Lease Questions - Ask Here

newbee3

Hi Car_man,

I am interested in leasing a 2005 Saab 9-3 Linear or Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo 4x4, or a Pontiac G6 GT.

Do you have the June MF and Residual Value for these cars for both 2 Yr/15k miles a year and 3 Yr/15k miles a year.

Generally speaking, is it better to lease a car for 2 years or 3 years? Also is it better to put more $$ down or less on leases??

Thank you for your help.

bp714

Hi Car man--

Thanks in advance for your help and sorry in advance if this has been answered aIready. I saw a number of requests for this info but my search came up blank.

I'm looking for the June IFS MF and residual for for an m35x, 39 mo, 15k/yr.

With an MSRP of $50,940 and a selling price of $48,959, titled in Chicago, I was quoted $829.00/mo with $2000 cash upfront.

Your thoughts, please

Thanks again!

dcferro

HI,

I am looking to lease a 2005 FWD silver Nissan Murano SL with the SL Leather package X04. I would like 12k miles, 36 months. Do you have some sample leases for me. The depreciation # is 59%, the money factor is .00077. The Msrp is 32,730 and invoice is 29,962. Thank you for any help you can offer. I am in florida where the tax is 6%. Thanks

dcferro

Sorry the MSRP is 34,140 and it is the SL with touring package.

CarMan@Edmunds

Hi shner. Let's calculate a sample lease payment on the car that you are interested in using BMW Financial Services' actual lease program and see what we come up with. According to my calculations, if you were to lease a 2006 BMW 325i with an MSRP of $38,040 and a selling price of $36,410 through BMW FS right now for 2 years with 12,000 miles per, its zero down, pre-tax monthly payment should be around $506. A capitalized cost reduction of $1,600 would drop this car's lease payment to around $435. As you can see, the payment that you were quoted for this car is a little higher than this. If I was in your shoes, I would want to know why. FYI, I used a lease money factor of .00250 and a residual value od 74% to arrive at this payment.

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CarMan@Edmunds

Hello uacat. I would be more than happy to to give you an idea of what sort of lease payment you can expect to pay on this truck, however you never mentioned the selling price of the truck that you are interested in leasing. This is an important number for you as a consumer to know for two reasons. First, the selling prices of leased vehicles can be negotiated, just as if you were paying cash for them. Without knowing the price of the Pathfinder that you want to lease you don't know how good a price you are getting it for. The second reason is that one needs the selling price of a vehicle that they want to lease is that it is necessary to calculate its lease payment. You should be able to get an idea of what you should pay for this truck by visiting the following discussion: "Nissan Pathfinder: Prices Paid & Buying Experience". Let me know the price and I will let you know the payment.

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CarMan@Edmunds

Hey sphere99. Many people avoid paying vehicles' acquisition fees and taxes at lease signing if it is at all possible to do so for the same reason that most of us choose not to pay capitalized cost reductions.

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CarMan@Edmunds

Welcome back, purchasingsoon. Have you had the same username since all the way back in 2002? If so, it wasn't very appropriate for a while, but fortunately it is again . As you are almost certainly already aware, BMW recently redesigned the BMW 330i. As a result, it is not currently providing much in the way of lease support on it at this time. If you were to lease a 2006 BMW 330i through BMW Financial Services right now for 36 months with 15,000 miles per year, its base lease money factor and residual value should be .00250 and 59%, respectively. Let me know if you have any other questions.

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CarMan@Edmunds

Snail, IFS' 39 month, 15,000 miles per year base lease money factor and residual value for a lease of a 2005 G35 Coupe should currently be .00213 and 56%, respectively.

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CarMan@Edmunds

Greetings camloc. The vast majority of leases today, including all leases through manufacturers' captive finance companies, are closed end leases. This means that at the scheduled end of your lease you have the option to purchase the vehicle that you have been leasing for a predetermined price, but you are not required to do so.

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CarMan@Edmunds

Hi kd270. Please turn off the CAPS LOCK. Apparently in forums like this, typing in all caps is considered to be shouting . I would be more than happy to give you my opinion of this deal, however you never mentioned the selling price or MSRP of the vehicle that you are interested in leasing. These are important number for you as a consumer to know for two reasons. First, the selling prices of leased vehicles can be negotiated, just as if you were paying cash for them. Without knowing this car's selling price in relation to its MSRP you don't know how much of a discount you are getting on it. The second reason is that one needs the selling price and MSRP, including the destination charge, of a vehicle to calculate its lease payment. I would be more than happy to work up a sample lease payment on the Infiniti FX35 that you are interested in for you if you let me know what these numbers are.

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CarMan@Edmunds

Here is the information that you are looking for andre1. If you were to lease a 2005 Cadillac CTS through GMAC this month for 2 years with 15,000 miles per, its base lease rate and residual value should be 3.95% and 59%, respectively. The numbers for an otherwise identical 36 month lease should be 3.95% and 51%. The lease rates for otherwise identical leases with only 12,000 miles per year would be the same, but the residual values would increase to 60% and 54%, respectively. When calculating this car's lease payment, don't forget that in addition to being able to buy it at GM's employee purchase program price, there is $1,100 lease cash on it this month.

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CarMan@Edmunds

Hi Jay. You are absolutely correct, when shopping for a lease it is very important to find out what the exact MSRP and selling price of the vehicle that you are interested in are. These are important number for you as a consumer to know for two reasons. First, the selling prices of leased vehicles can be negotiated, just as if you were paying cash for them. Without knowing this truck's selling price in relation to its MSRP you don't know how much of a discount you are getting on it. The second reason is that one needs the selling price and MSRP, including the destination charge, of a vehicle to calculate its lease payment. I do not personally keep tabs on the details of manufacturers' balloon note programs, but I can calculate a sample lease payment on the MDX that you are interested in for you. This should at least give you an idea of what sort of payment to expect.

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CarMan@Edmunds

Hey sphere99. I would be happy to give you my opinion of this deal, however I need some additional information from you first, including the name of the model that you are interested in, its full MSRP, and how many miles per year you need to be able to drive it.

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CarMan@Edmunds

Greetings mgz2400. I have seen Saab's June lease program and can answer your questions for you. In addition to being able to purchase it through GM's employee purchase program, in June Saab is providing $3,500 lease cash on the 2005 9-3 Linear Sedan. Saab Financial Services' Corp.'s current base lease money factor and residual value for a 3 year, 15,000 miles per lease of this car are .00125 and 46%.

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CarMan@Edmunds

Welcome ctsv. It sounds as though you are new to the world of leasing. If this is the case, you definitely should check out the following informative articles that are available here at Edmunds.com prior to visiting any dealers: 10 Steps to Leasing a New Car and Calculate Your Own Lease Payment.

Having said this, it looks as though you are on the ball. You provided a very detailed description of the lease that you are considering. The lease rate and residual value that you were quoted for this car are in line with GMAC's current program for it. Normally consumers should negotiate the selling prices of leased vehicles, but since the dealer that you are getting your CTS from is most likely participating in the GM Employee Purchase program promotion you should not have to worry about negotiating your car's capitalized cost this month. If you like the car, I don't personally see any reason not to pull the trigger on this deal.

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desgnconcpts

Dear Car_Man,
Hope you can help -- please look at message #21127 link title

CarMan@Edmunds

Hi jmjinnj. You never mentioned the selling price of the car that you are interested in leasing. This is an important number for you as a consumer to know for two reasons. First, the selling prices of leased vehicles can be negotiated, just as if you were paying cash for them. Without knowing the price of the car that you want to lease you don't know how good a price you are getting it for. The second reason is that one needs the selling price of a vehicle that they want to lease is that it is necessary to calculate its lease payment. I would be more than happy to work up a sample lease payment on the car that you are interested in for you if you let me know what its selling price is.

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CarMan@Edmunds

Hi ae5555. The lease money factor and residual value that you were quoted for a 27 month lease of the 2005 Acura TL that you are interested in are much better than American Honda Finance Corp.'s lease program for that length lease. It looks to me as though the selling price that you were quoted for this car is around $1,000 over invoice, which is not bad but if you are in an area where there is a decent amount of competition for your business can probably be beaten. I just plugged the numbers that you mentioned in your post into my lease calculator and came up with a zero down, pre-tax monthly payment of $433. This is a little lower than the payment that you were quoted for this car, probably even after taking taxes into account, and especially if the money that you are paying at lease signing includes any sort of capitalized cost reduction.

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CarMan@Edmunds

Here is the info that you are looking for, Zed. If you were to lease a 2005 Honda Civic Sedan EX through American Honda FInance Corp. right now for 36 months with 15,000 miles per year, its base lease money factor and residual value should be .00136 and 54%. Honda has two different sets of money factors on the Civic right now, and the higher set is available on the EX. When negotiating your lease on this car, don't forget about the dealer cash that is available on it.

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mgz2400

Thanks CarMan for the information. Will the MF and residual value change from a 3 yr 15000 per, to a 3 yr 12000 per.

Thanks again

zheka212

Hello All,

I'm sorry about the re-post, but I am really hoping to sign the deal this upcoming weekend, and I need a second opinion.

Many Thanx.



I need some help -- apparently, the way Infiniti does their lease calculations is different from everyone else -- I can't seem to get the dealers' numbers to match with mine.

Here is what I have now :

G35X base sedan, with splash guards, trunk mat, and sunroof.

MSRP : 34,330
Selling Price : 32,000
Current Money factor : .00185
Residual : 60%
I am in Philly, at 9% sales tax.

Dealer quoted start up fees as being : 550 bank fee, 133.50 for tags, 51.33
tax on bank fee (I have also in the past paid sales tax on property tax -- are we taxing too much??).

Here is what I am being offered :

Total drive away, including first payment is 1175.97.

We have the car...2005 G35x in twilight blue and wheat interior with sunroof and trunk mat, MSRP $34,330, selling price $32,000, invoice is $31,560 and my dealer cost is $31,704. Using 12k miles/yr, money factor .00185 and 60% residual...

Option 1:
36 mos $440.81/mo incl PA sales tax and with $1200 inceptions (1st mo, bank fee, tax on same and tags). Actual inception is $1175.97.

Option 2:
Add two $450 security deposits = $900 = reduction of 0001 in the money factory for each security deposit = new money factor of .00165 = new payment of $429.26/mo.

BTW -- does anyone have any experience with multiple security deposits? Generally, I was told Infiniti will shave 0.001 off the money factor for each additional security deposit. The way I look at it -- if I put the 900 into the deposit, I save about 11/mo. That is 130 a year. If I put the same 900 into a 3 year CD, I could probably get around 4% nowdays, which would total 36/year. Over 3 years its 390 - 108 = 282 in savings. Am I counting correctly, or is there something wrong with my math??
Also, is it more difficult to get the multiple deposits back at the end of the lease?

If someone could verify the numbers to make sure they add up, and also any advice on the selling price is appreciated -- I am about 300 over invoice now -- should I try to push my luck to get invoice, or get the car this month as is, and let go?

Regards,

Eugene

cark

Hi Car_man,

Thanks for the information back in May in regard to the 2005 Sport Trac XLT. Test drove the truck and it wasn't the right truck for me @ $398 a month for 24 months???. Anyway, my current lease is ending on 6/30/05 and I am looking at the 2005 Ford Explorer XLT 4x4 (huge incentives + low MF = low payment). MSRP $35,820, invoice $32,053, cap cost w/o any rebates $31,000. I would like to know the MF, residual and all available incentives for the Explorer XLT. (state of NJ).

What I really want to lease is the Lexus GS300, MSRP $44,960, invoice $40,250. I would like to know the MF & residual for the month of June. (The only concern on the Lexus is it is a first year model).

Again, thanks for your time.

Regards,
Cark

rprcar

Hi Car Man (aka superman, where do you find the time to reply to all these!)
I've read up best as I can on leases....still a little murky on the finer details but I think I'm not doing too bad with it. Here's the best offer I've gotten online... I'm pre-approved by AHFC for a lease so I'm assuming the money factor is .00137.

2005 Pilot EX-L $29,588.85 / 59% residual,
36 month
0 down,
Total drive-off $659.49 (including 1st payment of course)
Base monthly rental : $368.20 + 28.54 monthly tax = $396.74

I inquired about an Ex and and EX w/ DVD system, was told as compared to EX-L these would be about 2% residual difference &
EX- about $50 less monthly , based on 27,611 sale price
EX -L w DVD -about $50 more monthly, based on $31,186 sale price

Look okay? Appreciate your time!!!

hbomber

Hey carman,

I was at the mazda dealer here(44060) and was quoted these lease details,

05 mazda 3s, 4 spd auto, sport package

msrp: 18,565
selling price: 16,900 (s-plan)
residual: 50%
12k miles per year 36 months

with roughly $500 down.

$281 per month, that includes tax.

does this payment sound right to you?

thanks!

jmjinnj

Thank you for your reply CAR_MAN,

Here are few details I got from dealer about Audi A8 lease. MSRP is 75570. Selling price is 74439. Inceptions are NJ tax plus MV fees. And residual is 43502.
My lease payments are 967/month for 36 months. Does this sound right?
What if I just went for car with no added options. Then MSRP would be 70800, & my selling price would be 69800. How much less my payments would be?

Thanks you very much for your advice.

stvchang

Hey Car_Man,

Was wondering if you could give me the lease numbers (residual and MF) for a Honda Civic LX sedan automatic for 3yr/36000miles and a Nissan Altima for the same term. Thanks a lot.

Steve

pauliep

Car_Man,

I've seen above a money factor of .00125 for the 36 month X5 lease, but SoCal dealers are telling me .00140 with no security deposit. They say the .00125 rate only applies with a security deposit, which they do not recommend. Does this make sense?

pauliep

I understand that in most States, a lessee pays tax only on the payments and not on the entire sales price or cap cost. Does he pay tax on the interest component of the lease payment also? If so, at the end of each quarter, do the finance units or companies just keep that tax on interest as a profit?

chridennshan

Could you please confirm if this is:

a. A good lease deal?
b. Too early in the month to take, maybe gets better (metro Detroit)?

Details: 2005 GMC Yukon Denali, MSRP $55,065; Sell $43,694; Lease cash incentive $2,500; 36 month/36k miles; $583.xx per month (includes 6% tax); start up due at signing (1st pay, sec dep, fees) approx $1400. Residual 56%, money 5.75%; Includes Nav, Sunroof, DVD, 2nd row captain chairs.

Your help is appreciated!

purchasingsoon

thanks for the info car man. yep, purchasingsoon was my screen name 2 yrs ago. a pretty stupid name but i haven't changed it.

just as a follow up question, do you know what the acquisition fee is supposed to be for the bmw 330? my dealership jacked that one up on me in 2002 because i forgot to ask about it here beforehand...any info you could offer would be great appreciated. i'm going to try my best not to get ripped off this time.
thanks again, i'll let you know how it goes!

olysan

I don't see the "Lease cash incentive" of $2500 on GM's website, and I don't think it was available last month. Is this new for June?

Regards
Mike

chridennshan

The $2,500 lease cash could be a regional incentive. This was given to me in writing by a dealer in the Detroit area. When you use the GM Buy Power web site, enter a different zip code and you can see the regional incentives that are in addition to the employee pricing.

kyfdx

Your dealer is correct.. The security deposit waiver adds .00015 to the money factor..

It is almost always better financially to make the security deposit and take the lower money factor.

regards,
kyfdx

ae5555

Thank you very much Car_man!

I actually figured it out, the dealer was not being honest. In my out of pocket expense he included the CAP COST reduction, while adding the same amount ($795) bank fee to the overall cost and spreading it over the lease term. (Even though i have an email from him where he explicidly stated that out of pocket includes bank fee, doc fee, and first payment). So while he said he is selling the car for 33000 (and he was swearing how great this price is, even though most will offer "32555" invoice price but then play with lease numbers to actually sell it for "33500+"). He was really selling it for $33645 (confirmed when he faxed me his computer "worksheet". He also lied about residual - turned out it is 69% not 71%. Again a lie... I told him that this is a bad way to treat a client, so i dont want to deal with them now. It amazes me that they will lie to you about the selling price and play numbers, especially when you already prove to them that you know the game....

Anyways the dealer is Park Ave Acura in NJ, FYI...

desgnconcpts

The $2,500 GM incentive appears to be on the ENVOY Denali and not the Yukon Denali.

pauliep

Thanks. If I go that way, I'll have to do some number crunching, because every dealer around here says it's better to take the higher factor and waive the security deposit.

kyfdx

It is a simple calculation..

On a $50K MSRP BMW X5...

The extra .00015 adds about $12/mo.. or $432 over the life of the lease..

Or, make a $700 security deposit... that you get back in its entirety at lease end.. So, you lose money market interest on $700... That is about $21 over three years..

$432 vs. $21.. You make the choice..

To be fair to the dealer, they are comparing making the security deposit to making a cap cost reduction... In that case, the cap cost reduction will knock about $20/mo. off the payment vs. the $12/mo. you save making the security deposit. What they conveniently ignore is that you get the security deposit returned at the end of the lease...

regards,
kyfdx

zheka212

A little more info I was able to dig up:

Infini offers a similar program - .0001 reduction for each additional deposit.

Potential pitfall: if you total your car, it is possible that the leasing company and your insurance will somehow work your security deposit(s) into the final settlement, and you won't see that money. I called Infiniti today, and was told that "each individual case is handled differently".

So you are getting a break -- and taking a risk.

Infiniti was not able to tell me what I should ask the insurance companies in order to determine if I would get the deposit back. If somebody figures this out -- please share with the group.

Good luck.

jezebel88

I am working with a dealer on a murano lease and this is what I have come up with so far (doesn't sound too bad, so i must be missing something!!)

2005 Murano with Touring package
36 month lease
0 Down
MSRP: $35,740
Invoice: $32,284
Residual value: $19,829
Money factor: .000920

I was told the payment will be $347 per month, that I pay the first month payment (38 remaining) and drive away.

Help! Where do I go from here?

thanks,
JP

jbaer

Car_man

OK this is the month that I am going to lease 2 new cars. I am down to the accord, passat and saab 9-3.

I saw your earlier post on the MF and residuals for the 9-3. My question to you is this you mentioned that you can buy the 9-3 with the employee discount PLUS $3500 lease cash? I can't believe this is correct as that would mean your capitalized cost would be something like 19k since the employees price for a 9-3 is 22.5K. The MSRP on this car is like 28-29k. Could you clarify this?

For the passat I am looking for the MF and residual on a 2005 passat GLS 1.8T with leatherette for 36mo/12k. I'm also interested in the numbers on a 39mo lease for the passat as well.

Finally I am interested in the MF and residual for 2005 Accord LX and EX again with 36mo/12k and a 39mo lease. I'm not sure how the miles work on the 39 mo leases. For both passat and accord I would want 39k total miles as opposed to 36k total miles for the 36mo lease does that make sense?

Finally I plan on doing this all via email, FAX, phone etc as I am moving out to seattle from the east coast and plan on picking the cars up when I fly out there. I plan on getting multiple bids from all the local dealers and picking the one with the best price. Once you find the right price how long does it take to draw up the lease, etc? I was planning on starting this all about 5-7 days before we fly out there. Is that reasonable?

Thanks so much for your answers. This forum is invaluable and I have learned a tremendous amount from it !!

Jeff

1075dallas

Car_Man

My payment calculation on a G35 lease for 24 months 15k miles is different than the Edmunds calculator. Could you please run the numbers for me. MSRP $35760. Sales price $33000. Tax is $300. I would like to put zero down other than first month's payment. Thanks.

avalente

CarMan,

Thiank you very much, I picked up excellent informatin on lease cash available on a Saab 9-3 and CTS. These two cars are in the running. I do most of my research on Edmuds. I have not seen any information on Lease Cash in "Incentives and Rebates". Wat resource do you use to find this indformation?

As a suggestion, Edmunds may include Lease Cash.

Also, I am considering a Honda EX with leather, a Toyota Camry and Avalon, any lease cash and/or special financing available with these models?

Thank You

CarMan@Edmunds

Hi njwlog. I haven't had an opportunity to take a look at Land Rover's lease program for 2006 models yet. Sorry that I can't be of more help. I can tell you though that Land Rover's captive finance company's base lease acquisition fee was $495 in every state but New York where it is $1,395 in NY the last time that I saw it.

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CarMan@Edmunds

Hi again andy2812. Here's the info that you are looking for. If you were to lease a 2005 Nissan Maxima SE through NMAC right now for 2 years with 15,000 miles per, its base lease money factor and residual value should be .00155 and 61%, respectively. The numbers for an otherwise identical 3 year lease should be .00065 and 52%. If you were to lease a 2005 Infiniti G35 AWD through IFS right now for 2 years with 15,000 miles per, its base factor and resid. should be .00200 and 70%. The numbers for an otherwise identical 3 year lease should be .00185 and 60%.

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CarMan@Edmunds

Hey newbee3. I have seen the new lease programs for the models that you are interested in and I would be happy to help you out. According to the latest information that I have seen, if you were to lease a 2005 Saab 9-3 Linear Sedan through Saab Financial Services Corp. right now for 2 years with 15,000 miles per, its base lease money factor and residual value should be .00176 and 56%, respectively. The numbers for an otherwise identical 3 year lease should be .00125 and 46%.

If you were to lease a 2005 Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo 4x4 through Chrysler Financial right now for 2 years with 15,000 miles per, its base lease money factor and residual value should be .00128 and 57%, respectively. The numbers for an otherwise identical 3 year lease should be .00206 and 51%.

Last but not least we have the Pontiac G6, which I have been surprisingly impressed with. Before I give you the details of its current lease program, I need to tell you that GMAC publishes what is known in the industry as lease rates for the vehicles that it leases instead of money factors. You can convert its published lease rates into approximate money factor equivalents by dividing them by 2400. If you were to lease a 2005 Pontiac G6 through GMAC right now for 2 years with 15,000 miles per, its base lease rate and residual value should be 3.0% and 62%, respectively. The numbers for an otherwise identical 3 year lease should be 3.0% and 53%, respectively.

When negotiating leases on these cars, don't forget that you are eligible for GM's employee purchase prices on the Saab 9-3 and Pontiac G6. In addition to these low prices, there is $3,500 lease cash on the 9-3 Sedan and $2,500 lease cash on the Jeep Grand Cherokee. These incentives will help you to negotiate an attractive capitalized cost.

Generally speaking, it is less expensive to lease vehicles for 2 years than it is to do so for 3 years. This is because new vehicles experience their most rapid depreciation during the first year of ownership. Consumers are able to spread out this higher rate of depreciation over an additional 12 payments by leasing for the longer 3 year term.

Of the three lease programs that are listed above, in my opinion the Saab's is probably the most attractive at this time.

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CarMan@Edmunds

Here you go, shayna. If you were to lease a 2005 Volvo XC90 2.5T AWD through Volvo Finance this month for 36 months with 10,000 miles per year, its base lease money factor and residual value should be .00148 and 59%, respectively. Volvo is not currently providing any cash incentives on leases of this truck through Volvo Finance, but it is providing $1,500 cash on leases of it through any other bank. You may find that you are better off leasing this truck through an independent bank and using the cash to negotiate a lower capitalized cost that you are using Volvo Finance's program.

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CarMan@Edmunds

Hello wantg35c. If you lease a 2005 Infiniti G35 Coupe through Infiniti Financial Services in June for 36 months with 15,000 miles per year, its base lease money factor and residual value should be .00199 and 59%, respectively. The numbers for an otherwise identical 39 month lease of this car should be .00200 and 58%, respectively.

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CarMan@Edmunds

Here you go, Craig. If you lease a 2006 Infiniti M35x through IFS in June for for 39 months with 15,000 miles per year, its base money factor and residual value should be .00211 and 61%.

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lumbar

My information is that the money factor is .00077, so you may have a mark up there, but, as always---

let's see what the great people who administer the board have to say!