Looking to lease for the first time - here is where I am at. 2015 Audi A4.

going4lease

I have the audi dealer telling me the MSRP for a premium A4 with some features (trim, weather floor mats, cargo rack) is $37,600. My payments would be $437 after tax on 10k and a down payment of 3500. That seems a little steep to me.

Is it possible to get the price down to 35,500 and get the payments lower? I would do 42 months and $3k down for around $375 after taxes. Using the calculator I feel like that may be possible, but I am new to the lease process and want to make sure I am maximizing the negotiation. Any advice appreciated.

kyfdx

going4lease said:

I have the audi dealer telling me the MSRP for a premium A4 with some features (trim, weather floor mats, cargo rack) is $37,600. My payments would be $437 after tax on 10k and a down payment of 3500. That seems a little steep to me.

Is it possible to get the price down to 35,500 and get the payments lower? I would do 42 months and $3k down for around $375 after taxes. Using the calculator I feel like that may be possible, but I am new to the lease process and want to make sure I am maximizing the negotiation. Any advice appreciated.

What selling price is the dealer using give you the quote, now? And, how many months? It's hard to negotiate a dealer's price, if you don't know all the details. Offering $XXX money down and $XXX per month is not a good way to negotiate.

Get a price, then make sure they are using the base money factor. And, watch out for hidden fees.

2015 A4 Quattro Premium: .00048 MF and 56% residual for 36mo, 10K/yr.
.00068 MF and 52% residual for 42mo, 10K/yr.
.00039 MF and 55%, .00059 MF and 51%, if FWD

going4lease

Price quoted is $37,600. I want to get it for $35,500. For the base MF, do I just bring that up with them and they will disclose it?

abe2230

I recently leased an A4. Here is how I did it (with a lot of help from this board!) Try to find a specific car you like, preferably one on the lot that has the features you want, this way you know exactly what you are negotiating for. This way you will know the exact MSRP and can find the invoice price online (from edmunds).

Your target value should be as close to invoice (or below if possible), then use edmunds lease calculators to come up with a payment using MF and residual values given by the kind people on this board. This should give you a reasonable expectation for your lease payment.

In my experience, the salesman didn't part with the MF very easily but he did give me the RV (this will be in the lease contract, so no mystery here). If you are using the calculators with MF's from this board, you will have an idea if they are inflating their MF.

BTW, there is no reason to put anything down against the cap. I just payed taxes, fees, and 1st month's payment at signing (which for me was about $3.5k, mostly prepayed taxes).

If the car you want has an MSRP of $37600, $35500 is not a stretch, use these numbers in the calculators to get a monthly payment with nothing down as a ballbark. Negotiate either monthly payment with nothing down (and lease assumptions, yrs/miles etc..), or straight sticker price. The more you complicate things with money down etc...the dealer will generally find a way to make money. As far as I know, putting money down does nothing for you (this would probably be different if you were buying outright, but you are afterall just renting the car for a long time...)

FYI I settled on an A4 Quattro premium plus with MSRP of about $44.5K and got a 39mo,10k/yr mile lease for $530 a month (NOTHING DOWN.) Deal of the century? Probably not but my research indicated a "fair" deal (dealer's opening offer was like $610/month)

Good luck!

going4lease

This is great info. Thanks so much. Just to be clear the taxes and fees were around $3,000, plus the first month payment - and you put no money down? Just curious as that seems high to me, but I may have misread.

abe2230

Being in NJ I had to prepay taxes, not sure how it works in your state. Tag fees (registation/title stuff) are also pricey in NJ. I think the only "Audi" fee I payed was a delivery charge of about $700. My research suggested there was no way out of this "fee"...I could have tried to roll these fees into the monthly payment but would likely have payed interest for this "mini loan."

going4lease

Ok that makes sense. To be honest, the Audi dealers have been a PITA compared to Lexus. The internet sales guy was a kid who could not even enter my VIN properly, called me a million times for no reason and just annoyed me. Then the sales guy calls me acting all slick and offering me just a terrible deal. His justification against the lexus was so bad that it made no sense really. I feel like these guys don't want to lease a car or are used to pushovers. Im going to hardball on the 35,500 price, no money down besides trade and see what he can give me. If it is not acceptable, I am going to go with lexus since my friend just leased from them, and I know what his numbers were and they know that as well.

going4lease

Update. Got a sales manager on the phone. He was pretty professional and didn't waste my time. Gave me a price of $35,065, which I find fair. What I question now is the residual is $20,693. Seems a little high. I would put down $1k in trade in and have to pay $1,480 to drive off. On a 42 month, 10k mile lease it would be $475 a month. Seems high to me there. Am I missing something? I was expecting it to be around $415-430 a month. Just want to make sure I am getting the best deal. I have to say the price seems fair, just the monthly payments seem high.

abe2230

I hear ya, in all my car shopping dealings that initial offer from the dealer is ALWAYS so bad its comical. Don't take it personally, just realize its absurd. I'm guessing some people must bite and take these deals not knowing any better. Don't let emotion enter into the negotiation, realize that the salesman would skin you alive if you let him, don't. You are in control and can leave the showroom, he can't...

Best bet is to seek out another Audi dealer and get them price matching each other or ask for another salesman (or you could show up in the showroom when you know hes not there, someone else WILL help you, trust me). They obviously can't price match a different make so discussing other makes in price negotiation is just stupid and wasting time...

Oh and you may be right about not wanting to lease. Since they are in effect only selling half a car I'm guessing their commission is reflected in this. My salesman kept reminding me (politely) of their large selection of certified pre-owned A4's even after I made it abundantly clear I wanted to lease a new vehicle lol

Oh and save yourself a headache and stop giving your cell number to salesman...

abe2230

Saw your update, use the calculators, they really help. Also, the payment can change around a lot going from 36 to 39 to 42 months, RV and MF will change, price them all and find the "sweet spot". Remember, that is HIS initial offer, he wants you to counter with something higher than you initially wanted then he can say "deal!"

going4lease

Yep.I countered by working on a price with Lexus. One Audi dealer never responded to my inquiry and the other one is tough to deal with. I am fine with walking away and going with an IS250. The residual is so much higher, you can get much better deals.

abe2230

Their loss, enjoy your new Lexus, its a nice automobile (it was on my short list when I was shopping too ) You can always try Audi again in 42 months...

going4lease

I will give them a shot to counter. Im not signing a lease for a week. The car experience is always annoying because I know all the tactics and hate having to continue to hammer these guys because they keep coming back with bad offers. Oh well.