2013 and earlier Volkswagen Passat Lease Questions

CarMan@Edmunds

Hello Pete. Let me begin by saying that it is not in your best interest as a consumer to put so much money down when leasing. If your vehicle is totaled in an accident or stolen and never recovered during your lease, your down payment will essentially vanish. You would be better off leasing this car without making any sort of capitalized cost reduction. You can still trade in your Taurus, just have the dealer cut you a check for it, or use the proceeds from it to cover things like your first month's payment, security deposit, and VW Credit's acquisition fee.

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
Host
Smart Shopper / Prices Paid Forums

CarMan@Edmunds

Hi qbrozen. Volkswagen has special lease money factors on all Passat variants right now, not just the Value Edition. If you were to lease an '06 Passat 2.0T through VW Credit right now for 36 months with 15,000 miles per year, its buy rate lease money factor and residual value should be .00057 and 54%, respectively. I do not believe that the type of transmission that you choose has any impact upon this car's lease program.

Car_man
Host
Smart Shopper / Prices Paid Forums

CarMan@Edmunds

Hello 1210. 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 on this deal if you let me know what these numbers are.

Car_man
Host
Smart Shopper / Prices Paid Forums

CarMan@Edmunds

Hello amx. Here is the informaiton that you are looking for. If you were to lease a 2007 Volkswagen Passat 2.0T Wagon through VW Credit right now for 36 months with 15,000 miles per year, its buy rate lease money factor and residual value should be .00087 and 55%, respectively. $1,000 below dealer invoice for this vehicle sounds a little aggressive to me. I doubt very many, if any people out there got that price without some sort of hidden profit added into their deal. A couple hundred dollars over invoice is a very reasonable price for this vehicle. Make sure to stop by the following discussion for additional feedback on how much you should pay: "Volkswagen Passat: Prices Paid & Buying Experience".

Car_man
Host
Smart Shopper / Prices Paid Forums

deejay2099

Thanks for the reply Car_man, much appreciated. I pulled the trigger on this car a few weeks ago and got a slightly better rate (.00047). VW must have made a change for June.

tedr3

Car_Man (or anyone else):

What are the current VW Credit money factor and residual for a VW Passat 3.6L on a 36 month / 12,000 miles per year lease?

Thanks for making these forums the most useful car leasing resource on the internet.

Ted

tedr3

Well, I had to pull the trigger before Car_man got a chance to respond (the lease on my old car was up).

If anyone is shopping, this was my deal:

2006 Passat Sedan, 3.6L, 4Motion, Package 1L, Rear airbags

36 mos./36,000 miles

MSRP: $35,630
Cap. Cost: $32,300
MF: 0.00111
Residual: 55%
Payment: $410
Payment w/tax: $447
Out of pocket $1,190 ($575 acquisition, 1st month and $168 for tags).

Hopefully, I did OK.

gmode71

MSRP $23,585 (Manual)
2 lease options (10k miles/yr.):
$299/36 months includes tax and 1st payment, security deposit is waived, just add DMV fees; or $229/36 months with $2,500 total down

I was also quoted 299/month with 1,276.72 due at signing
for a base model Passat with heated seats, alloy wheels and automatic. Does base mean it is below the Value Edition?
Your thoughts on these lease options and what other information i should get?

avoman

I am new to leasing and was hoping someone might clear up the lingo for me.
The wagon is one level up from value edition, adding a Moon roof and 6 disc CD. I think this is level 1?
The sticker on the wagon I am looking at is $26844.00
That is the number salesman plugged in as "Initial Cap Cost"
12000 miles a year, 36 month lease. The Residual is 57% with Res value of 16333.35
Money factor: .00087
With $350 security, $575 Acq fee, $57 total annual fee, $57.50 Initial fees. At the end of all this he quoted $1806 down and $346 a month.
What is the Residual and money factor sell rate? How am I doing so far? Thanks for any help at all.

qbrozen

I didn't realize they were offering such low money factors on the '07 wagon yet.

IF they are offering leasing support on this car, it seems to me you should be able to get it for less than sticker.

And, yes, as a matter of fact, I just looked it up on carsdirect and am getting a quote from them for $800 over invoice. So it seems like you should be starting with an initial cap cost about $900-$1k below sticker.

Also, $16,333 is NOT 57% of $28,4. Its more like 61%. The mistake is in your favor, but I'm not sure why the mistake exists at all.

avoman

What does "Money Factor" represent?
What is leasing support?
As for the mistake in the numbers, that may have been my error.
Correction: MSRP: $28,865.00 "Initial Cap Cost":$26,844.00

Does this mean they are selling the car at $26,844.00 ?
Thanks very much for your help!

qbrozen

AH! ok. Yes, unless you agreed to a down payment, $26,844 is what they are selling the car for. So you are getting $2k off sticker.

Money factor is the interest rate. For some reason still foreign to me, they use this weird .00xxx number instead of a straight and coherent x.x%.

The important part is that current standard bank rates for leasing are in the .002xx range. So when VW gives you a money factor of .0008xx, that means they are giving you a low interest rate. Low interest rates for leases is a form of leasing support. A manufacturer can either offer special rebates for leases or low leasing rates to help dealers move cars off their lots via good monthly lease payments.

Only thing that is bugging me is that I can't come up with that MSRP through carsdirect. A 2.0T FWD with package 1 comes up at $28,430. I tried adding various things like splash guards and floor mats, but I just can't seem to get $28,865. Do you know what else they might be throwing in there? Seems like maybe some kind of dealer installed garbage like wheel locks or pinstriping.

Well, in any case, I wouldn't sweat that. The nice thing is, $26,6 is invoice on that car with no extras. SO you are only a couple hundred above that, which I think is a good deal. And the money factor is low.

What is this "annual fee"? Is that your annual registration cost? I'm guessing that's what this is. If so, everything looks pretty good to me. But I'm no pro.

avoman

I believe it might have heated seats. Not really looking for those but this car might have had them.
As for the anual fee. I had the salesman print out the Lease information screen and has Total Annual Fees $57.00,
Total Initial Fees 57.50. When I speak to the salesman, I will ask.
Thanks for all your help.

qbrozen

no problem. Good luck.

CarMan@Edmunds

You're very welcome, deejay2099. Congratulations on your new car. The Passat is a great vehicle. Volkswagen usually changes its lease program every month, so that is probably why the June program is different than the one that was available when you leased.

Car_man
Host
Prices Paid Forums

CarMan@Edmunds

I'm glad that you enjoy this forum so much, Ted. According to the latest information that I have seen, if you were to lease a 2006 Volkswagen Passat 3.6L 2WD Sedan through VW Credit right now for 36 months with 12,000 miles per year, its buy rate lease money factor and residual value should be .00111 and 52%, respectively.

Car_man
Host
Prices Paid Forums

jjret

Good afternoon,

I am ready to lease a 2006 Passat 2.0T, Pacakage 1 w/ Cold Package. Here is dealer initial offer (I live in Mass).

$27,455 MSRP
$26,289 sell price
$2500 Down
$326 p/m for 36 m
12k per year
$13,727 Residual

I am a first time lease purchaser, any help, THANKS

countdown1

Hi,

First time leasee as well. Here's the best deal I got for a 2006 Value Edition Passat:

Original MSRP: 24,655.00
Adjusted MSRP: 24,655.00
Residual Value: 13,313.70 (54%)
Annual Miles: 12,000
Discount/ Buy Rate/ Adjusted/Sell Rate: 0.000470
Dealer Cost: 23,228.00
Selling Price: 22,928.00
Price Adjustment: 456.26
Adjusted Selling Price: 23,384.26
Total Cap Cost: 23,959.26

Payment: 36 months @ 299.76
Plus Tax = $317.75
Nothing except first month due at signing.

Can I do better than this?

Thanks.

CarMan@Edmunds

Hi avoman. Since you are new to the world of leasing, 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.

As far as the lease that you are negotiating goes, the money factor that you were quoted, .00087, is right in line with VW Credit's buy rate factor fro a 36 month lease of an '07 Passat 2.0T Wagon. This is a good sign because it means that the dealer you are working with is not trying to mark your vehicle's money factor up to add additional back-end profit to your deal. The other items that you mentioned, like the security deposit and acquisition fee look good to me as well.

The other main profit center on leases is your vehicle's selling price. If I am interpreting your post correctly, it appears as though you are paying full MSRP for your wagon. Is this correct? If so, you should try to negotiate a lower selling price with this dealer or comparison shop a little bit with other dealers. The selling prices of leased vehicles are almost always negotiable.

Car_man
Host
Prices Paid Forums

CarMan@Edmunds

Welcome jjret. since this is your first time leasing, you definitely should check out the articles that I provided links to in my previous post. The first thing that jumps out at my with this lease is the $2,500 down payment. Consumers can always lease vehicles without making any sort of capitalized cost reduction and it is in their best interest to do so. I say this because if your leased Passat is totaled in an accident or stolen and never recovered, your down payment essentially disappears.

As far as this car's selling price goes, a base 2006 Passat 2.0T Sedan has a spread of around $2,000 between its full MSRP and dealer invoice prices. You are being given a discount of $1,166 on the specific car that you want. I suspect that you may be able to negotiate another couple hundred dollars off of its price. Give it a shot, you have nothing to lose.

Using the prices that you were quoted, an MSRP of $27,455, and a selling price of $26,289, and VW Credit's actual lease program, I estimate that this car's 36 month, 12,000 mile per year, zero down, pre-tax monthly payment should be around $326 a month, just like you were quoted. This is a good sign because it means that the dealer you are working with isn't playing games with the numbers to add additional hidden back-end profit to your deal. Anyhow, try getting a larger discount and see what happens. Another $500 off would lower the payment for an identical lease to around $313.

Car_man
Host
Prices Paid Forums

CarMan@Edmunds

Hi countdown1. The selling price that you were quoted for this car, $22,928, looks very good to me. What's this $450 "price adjustment" all about. It just looks like another way for your dealer to add profit to your deal. Even with this, you are still around $560 over invoice which isn't bad, but it's not as good as the actual selling price that you were quoted. The money factor that you were quoted for this car looks good to me. Find out what this "price adjustment" is all about and see if you can get it lowered or eliminated. Even if you can't, this is still a reasonable deal.

Car_man
Host
Prices Paid Forums

countdown1

Car_man, thanks!

Here's how they arrived at that price adjustment of $456.26

Customer cash/rebate: 300.00
Total cash/rebate/equity: 300.00
Inception fees: 756.26
cash/equity: Deficiency 456.26

Any more insight to this would be greatly appreciated.

There's also an assignment fee of 575.00 (included in cap cost of 23,959.26) - can I work on getting that lowered or eliminated?

Also, what is the invoice? 23,228.00?

cdt1

Car_Man,

Would you provide me with the residual and money factors on a 2.0T Passat sedan, 36 months, both 12k and 15k per year mileage? Are the 2007 Passat sedans out? I've only seen the 2006 at my dealer. Thanks.

Chris

lankers

Any idea if I got a good, bad or ok deal on a 2.0T Passat?I think it's called level 1 - w/ sunroof and CD changer.

48 month lease with 15K miles.

$2,865 out the door (that includes tax, license, registration and 1st month's payment)

$329 per month (includes tax, window tint and excessive wear and tear warranty ($5k credit on lease return).

At the end of the lease, I am able to buy the car for $13,070.

Asking price on the car was $27,240.
I live in Los Angeles as well.

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Thanks,

LJ

mikemookie

When you add it all up, it comes out to about $408 a month (includes down payment divided by 36). That is pretty much what I have seen after going to 3 different dealers, one of which was a "friend of a friend." The difference is that the quotes I received were for a Level 2 WAGON - leather w/ heated seats.
If you haven't pulled the trigger yet, I just spoke to a dealer that said the new post 4th of July rates just came in this morning and "they are much better." He is waiting for the system to update the numbers, but he said they will definitely result in savings. I also believe that if you did recently sign that deal, you should be able to transition to the new rates. At least that is what I was told from the "friend of a friend."
Good luck.
On that note, does anyone out there have the specific details on the rate changes for the Passat?

mikemookie

Hey Car Man,
Is there anyway to negotiate the fees that come along with a dealer having to locate and deliver your car that is not on their lot?

qbrozen

of course there is. Just tell them you will pay no such fee. I've never been charged a separate fee by a dealer to get a car for me from another dealer.

lankers

Wow, so I really got taken advantage of then, right??

Mine, all in including tax is $18,657
(48 month lease with 15K miles) - I have leather seats, but not the all leather package with heated seats.

Is there anything I can do? You mentioned that I should be able to go and get the new rates if I already purchased??
Or am I just out of luck?

Thanks for your advice!

CarMan@Edmunds

No problem, countdown1. OK, so the price adjustment covers the charges that are due at lease signing. I still would want a breakdown of the "inception fees" if I was in your situation to make sure that there is no padding going on, but this makes more sense. Volkswagen Credit charges a $575 acquisition fee on every vehicle that it leases. Individual dealers do not have the authority to waive this charge do don't bother trying to eliminate it. You can look up the exact dealer invoice price of the truck that you want by visiting the following section of this site: Edmunds.com New Vehicle Pricing.

Car_man
Host
Prices Paid Forums

CarMan@Edmunds

Here you go, Chris. If you were to lease a 2006 Volkswagen Passat 2.0T Sedan through VW Credit right now for 36 months with 15,000 miles per year, its buy rate lease money factor and residual value should be .00099 and 51%, respectively. The money factor for an otherwise identical lease with only 12,000 miles per year would be the same, but the residual value would be 2% higher. The 2007 Passat Wagon has been out for several months now, but I do not believe that the '07 Passat Sedans are available yet.

Car_man
Host
Prices Paid Forums

CarMan@Edmunds

Hey mikemookie. There's no official fee associated with having a dealer locate and trade for a vehicle for you. The extra cost that is associated with this sort of deal is completely up to the dealer. If you are giving them a reasonable profit on the car that you want, you may be able to get them to trade for it without charging anything extra. However, don't expect a dealer to lease you a new Passat at or below dealer invoice and go through the trouble of trading for it as well.

Car_man
Host
Prices Paid Forums

CarMan@Edmunds

Hi lankers. If you have already physically taken delivery of your new car, you cannot renegotiate your deal or take advantage of Volkswagen's new July lease program.

Car_man
Host
Prices Paid Forums

zerodown

I think you got a deal on par with mine.

I was going to get a Jetta GLI but they couldn't find one that I was looking for. So instead, I'm picking up a 2.0T Passat (base model) tonight. This is what I got.

36mos 12K
2900 out the door (taxes, license, etc)
$304/mo
%53 residual
.00099 money factor
$24200 cap cost

With package 1, it would have been about $20/mo more.

mikemookie

Car_Man,
I have seen a couple different itemized price point lists going around on the board. MSRP, residual, money factor, etc.
Are these numbers I can get from my sales guy before I sign anything, and what are the essentials to provide you to enable you to assess the value of the deal?
Thanks!

mikemookie

Just got this quote... what do you think?

2007 2.0L Passat Wagon with Luxury 2 Package / 10k miles per year

MSRP: 29,360.00
Selling: 28,500.00
Acquisition Fee: 575.00
Adj. Cap Cost: 27,040.10
Lease Factor: 0.00128 (this is the only # I saw that looks like a lease factor, he calling it the “Retention Rate”
Residual: 58% = 17,185.40 (base 55%; bump 3%)
Fee & Insurance = 464.00
Money down: 2,999.00 (cap reduction = 2,034.90)
36 Months: $350.17 per month

chmcmm

Here's the quote I just got in PA. What do you think?

36mo/12k with $569.27 down, $391.07 plus tax.
$27,790 msrp down to $26,300 cost.

Not bad but I think a Volvo S40 or Audi 4 lease might be better.

bat60

Carman, Thanks for all your input.. Just recived 2 quotes from our local (RI) dealer this morning on no money down 42MO. @ 12k a year lease. 3.6 loaded, selling price-32,216 @-501 . plus 598 reg.& fees ... 2.0T loaded, selling price- 28,523 @-413.36 plus 510 reg.& fees. I have time, So I'm just waiting for the right deal

mikemookie

Hey Car Man,
Just got a new quote from a dealer on Long Island today to compare to my other quote above in Post #243 that I received from a dealer in CT.

'07 2.0 Passat Wagon, Pkg 2, 36 mo/10k
MSRP - 29,630
Selling - 29,388
Residual - 58%
Lease Factor - .00113
36 mo - 363/mo
Down Payment - 2,490

Unlike the CT quote, I'll have to pay the 8.625% NY tax in full upfront rather than the 6% CT tax being baked into the monthly payments.

Couple questions for you (aside from assessing the value of these 2 quotes):
1. How do you recommend I go about using these quotes to negotiate down the higher dealer? Is it as simple as sharing the numbers and asking if he can do better than the other guy?
2. A friend of mine is a member of the "VW Alpha Drivers" club and has a $500 Passat lease mail-in rebate that he says is transferable that he is going to give me. Have you heard of these and know how they work?

Thanks!
MM

bat60

Mike, Are they not discounting the wagon ??? The MSRP on the 2.0 sedan we were quoted on loaded was 31,733 and selling price is 28,523..

mikemookie

my bad, the selling on the wagon is actually 28,388 NOT 29,388.

Where is the Car Man. Really want to sign a lease this week. He hasn't posted in like 6 days.

bat60

OK, On the Edmonds Prices Payed and Buying Forum, A guy just bought a loaded 3.6 - 7,499 off sticker for 26K. He said the dealers are discounting the 06's as much as 4K on the 3.6 and 2K on 2.0T. the rest of the discount was negotiated. Great deal, So I called my dealer and they will not give you the discount if your leasing only buying outright.. Why??? Also the money factor that I quoted above was .00147 not the .00099 you all are getting.. So I'm calling him back on that one.

bat60

The money factor for a 2.0T is .00099 not on the 3.6.. The 3.6. I was quoted .00147 is this correct. In June is was lower @-.00111. I'm not trusting this new guy runing the ship. The guy before him was a stright shooter.. Thanks

ckwehe

The dealer I started working with insists that you have to do Driver Option, you can't just lease unless you are a business. So he gives me interest rates but no money factor. The VW website doesn't seem to say that at all. Does anyone know if there is any difference?

fish8

I have leased 2 cars from VW. So, leasing is definitely available to consumers.

sdoo25

Your dealer may be trying to play hardball. From many forums and websites I've learned that you negotiate the price you're willing to pay for a vehicle and then the financing comes into play. When I leased my B6 I told the salesman that I didn't know if I was going to buy or lease. I gave an offer that they accepted and we went from there. There may be some VW corporate incentives that only apply to buying so if that's the case the your dealer is being honest. Do your research here and check fitzmall.com for prices and then call or email a few dealers with an offer for a specific car.

Hope this helps.

ckwehe

Does anyone have a good calculator online to use to compare Lease v Buy? Or just a brain that wraps around this stuff more readily than mine?

Choices:
Lease a 2.0T with package 1 36 m/10,000 mi for $25370, money factor .00099, security + acquisition fee down $986.87, residual 54%. Dealer math says $392/m for 36 m

Buy same car for $23370 ($2000 rebate), put same amount down to compare apples to apples $986.87. I would probably use market rate of 6.35% on 60 month finance in reality but for comparison purposes maybe should look at 5.99% on 36 month. Trying to guesstimate depreciation over the years, seems like take 20% off per year.

tc9897

(My apologies for cross-posting)

I have received several email quotes on the 42- and 36 month lease for a 2006 Passat 2.0T VE (auto transmission). MSRP is $24,655 and Invoice Price $23,248. The best one I got so far is:

1) With $1000 down, a 42 month lease with 10,000 mi pr yr and $1000 Out of Pocket is $334.60 per month.

2) A 36 month lease with 10,000 mi pr yr and $1000 Out of Pocket is $342.56 per month.

Other breakdown is as follows:

$993.28 NJ Tax

$334.50 1st month payment

$129.00 Doc Fee

$7.50 NJ Tire fee

===========

$1698.38

The dealer claims that "these fees are normally what's required up front. You are only putting down $1000. The difference is applied to the lease."

My question: How can I know for sure whether this is a great deal? I know that there is a special lease deal going on right now (42 month/ $1,500 down payment, 12k miles/year for $279 per month plus tax and tags) , but it is not clear whether the quote above is comparable to it. I have asked for the money factor and res. value figures, but haven't received them yet.

Could the others who recently leased a Passat out there give me some advices? I would appreciate it.

terri

CarMan@Edmunds

Hi mikemookie. The two most important numbers to know when leasing are your vehicle's selling price and its money factor. These numbers are important because these are the two main profit centers for dealers on leased vehicles. The selling prices of leased vehicles are negotiable, just as if you were paying cash for or financing them. The lower your vehicle's selling price is, the lower its monthly payment will be. The money factor is important to know because dealers are often allowed to mark vehicles' buy rate money factors up in an effort to make additional back-end profit on deals.

Car_man
Host
Prices Paid Forum

bat60

Car-Man As always Thanks for your info postings. Your all over these ( All Mfg ) car forums. Besides you is there any public forum who publicates thes numbers. Also what are the new Numbers ( MF & R ) for the 06 Passat 3.6 4-Motion --- 3.6 2-wheel. Thanks Mitch

teressa1

I'm in the process of turning in my 2003 Jetta and getting a 06 Passat 2.0 T (alloy wheels/chrome trim) I live in Ohio
MSRP 26,109.00
The present deal is as follows:
42 months lease
12,0000 miles per yr
$356.21 per month
500.00 down-this figure is the 1st payment on the Passat & tax/title/registration fees