2013 and earlier-Subaru Legacy Lease Questions

2panther

thanks for the reply carman!

what kind of payment different would I see between the .00120 money factor and the .00160 that they used. Is that .00120 published somewhere so I can "prove" what it should be?

Thanks again

finns2000

Does anyone have the June lease rates for a 2008 Subaru Outback 2.5i?
Anyone? Car_man?
TIA

snum

Thanks to everyone for contributing to the forum. I assume if you're trying to get into a Legacy lease, I don't have to go over the pros. Here was my deal.

150/mo ($161/mo after San Diego Sales Tax), 999 down (covered all the other taxes licensing), 2 year lease, 10k miles/year. Legacy Special Ed, w/ moon + auto.

DO NOT FORGET -- when you sign they hit you with a $300 fee at lease end when you turn in the car @ the end. Non negotiable.

Original monthly price was $161, we bargained it down to $150(in lieu of free oil changes)--which they accepted without batting an eye. Makes me think that you guys can do a lot better if you pressure them--we could have, but we didn't. 12k and 15k miles were only a little more, but don't need the miles. This was at Bob Baker Subaru. Irvine still has tons of these things.

insidelinenewb

Hi Everyone,
I recently leased a 2008 Legacy 2.5 SE in the Obsidian Black.
The car is well built and drives well but I realized I need something sportier. I was wondering if anyone would be interested in a lease assumption for this vehicle? It's an auto transmission and I've only had it for a week thus far. My current lease payment is 242/month with 23 months remaining and 12K/year. I'm in SoCal and I would want to deal with people I can meet face to face I guess. Please message me if anyone is interested and/or wants additional info. Thanks )

theras

I'm looking to lease a Saab 93 or Subaru Legacy 2.5GT manual this month. Could you tell me the residual and money factor for this car, as well as any incentives? I have seen that both 08 and 09 model year Legacys are available.

Thanks much!

CarMan@Edmunds

Here's the latest information for you, finns2000. You never mentioned how long you want to lease for or what mileage allowance you need, so for now I will assume that you are interested in a 36 month lease with 15,000 miles per year. Let me know if you are interested in something different. Subaru Finance's current buy rate lease money factor and residual value for a 36 month lease of a base 2008 Outback 2.5i with 15,000 miles per year are .00100 and 51%, respectively.

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CarMan@Edmunds

Here's the information that you're looking for, theras. You never mentioned what term or mileage allowance you are interested in so for now I will assume that you want a 36 month lease with 15,000 miles per year. Let me know if you want something different. Subaru Finance's current buy rate lease money factor and residual value for a 36 month lease of an '08 Legacy 2.5 GT with 15,000 miles per year are .00120 and 50%, respectively. Subaru is not providing lease support on the '09 Legacy yet.

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theras

Thanks much Car_Man. I am looking for a 10,000K mile lease but this gives me a good starting point. I am deciding between the Saab and Subaru tomorrow.

CarMan@Edmunds

You're very welcome, theras. Just in case you didn't finalize your deal this weekend, add 2% to the 15,000 mile per year residual values for a 10,000 mile per year lease.

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theras

Hi Car_man,

Thanks for all of your help. I did finalize a deal on the Saab this weekend.

pilot1226

Is it ever financially beneficial to lease compared to finance? I understand that you're not paying the full cost of the car, which is nice, and you have a set rate that would typically be lower than a financed monthly cost, but my concern is that it's like renting a residence rather than mortgaging...

You negotiate a lease of 199/month for 36 months on a new Subaru. After fees, security deposit, and other costs at signing, averaging this over the cost of the 36 months now becomes around 250/month (this would mean about 2000 due at signing).

At the end of the 36 months, you have paid $9000 for the lease. The lease is over. You either now 1. buy the car outright from the dealer, which means you basically pay the MSRP on it or 2. get another lease, but nothing counts towards the next lease.

In other words, in that same 36 month period, with financing, I could:
Finance a purchase at 22,000 "out the door" for 366.00 per month (for 60 months) without any down payment. This becomes 13,176 at the end of the 36 months, but if I decide to sell my car and get a new car, in theory, I should be making some of the money back, right?

I guess my question boils down to:
- Does the money "spent" on the lease (9000) end up costing less than the deterioration of the finance when you go to trade it back in? (Is the car's value going to drop by more than 9000)

bohicasd

I just picked up a Legacy Special Edition from Bob Baker in El Cajon. $1999 down, $129 per month ($139 w/ tax), 24 months. 10k miles / year. Oddly, the 36 month lease was a lot more per month. Apparently Subaru is buying up the residual to come up with low rate.

This deal is not quite as good as the one in June but it is still a smoking deal for a car that stickers out at $22,000 plus, has all wheel drive, traction control, moonroof and Harmon Kardon stereo.

ateixeira

My answer: it depends.

I think if you don't like selling your car yourself, and will get wholesale trade from a dealer, then the lease may actually end up costing less over 2 or 3 years.

Why? Well, the dealer offered us only $5300 for our 2002 Legacy. We sold it private party and got $8000. It takes more effort, but resale is very good on Subarus if you take your time and sell it yourself. I think it would be hard for a lease (or multiple leases) to beat that.

We kept the car for 6 years. We paid $17.6k plus tax, so it only cost us $10.5k for those 6 years (plus opportunity cost of that money). Let's call it $12 grand, assuming you know how to invest well.

I doubt two 3-year leases will cost that little. Using your numbers you'd be out $18 grand, and for that money at the end of 6 years I'd still own a car, the leasee would have nothing.

The advantage of the lease is you have a new car every 3 years, though.

Cheaper? Probably not.

Better? If you like new cars, and especially if you trade old cars for wholesale, then I'd say yes, it's worth it.

stktrader

Don't forget to factor in sales tax on a full purchase. With leases you are only paying sales tax on each payment.

My family just bought 3 subaru SE legacy 24 month leases (all different colors, heh). The deal was too good to pass up, 80% residual on a car is unheard of. It has all the amenities that you could ever need, PZEV, harmon kardon, good gas mileage, electric drivers seat, alarm, 16inch alloys, dual exhaust, and disc brakes all around (My friend bought a 2007 accord, and it has rear drum brakes, what gives?), and AWD.

Cost of ownership with tax (cali 7.75%) for 2 years at 12k miles a year is $5,444, $139 a month with 2k down. I have searched and searched and there is no deal like that around for a new car. I don't think you can even compare a base accord with the legacy special edition, you get a lot of car for such a low price on the subaru. The lease even includes Gap and you can prepay the disposition fee up front for ~$150 instead of 300 at the end, plus they give you around $1k for minor dings and wear and tear at the end.

It is a jp morgan chase lease, and either they want high credit score leases on their books or someone made an error using an 80% residual.

ateixeira

That's just a bargain. No other way to explain it.

CarMan@Edmunds

You're very welcome, theras. Enjoy your new ride :shades: . Oh and don't forget to hop on over to the Dealer Ratings & Reviews section of Edmunds.com to share your thoughts on your recent dealer experience with others.

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hellagrant

Just found this deal and thought I would share with everyone.

http://www.edmunds.com/new/2009/subaru/legacy/101016539/incentives.html?vdp=off&- tid=.n.incentives.incentives.4.3.Subaru*&setzip=33040

09 Subaru Legacy SE
Manual Tranny
12,000 miles / Year
$0 Down

$215 monthly payments

That is an awesome deal. Not sure what they are using for residual and money factor. But I been thinking of leasing a Legacy for awhile. I personally want the GT(not need) but I might have to settle for the SE.

kyfdx

Yeah.. that's a great deal..

A local dealer is offering the same vehicle for 24mo/20K miles for $159/mo. with $999 total due at signing..

That's probably the best deal going, on anything, right now...

altimate

I was looking to buy a Legacy SE but the lease deal they are running is pretty much irresistable. 09 SE auto. Sign and drive 235/mo. plus tax with auto. and 12000 mi.

I'm looking to add Leather, sat. radio and 15000 mi. Will be around $300/mo. with nothing out of pocket (sorry $8 out of pocket). Also dealer pays first payment so you only make 23 payments. We're talking a car with moonroof, 380 watt stereo, DSC, leather, power seat, XM, alloys, AWD, etc. Fabulous deal. I'm just waiting for my color to arrive and than make the deal.

My understanding is that the residual is a mind boggling 80%. I don't think I've heard or residuals even of 70% on a 2 year lease. I've been looking for the better part of two years so obviously I've had a tough time making up my mind. A test drive and this lease deal and I made my decision in one day.
'

ateixeira

80%?!

They're subsidizing it, for sure.

pilot1226

I'm not sure I understand the residual thing. I prefer to purchase/finance, and I did just that, but I'm open to other things in the future. What exactly is the 80% residual you're speaking of, and how does it benefit?

Someone mentioned Honda using rear drum brakes in their relatively new cars - and mid-level cars too like the Accord & Civic. I've noticed that Honda's really fallen behind in terms with some technological advancements. They don't have Tiptronic transmission options (Shifttronic in Subaru lingo) and they appear to be lacking features compared to the competition. For instance, my `00 Civic LX didn't have ABS, Intermittent Wipers, a second Power Port, etc. Everything in the car was analog, while a lot of competitors were already featuring digital dashboards & trip computers. I don't think Honda started offering that until the 2007ish remake.

The one thing that annoyed me about the new Legacy is that it's still only a 4-speed transmission, I was hoping for a 5-speed for better efficiency on the highway, but I'm over it already. The Legacy is loaded with features that more than make up for it.

The biggest question will be in 3 years from now when the Legacy is paid off -- will my wife let me get a WRX STi to play around with (And on that note - I hope they go back to the mid-2000's styling, I am not very impressed with the 2008/09 remake for the Impreza)

ateixeira

Basically it is their estimate of the value of the car at the end of the lease.

Subaru takes the risk - they buy it back at that value whether it's worth that much or not. Often manufacturers will gamble on high residuals just to lease more cars. Some times it works - BMW residuals are high (so are Subaru's).

Some times it backfires. See Chrysler.

They had to eat such huge losses, they stopped leasing entirely. Chase bank followed suit, and will not lease Chrysler cars either. Residuals are low and I would expect them to drop further.

altimate

Just to simplify the residual thing a little more. If the Legacy has an msrp of $23000 and the residual is 80% ($18400) on a lease that means the leasee is only paying for $4600 dollars worth of the car (23000-18400=4600) Of course, there is interest, Acq. fee and other charges thrown in along with sales tax.

It doesn't work for anyone who wants to buy the car when it goes off lease. Then the purchase price is way to high because of the high residual. I'm planning on doing the lease because it's just a great deal. But obviously it will force me back into the car market in two years.

The dealer also offered me an even better deal that I may consider. Prepay the lease in total up front and the cost of the lease is even lower. Probably a savings of $500-600 over making the payments. Since I have an equity of about $4000 in my trade that would mean I have a paid up 2 year lease with about $2900 out of pocket plus my trade. Not bad especially for this well equipped car.

One issue that has to be checked out is what would happen in a prepaid lease if the car got totaled or stolen prior to lease end. Do you get back the pro rata portion of your money attributed to the unused lease period or are you up the creek for those funds. The salesperson is checking into that. I think I'd want something specific in the lease contract or something in your insurance policy that deals with that issue.

kyfdx

Do you get back the pro rata portion of your money attributed to the unused lease period

Yup.. that's how most pre-paid leases work.. As opposed to just making a big CAP cost reduction, which puts that money at risk...

regards,
kyfdx

hellagrant

I hope Subaru isn't going to screw itself over like Chrysler did. The Legacy looks really promising but 80% is crazy high!!! Oh well, as consumers lets all take advantage of this.

Does anyone know if it is 80% for all the trims?

altimate

My understanding from my salesperson is that only the SE model is getting this type of residual.

chambers134

I just got quoted on a lease and want to see if it's a good deal or not.

09 Legacy Limited
$23,907 price (I get below invoice b/c my employer)
$1500 down
$344 month (includes tax)
36 months - 15K miles/yr
$15,844.75 residual
.00255 money factor

Thanks for your help!

altimate

I can't say how good or bad that deal is.

However, the SE model has such a great lease deal you might want to consider it.
I was quoted 320/mo.(inc tax) on a two year,15000 mi lease with nothing out of pocket. The price would have been $50/mo. lower but I added aftermarket leather, XM radio and 15000 mi up from 12000 on the standard lease.

The limited has some extras but if you can save 50-100/mo. and a 1500 downpayment I would think that would be a great alternative.

kyfdx

I think we are comparing the 2008 SE with the 2009 Limited..

altimate

No, we are definitely talking about a 2009 Legacy SE. In fact, the dealer is waiting for delivery of these cars.`

ahq

Yep, altimate is indeed referring to the *2009* Legacy 2.5i Special Edition. I've been driving my 2009 2.5i SE Automatic for a week now. Taking out the trade difference (I was upside-down by $320) that was rolled into the 24 monthly payments, I would've paid $230 per month (plus tax) for my car, but as it stands I'm paying $243 per month, plus tax.

This is a two-year, 12K miles per year, sign-and-drive lease. I only had to pay the first month's payment, title/license/registration/etc., and the $99 service fee. (It came out to about $520 up front.)

My Legacy stickered at $22,943, and aside from the $300 Special Edition package (power moonroof, power driver's seat, and Harman Kardon audio system), the only other options that my car has are the automatic transmission ($1000) and auto-dimming rearview mirror ($183). BTW my car is Seacrest Green with the cream-colored interior.

altimate

The dealers telling me that I will be out exactly $8 up front (plate transfer fee) and nothing else Also, They will pay the first payment so the 24 month lease only involves 23 payments.

kyfdx

That's a great deal!

pilot1226

Wow! That's awesome! I'm going to have to talk to my wife about leasing another Legacy and selling our second car, that's an awesome price.

altimate

I should point out that the lease rates will go up next month (residual will go down) so if you want the best posssible deal I suggest you act right now.

Ironically, I may have to wait until next month because of lack of SE models in my area. My discussions with my salesman indicate there shouldn't be too much difference in the lease price as the belief is that Subaru will provide some additional incentives to offset a drop in residual value.

hellagrant

Thanks for the heads up. I am currently trying to find a dealer who will give me the same deal everyone else on here has been able to get.

ahq

I have no proof to support this, but I have a feeling that the 2.5i SE lease special will continue past September 2nd. Automakers tend to publish rebates, incentives, etc. on a month-by-month basis. The $199 per month, 10K miles per year, sign and drive lease for the 2008 Impreza 2.5i 4-door has been around for what, around four to six months straight? I'm not saying that the Legacy 2.5i SE lease special will be around for that long, but don't be too surprised if it lasts into the month of September, if not longer.

chambers134

Hey everyone,

Just got quoted on a lease and wanted to see if you thought it was a good deal.

2009 Legacy Special Edition
Price = 21,510
Residual = 79%
Money factor = .00330
2 years / 15K miles per yr
monthly pmt = 271.11
Upfront charges = 596.61 (includes first pmt)

This model included some factory installed options:
- spoiler
- extended arm rest
- automatic transmission

Please let me know what you guys think. I would love to try to get the pmt closer to 250/month.

Thanks!

hellagrant

Thats high in my opinion. If you look through this forum, some people got the Legacy SE automatic for $230 + tax, with very little up front charges. Your offer gives you 15K, but I don't think 3K more miles per years justifies the price. Money factor is kinda high. Did they run a credit report already?

hellagrant

I just got my first offer, pretty bad. I am definately going to tell them to bring those fees down.

Cost: $20,550
Money Factor: 0.00280
Risidual: 78% = $18,663
Down Payment: $215 + $595 (Aqu fee)
License fees: $161.50
Doc Fees: $50
24 Months @ 12,000 miles a year
Payment: $217 + tax

That is like $1000 up front in charges!!! When people have been getting off with barely nothing.

altimate

I'm pretty sure the acquistion fee is rolled into the payment on the no money down lease. Hence, your $217 payment versus the $230 payment on the sign and drive.

My deal would have no license fee only a plate transfer fee of $8. Don't no anything about the doc. fee. All this stuff is just another way of charging more. Come on, an acquisition fee? What acquisition is that. In reality it's another way for the lessor to charge 600 bucks to the deal. Its become so common that people just presume its some legitimate expense. I leased my last 3 cars from 1996 to 2003 and not one had an acquisition fee. Now a days virtually every car has one. So other than being a fancy phrase to charge money I don't think it is anything that "has" to be charged.

msolomons

2009 Legacy Limited (standard leather, heated seats, etc) with factory installed options including spoiler, auto-dimming mirror, and all weather mats. MSRP according to the dealer is $26,645 and lease price (with tax at 7.5%, destination, processing, etc) at $25413 which we're told is $299 over invoice. Residual is 62% and monthly lease payment is $329 with $2500 down (includes taxes, fees, etc) for 36 months at 12K miles a year. This includes the $500 dealer cash back from Subaru.

Is this a good deal?

Thanks in advance

altimate

You don't indicate whether it is a 2 or 3 year lease. Payments usually are higher on a 2 year. Also, is there a cap cost reduction or is the $2500 strictly taxes and fees.

The residual on the Limited is significantly lower than the SE. It has a few extras for the price but I'm not sure it justifies paying that much more.

I got a quote with after market leather, XM and 15000 miles. $320/mo inc tax for 2 years with 8 dollars out of pocket. If you really want the Limited you'll have to pay a premium on a lease it would appear.

fin81

Carman or anyone else that could help,

Today I put down a deposit for a 2009 Legacy SE lease. I upgraded to a spoiler, fog kit, splash guards, mats, and armrest extension. Can anyone review the numbers and see if they sound any good? This is for a 24 mth./15K lease.

MSRP with extras = $24,087
Negotiated Price = $22,461 (Supposedly $100 below invoice through a deal with my employer)
Residual = 78% = $18,787
MF = 0.00313 (This seems very high as I qualify for Tier I credit)
Payment = $269/mth.

I am putting $1000 down to cover taxes(8.75%) and part of the acquisition fee....which they are charging $895 for? This cannot be right. Can anyone advise me on the correct Tier I money factor, acquisition fee, and other numbers if possible? TIA

fin81

Carman or anyone else that could help,

Today I put down a deposit for a 2009 Legacy SE lease. I upgraded to a spoiler, fog kit, splash guards, mats, and armrest extension. Can anyone review the numbers because they don't look good to me. This is for a 24 mth./15K lease.

MSRP with extras = $24,087
Negotiated Price = $22,461 (Supposedly $100 below invoice through a deal with my employer)
Residual = 78% = $18,787
MF = 0.00313 (This seems very high as I qualify for Tier I credit)
Payment = $269/mth. which includes $895 acq. fee????? and $1000 down to cover taxes(8.75%), first payment, $88 cap reduction,and $75 in DMV fees

This cannot be right and there have to be more hidden charges than the bloated acq. fee. Can anyone advise me on the correct Tier I money factor, residual, acquisition fee, and a good negotiated price on this vehicle? TIA

hellagrant

Price is high. The things you added aren't that expensive. Get the price to come down more. I would guess at least $800 more.

Residual sounds right.

MF is too high. If you are tier 1, there is no way that the MF is .00313 = 7.5%. I am tier 1 and I got like......00.0027??? Something like that, which equals almost an entire percentage point in interest.

Acq fee!!! Get that thing off. That is complete BS and let them know that it is BS.

Where are you located? Because the market for the Legacy can vary greatly. Also, maybe the MF is different across the country. Carman - Can the MF be different for different parts of the country?

msolomons

Sorry, it's a three year lease. I know we could get a much better price on the SE as opposed to the Limited but we're suckers for the heated seats which are only available on the Limited.

I believe the $2500 down is strictly taxes and fees.

To reitererate:

2009 Limited with spoiler, dimming mirror, all weather mats

MSRP $26,645
Purchase Price $25,413 (includes $500 dealer cashback)
Residual $16,520
12,000 miles, 36 months
$329 monthly payment with $2500 down

Mary

epmorris

HI, I'm in MA. How much to lease Forester 2.5X Premium with MSRP of 22500 for 36 mos at 12000 mi/yr? Do you know the money factor and residual to use for this car.

hellagrant

Just finished this deal. Great lease deals on the Legacy right now.

2009 Legacy SE
5 speed manual transmission
auto dimming mirror
extended armrest

24 months
12K miles/year

$400 down (includes 1st payment)
$215 + tax / month

Residual 78%

Residual $18,XXX. Not planning to buy at end of lease, residual is too high.

ateixeira

They're gambling on high residuals for sure. I hope they don't run in to the problems that Chrysler is having now.