Infiniti G37 Lease Questions

10dulkar

URGENT!!!

hey guys - am new to the forum, but need some help....

i went to the Infiniti VPP program link, and my company qualifies - i work for citi and they show up there...so now - do i just write down the claim #? thats it? will i get the best price or do i need to negotiate further???

thanks much! - i want to lease the car today - which is the reason for my frantic messages...please excuse... :-)

dwynne

You have to comply with the other rules of the plan - be able to produce a check stub, employee ID, or whatever to prove you work for them.

After that, the rest should be easy - but not all dealers honor VPP on all cars, it is voluntary. For a G35 sedan you should end up about $250-290 over invoice if no dealer options installed. For a coupe, you could probably do better without a VPP clam number - many dealers will sell you the car for invoice less the $1,500 incentive or lease it to you for invoice.

Dennis

10dulkar

thanks for all the help guys! you are awesome...i went to a dealer and they said that as per VPP i will get the car at invoice...which is awesome...

only problem, they dont have my color and they need to get it for me from maryland (i am in nj) and they will charge me 300 bucks...anyway i can negotiate this?

once again, thanks!!!!

dwynne

I think it may be $250-300 over invoice, but close enough.

Sure, you have to pay for the locate. They will either send two guys in the used car to pick it up (one will drive it back) or they will send a flat-bed or car hauler to get it. In either case, the dealer will be out some money to go get it.

With VPP you COULD find the car yourself and if that dealer honors the VPP get it for the same price, then go get it and drive it home. It would depend on the distance and if the dealer is using a flat bed or driving it back and the distance, but it is probably easier on you just to let them go get it for you and pay them for the service.

If the dealer you choose honors VPP the only variables are the amount of the dealer fee, if any, and if they mark up the loan and lease rates. So when "shopping" ask those questions first. VPP pricing does you no good when the dealer charges $500 doc fee and marks up the rates. Better to find a dealer who will accept VPP and has no doc fee or at least a small fee.

Dennis

CarMan@Edmunds

Hi ssdiddy. You never mentioned the selling price or MSRP of the car that you are interested in leasing. These are important numbers 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 give you my opinion of this deal if you let me know what these numbers are.

Car_man
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eugene87

hello! i got this lease deal and it seems to be awesome. could some people let me know your opinions.

2007 G35 Sport 6MT Sedan
w/ premium, NAV, splash guards and cargo net
MSRP $37605, Invoice $34359
36 months, 15K
$0 down - not just 0 cap reduction, but a true 0 down. meaning the doc fees, bank fees, etc are all rolled into the lease.
Monthly Payment including sales tax (7.75%) of $572.
Monthly Payment w/o tax = $530.86

I triple checked to make sure that was the deal and he confirmed that it was.

dwynne

The first thing I would do to determine if a deal was good or bad is to get the "selling price" of the car. Do you know your gross and net cap costs? How much is the doc fee?

In any case, on a 36/15k lease the MF should be 0.00158 and the residual would be 54%. Plugging the numbers in to a lease calc at invoice I come up with $476.71 per month, no tax or $513.66 with 7.75% tax on the payment. If I roll in the $595 bank fee I get $494.18 not including tax.

The way I figure a sign and drive lease (you don't pay the 1st payment at signing) is to take the payment w/o tax x (term-1) / term. So $530.86 x 35 / 36 = $516.11 . So to get that payment I had to raise the cap cost by $747. Since we started at invoice, this means the "sell" price would be $747 over invoice less the doc fee (if any) and less whatever local taxes/tags/title fees are due.

So if you supplied the correct MSRP and invoice and depending how much the TTL stuff is, I would say this is a good deal or even a great deal.

Dennis

02whttrib

I just leased an 07 Journey with prem package and am desperately trying to figure out where the vehicle was made?

I asked in the general forum but have thus far been ignored. Any help is greatly appreciated.

Ray

dwynne

I just leased an 07 Journey with prem package and am desperately trying to figure out where the vehicle was made?

Why? Too late now. In any case I am pretty sure all of the G35 cars are made in Japan with 100% Japanese content. There should have been a "content" sticker on your new car stating this and warning that it should only be removed by the consumer (that is you). If someone removed it, it may be in your glove box, with the owner's manual, or your paperwork.

Dennis

10dulkar

hey guys

am planning to lease the g35x and i qualify for the VPP offer, so price is less of an issue now...however, i have been looking for a very specific color and options-set and it appears that there is only one car that meets my needs in the region...except it has wood trim and that is a definite no-no for me...

the dealership that has the car says that it is not a problem as they can switch the wood trim out and put the aluminium trim back in...apparantly they do this...and i spoke to the manager at the dealership also, and he said that its not a problem at all...

...however, i am a little concerned...but i really want this particular color...

what do you guys say? am i over-reacting...is it a simple switch? does it really even matter, since i am leasing the car and anyway will be covered by the warranty?

thanks a ton! you guys are awesome...

qbrozen

i would let them do it. First off, yes, its a lease, so it shouldn't matter. 2nd, they would have to do the switch before you take delivery. If you find they botched it somehow, just don't take delivery.

dwynne

As long as you don't have to pay for the wood trim re-install at the end of the lease, I would not think it would be a problem at all.

They don't offer wood on sports package cars, so I have looked at it close - but when a peeked in cars with it the looks did not seem to be THAT bad. It depend on the interior color and which wood color is in the car.

Dennis

10dulkar

hey guys

here is the deal i am getting, and it looks pretty decent. please give me your comments:

Model: g35x with Prem & Nav
MSRP: $39,115
VPP Price: $36,075
Lease terms: 24mn, 10k
MF: .00131
Residual: 67% (i think this should be 68%)
Acq Fee: $595
Document Fee: $200
Registration: $191
Taxes: $100
Total Upfront ($1565 - no down payment)
Monthly: $517 with taxes

dwynne

Did you check the VPP price for yourself - or see it on the dealer's invoice? If not, you can check it using the formula shown on the VPP site at www.insidenissan.com .

0.00131 is the buy rate on a 24 month lease on the x sedan, so there is no markup there.

I think 67% is the residual for 12k miles per year, 68% should be the correct residual for 10k miles per year. The dealer can't change this, so it may just be a mistake.

I have no idea what your taxes are so I can't comment on the accuracy of the math - better to post the payment w/o tax. But I assume they used the wrong residual and when they use the correct value your payments will go down.

There is not much else to comment on, the VPP price is fixed and you have the buy rate. Some dealers have $0 doc fee, but $200 is not bad.

Dennis

10dulkar

i spoke to the sales guy again, and he confirmed that it is 67%...what do you think is going on? can i confirm this number from another source and show it to him? could he have changed it in any way?

thanks!

dwynne

Dealers are not allowed to change the residual, it is set by the lease bank (IFS in this case). I could have seen the wrong numbers - whoever typed them up could have typed it in wrong, etc. I would call a couple of other dealers and see if they will disclose the residual over the phone for an x sedan.

If they do put it down wrong on the contract, it is possible IFS will find and fix it. Make sure they check for a 10k mile per year lease. Ask them what the 12k and 15k residuals are - they should be 1% higher and 2% higher than the 10k. Make sure they are looking at the "x" numbers. The sport sedan looks to be 3% lower and the "non sport, non x" looks to be 1% lower. They may just be looking at "G35 sedan" and not "G35x sedan". They also could have changed the numbers recently. I was on the phone last week with a sales manager and he said they just got some new numbers in, but it did not effect what I was looking at (sport 6mt) - but perhaps they dropped the residual on the x? It would be unusual to do that in mid-month if they did.

Plug the numbers in a lease calc and see how that effects the payments and total. One percent of $39,115 would be just $391.15, but you are only doing a 24 month lease so WITH NO INTEREST that is $16.30 a month more you will pay. So you know with the MF it will be more per month it costs you. If that is what it is, so be it. If it is a mistake, I would want to get it fixed before I signed. The lease contract has no blanks for either money factor or residual percentage, just for residual dollar amount. So the contract would not be obviously wrong - someone would have to apply the residual to the MSRP.

Dennis

02whttrib

Is it a requirement that I need a reason to ask a question here? The car was prepped and all stickers removed when I picked it up. And if they were with any paperwork I would have seen them. So can I sue Infinit for falling to inform the consumer (ME)?

I can see the d-ship would have been an easier route for this question.

Thanks
Ray

black00

I'm looking to lease a G35 Sedan Sport Auto w/ Premium package. I've been reading all the posts, but couldn't be sure of the lease terms for the Sport. I guess the numbers vary depending on the model...
Can someone post the lease terms for 24, 36 and 39 months leases? Money factor and residuals?

thanks!

dwynne

No requirement, but you said "am desperately trying to figure out where the vehicle was made? " . Desperately just struck me as really strange - you have taken possession of the car and signed the papers, so why so desperate? Can't unwind the deal now.

In any case, you DO have a complaint with the dealer and Infiniti as the content sticker is federally mandated (a misguided attempt by Congress to get folks to "buy American") and is not supposed to be removed except by the purchaser (you). It is like those mattress tags

I did not mean to offend you by poking fun at your desperation, and I appolize for that.

Made in Japan with 100% foreign parts in the answer to your question. But I would call the dealer and ask what they did with your content sticker. You might also look at the MSRP window sticker - some of those also contain the country of origin and domestic content.

FYI, the domestic makers moved plants to Canada and mainly Mexico and let US workers go. Then they convinced Congress to consider Canadian and Mexican made cars as "domestic". Which is why I say "misguided". With the Nissan, Toyota, Subaru, and Hyundai plants going bug guns now more "foreign" cars are made in the USA with US parts than most "domestic" cars and trucks. The oft quoted comparison is that the Honda Ridgeline has more US content than the Chevy Avalanche - the Camry has more US content than the Mopar 300. So what is domestic and what is foreign? In the case of the G35, we know for sure.

Dennis

dwynne

It is posted right here in the forum in message 1501. If the link does not work, type "base rate" into the search box and do the search.

Dennis

02whttrib

No offense taken. Thanks for the info. I noticed that on the window sticker it stated final assembly point was Jacksonville, but I couldn't find out anything else. This car is certainly a keeper and the leasing experience was excellent. I hope the Infiniti experience will be as good as my Lexus experience has been the last 4 years.

My desperation was probably ill defined, it should have read impatient. Couldn't figure out how so much knowledge was being discussed here but noone knew the country of origin. I had originally posted this in the 2007 G35 discussion without any hits.

100% Japanese is fine by me. My RX330 is 100% as well.

Ray

scottm123

Now that this has been mentioned, I didn't receive any of these tags, or the window sticker. :confuse: :mad:

I bought an 06 Acura MDX last year, and they had a special spot in the manual package for the window sticker, which was carefully folded and placed where it belongs.

I wonder why my dealer dropped the ball here.

black00

Thanks Dennis - the link works.

I see some people referring to the lease MF as "Buy Rate".
What's the difference between Base Rate and Buy Rate?

dwynne

the window sticker it stated final assembly point was Jacksonville,

I think this is a bit of deception on Infiniti's part.

Does your car have "splash guards" on it or maybe the cargo net - or both? I know the guards are point of entry add-ons, they don't ship then from Japan with those on there.

Have you noticed almost EVERY G35 has those on it? I think that is so Infiniti can say that the "final assembly" was done in Jacksonville (or other POE). So they make the whole car in Japan, ship it over here, then add maybe just the splash guards at the port - and that is "final assembly" ? Right

Dennis

dwynne

Same thing - that is the rate the money is offered to the dealer. With almost every "Captive" finance company (and even 3rd party banks) the dealer is allowed to mark up the rates for extra profit. Every bit extra they can get you to sign for is more money in their pocket. That is why knowing the buy rate is key - otherwise you could sign away hundreds if not thousands of dollars.

Most/many "high-line" car dealers try to mark up the rate. Most/many of the dealers owned by some larger company try to mark up the rate. Most of these have large "doc" or "prep" fees to also make extra profit. Some dealers will also mark up the "bank fee" or lease acquisition fee - stick a couple hundred on top of what the bank charges = pure profit.

My local dealer charges nearly $500 in doc fees and normally marks up the rate by 1.2% on leases - if you "let" them. Going a little farther to another dealer you find no doc fee and no mark up. It much easier to drive a little more than to waste time trying to get the local dealer to come off their prices.

Dennis

mah4546

Absolutely nowhere does it say that final assembly is in Jacksonville. It lists Jacksonville as the Port of Entry.

dwynne

What options are on your car? Slash guards and/or trunk net? Coupe or sedan?

Dennis

dwynne

I am sure I can find some more if I look, but this example: shows the point of final assembly as Los Angeles.

In this case they probably put the "trunk mat" in at the port.

Dennis

ndisguys

The reason those items such as painted splash guards etc. are port installed have to due with government "CAFE" restrictions which have to do with the weight of imported vehicles and the amounts of those vehicles imported. The tolerances are pretty restrictive and even small items such as this, at volume , makes a difference in the number of cars they can import within a given time period.

dwynne

Sounds like a good excuse, and may be true.

I do know that:

Infiniti pretty much "insists" that all G35s have painted splash guards and the trunk net (or mat) - hard to find a car without them. Dealers tell me they order them without and when the cars arrive they are installed. I don't care for them, they look cheesy and tacked on and the paint does not quite match of most of them. It COULD be just added on for extra profit - $109 on the invoice and $31 more for the dealer. Through May that had sold 24,820 sedans so that is $2.7 mill if they all had the added splash guards.

They claim that the final assembly point is LA or Jacksonville on the window sticker and many/most of the G cars, which is either intentionally deceptive or just disingenuous.

I will leave the reader to draw his/her own conclusions

Dennis

10dulkar

hey guys

leased my blue slate g35x with prem/nav yesterday and got a fantastic deal...
msrp: 39,115
final VPP price: $35,700
lease term 24mns 10k miles @ $517 with taxes...(no down)

am really happy with the price and really want to thank you guys...had i not visited this forum, i would not have known about VPP pricing. Also, learnt a lot about leasing!

thanks once again, and please ask if i can provide any info!

dwynne

Congrats and the new ride!

The VPP pricing makes it easy, and IFS has some favorable lease numbers on the cars as well. I predict at the end of 24 months you will wish you had done the 36 month lease - you will not want to give it back

Dennis

dionisij

Guys, I'm going to lease G35 coupe soon. This forum helps me alot to be prepared One question: if I have trade-in, can I minimize (or eliminate) upfront cash and use trade-in portion for this?

Thanks

dwynne

Yes, if you have equity in your trade or own it outright.

In most states there is a trade tax credit for purchases. So if you trade a $10,000 car in you own and your tax rate is 7%, your net is $10,700 with the tax savings. So if you could sell your car yourself, but could not realize more than $10,700 then you are better off trading.

With a lease, in most states there is no such tax credit - since tax is applied to the payment. You could use the $10,000 trade in credit toward the lease if you wanted to. It is not a smart idea and sales tax may be due on this as a "cap cost reduction".

If you only have a little equity in your car - the pay off VS what a dealer will give - then you can use the to cover some/all of the costs of the lease - $595 bank fee, first payment, TTL, etc.

Just keep in mind that you want to deal the price on the new car down low - so they will not be generous with your trade in. Deal the price down to a good price, THEN see what they will give for your car. Use KBB, Edmunds, NADA, etc to find the trade value. If you can get the new car near invoice and get trade in "book" value for your old car - that should be a decent deal. If you can't get enough, then you may have to sell it yourself.

Dennis

alfster3

My car did not come with splash guards. It did have the cargo net though. I am in the NE and would expect splash guards to be popular here. But, when I walked the lot of my local dealer, very few had the splash guards. And, I agree, I don't think they add to the look of the car.
My .02

dwynne

Just curious, what does your Monroney (windows sticker) say about port of entry of final assembly point? Maybe the port used for the NE area does not have facilities to install them?

Dennis

dionisij

Guys,

my dealer told me that Infiniti has taken away $1500 manufacturer-to-dealer incentive on G35 coupes. Edmunds, says that it will "expire" on July 2. Where is the truth, guys?

Thanks,
Dio

dwynne

I will ask and see what a couple of dealers say. I do know the incentive can't be combined with the discounted lease deals and if you run the numbers it is cheaper to take the IFS lease than to take the $1,500 off a do a 3rd party lease.

Dennis

g_davis

Gents,

Here is the deal I was quoted today. Car will be in Friday.

G35 Journey Sedan
Color: Platinum Graphite w/Stone Leather
Premium
Nav
Tech
Tire/wheel
Splash guard
Cargo Net

MSRP: $38,615
Invoice: $35,332
Negotiated sales price: $35,723 ($391 over invoice!)
24 month lease with 15k miles/year
Residual= 65%
MF= 0.00112
Tax rate 7.75% (California)

Help me keep them honest...

Scenario 1) Drive off fees only


Scenario 2) Try to push monthly payment down a little

Note the $200 freight being added (hand written) to each drive off fee. Should I pay this?

What do you guys think? Good deal?

Thanks in advance for your comments,
Greg

dwynne

When you say "it will be in Friday" is in coming in to the dealer as normal stock item, custom ordered for you, or a dealer trade to get you the color/options you want?

If the latter, then that is pretty normal. They charge you for either sending someone to drive your car back or to haul it back. The price depends on the distance and drive/haul.

I didn't run the numbers, but I assume you checked the invoice figure? The MF is the buy rate and the residual is right. Plug the numbers into a lease calc to double check them.

I would advise paying little or nothing down. Take the extra money and stick it in the bank and take out a bit each month to make the payment lower.

They are only charging you $45 for the doc fee, which is low. Combined with the "freight" that is $245 which is still not too bad - I have seen lots worse.

So the net is that you are paying $636 over invoice including all "extra" fees. That is not too bad, I don't think. Seen better, seen worse. If they had to go get your car for you, then your net is $436 over invoice which is not bad at all - nearly a VPP price.

Ask them to clarify the freight item, then go get your car on Friday.

Dennis

yaeger1

I'm assuming you're in Orange County. I just got mine today. I don't think I got the best offer but the car's too good to regret now. Your comments are most appreciated.

2007 G35 Sport Auto
Black/black
Prem
Navi
Trunk net
MSRP: $38,815
Price: $36,823.92 (~$500 invoice)
Term: 39months/15k
Residual: 56%
MFF: 0.00245
Down: $998.56 (part of my trade in)
Monthly: $570.30 (7.7% tax)

dwynne

Remember, you asked

Sedan?

I can't get an MSRP of $38,815 to work out for a G35 sedan sport auto. The car, destination ($715), premium, nav, and net would be $38,665 if I add the obligatory splash guards it goes to $38,805 which is off by $10 from what you typed.

If we assume you have the splash guards, then the invoice would be $35,459 or $1364.92 which is no where near ~$500 - or no where near a good deal.

Your 0.00245 money factor looks like it has been jacked up by the dealer as well. 0.00181 is the MF for the 39 month lease on the 6mt sport with 0.00158 for 36 month. On the "base" (I guess) sedan, the 36 month number is 0.00178 for 36 month, don't know the 39, and the 48 is 0.00238. So clearly your MF has been marked up, probably a good bit, for extra dealer profit. I was thinking the MF and residual for the sport auto and sport 6mt were the same, but I don't think that is correct - since the residual you state is higher than the numbers I have seen for a 6mt sedan.

I can't get the numbers to work out, but it does not seem that they gave you a very good deal. It IS a nice car, however.

You asked.

Dennis

qbrozen

I agree with dwynne. When you are dealing with low low subsidized rates like this, borrow every penny you can and keep your money. You will earn more from a money market on the money you kept than you will pay in interest on the money borrowed.

yaeger1

Thanks guys. I knew I got slammed on the MF. I'm going back to the dealer anyway so I'm going to let them know. Here's the breakdown for MSRP:

G35 Sport: $33,450
Splash guards: $150
Prem: $2,350
Navi: $2,100
Trunk net: $50
Dest: $715

Total MSRP: $38,815.00

Does this work out ok?

dwynne

Splash guards are normally $140 if installed at the port, these may have been added at the dealership for $150?

In any case, the car MSRP would normally be $38,805 and the invoice $35,459, so say $35,469 if we add the $10 extra

About the money factor, the numbers posted are all tier 0 (IFS starts at 0) numbers. Dealers can, and do, mark them up. And if your credit score, using whatever voodoo IFS uses, is not in that tier you will/may get a higher rate. They usually use an "auto enhanced" score that you and I can't see - so you could have a 720 but little or no auto loan/lease experience on file, so it may drop your score and make you have to pay a higher rate (this time). Likewise, someone with a 680 that has tons of good car loans/leases on their report may get tier 0 rates because of the boost.

I just always ask the dealer right up front if they mark up or not, then figure their markup into my deal calculations. They may STILL be the cheapest deal if they don't charge a high doc fee and their car prices is the cheapest.

Dennis

dwynne

I was told this morning that it had expired. They replaced it with cheap financing - 0.9% for 36 up to 1.9% for 60 months.

The current Capital One new car rate is 6.15% for 60 months. So if you had done a new coupe for $34,500 ($36,000 less $1,500 incentive) it would be 60 payments of $669.39.

If you did it now at $36,000 and 1.9% it would be $629.43 per month.

So a better deal if you are financing, worse if you were paying cash. May be the same if you are leasing, since the incentive did not apply.

Dennis

yaeger1

Thank you Dennis.

Your insight was very helpful. My score is around 750 but given no prior buy/lease experience, I will write this one off as a fair but not a fantastic deal. I agree with you on the invoice price. I still can't arrive at the sale price they gave me when they agreed to $500 over invoice. I will speak with them today. Hey if any, customer surveys and word of mouth reputation still means alot.. I think.

dwynne

Nice score, but with zero car credit on there IFS may have jacked the rate up and the dealer did not actually mark it up. They think: "nice credit, never late, not too many accounts, low un-secured debt - but can we trust them with our car?" I have always heard you need better credit lease than to buy, but the reasoning behind that is not very clear.

I would ask them to "clarify" the invoice pricing and maybe pull the "actual invoice" to justify their price.

Enjoy your new G, in any case.

Dennis

ecronin14

I am beginning the proceess of leasing a G35 Coupe and found the discussion here very valuable. Thanks for sharing information that will make us all better consumers.

I have a question re: the leasing equation. I understand the the sales price and residual value in determining the monthly payment. Could someone explain how the Money Factor is then applied?

Thanks again.

dwynne

Per Tarry at Leasecompare.com:

"Use the following formula to calculate a lease payment:

(Cap Cost – Residual Value) / Term = Depreciation
(Cap Cost + Residual Value) X Money Factor = Interest
Depreciation + Interest = Base Monthly Payment"

Where Cap Cost is your negotiated low price + bank fee + whatever else is rolled into the lease, less any payments you want to make (cap cost reduction).

The higher the residual, the lower the payment, but you can't do anything about this it is set by the lease bank. You can take a lease with fewer miles per year (12k rather than 15k) if you do not drive that much, that will bump the residual up a point or so and lower your payment.

The lower the cap cost the lower the payment - so negotiating the price of the car is key to a good deal. Also finding a dealer that does not jack up the $595 (IFS) bank fee and/or charge a large "doc" fee.

The lower the money factor the lower the payment. This set by the lease bank based on your credit score, but it can be jacked up by the dealer for extra profit.

Dennis