Lease Questions - Ask Here

CarMan@Edmunds

Hey rokum17. If I had a magic hat, I guarantee you that I would pull cooler stuff than lease data from it . I have seen Saab's lease program for this car and would be more than happy to help you out. They definitely have support available on the 2003 9-5 right now. If you were to lease a 2003 Saab 9-5 Arc Sedan through Saab Financial Services Corp. this month for 3 years with 10,000 miles per, its base lease money factor and residual value should be .00031 and 45%, respectively. In addition to this special lease money factor, Saab is providing $3,000 lease cash on the 2003 9-5 Arc Sedan that may be used to negotiate a lower capitalized cost.

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CarMan@Edmunds

You're welcome, sanah.

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CarMan@Edmunds

Hi Tammyb6. I would be more than happy to give you an idea of what the lease program should currently be like for the 2003 version of this truck, but I have not seen any lease data for 2004 X5s yet so I can't help you out there. According to the latest information that I have seen, if you were to lease a 2003 BMW X5 4.4i through BMW Financial Services this month for 3 years with 12,000 miles per its base lease money factor and residual value should be .00225 and 61%, respectively. The money factor for an otherwise identical lease with only 10,000 miles per year would be exactly the same, but the residual value would be 1% higher. The above money factor assumes that your credit score is higher enough to qualify for BMW FS' top credit tier.

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CarMan@Edmunds

Hey fsufan. I just ran some numbers and using the latest lease program that I have seen, if you were to lease a 2003 Jaguar X-Type with an MSRP of $29,950 at full pop through Jaguar Credit this month for 39 months with 10,000 miles per, your zero down pre-tax monthly payment should be right around $439. Using the $2,799 down payment (which is way more than anyone should ever put down on a lease, but that is a whole different conversation) from the ad that you saw, the payment would drop to around $364. If you were to lease this car at MSRP for 3 years with 12k per, your zero down, pre-tax monthly payment should be around $461. Having said this, you definitely should NOT pay full MSRP for any Jaguar X-Type right now. You actually should be able to get one for a couple hundred dollars over invoice and then have them subtract the $2,000 incentive if the one that you are interested in is a stick or a Sport model.

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tparki

Car_man, was wondering if you could give me the residual and mf for the 9-3 linear auto. I saw the numbers from post #6103; however, when I use those numbers I get a different payment price than the one I get from using the Saab website, with the website being significantly lower. Thanks in advance for your help.

zednick

Car Man: Last question

Can you give me the payment for these factors:
MSRP 35,815
Price: 33,865
money factor & residual based on 2.5 for 12,000 miles per year for 48 months. Thanks again.

tparki

Tell me what you get car_man with the numbers for the 9-3 Linear.

MSRP: $30065
EMPLOYEE DISCOUNT: $26939 (-$3126)
FACTORY-TO-DEALER: $24439 (-$2500)

Total cost (without prep & delivery) is $24439
According to the Saab site, without tax the monthly payment for 36 months at 15000 a year would be ~$250. When I use the residual and mf you gave in the other post I get above 300 without tax.

kyfdx

If I recall, the Saab website doesn't allow you to enter the capitalized cost... You are assuming they are figuring the lease at MSRP minus whatever down payment(discount) you put in. However, I believe they are already figuring in a discount and dealer incentives into their pricing model.. So, some of these discounts are figured in already.

hope this helps,
kyfdx

tammyb6

Car_man,
Thank you so much for that information. I appreciate it!!!!!!

tammyb6

spriyada

Car_man and/or other leasing gurus:

I am considering leasing a BMW 525i (Premium, Auto, Cold Weather, Xenon, Fold Down Rear Seats).
The MSRP is $43,345 and the invoice is $39,710. TMV is $41,755.

After much haggling, the dealer is currently offering to sell at the following lease terms but only the ones on his lot (which means he doesn't have the color I want):

Negotiated price $41,370. 36 month lease. 10K miles per year. Residual $27,307 (63%). Acquisition Fee $595. Documentation Fee $107. Money factor 0.00124. With sales tax of 6%, the monthly lease payment is $526.

Does all of this sound right? Car_man wrote that the money factor is 0.001 for 5-series. The dealer told (lied) that BMW sets it.
Is the residual low for 10K/year? The acquisition fee also seems high compared to what others are paying. Finally the documentation fee is a bunch of smoke.

Any comments and suggestions are highly welcome.
Spriyada.

gperr

Car_man,

Can you please provide the Residual and MF for 2003 Civic Sedan LX (auto w/ side airbags) for 36, 39, and 48 months- 10K miles/year.

Is there any difference in Res percentage and MF for Civic Sedan LX with side airbags vs. without?

Thanks once again.

Gregg

tparki

The Saab site doesn’t let you enter the cap cost. So I’ve just entered the $2500 factory to dealer rebate and the GM Employee discount together as the down payment. The Saab site doesn’t have the discount and/or incentives already figured in – it goes by the MSRP.

I have done this trying to figure out payment information on the Arc and the Saab site gives the payment as a couple of bucks more than what I have figured out both by hand and by using the calculator on leaseguide.com (using the residual and mf that car_man provided). The difference here is nothing compared to the difference I get with the Linear.

rphil

Thanks for the info Carman. Looking over other posts, I had seen .0015 as BMW's money factor. What is the .001 money factor applicable to. The dealer made some mention of different money factors for former BMW lessees. It doesn't surprise me that the dealer misrepresented the base acquisition fee.
Also, the F&I guy tried to push excess wear and tear insurance on the lease covering excess mileage of 1,000 miles and up to $2500 in repairs. Any thoughts on this product. I declined it, never having heard of it and figuring that they were just trying to increase their profit.

rivertown

Good leasing!

rokum17

You don't get $2,500 rebate if you lease 9-3SS Linear. You only get $2,000 lease support (N/A to Arc, btw).

tparki

Currently there is $2500 factory-to-dealer cash on all 9-3 models. When purchasing/leasing a vehicle using the GM Employee or Supplier discounts, the dealers are obligated to pass along all current incentives. I was not aware that there was the $2000 lease support for the Linear.

kyfdx

I've also noticed the discounts on the GM supplier discount website.. It shows $6000 incentive on the 9-3 convertible, yet Car-Man shows $4000 incentive on the leases. Its possible that the leases have different incentives than purchases. I'd call the GM supplier 800# before I'd go to the dealer.

kyfdx

CarMan@Edmunds

Greetings tparki. I would be more than happy to help you out, but I am going to need you to tell me how long you are interested in leasing this car for and how many miles per year you need to be able to drive without having to pay a lease-end penalty. Once I have that info I will be able to give you an idea of what this car's lease program is currently like. Talk to you soon.

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tparki

Sorry about that. It will be the usual 36/15000

CarMan@Edmunds

Sure thing, zednick. According to my calculations, if you were to lease a 2003 Jaguar X-Type 2.5 (MSRP: $35,815 / Cap Cost: $33,865) through Jaguar Credit this month for 4 years with 12,000 miles per, your zero down, pre-tax monthly lease payment should be right around $461. This payment is based on the latest incentives information that I have seen. This information was scheduled to be good through April 30th, but manufacturers do occasionally make unscheduled enhancements to their programs.

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CarMan@Edmunds

Thanks for the additional info, tparki. OK, according to my calculations, if you were to lease a 2003 Saab 9-3 Linear Sedan (MSRP: $30,065 / Capitalized Cost: $24,439) through Saab Financial Services Corp. this month for 3 years with 15,000 miles per, your zero down, pre-tax monthly lease payment should be right around $299. In one of your posts, you mentioned that you are subtracting $2,500 lease cash from this car's price. However, according to the latest information that I have seen, Saab only has $2,000 lease cash on this model at this time. If the price of this car were to increase by that $500, the payment would go up to $314 or so. Again, this is the most recent information that I have seen and it is scheduled to run through April 30th. Manufacturers do occasionally make unscheduled enhancements to their programs, but I am not aware of any for Saab at this time.

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CarMan@Edmunds

You're welcome, tammyb6. I am glad that I was able to help you out.

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CarMan@Edmunds

Hello Spriyada. BMW does indeed set the lease money factors for vehicles, however dealers do have the ability to mark money factors up to add additional hidden profit to deals. It certainly appears as though this is what is happening with your dealer. I just worked out a sample lease payment on this car for you, and according to my calculations if you were to lease a 2003 BMW 525i (MSRP: $43,345 / Capitalized Cost: $41,370) through BMW Financial Services using its base lease money factor this month for 3 years with 10,000 miles per, its zero down, pre-tax monthly payment should be right around $460. It looks as though your payment is a little higher than it should be because of the marked-up money factor, but the 63% residual value that you were quoted is right now the money. I agree with your statement that the doc fee is just additional profit, but the $100 fee that they are adding to your deal is not that high. BMW's base lease acquisition fee is currently $525 in most states. They may be padding this a little as well.

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CarMan@Edmunds

Hey Gregg. The lease money factors and residual values for Civic models with and without side air bags would be exactly the same. The only difference between a vehicle with side air bags and one without them would be the price. If you were to lease a 2003 Honda Civic LX Sedan through American Honda Finance Corp. this month for any of the terms that you mentioned, its base lease money factor should be .00078. This car's 12,000 miles per year residual values should presently be 54% for 36 months, 50% for 39 months, and 45% for 48 months. I don't know if AHFC offers leases with only 10,000 miles per year, but if they do the residual values associated with that mileage limit would likely be around 1% higher than the 12k residuals that I just mentioned.

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CarMan@Edmunds

You're welcome, rphil. When BMW initially published its current lease program on March 4th, it had a money factor of .00150 on the 2003 5-Series that was scheduled to run through April 30th. However, on April 1st, BMW made an unscheduled enhancement to the 5-Series money factors, lowering it to .00100 for leases of up to 42 months in length. This new enhanced factor is available to everyone, not just returning BMW lessees.

I haven't heard much about excess wear and tear insurance. It is an interesting concept, but think about it, whatever company is offering this sort of coverage wouldn't be doing so unless it felt that it could take in more money that it paid out in claims. If you really beat on your cars, plan on exceeding your mileage limit, or both and the price is reasonable I don't see any reason not to get this coverage, but I think that I personally would pass on it. From what I hear, BMW FS is usually fairly lenient in its lease-end evaluation of vehicles.

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CarMan@Edmunds

Kyfdx, Saab has two different sets of dealer cash allowances on its cars, one for cash purchases and Non-Saab Fnancial Services lease and finance contracts and another for leases through Saab Financial Services Corp. The latter lease cash allowances are lower than its normal dealer cash allowances.

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taxd00d

Car_man,

Could you tell me the Money Factor and Residual for a 2003 BMW 325xi assuming 24months and 15,000 annual miles. Also, could you provide the same info with the same assumptions for a 2003 BMW 330xi.

Thank you,
Taxd00d

dzuba

MSRP of $48,770 - I can get for $1500 over invoice. About 46K

Can you help with the 3 years/15k miles per year!
What would my 3 year residual value be, as well as my money factor, and any estimate on payments? I live in Illinois. Thanks

kyfdx

thanks for the info!!

kyfdx

gperr

Car_man,

Thanks for the info on the Civic LX in my post #6308. But this leads to a strange question. Compare posts 6270 & 6308- different numbers for the same term 4 years/48 months. Did the rates change from April 22 to April 23???

Gregg

ensm00

Carman-

Thanks for all the great info. Could you give me the current money factor and residual on a 39 month, 12K/mi/year, lease on a 2003 Audi A6 3.0. Also if you have the 36 or 42 month difference that would be great.

Thanks

casams

I am interested in the xle awd with dvd for 36 or 48 months and 12,000 per year.
 thanks
Jessica

knr5

Car Man,
I would appreciate your evaluation of the following leases I am considering. I have cut and pasted the relevant information from my longer post of a few days ago.

"I see from Edmunds that the 9-3 Arc (MT) is available for 349/m, app with 2,600 down (including SD/AF and first month payment). The lease is for 36 months, 10k miles per year. I can live with that, though 12k miles would be better. My local VW dealer offered a Passat GLX (MT) for 400/m, 2,000 down + SD/AF + first month payment. The lease is for 36 months, 12k miles per year. I am aware that Saab has 3,000 cash or 0% financing for 60 months; VW has 1.9% financing for 60 months.

Are either of these good deals? If both are good, which is the better deal in your opinion?
Again, I thank you for your input.
Raj
 
p.s.: While I was at the VW dealership, a 2003 W8 sedan was on the lot as a lease special. 399/m with 2000 down (+ 550 SC + first month). This is for a 60 month lease, 12k miles per year. Instinctively, I feel it is a great deal -- but I do not want an auto transmission!:(
I test drove it and came away very impressed with the seamless power delivery, but mildly concerned with the apparent fuel economy. However, I was tempted to sample a real luxury car, instead of a near luxury car!

The dealer is willing to get me a 6-speed W8 Wagon (sedan loses too much trunk space to the AWD mechanicals) for 550/m -- 36 month lease, 12k miles per year, similar down payment, SD etc. I feel I can do better. Should I ask for $500/m? I would like your comments on this issue also. Thanks."

CarMan@Edmunds

Greetings Taxd00d. According to the most recent program that I have seen, if you were to lease a 2003 BMW 325xi through BMW Financial Services this month for 2 years with 15,000 miles per, its base lease money factor and residual value should be .00150 and 67%, respectively. The program for an otherwise identical lease of a 2003 330xi would be exactly the same.

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CarMan@Edmunds

Hi dzuba. If you were to lease a 2003 BMW 530i through BMW Financial Services this month for 3 years with 15,000 miles per, its base lease money factor and residual value should be .00100 and 59%, respectively. Using these numbers, if you were to lease a car with an MSRP of $48,770 and a capitalized cost of $46,000, you should have a zero down, pre-tax monthly lease payment of right around $553.

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CarMan@Edmunds

Hey Gregg. I just compared the numbers that I posted in messages #6270 and #6308 and in both messages I stated that the lease money factor for the 2003 Honda Civic should be .00078, but the correct 4 year 12,000 miles per residual value should be 51%. I apologize for any confusion.

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CarMan@Edmunds

No problem, ensm00. If you were to lease a 2003 Audi A6 3.0 Sedan with quattro through Audi Financial Services this month for 39 months with 12,000 miles per year, its base lease money factor and residual value should be .00050 and 51%, respectively. The 36 month money factor for this car would be exactly the same, but the residual value would be 2% higher. I have not seen the 42 month info so I can't help you out there.

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CarMan@Edmunds

Hi Jessica. As one might expect with a completely redesigned model, Toyota is not providing any sort of lease support on the 2004 Toyota Sienna at this time. So if you were to lease one through Toyota Financial Services this month, you would have to use its base lease money factor of .00240 for all of the terms that you mentioned. This factor assumes that you qualify for TFS' tier 1 rates. The 3 and 4 year, 12,000 miles per residual values for this van should be 62% and 54% for the base Sienna and 57% and 49% for the Sienna Limited.

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kevinjs

I am looking to lease a 03-04 323cic.I understand that the lease rate is going up 5/1/03
Should I lock in now, or wait. Also, what would be the better bargain, 03-or 04/. I don't think that there is much of a diff. between the two<is there?) Can I pre-approve through BMWFS, and than go to a dealer? Thanks Kevin

CarMan@Edmunds

Hi Raj. Strictly focusing on the monthly payments of leased vehicles is often misleading because of all of the variables that are associated with leases. Rather than strictly focusing on vehicles' lease payments, it is much less confusing to look at the individual components that make up payments for the vehicle that you are interested in.

Remember that consumers are free to negotiate the prices of leased vehicles, just as if they were paying cash for them. The prices that are used to calculate advertised lease payments can frequently be beaten by negotiating with dealers. So rather than looking at worked out deals for vehicles, I think that a better way for you to look at leases for the vehicles that you are interested in would be to ask me for their base lease money factors and residual values and then use those numbers in conjunction with price quotes that you get from dealers to calculate lease payments. Comparison shop, either in person, over the phone, or via e-mail at a couple of different dealers in your area and use the quotes that you get to figure out exactly what it will cost you to actually lease vehicles that your local dealers have in stock.

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CarMan@Edmunds

Hello kevinjs. What makes you think that BMW's lease money factors for the 325Ci Convertible (there is no 323 any more) are going to increase when its current program expires on April 30th? Dealers often tell consumers that lease programs are going to get worse when they expire to create a sense of urgency and close their deal as soon as possible. It is difficult to day what BMW will do with its May lease program. It is possible that it will be worse than its current program, but I don't think anyone knows for certain what the May numbers will be like at this point. Interestingly enough, both the 2003 and 2004 versions of this car have the exact same lease money factors available on them right now. So all things being equal, namely price, it actually would be less expensive to lease an '04 325Ci Convertible this month than it would be to lease an '03 model because the '04 has higher residual values. Again though it is difficult to say what May's lease program will be like until BMW publishes it.

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gperr

Car_man,

Thank you for clearing up some of the info on the Civic LX. But with your correction, I now am left wondering what the residual is on the 36 and 39 month lease 12K miles on the Civic Sedan LX. The reason I ask, is in response to my original question- you indicated the 36 month residual was 54%, the 39 month was 50% and the 48 month 45%. You cleared up that the 48 month was really 51%. So What are the correct 36 and 39 month residuals???? It is hard to beleive that the residual is better on the longer term. Thanks in advance for helping me.

Gregg

krabapple1

Hey There, Not sure if I'm getting hosed on this deal or not. Here are the specs:
MSRP $34,395 Cap Cost $33,261, 4K down, cap cost reduction $3,070.05, adj cap cost $30,716, lease factor .0019, residual $20,980, 36 month/12K miles $400.00 per month includes tax. Decent deal ? Thanks in advance for any assistance

CarMan@Edmunds

You're welcome, Gregg. AHFC's correct lease residual values for the 2003 Honda Civic Sedan should be 57% for 36 months and 55% for 39 months. The money factors that I provided in both posts are correct. Again I am very sorry for any confusion. Have a great weekend.

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CarMan@Edmunds

Hi krabapple1. Let me begin by saying that I personally feel as though $4,000 is way too much money to put down on a leased vehicle. I say this for two main reasons. One is that if your vehicle is totaled in an accident or stolen and never recovered during your lease, your insurance company pays off the bank that you are leasing through and your down payment essentially disappears. Also, no matter how large a down payment you make, your lease-end purchase price for this car will not change. For instance, regardless whether you were to put $4,000 down on this lease or you made absolutely no down payment your lease-end purchase price would be exactly the same.

Also, BMW financial Services' base lease money factor for a 3 year lease of a 2003 BMW 325i is currently only .00150. If the dealership that you are working with is using a factor of .00190 to calculate your lease payment, they are marking up BMW FS' base factor in an effort to add additional hidden profit to your deal. This increased money factor will make your payment higher than it should be. According to my calculations, if you were to lease a 2003 BMW 325i (MSRP: $34,395 / Selling Price: $33,261) through BMW FS for 3 years with 12,000 miles per and a $3,000 down payment, your pre-tax monthly lease payment should be right around $326. Without any money down, the payment for this lease would increase to $414, pre-tax. So, I personally feel as though you still have a little room for negotiation left in this deal.

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dzuba

Hi dzuba. If you were to lease a 2003 BMW 530i through BMW Financial Services this month for 3 years with 15,000 miles per, its base lease money factor and residual value should be .00100 and 59%, respectively. Using these numbers, if you were to lease a car with an MSRP of $48,770 and a capitalized cost of $46,000, you should have a zero down, pre-tax monthly lease payment of right around $553

With a cost to me of $45410, a money factor of .0010, and a Residual Value of 59% - my BMW dealer has given me the following payments -both of which seem high compared with your figures. 7% Sales tax in Illinois FYI

3 yrs 15K per = $687 per month, $1600 down
3 yrs 25K per = 807 per month, $1800 down

How do I get to the $553 plus tax that you came up with?

I owe you a beer for this!

krabapple1

Hey Carman, Thanks for the info. Turns out that the car in question has since been sold but they have LOTS more sitting there. Going to the dealer tomorrow to look at a 325 Ci PP SP leather. Sounds gorgeous. Do you think if I lower my dp to 3K I should still be able to keep my monthly at around $400 w/ tax for a more expensive car if they use they base lease rate ? Thanks again, this process is making me insane but if it results in in a great car ofcourse its worth it.

knr5

Car Man,
Thank you for your response. My point in posting my query here, and later asking you specifically, was to get some reactions to the essential terms of the lease, i.e., were people getting better deals on similar leases for the same car? All of the factors are eventually captured by four elements anyway -- payment/month, period of lease, allowable miles, and money down (capital cost reduction). Security deposit and acquisition cost are, perhaps, pretty much the same for a particular model across dealers. Sales tax appears to be around 5% in most areas. I thought I provided just enough information to get some initial reaction from this board suggesting that it is not a bad deal or it is a ripoff -- based on leases people have been able to negotiate. Apparently, I was mistaken!:)

Here are the numbers for the Passat W8 Wagon (6 speed manual):
MSRP $40,775
Disc $1,994
Cost of vehicle: $38,781
Residual: $22,426
No. of months: 36
No. of free miles/year allowed: 12,000
Sales Tax applicable: 5%
Down Payment: $2,000
Acquisition Fee: $450
Security Deposit: App. 1 month payment (rounded)
1st Month Payment due at the time of leasing.
{All of the above are the dealer's numbers, terms.)

If I use the basic lease calculator (Edmunds) or the one in SmartMoney, using a money factor of 0.0008 (corresponding to VW's 1.9% interest rate), I get a payment marginally short of $500 per month. The dealer quoted me $550 per month, as I mentioned before. Am I justified in asking for $500 per month? Is the residual reasonable (57-58%)? I would appreciate your advice. Thanks.
Raj
p.s.: A money factor of 0.002 results in approximately $550 per month.

casams

It seems in general a 36 month lease is favored over 48 month and I am curious what the advantage is?

tobyw

Car man Please evaluate 2003 MDX lease(base model):4 yr, 15k per year, cap cost $35,000; no cap cost reduction, no sec. dep.,money factor 0.002, resid. $19186(53%);$452 monthly payment.