Questions about manufacturer lease offers

imaginenohell

The first and only car I've had, I bought from a friend. So I read up on all the advice I can find, but still have a few things I don't really get.

I've decided to lease for a couple of years, and I'll wait for a great manufacturer lease offer.

1) What options come with these direct lease offers, e.g. the Verano Sport Touring offer on http://www.buick.com/specials-and-offers.html. How do I find out?

2) Everyone says not to mention lease until you've agreed on the price. But if it's a manufacturer offer, what can be negotiated?

3) If, as I'm thinking, these offers for the base models. what happens if I want extra features, like the "Driver Confidence Package"?

4) Is there a website where I can look at lease offers for the past few months?

kyfdx

imaginenohell said:

The first and only car I've had, I bought from a friend. So I read up on all the advice I can find, but still have a few things I don't really get.

I've decided to lease for a couple of years, and I'll wait for a great manufacturer lease offer.

1) What options come with these direct lease offers, e.g. the Verano Sport Touring offer on http://www.buick.com/specials-and-offers.html. How do I find out?

2) Everyone says not to mention lease until you've agreed on the price. But if it's a manufacturer offer, what can be negotiated?

3) If, as I'm thinking, these offers for the base models. what happens if I want extra features, like the "Driver Confidence Package"?

4) Is there a website where I can look at lease offers for the past few months?

First... the "offers" are actually advertisements. There is no guarantee that the dealer will match the terms of that offer, though most are reasonable from a dealer's viewpoint. There is no actual offer being made.

1) If you drill down, you can find the details on the offer:
Example based on survey. Each dealer sets own price. Your payments may vary. Payments are for a 2017 BUICK Verano FWD Sport Touring with an MSRP of $25,040. 39 monthly payments total $7,761. Option to purchase at lease end for an amount to be determined at lease signing. Lessor must approve lease. *Current Lessees of 2008 or newer non-GM vehicles must show proof of ownership. Take delivery by 01-31-2017. Lessee pays for maintenance, repair, excess wear and disposition fee of $495 or less at end of lease. Payments may be higher in some states. Not available with other offers. Residency restrictions apply.
In this case, the car has an MSRP of $25,040. Pretty easy to "build-your-own" on the website, to see how you can equip a car for that price. Or, check local inventory for an MSRP that matches up.

2) If you read the fine print, there is no offer. You'll still have to negotiate a deal with the dealer. It's just an ad, letting you know what's possible... maybe.

3) Higher priced units will be more expensive to lease.

4) Not that we know of. Offers change monthly.

imaginenohell

Thanks for the helpful response. Some followup questions.

kyfdx said:

2) If you read the fine print, there is no offer. You'll still have to negotiate a deal with the dealer. It's just an ad, letting you know what's possible... maybe.

From what I read, the manufacturer offers, I mean advertisements, are possible due to unrealistically high residual values and/or low money factor. I assume these differ based on dealer as well. Do I have to negotiate these as well? Can I ask for what the captive finance arm uses?

If these terms vary dealer to dealer, the advice of getting the lowest price first seems insufficient. What if I get a great price, but the dealer jacks up the cost when I reveal I want to lease?

Mr_Shiftright

The dealer doesn't set the residual or the rates---you aren't leasing from the dealer----however, the dealer can bump up the money factor (interest).

If the manufacturer sets an artificially high residual, that's called a "sub-vented" lease--here again, the dealer is not in this picture.

Not all lease offers are good in all parts of the country.

I don't see any reason to "hide" that you are leasing if you are aiming at one of the cars in the advert you saw.

Some cars don't lease well, so you may find a purchase is a better option on some makes and models.

kyfdx

imaginenohell said:

Thanks for the helpful response. Some followup questions.

kyfdx said:

2) If you read the fine print, there is no offer. You'll still have to negotiate a deal with the dealer. It's just an ad, letting you know what's possible... maybe.

From what I read, the manufacturer offers, I mean advertisements, are possible due to unrealistically high residual values and/or low money factor. I assume these differ based on dealer as well. Do I have to negotiate these as well? Can I ask for what the captive finance arm uses?

If these terms vary dealer to dealer, the advice of getting the lowest price first seems insufficient. What if I get a great price, but the dealer jacks up the cost when I reveal I want to lease?

Unrealistically high residuals and low money factor make for low lease payments. That's what you want in a lease.

But, the bank sets those parameters. Dealers can make extra profit on marking up the finance portion of the lease (in some cases).

1) Know the residual and money factor, before negotiating
2) Negotiate the lowest selling price possible (it's okay if the dealer knows you are leasing)
3) Verify all variables.

Mr_Shiftright

And remember, a lease for $199 a month for 36 months with $3599 down is a $299/month lease! Asking you for money up front is just another way of masking the lease payment (although some of this front money may be legit).