Lease Questions - Ask Here

kyfdx · June 2004

I don't have all your answers, but I think you can buy a new '04 Odyssey for $26K, even with the leather.. That used one doesn't seem like that great of a deal.

kyfdx · June 2004

I agree with Mathias.. BUT, if you do lease, consider a Honda Civic.. If you drive less than 12K miles per year, you can lease one for 3 years for $200/month tax included, nothing down.

regards,
kyfdx

CarMan@Edmunds · June 2004

Hi jimmers. Audi's lease program has varied by region for the past several months. It has a ton of links to advertised leases that vary depending upon what area you are in on its Web site. It sure is providing a ton of support on the A6 in most areas right now. In my opinion, the A6 2.7T S is one of the best deals out there this month. Many Audi dealers have been blowing out 2004 A6s lately before the redesigned 2005 models arrive. I suspect that you would be able to lease most A6 models, unless there is a shortage of the particular trim level or color combination that you are interested in in your area, for a little over invoice minus the $2,000 dealer cash that is available on Audi Financial leases of the '04 A6 2.7T S-Line models in your area without too much trouble. Audi Financial Services' current 42 month, 10,000 miles per year base lease money factor and residual value for the 2004 A6 2.7T S-Line are .00020 and 48%, respectively. Vehicles' residual values are always based upon a percentage of their full MSRPs. You should be able to calculate the lease payment for any car that you are interested in by using the formula that is explained in the following article: Calculate Your Own Lease Payment. As I mentioned earlier, I personally think that the A6 has one of the best lease programs out there this month. Its program is better than the one that BMW is running on the 5-Series at this time.

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CarMan@Edmunds · June 2004

I sure do, Stacey, and I would be more than happy to help you out. According to the latest information that I have seen, if you were to lease a 2004 Nissan Xterra XE 4WD through Nissan Motor Acceptance Corp. this month for 3 years with 15,000 miles per, its base lease money factor and residual value should be .00135 and 56%, respectively. One needs to qualify for one of NMAC's top three credit tiers, have a score of over 620, to be eligible for this program. Since you have good credit, you should not have any trouble qualifying.

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CarMan@Edmunds · June 2004

You're welcome, Frank. I am not sure exactly what sort of credit is required for someone to qualify for Volvo's special lease money factors, but I do not believe that Volvo Finance is all that picky. Its worst lease money factor would probably its standard lease money factor of around .00320. Dealers are allowed to mark up Volvo Finance's base money factors by up to .00100 though. Volvo is providing $3,000 dealer cash on leases of 2004.5 S40 models through banks other than Volvo Finance. This dealer may be running your sister's lease through a bank other than Volvo Finance and trying to pocket some or all of this cash.

It just warms my heart that the salesperson that your sister is working with "gave her a break" and is using a money factor of .00438 instead of the .00600 that he claims he should be using. First of all, banks decide what interest rates consumers get, not dealers so this guy does not have the authority to lower your sister's money factor just because he likes her. Second of all, a money factor of .00600 is equivalent to an interest rate of around 14.4%, which higher than the worst money factors that I have ever seen.

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CarMan@Edmunds · June 2004

Hi lw2809. Assuming that your credit is in good shape, leasing would be a good way for you to get a replacement for your husband's car without a huge monthly payment.

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CarMan@Edmunds · June 2004

Hello janamax. Most banks require their lessees to pay their vehicle's first month's payment at lease signing. Following this pattern, the lessee is always paying for a month's use of their vehicle in advance. As a result, I suspect that you will not have to make any more monthly payments on your car. Having said this, it is definitely in your best interest to place a call to the bank that you are leasing your car through to makes sure that this is the case. Most banks either provide their lessees with a payment book or invoice them for their vehicle's payment each month. Does your bank do either of these?

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gianna · June 2004

I've never leased a car and need advice about negotiating the best deal. I expect to negotiate price for a 2004 Lexus ES330 at about $30,500. Have excellent credit, want 3-year lease. What numbers should I try to end up with re the money factor, residual value, purchase option, etc.? Any other pitfalls to look for? Would really appreciate your help in this new-to-me field. Have done well in buying in the past, but leasing scares me!

CarMan@Edmunds · June 2004

Greetings treyrox. Here is the information that you are looking for. If you were to lease a 2004 Audi allroad 2.7T through Audi Financial Services in Colorado this month for 3 years with 15,000 miles per, its base lease money factor and residual value should be .00041 and 57%, respectively. I provided you with this model's 15,000 miles per year residual value because this is the highest mileage allowance that Audi Financial Services allows. If you need to drive this wagon more than that, you will have to purchase additional miles on a per-mile basis at lease signing. Specifically, AFS charges $.15 per excess mile at lease signing and a $.25 excess mileage penalty if you wait until the end of your lease. When negotiating your lease on this model, keep in mind that Audi is providing $1,000 dealer cash on AFS leases of '04 allroad 2.7Ts in its Western region this month. This money will help you to negotiate a more attractive selling price than you would have normally been able to.

Audi is already providing a decent level of support on the allroad. It is difficult to predict what it will do with this model's lease program in the future. I can tell you for certain that its residual values will decrease as the model year progresses. The only question is will Audi enhance its support on this model enough to offset the increase in lease payments that this residual value drop will cause. By the way, I believe that Audi is going to have a 2005 allroad.

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CarMan@Edmunds · June 2004

You've come to the right place, gianna. Lexus is running a special lease program on the 2004 ES 330 right now. If you were to lease a 2004 ES 330 without navigation through Lexus Financial Services this month for 3 years with 15,000 miles per, its base lease money factor and residual value should be .00154 and 56%, respectively. This is a fairly attractive money factor. It is equivalent to an interest rate of around 3.7%. Now that you know what this car's lease program is like, make sure that you read the following articles so that you can put this information to good use: 10 Steps to Leasing a New Car and Calculate Your Own Lease Payment. Make sure to let me know if you have any other questions.

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treyrox · June 2004

car_man
i really appreciate your quick response. can i ask where you get your numbers? the reason i ask is that i wan't to take them with me to my lease negotiation and am wondering how receptive the dealer is going to be. have you heard feedback in that regard. ie person gets information from you, goes to dealer, dealer accepts numbers and negotiation proceeds accordingly -or- do delaers suddenly come up with totally different numbers. i ask this because i have done my homework on this car and the dealers are giving me the runaround with the numbers. thanks again

treyrox · June 2004

car_man
the residual you quoted me seems a little high in light of Audi's advertised residual of $22059 on a 4 yr/10k per year lease. wouldn't a 3yr/15k per year lease have to have a fairly close residual? the 57% residual you gave me works out to $25661
thanks again

tdkeator · June 2004

Gianna,

I just leased a Lexus ES 330 (premium package, wood/leather upgrade, automatic sunshade, floormats, wheel locks, non-navi) 5 days ago. Terms: 3 year, 12,000 miles, gap, closed-end. I negotiated a cap cost of $29,400 (plus tax). I paid $1,500 at signing (lease fee + 1st mo. + small cap cost reduction). My monthly payments (including tax) are $381.

I believe Lexus is really subsidizing their leases right now due to increased competition from the Acura TL.

Hope this helps with your bargaining. Good luck.

cheryl · June 2004

Hi Car Man, I just leased a new Honda Accord EX V6, and I am very happy with the deal. Thanks for the great advice you gave me earlier on this board - I wish I would have had your wisdom available the last time I leased a car.

P.S. You are a very patient man

stevekal · June 2004

Is there a list of the current best manufacturer supported lease programs? I've done a bunch of searching on google, car sites, etc, but can't find a comprehensive list.
thanks!

gari · June 2004

Hello-
I've posted on a different area of the message boards and only recently found this board, so I apologize in advance if people have already read my post.

I'm in a bind. I'm moving back to NYC 2 years earlier than expected and I need to get rid of my 2003 Nissan Xterra XE. The lease is up in Jan. 2007 and NMAC will only allow me to get out of the lease if I pay the difference after the vehicle is sent to auction. How does someone like me find out what the potential difference is?? Are there any ways to research what the general rate is at auction?

Also, I've seen many lease trade-in services. The only thing is that NMAC will allow me to transfer the lease, but my name will remain on the lease until the end of the term. Are these services a scam or way to risky to even consider?

Does anyone have ANY suggestions?? As I said, I'm in a bind and any helpful info would be much appreciated!!!

THANK YOU!!!

rjet777 · June 2004

Hello, I'm looking to get some lease information on a 2004 Accord Ex w/side airbags 36 month 15k in the NYC area. 0 down. I've been seen many TV commercials advertising deals but they required $1500-2000 down.

Any help or suggestion will be greatly appreciated

CarMan@Edmunds · July 2004

No problem, treyrox. When confronted with the exact details of a manufacturers' lease program most dealers will realize that they are dealing with an educated consumer and treat them accordingly. To be honest with you if you find that your dealer tells you that this information is completely wrong, you don't want to do business with someone who lies to your face.

In response to your second post, 57% is definitely AFS' current 3 year, 10,000 miles per residual value for the 2004 allroad 2.7T. Its 3 year, 15,000 miles per residual value for this model is 54%.

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CarMan@Edmunds · July 2004

You're very welcome, cheryl. Congratulations on your new car! The new Accord is a great vehicle for the money. Enjoy.

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CarMan@Edmunds · July 2004

Hi stevekal. I am not aware of any site that provides a list of the best available lease programs. Sorry that I could not be of more help.

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CarMan@Edmunds · July 2004

Hi gari. You should be able to get a good idea of what your current vehicle would bring at auction by stopping by the following discussion and asking one of our most knowledgeable community members, Terry, what he thinks: sysop "Real-World Trade-In Values" Jul 1, 2004 6:11am

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CarMan@Edmunds · July 2004

Hello rjet777. Even though the advertised lease payments that you have seen assume that a $1,500 or $2,000 down payment will be made, consumers can and should lease any vehicle that they want without making any sort of down payment. I would be more than happy to work up a zero down lease payment on the exact car that you are interested in for you, but in order for me to do so I need you to provide me with its full MSRP and selling price.

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rothsran · July 2004

Car_Man, when one looks at the TMV price for a car, is that number net of cash back incentives or marketing support? In other words, let's say there is a $1,000 customer loyalty rebate, should I assume that I would be able to get a $1,000 off the TMV price.

Thanks for your help.

superbeagle · July 2004

I ended up finalizing my lease of a Ice White XC90 2.5T AWD yesterday from DarCars Volvo in Rockville (they offered the most competitive bid over all Northern Va dealers and the other MD DC dealers). Here are the details:

2.5T AWD Ice White
Premium Package
Climate Package
Versatility Package
Reverse Warning
BiXeon Lights
Wood Steering
Cargo Net

Price was invoice ($41,092) plus ($250) ad fee minus $2000 dealer cash for a sale price of $39,342. Note that I couldn't get the free versatility ($1806) because I opted instead for the $2000 dealer cash.

SUV is fresh off the Baltimore port (arrived from Sweden on June 28).

Money factor is .0021, residual is 54% and MSRP is $44095. Lease is 36 months, 15,000 miles a year.

Monthly lease (through Chase) is $587.78 plus tax ($1972), tags/title/registration ($161) plus assignment fee ($795) for total of $654.50.

Walked out of the dealership only having to make the first month's payment of $654.50.

Dealership also bought my 2001 XC70 from VFNA so I didn't have to worry about disposition fees or Wear and Tear fees.

Very smooth transaction.

janamax · July 2004

Thank you, Car_Man. That's what I figured. And, yes, my bank gives me a payment book. My concern is that I do have a card for my July payment, which seems wrong to me. I will call my bank. Again, thank you for your invaluable advice!

clavender · July 2004

I purchased a 2004 Grand Am SE in Jan of this year. I am interested in leasing a new BMW 325I. I am trying to obtain general leasing information. Example: How much would cash you typically need to have as a down payment? With only 7,000 miles on my grand am, would I get a higher trade in value if I leased or if I purchased? Any other general information would be helpful as well.

Thank you.

rjet777 · July 2004

Hello Car_Man Here's are the Numbers

2004 accord ex msrp 23390
selling price 21400 (this is 300 above invoice) do you think I could do better?...

Remember that this lease is for ny state which has a little higher cost for leases.

Thank you Very much

pennmrsh · July 2004

I'm trying to run some numbers online and stumbled across an online lease calculator named http://www.leasepower.com - has anyone else tried this site? Are there others like it that I can use to get real lease quotes?

tguerino · July 2004

Car man can you please give me the residuals and money factors for a 2004 BMW 745i and a 2004 BMW 545i each with 12,000 miles per year for a 3 year lease. Also, if I decided to wait until the 2005 models came out, what would you anticipate a realistic 3 year residual being on each of those cars at 12,000 miles per year if I leased it as soon as they were released in the fall?

Thanks for your help!!

earth777 · July 2004

Hello Carman,

Are the money factor and residual for a 2004 BMW Z4 2.5i with 12,000 miles per year for a 3 year lease still the same for the month of July? (.00200 and 57%).

Also, will these factors change for a 3.0i?

And finally, are there any cash rebates? Do you know where I can lookup such info?

Thanks!

maxim49 · July 2004

Car_man - It's me again, and my car still hasn't arrived yet, but it's due to arrive July 23rd. Can you please get me the residual % and MF for July.
39 Month lease with 15K mile/yr and 18K miles/yr.

Thanks again!!

vdubdude · July 2004

Can you give me a range of residuals and money factors one can expect in Oakland/San Francisco for:

2004 1.8T GLS Passat FWD w/ leather&wood interior? I think the price right now is about $23000 with the manufacturer to dealer incentive.

Many thanks.

chile96 · July 2004

Here are the numbers from a different dealership for the S40 2004.5 for little sis

MSRP 26,260
sales price 22,497
net cap cost 24,618
residual 50-55%
MF .0038-.004
term 48 mos

They've quoted her $335/mo but am not sure how they got to the number. When she asks why are they giving her ranges, they said they're playing around with the numbers - sounds to me they're trying to get the most bang for the buck at fib the #'s. I told her that the MF is awfully high, especially since they told her she had a credit of 740, but that the resiudal seemed to be in her favor so maybe it's a wash and this is a fairly decent deal???

What say you carman or anybody else??

thanks again
frank

crunch413 · July 2004

I have a 2001 nissan pathfinder with the lease due to expire in 4 mths. I messed up and am 20K miles over my mileage. What's my best option to get out from the vehicle and not have to pay the mileage??

mellis · July 2004

The only way out is to buy the truck at the residual value price. In your position I doubt they will negotiate the residual.

If you turn it in you will have to pay the mileage charge. You signed a contract...

superbeagle · July 2004

The MF still seems awfully high. .0038 to .004 translates to 9.12% to 9.6%. With that credit, she should at least be able to get .00221

hpoohh · July 2004

2002 Corolla, 5 months remaining on a 36 months lease, term is 15k/yr.

But the car has only 31k as of today, and i don't think i can put on another 14k miles in 5 months.

I will probably lease another Toyota after this one.

Do you think if i can get some incentive or a better deal on the next car?

ponytrekker · July 2004

He is ripping her off. She's clerking for a federal judge and needs us to figure that out?

If someone has a decent credit score (no late payments, not overextended) the lack of a car loan means NOTHING. Run, don't walk from that stealer.

rroyce10 · July 2004

..... ** He is ripping her off ** ...

               Thats a very good possibility ...


            ** the lack of a car loan means NOTHING **

                It means a lot, it shows a payment history and it's harder to get a lease than a purchase, especially when there is little or no money invested ...

                                 Terry.

raven · July 2004

On a BMW 325i MSRP $31,605, I was just offered a cap price of $28,800 (invoice $28,500);
Money Factor .0024 residual $18,600; with most costs rolled into the lease, so the payment
due is $1060; which comes to $467/month for 36 months - 12k miles/yr.

Am I getting ripped off on the money factor or should they be able to do better than that?

cx2e · July 2004

I'm a physician just beginning private practice, and am ready to purchase a new car. I've been told leasing is better than buying outright for medical liability reasons. Is that accurate? I'm used to the concept of owning cars; but if leasing decreases my chances for loss of assets due to medical liability - I'd like to know!
Thanks.

steine13 · July 2004

This may surprise you, but when driving, you're just another shmoe with high income. Carry LOTS of liability insurance. It's peanuts to increase from the standard limits.

Medical liability varies by state -- here in MI, everyone has to buy "catastrophic claims" insurance, which covers the really expensive (and few) cases. Again, your profession has nothing to do with it.

Why do you guys start every other sentence with "I'm a physician"? It's not that relevant most times...

"I'm a physicist",
-Mathias

scottyt24 · July 2004

Hey Car_Man-

Looking for the residual and Money Factor on an '04 Acura TSX with NAV for 48 and 36 months. MSRP is 29,035.

CarMan@Edmunds · July 2004

Hello rothsran. Loyalty cash incentives are definitely not included in Edmunds's True Market Value calculations. So if you qualify for a $1,000 owner loyalty incentive on the vehicle that you are interested in, you should be able to negotiate a selling price that is at least $1,000 below its TMV. To be honest with you, I have found that consumers who comparison shop are usually able to purchase vehicles for less than TMV without much difficulty.

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CarMan@Edmunds · July 2004

Congratulations on your new ride, superbeagle! Thanks for taking the time to come back and let us all know how everything turned out.

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CarMan@Edmunds · July 2004

You're welcome, janamax.

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CarMan@Edmunds · July 2004

Welcome to the wonderful world of leasing, clavender. Let's see if I can answer your questions for you. To start, consumers can and should always lease vehicles without making any sort of down payment. When I say down payment, I mean a capitalized cost reduction, and not the typical things that one would have to pay at lease signing. At lease signing, most lessees are required to pay their vehicle's first month's payment, a security deposit of that payment rounded up to the nearest $25 or $50 increment, their bank's lease acquisition fee (which is usually $400 - $600), and any other state fees or taxes.

Whether you lease or purchase your next vehicle really will not have an impact on the amount of money that you will get on your Grand Am as a trade. In fact, if you don't mind the hassle of doing so, you will almost certainly get more money for your Grand Am by selling it on your own rather than trading it in. The only real advantage of trading vehicles in instead of selling them privately, besides the convenience of doing so, is the fact that some states only charge sales tax on the difference in price between your new vehicle and your trade. This would not come into play here since you will not be putting any money down on your lease anyhow. While we are on the subject of your Grand Am, make sure to understand that you are probably going to end up taking a large hit when you go to sell this car now. All new vehicles experience a very high rate of depreciation during the first 12 months of ownership, especially domestic vehicles. If you have a loan on this car, there is a very good chance that you are upside down on it, meaning that you owe more money on it than it is currently worth. If that is the case, you will have to pay money out of your own pocket to get out of your car at this time.

Since you are new to leasing, I suggest that you check out the following article that is available here at Edmunds.com: 10 Steps to Leasing a New Car. It contains a lot of helpful information.

Please let me know if you have any other questions.

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CarMan@Edmunds · July 2004

No problem, rjet777. Thanks for the additional information. $300 over invoice is a reasonable selling price for the Accord, IF you make sure that your dealer then deducts any available incentives from your car's price. Through July 6th, and probably after that date if Honda continues its this program like I suspect it will, Honda is providing $500 dealer cash on 2004 Accord Sedans. This cash may be used in conjunction with AHFC's lease program.

OK, now let's calculate a sample lease payment on the car that you are interested in. According to my calculations, if you were to lease a 2004 Accord EX Sedan with an MSRP of $23,390 and a selling price of $21,400 through American Honda Finance Corp. in New York this month for 36 months with 15,000 miles per year, your zero down, pre-tax monthly lease payment should be right around $286.

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CarMan@Edmunds · July 2004

Here is the latest and greatest information for the cars that you are interested in, tguerino. BMW actually enhanced its money factors and did away with the dealer cash that it was providing on the 5-Series for July. If you were to lease a 2004 BMW 545i through BMW Financial Services right now for 3 years with 12,000 miles per, its base lease money factor and residual value should be .00210 and 60%, respectively. If you were to enter into an otherwise identical lease of a 2004 BMW 745i, its base factor and residual should be .00100 and 57%. It is difficult for me to say what BMW's lease program will be like on the 2005 versions of these cars when they are introduced in a couple of months.

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CarMan@Edmunds · July 2004

Hey earth777. This car's numbers are a little different for the month of July. Its BMW FS 3 year, 12,000 miles per residual value dropped to 56%. To help make up for this residual value drop, BMW reduced this car's base money factor to .00190. BMW continued the $3,500 dealer cash that it had on this car in June. The money factor would be exactly the same for the '04 Z4 3.0i, but the residual value is 1% higher and the dealer cash is $4,500 instead of $3,500.

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