Lease Questions - Ask Here

CarMan@Edmunds · April 2004

Greetings mzinzi. Here is the information that you are looking for. If you were to lease a 2004 Saab 9-3 Linear Sedan through Saab Financial Services this month for 36 months with 10,000 miles per year, its base lease money factor and residual value should be .00018 and 53%, respectively. The numbers for an otherwise identical 42 month lease of this car should be .00076 and 48%. In addition to these low lease money factors, Saab is providing $1,500 lease cash and $500 bonus cash ($2,000 total) on this car that may be used to negotiate a lower capitalized cost.

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CarMan@Edmunds · April 2004

Still haven't made up your mind yet huh, siteexpert

? According to the latest information that I have seen, if you were to lease a 2004 Toyota Solara Convertible SLE V6 through Toyota Financial Services this month for 3 years with 12,000 miles per, its base lease money factor and residual value should be around .00220 and 55%, respectively. This car's program may be slightly different on the west coast though.

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CarMan@Edmunds · April 2004

Welcome back, Adam. Yeah, I sure have been hanging around here for quite some time haven't I

? Let's take a look at the current lease program for the car that you are interested in. According to the latest information that I have seen, if you were to lease a 2004 Volvo XC70 2.5T AWD through Volvo Finance in April for 42 months with 10,000 miles per year, its base lease money factor and residual value should be around .00022 and 53%, respectively. The numbers for an otherwise identical 48 month lease should be .00022 and 49%. The only cash incentives that may be combined with this special lease program are an owner loyalty program and an AARP program, and I don't think that you qualify for either. Good luck and make sure to let us all know how everything turns out.

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CarMan@Edmunds · April 2004

You're very welcome, dlambert. If you were to lease a 2004 BMW 325i through BMW Financial Services this month for 24 months with 15,000 miles per year, its base lease money factor and residual value should be .00125 and 71%, respectively. The money factor for an otherwise identical 12,000 miles per year lease would be the same, but the residual value would be 2% higher.

When consumers ask me about all of the little fees that dealers try to tack onto their vehicles' prices, I tell them to forget about them and to concentrate on the big picture. The bottom line is that you want to spend the lowest total amount of money to purchase the vehicle that you are interested in. It doesn't matter how your dealer breaks out your price, as long as they give you the lowest total out-the-door price. Do some research here on Edmunds.com and figure out what you want to spend for this car. Then comparison shop with a few dealerships in your area, getting price quoted for the total amount of money, including all of the fees, that you will have to spend to get the car that you are interested in. It doesn't matter what sort of fees the dealer that you ultimately go with decides to charge you as long as they have the lowest total price.

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CarMan@Edmunds · April 2004

Thanks for taking the time to come back and let us all know how everything turned out, bjp. Enjoy your new car!

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tps3 · April 2004

Hi Car_Man...

I was wondering if you could update us on BMW's X3 lease programs for the month/quarter. I noticed that another poster said that the prevailing money factor did not hold for the X3.

Specifically... I'm in NY, looking at an X3 3.0, MSRP 44,795 selling price 43,400 and would be interested in residual and money factor for either 36 or 42 month leases @ 15,000 mi/yr.

Thanks for all your help.

anthraciteguy · April 2004

Hi Car Man,

Do you have residuals and money factors for a 2004 BMW 525i? I'm looking at 36 months and 12k.

Thanks.

buster6 · April 2004

Hi carman,

I have a friend looking at getting a Lexus Es330 WITH nav this weekend. Could you provide me the lease factor and residuals for 2yr/30k and 3yr/45k leases for Arizona, also if you know of any "cash in the trunk" for the model.

Thanks again!!

CarMan@Edmunds · April 2004

I would be more than happy to help you out, tps3. According to the latest informaiton that I have seen, if you were to lease a 2004 BMW X3 3.0 through BMW Financial Services this month for 36 months with 15,000 miles per year, its base lease money factor and residual value should be .00190 and 57%, respectively. The numbers for an otherwise identical 42 month lease should be .00190 and 53%, respectively.

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CarMan@Edmunds · April 2004

Hey anthraciteguy. BMW FS' April base lease money factor and residual value for a 3 year, 12,000 miles per lease of a 2004 BMW 525i should be .00215 and 64%, respectively.

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CarMan@Edmunds · April 2004

Hi buster6. Lexus' special lease money factors for the '04 ES 330 are only for 36 to 48 month leases, so it is not in your friend's best interest to lease one for only 24 months. If they were to lease this car with navigation through Lexus Financial Services in April for 3 years with 15,000 miles per, its base lease money factor and residual value should be .00154 and 54%, respectively. The only models that Lexus is providing dealer cash on in April are the GS 300, GS 430, and the IS 300. There is not any additional cash support on the ES 330 right now.

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paulc6661 · April 2004

Hi Carman,

In your msg# 10161, you mentioned the residual value at AHFC, 3 yrs, 15k miles/yr. for EX RES is 59%. What's the residual value for EX-Leather/RES? Is it also 59%? The same as the EX cloth with DVD? Please confirm. I expect to close my deal this weekend and will keep you posted on what's going on.

Thanks,
Paul

anthraciteguy · April 2004

Thanks Car Man,

BMW is running a promotion on 525i leases for 36 months with 10k miles. Is there a significant difference in the residual and money factor?

adgridley · April 2004

Hi Car Man - thanks for the information - your numbers were dead on for the quotes I received (or at least they didn't bother to up them since I used them when asking for a quote!) For each of these, they were looking at a cap cost reduction of $2495 as part of the deal.

I did receive a quote where sale price/cap cost was pretty attractive (only thing I really want to negotiate on), but looks like they only used a $500 cap cost reduction/down payment and accordingly raised the effective int. rate to 1.9% (or a MF of around .0008).

My question is regarding the effect that cap cost reduction/down payment has on MF. Are they linked (CCR goes down and MF goes up & vice versa)? I am assuming they are since the difference is close to $1600 over the life of the lease (assuming you changed cap cost reduction but kept MF of .00022) And how willing do you think they will be to negotiate if is not a set cost?

Thanks in advance - I'll be sure to let you know how the final numbers turned out. Best regards, Adam

CarMan@Edmunds · April 2004

Hi Paul. Yes, I believe that the residual value for the EX-L with the rear entertainment system would be the same as the one that I mentioned earlier.

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CarMan@Edmunds · April 2004

Anthraciteguy, the lease money factor that I mentioned earlier would also be good for a 3 year, 10,000 miles per lease, but the residual value would be 1% higher than the one that I mentioned earlier.

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CarMan@Edmunds · April 2004

You're welcome, Adam. Vehicles' capitalized costs usually have nothing to do with their lease money factors. I can only remember one bank, Saab's captive finance company, that tied money factors to cap cost reductions and they did away with that many years ago. It is in your best interest as a consumer to lease this vehicle without making any sort of down payment. I say this for two main reasons, the first is if your leased vehicle is stolen and never recovered or totaled in an accident, your insurance company pays off the bank that you were leasing it through and your down payment essentially disappears. The second main reason is that down payments on leased vehicles do nothing to reduce their lease-end purchase prices. So this vehicle's lease-end purchase price would be exactly the same, regardless of whether you put $2,500 down or made absolutely no down payment at all. If I was in your situation, I would negotiate the most attractive selling price that I could on this vehicle, without any sort of down payment. Once I had arrived at an acceptable price I would ask the dealership to lease it to me using Volvo Finance's base lease money factor.

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mookie12 · April 2004

Thanks for your help with the 545 and 745 Carman. Need to trouble you for one more piece of info. Do you happen to know the MF and Residuals for 36 or 39 mos and 15k/year for E500 and E500AWD.

Thanks again!

nickjc · April 2004

Carman--

Have an interesting proposition from a local Infiniti dealer: 2003 M45, new, essentially loaded, MSRP $46K. Salesguy states they'll knock off $7K.

When you have a moment, any incentives, rebates, MF, residuals for $0 down, 15K miles, 36/39 month leases?

Thansk again.

marys235 · April 2004

Hi, Carman, I'd really appreciate the lease factors and residuals in Oklahoma for the following:

Volvo S60 2.4 Manual, 3yr/15k, and 4yr/15k;
Honda Accord LX 2.4L 4 cyl, Automatic, 3yr/15k;
Toyota Matrix Base Style FWD Auto., 3yr/15k.

Sorry to ask for so many. I'm wanting a lease payment of about $250/mo with no down payment, and I've seen ads for lease specials on the Volvo and Honda models for about that amount, but I figure they probably want some big cap cost reduction to get that low payment. Just thought I'd check them out, but the Matrix is probably more what I can afford. Thanks alot for the information!

mzinzi · April 2004

Hey CarMan...

Need some more info if you would be so kind...

2004 Mazda 6s
MF and Residual for:

10,000/12,000 miles
36 months

I live in CT if that matters

Thanks! You're the best!

djdez · April 2004

Nick .. I have a 2003 M45 .. and it also had a sticker of around $46,500 ... However, at the time I got mine (end of September), Car_man helped me to get a GREAT lease deal by providing me with all the great lease information that was available. I know the lease deal with the VERY low MF and lease cash is gone, but even back then, I still got almost $10k off the sticker with $0 down for 39 months! I would think that you should be able to get an even BETTER price now -- it's another 7 months later so there's even MORE depreciation, especially if you are buying, which may be your only choice right now -- I do know that Infiniti is offering great financing. I'd go for at LEAST $10k off the sticker of an '03 ... but you're not gonna get that great of a deal on the lease - I would imagine you'd have to use Infiniti's standard lease rates on the '03 ...

nickjc · April 2004

DJ Dez--

Thanks for the input. I agree with you that buying is most likely the better scenario financially. May I as you opinion asto the pros/cons of the M45? Gripes? Praise? Service problems?

Regards,

NJC

jlaux · April 2004

Is this a good way to go? I have a '00 Jetta lease ending this May. I was at a Jeep dealership where they offered to buy my lease out. I am only considering it because my car has some electrical problems that I'm afraid are going to be found when VW's inspection vendor checks it out before turning in. However, that leads to my question...does the Jeep dealership really care about the condition of my Jetta? Will they make me fix these problems or will they accept it "as is" just to get me into buying (not leasing) a Jeep. I can only assume their are hidden costs to me in this.

Any info. would be appreciated.

pref · April 2004

Greetings, Car_Man

I was wondering if you could help me price a lease for an EX Honda CR-V AWD. I am looking for 36 or 42 month lease, 15,000mpy. I live in NY, and really hate going through the hassle of arguing and bargaining with the car salesmen. If I have a fair price in hand, I can just ask if they can meet the price, and move on if they can't. Also, a few other questions.

Am I allowed to lease from another state?
As far as I understand, I am going to have to pay the tax as if I bought the car - is that reasonably up for negotiation? (meaning, the dealer covers some of it).
Thank you, I appreciate your time very much

sharkala · April 2004

Hi Carman-
thanks for all of your help. I have been in contact with the Porsche dealer and he is insisting that the money factor is currently .0027 from Porsche credit-he was willing to use .0024- and to top it off he is trying to sell me a car with additional features because it is in the lot-said I had to make the deal by the end of the week- should I walk away and go to a different dealer-he also mentioned that he is in the business to make money- Additionally, the MSRP is $49,800 and he is taking about $3K off- any suggestions or input would be very helpful-

lmacmil · April 2004

What's the typical difference and does it translate into similar payments for 24 or 36 months?

marys235 · April 2004

Carman, just one more MF and residual value, for a 2004 VW Jetta GL TDI Wagon, 3yr, 15k. Also, would the numbers be any different for the base Jetta GL Wagon (not TDI)? I really appreciate your help! Thank you.
Mary

jas413 · April 2004

Hi Car Man! I would greatly appreciate the MF & residual values for the Honda Pilot EX-L with rear entertainment system on a 48 month 12,000 and 15,000 mile per year lease.Do you think I could get a better rate through an independent bank on this vehicle? Thanks in advance!

gwarren · April 2004

Car_Man

A couple of weeks ago you were going to look into the new lease factors for the RX330. Are they available Yet?

paulc6661 · April 2004

Hi Carman,

Below is a quote from one of my dealers. You gave me the MF @ AHFC 36 month lease is 0.00096, but in my quote the MF is 0.00106. Also please check if the dealer did the right calculation even with MF of 0.00106. Please get back to me.

MSRP - $30,480
Capitalized Cost - $26,570 (including destination fee and doc. fee)
Terms - 36 month, 15K/year, 0 down payment
Residual value - 59%
Money Factor - 0.00106
Over mileage - 15 cents/mile
Lease end fee - $0
DMV fee - $104
Doc fee - $0 (included in CC)

Monthly lease payment is $329 including tax. I expect to get the van this weekend.

Thanks a lot!
Paul

CarMan@Edmunds · April 2004

You're welcome, mookie12. As far as the 2004 Mercedes-Benz E500 Sedan AWD goes, if you were to lease one through Mercedes-Benz Credit Corp. this month for 36 months with 15,000 miles per, its base lease money factor and residual value should be .00265 and 57%, respectively. The 2WD version of this car has the same residual value, but a slightly lower money factor.

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CarMan@Edmunds · April 2004

Hi nickjc. Infiniti Financial Services no longer has a lease program on the 2003 Infiniti M45. In fact, Infiniti is not providing any incentives on this car any longer either. Any dealers that had '03 M45 models left in early February received a $5,000 dealer cash payment to help them unload them. This cash should definitely factor into your offer. If I was interested in this car, I would offer at most invoice minus the 5G. It has been around for a long time and this dealer has to be fairly anxious to unload it.

On a somewhat related note, I was at the introduction of the all new 2005 Infiniti M45 at the New York Auto Show last week. The car looked amazing. I haven't driven it yet, but aesthetically it looked great and had a ton of neat features. I think that they will do relatively well with it.

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CarMan@Edmunds · April 2004

Hello marys235. Let's take a look at the current lease programs for the cars that you are interested in. If you were to lease a 2004 Volvo S60 2.4 Manual through Volvo Finance in your area this month for 3 years with 15,000 miles per, its base lease money factor and residual value should be .00022 and 55%, respectively. The numbers for an otherwise identical 4 year lease should be .00005 and 46%.

If you were to lease a 2004 Honda Accord LX 4 cyl. through American Honda Finance Corp. in your state this month for 3 years with 15,000 miles per, its base lease money factor and residual value should be .00146 and 56%, respectively.

Last, but not least, if you were to lease a 2004 Toyota Matrix Base FWD through Toyota Financial Services this month for 3 years with 15,000 miles per, its base lease money factor and residual value should be around .00220 and 54%, respectively.

All of the aforementioned lease programs assume that you qualify for these banks' top credit tiers. If you have any other questions please don't hesitate to ask.

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CarMan@Edmunds · April 2004

Hi jlaux. Unfortunately there is no such thing as a free ride in this business. If the Jeep dealership that you are dealing with has to pay money to get you out of your leased Jetta early, it is definitely going to hamper your ability to get a good deal on your new vehicle. They definitely care what condition your Jetta is in. If they purchase it from the bank that you are leasing it through they are going to have to either fix it up to sell on their own lot or send it to auction where it will not be worth as much as an identical car that does not have any problems. The bottom line is that if you are going to have to pay a penalty for excess wear and tear the problems with your car are probably noticeable enough that they will hurt its resale value. They may not make you fix any problems with this car, but if its current market value is less than it will cost this dealer to buy it then it will eat into their profit and ultimately the discount that they are willing to provide you on your new vehicle.

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CarMan@Edmunds · April 2004

Hi there pref. I would be more than happy to help you out. American Honda Finance Corp. had actually stopped leasing vehicles in New York for a while because of all of the vicarious liability issues that exist there. However, it resumed leasing there last month. The catch is that charges consumers in New York higher lease money factors to make up for its potential exposure to vicarious liability lawsuits. If you were to lease a 2004 Honda CR-V EX AWD through AHFC in New York this month for 3 years with 15,000 miles per, its base lease money factor and residual value should be .00245 and 59%, respectively. The base factor and residual for an otherwise identical 42 month lease should be and .00220 and 56%.

You should be able to lease this car from a Honda dealer in another state, but you will be subject to any rules that are in place for the state of New York and will have to pay New York tax on your vehicle when you register it. It is in your best interest to negotiate as low a price as possible on this model. If you have arrived at a low enough selling price, your dealer probably will not be willing to pay any of your taxes for you because doing so will just eat into the already low profit that they will receive from selling you this model.

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CarMan@Edmunds · April 2004

No problem, sharkala. It is definitely in your best interest as a consumer to comparison shop for the Cayenne that you are interested in. It certainly wouldn't hurt to speak with another Porsche dealer or two in your area. The .00230 base lease money factor that I quoted you earlier is for consumers who lease for 3 years or longer and who qualify for Porsche Credit's top credit tier. You need a credit score of 740 or higher to get this rate. If your score is from 700 to 739, the base factor would increase to .00240, from 650 to 699 it would be .00310, and below 649 it would be .00400. Porsche dealers are allowed to mark up Porsche Credit's base lease money factors up to an additional .00120. Doing so enables them to add additional back-end profit to deals in most instances without consumers knowing that they are doing so. You are at an advantage because you know what Porsche Credit's base lease program is. However, knowing it does not automatically mean that you will be able to find a Porsche dealer in your area that is willing to lease you a Cayenne at a low price and to use Porsche Credit's base program. Make note of the deal that you already have on the table and shop around trying to beat it.

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CarMan@Edmunds · April 2004

Lmacmil, there is not really any rule of thumb that dictates how much lower 3 year residual values are than 2 year residual values. This will vary from bank to bank, and even from model to model. If you let me know what car or truck you are interested in, I can tell you what the difference in residuals should be like for these terms.

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CarMan@Edmunds · April 2004

Hi again marys235. I would be more than happy to give you an idea of what this car's current lease program is like. According to the latest information that I have seen, if you were to lease a 2004 Volkswagen Jetta GL TDI Wagon through VW Credit this month for 3 years with 15,000 miles per, its base lease money factor and residual value should be .00185 and 50%, respectively. Volkswagen is currently providing $1,000 dealer cash that may be used on VW Credit leases of 2004 Jettas. I believe that this cash is available on TDI models. If so, definitely make sure to take it into account when you are negotiating this wagon's capitalized cost.

The numbers for an otherwise identical lease of a 2004 VW Jetta GL Wagon (non-TDI) should be .00105 and 49%.

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CarMan@Edmunds · April 2004

Greetings jas413. If you were to lease a 2004 Honda Pilot EX-L with the rear entertainment system through American Honda Finance Corp. this month for 48 months with 15,000 miles per year in any state but New York, its base lease money factor and residual value should be .00190 and 52%, 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 increase to 54%. It is difficult to say if you would be able to get a lower lease payment on this model by leasing it through a bank other than AHFC. I would tend to doubt it though. AHFC's base money factor is equivalent to an approximate interest rate of just over 4.5%, which is pretty attractive for an unsupported rate as far as leasing goes right now.

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CarMan@Edmunds · April 2004

Hey gwarren. I have seen Lexus' lease program recently and to the best of my knowledge it is not providing any sort of lease support on the 2004 RX 330 right now. If this is the case and you were to lease one through Lexus Financial Services, you would have to use its standard lease program. The last time that I saw its' base standard lease money factor is was .00200 for any length lease in most of the country.

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CarMan@Edmunds · April 2004

Hey Paul. You may have been quoted a slightly higher lease money factor for this van, .00106 versus .00096, because your dealer is waiving its security deposit. American Honda Finance Corp. allows dealers to waive lessees' security deposits, in exchange for an increase in the lease money factor of .00010. I just ran a sample lease payment on this van for you using the numbers that you provided in your post. According to my calculations, the zero down, pre-tax 36 month lease payment for a 2004 Honda Odyssey with an MSRP of $30,480, a selling price of $26,570, a money factor of .00106, and a residual value of 59% should be around $286.

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hxs30 · April 2004

Hi! Carman,

I am interested in leasing or purchasing a 2004 325i. I just got a quote from BMW dealer at Escondido, CA (suburb of San Diego). I would like to hear the reactions from all of you:

2004 BMW 325i
Steel Blue metalic
Gray leather interior
Auto transmission
Moonroof
Heated front seats

MSRP: $33,545
Invoice: $30,795

The dealer asked for additional $300 for advertising fee and $500 over the invoice, thus

Final price: $31,595

If lease for 36 months, 10k/year

Money factor: 0.00165
Residual value: 64%

$1816 down
$368 plus tax each month

The car above is not currently existing. The dealer has to order it and it takes approximately 2 months.
What do you think of the deal?

kyfdx · April 2004

Hey Paul... I think the dealer is probably adding the acquisition fee to your cap cost. When you add the $595 in, it brings the payment up to about $305, which assuming your tax rate is around 7-8% would give you the payment he is quoting.

That is a killer deal on a $30K auto.

regards,
kyfdx

gteach26 · April 2004

Carman, with the advent of 3 year/100K certified luxury vehicles (like lexus has) leasing a CPO vehicle for 3/36K miles years seems like a safe, cheaper alternative to get into a luxury car -- yes or no?

Also,

What source(s) should I turn to to learn more about CPO leasing. Where can I find residuals and money factors for used car leases on edmunds or the net in general? So far I know of only one place, leasecompare.com. Are there any other sources I can use to educate myself?

For a specific example, if I wanted to lease a Certified CPO 2001 Lexus LS430 Ultra Luxury model with 40K miles for 36 months/36K miles (CAP cost $42000) how would I be able to come up with "ballpark" money factors and residuals without having to go to dealerships for info?

As always... thanks, and.. you da man carman!

adgridley · April 2004

Car_Man -

Thanks for all of your help. Picking up the car tonight and I believe I got a pretty decent deal with your sage advice! I was able to maintain the low MF and put 0 down - in fact the original dealer balked when I went back to him armed with your feedback.

MSRP - 40140
Invoice - 37436 (plus they claimed their real invoice was that +250)

Sale Price/Cap cost - 37650
No down payment.
MF - .00022
Residual for 48month/10k - 49%

Payment after tax ~$420/month
Out of pocket - first month, TTL, deposit & acquisition fee - ~1,600.

So assuming no bait and switch or other problems, I'll be in a new car tonight. Thanks again for all of your help. Best regards, Adam

lmacmil · April 2004

I'm interested in an Acura TSX and Infiniti G35. Thanks for your help.

gwarren · April 2004

Car_Man,
Thanks for the Money Factor info, but what would the residuals be on 36, 39, or 48 month lease. And is it different if you have Nav system.

jbowman3 · April 2004

Car Man,

I've decided not to go with another Audi. I'm taking the money and running to (possibly) a VW GLX 4MOTION wagon, a VW W8 wagon (auto), or a Toyota Sienna AWD XLE Limited. 39 months, 15K, based in NY. Audi is giving me all my money back, minus a very small usage charge. So for the past nine months it will have cost me less than $50/mo. to lease my allroad, AND they're giving me money. Is this a great country or what?

JB

choosinu · April 2004

Hello Car_man

Does the money factor stated above apply to all Porsche vehicles? I am just starting to research lease vs purchase on 2003/2004 Boxster or 911.

Thanks in advance for any advice.

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