinks she likes 4 runner instead.would appreciate resid and money factors for 36 and 39 months 15k per year. Thanks

hcagan

Carman, I would appreciate your help

The lease on my 2000 A6 2.7T is up in a few weeks and I am seriously considering leasing another 2.7t or 3.0. I have 50K on the car and 45K allowance. What if any is the best way to get them to "eat" the excess mileage if I lease another vehicle without them building the cost into the new lease ? Could you provide me with the $ factor & residuals on both the 2.7 & 3.0 for 36 & 39 month lease with 15,000 miles a year. I have not seen any marketing support on the A6 in the New York area. Do you know if they will have a program within the next month or so. Can you also tell me the cost of buying additional mileage upfront vs. at the back end. Thanks for your help

jxlxr

If your current lease is through Audi Financial, they are offering $1000 lease renewal/loyalty money if you get another A6. You can use some of that to pay for the over mileage. This way you won't feel it in the lease. Leasing companies are much more strict about mileage than in the past since it does reduce the cars value.

CarMan@Edmunds

Hi everyone. I just wanted to drop a general message in this forum to let you know that the vast majority of automakers' lease programs either expire today or on April 2nd. As one might imagine, I have not seen any details of any of their April lease programs yet. I suspect that I will have had a chance to look at many of them by the end of the week. Please feel free to check back with me then and I will see if I can help you out. In the meantime, I will answer any questions about programs that were not scheduled to expire, if there even are any, or general questions about leasing. Talk to you soon.

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CarMan@Edmunds

Hi clpurnell. Some banks publish the credit score guidelines that they use to decide if consumers qualify for their special financing and lease rates and others seem to just keep that information to themselves and let dealers know whether or not consumers have been approved. I have not seen any published guidelines on this particular subject from either Infiniti or Acura. I imagine that Infiniti Financial Services' credit score requirements are fairly similar to Nissan Motor Acceptance Corp.'s though. Sorry that I couldn't provide you with any more specific informaiton.

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CarMan@Edmunds

Hello tex701. One should definitely shop around at several dealerships when looking to lease a new vehicle. One reason to do so, as you mentioned, is to negotiate a good selling price. However, there is another reason. Even though manufacturers' captive finance companies publish a base set of lease money factors and residual values for all the dealerships in a particular area to use, individual dealerships often have the right to "mark-up" banks' base lease money factors to add additional profit to deals. For example, let's say that Lexus Financial Services base lease money factor for the truck that you are interested in is currently .00270. Well, dealers may have the right to mark-up this base money factor to .00300 and have LFS pay them the additional money that is made through this increased rate, or at least a good portion of it. That is why you find consumers coming to this forum to ask me if I can tell them what sort of lease money factor they can expect. When shopping for a lease on a new vehicle, one has to make sure that they are getting a good price on it AND make sure that their dealer isn't adding any hidden profit to their deal by marking-up banks' lease money factors.

Over the past several months BMW's lease program on the X5 has been slightly more attractive than Lexus' program on the GX470 because BMW's residual values are a little higher. It remains to be seen what these companies' April lease programs will be like though.

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CarMan@Edmunds

Hey wep68. Most banks will allow consumers to at least roll their vehicle's lease acquisition fee into its capitalized cost. Since doc fees are essentially nothing more than additional profit to dealers and as a result are part of your vehicle's total price, they usually can be rolled into the capitalized cost as well. Some banks will also allow the lease security deposit to be added to the cap cost too. Other banks will waive the lease security deposit completely in exchange for a slight increase in the lease money factor. Although tax laws do vary from state to state, I suppose that in most areas one would have to pay tax on any fees that are rolled into their vehicle's total price. Vehicles destination charges are included in the full MSRP for the purpose of calculating models' residual values.

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CarMan@Edmunds

Hey NLK. It took me a second to figure out your fancy abbreviation for the Gas Guzzler tax. It doesn't make much sense that one would be taxed twice on the GG tax, but I am not intimately familiar with how tax on vehicles that have this tax is calculated. You may by able to find out an answer to your question on one of the following Web sites: IRS Gas Guzzler Tax Page or Fueleconomy.gov FAQ. As far as vehicles' destination charges go, I believe that they are subject to taxation.

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arath9319

Hello,

Let me start off by saying I'm unfamiliar with leases. I've read the articles on this site and they've been of great use. But I didn't see anything about buying out a lease contract in the middle of the contract versus the end.

I am considering purchasing a used 2003 Ford Expedition XLT. The current lessee is currently on the 9th month of a 48 mo term. This is what I know so far: 48 mo term at $550.93 with a residual value of $16,000. The initial adjusted capitalized cost is $33,379.00. I was told that the buy-out amount is $31,234.00 before April 7. I was also told that the SUV will be without warranty as stated in his contract. The lack of a warranty alone gets me nervous.

Now generally speaking, what should I look out for? Am I missing something? Is it bad to buy-out a lease? Can someone please toss some tips and/or warnings my way? Thanks a million!!!

CarMan@Edmunds

Hi hcagan. Unfortunately, I don't know if there is any best way to get a bank to waive your excess mileage penalty from your current lease. I have heard stories about banks that will waive lease-end charges in order to get consumers to lease though them again. Specifically, I have heard several stories about BMW Financial Services doing this, but none about Audi Financial Services. You may want to place a call to AFS to see if someone there would be willing to work with you. If your initial contact is not willing to do so, you may have better luck if you work your way up the ladder a few rungs. There certainly is no guarantee that they would be willing to work with you, but you have nothing to lose by asking. Jxlxr made a good point about Audi's owner loyalty cash. Even if AFS is not willing to waive any of your excess mileage penalty, the $1,000 owner loyalty cash that Audi is offering on the A6 will help to soften the blow a little.

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multiplechoice

Hi Car_man,
I'm thinking of leasing a roadster and I would like to know the MF and residual value for 36 mo. 10K/yr. The cars I'm looking at are the BMW Z4 3.0 and the Boxster. I'm in southern calif. Thanks!!

colie74

Hey Car_man it's me again! I am now leaning towards leasing a loaded Altima 3.5 SE 5 speed. There are two in the area, one at each dealer. Could you provide lease residual and money factor on a 48 month lease at 12K miles. The sticker is 28K and some change, I am sure I can get it down to 25,500 or 26K. But what is the residual that nissan uses on the 48 month lease and what money factor. Even if you only have the March rates, that will be a good enough ball park.

Thanks
Nicole

automan227

I recently was looking around at a 2003 Taurus SES with the following options:

Leather
Power Pedals and Drivers seat
CD-Player
Alloy Wheels
Heated Front Seats

Base 3.0 V6
MSRP: 21k or so
The lease I got was as follows:

$0 Down, with first months payment and security deposit due at signing.
36 months
12,000 miles per year
$.15 per mile over that

Monthly payment: $260 and change

How did I do?

Thanks.

AS

skobola

Carman, why don't you post all the lease information somewhere on the Edmund's web pages, so we can look and play with numbers. That will probably give you more time to answer more peculiar leasing questions. As I can see now the most of posts are of a "what-is-the-MF-and-residual-for-x-car" kind, which really could be observed in some kind of table. This could be also useful for us who usually cross-reference a couple of cars... Otherwise, maybe you could reveal from where you get your MF and residual information... Aside of that, I found your information very, very helpful when I was leasing my cars. Thanks!

mlattin

Okay, my lease is through NMAC, and my early termination fee is the same fees for scheduled termination (ie disposition fee, excessive wear and tear, and excess mileage) plus the difference between the "adjusted lease balance" and the "Fair market wholesale value".

It's says the adjusted lease balance is calculated by the "constant yield method". What is this?

Second, if the wholesale value is greater than the adjusted lease balance do they give you money?

Thanks,
Megan

CarMan@Edmunds

Hi multiplechoice. Thanks for re-posting your question in this discussion. Porsche and BMW are actually two of the few manufacturers whose lease programs actually continue through the end of April, provided that they don't make any unscheduled revisions. Here is the information that you are looking for. If you were to lease a 2003 BMW Z4 3.0 through BMW Financial Services right now for 3 years with 10,000 miles per, its base lease money factor and residual value should be .00225 and 61%, respectively. The numbers for an otherwise identical lease of a 2003 Porsche Boxster w/Tiptronic through Porsche Credit should be .00250 and 51%.

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CarMan@Edmunds

Hi Nicole. Nissan's April lease program could be significantly different than its March lease program. I should be able to give you an idea of what the April numbers are like in a few days. Please check back with me then. Thanks.

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rivertown

I saw in the financial news today that Travelers (insurance co.) took a .08 per share charge (loss) due to losses on policies insuring the residual value of leased cars.
Makes me think residuals will drop or aquisition fees will rise.

gtom71

Here's a good test for you, something a little different, maybe you can help. I'm looking at buying a used BMW that was returned early on a lease. It was a 2002 325i (spt pkg, prem. pkg, manual, xenon lights) the lease sale price was $32,702 and was leased around 2/02 and returned 2/03. Car also had a ding on the driver side wheel well that probably needs minor work. The car has 18k miles on it. I don't know any other details. What do you think might be buyback price or price at sale in wholesale auction? (assuming a 3yr lease and 15k mileage requirement). I just don't want to get hosed buying from this used car dealer. Thanks.

mchlhgn1

I am thinking about leasing a Passat GL 1.8T auto, and I was wondering if I am getting a good deal or if I should try to get the price lowered. The lease that I am looking at is a 48 month, 12,000 miles a year lease at $312.98 a month. first month down. the RV at the end will be $11,625. My main questions would be is this a good deal, if not what might be, and is the RV right or is it low.
Thank you,
Michael

nbm

Car_man,

Do you know the money factor and residuals for 12k and 15k 36 months and 48 months. I have a dealer giving me 500.00 under invoice for being a teacher and saying he can lease it for around 362.00 - 0 down, 12k miles not sure on 36 or 48. Credit score is 666. Does this sound right or a run around?

Thank you

multiplechoice

arath9319, why buy used? You can take advantage of the manufaturers low interest rates, get a great discount(probably less than the buyout price you listed), have the benefit of a new car warranty if you bought a new 2003 expedition.

lease_rx300

Car_man - last month you posted residual and money factor from LFS. I need that info for this month as I am right about to sign a 3 year 36k deal on the RX300, Premium Plus Value package but no NAV. I've been given a lease deal with:

MSRP: $37242
Negotiated Price: $32929 plus $600 bank fee
Money Factor: .00131
Residual: 51% or $18993
Monthly Payment (incl tax): 511.56

How do these numbers look?

Thanks for the help!

icdchess

Using your figures for a 36 month lease on the 3.0 X-type (.00076 and 51%), I just completed phone negotiations with my local New York dealer.

I happen to have a $1000 coupon so that helped. I left no deposit.

But this evening I opened my Automotive News and see for the first time that the X-type and S-type now have a $2000 "cash rebate" which expires on April 30th.

Can you confirm that information so I can take advantage of it. But time is running short since my salesman is going to be doing the paperwork on Friday. Thanks for all your help.
Steve

wayde

Hi - Can you provide lease information for the TSX when available? 36/39 month / 12K / 0 down.

Also, is Acura updating or keeping the same lease program for the TL-S in April?

And lastly, Accord Coupe - EXV6.

Thanks