Lease Questions - Ask Here

hartt · July 2004

I thought that would be too good to be true. Thanks for the update. I am located in No.KY. Do you know what is available in this region? My Dad's current lease is scheduled for return on Tuesday and I am trying to help him with his next lease. It's difficult to do when he has no idea what he wants next.
Thanks Car_man.

janamax · July 2004

Great info, as always, Car_Man!

And, as usual, I have yet another question. Please forgive me.

I noticed that under Scion tC pricing, there is no payment estimate in the lease category. What does this mean? Does Scion not do leasing? If they do, would you mind giving me the residuals and money factor on a 3-yr lease with 12000 miles?

Thanks!

soccermom4 · July 2004

Your Forum has been so helpful in helping me understand leases! I'm interested in a great deal on an 2004 Odyssey EX with RES so I got my feet wet by asking for an online quote from a local dealer. The quote was $25,999 ($559 over invoice) From reading the forums, I expected a 24 month lease price in the low 300's but he gave me a monthly lease payment of $430 a month (12000 miles/yr) I asked for his residual number and money factor and he replied:The residual value is $17201.25 The money factor is .002100 The sale price of the car is $27970. OOps - the "sale" price just jumped - I can argue that point myself. But do the residual value and money factor sound right to you? I'm in NJ.

mkfx · July 2004

Hi Car_man.
looking for the best deal on an AWD 04 fx35 w/ sport and touring pck. MSRP 40,100, invoice 36,800
can u tell me the money factor, residual and a good payment for 36 or 39 months with $0 down, tax paid upfront.
any Infiniti specials for July/August?

thanks

mkfx · July 2004

Car_Man I forgot to add the following:

money factor is 00179
residual 55%
Purchase price is $37074

Let me know 12k 39 month.

janamax · July 2004

Car_Man, please disregard my question about Scion tC leases. I found a section on their lease options on the Scion website. I am confused, though, about why these are not listed in Edmunds.

Thanks,
Jana

vangooch · July 2004

Car_man,

Thanks for the 2004 BMW 325i info a couple of days back. After modeling a few monthly payment scenarios with the variables you've provided, I decided to look at some other makes and years as well. I understand that when dealing for new cars, you negotiate up from dealer cost, rather than down from MSRP. Is there a similar rule-of-thumb for determining an adjusted capitalized cost for a used car, like working up from kelley blue book retail value ? Is so, is a 5% markup from blue book value a good starting point for an initial offer for a Certified Pre-Owned ?

van

garyking · July 2004

OOPS! I want to do a 36 mo, 15K mile/year lease.

chowderhead22 · July 2004

I found this board after leasing my car DOH!
I want your opinion on how I did on my lease.
LE with option 6 package
MSRP : 28,011
Purchase Price : 25,688
Lease for 36 Months/12,000 Miles

Don't know my money factor so if you can figure it out based on these numbers it would be great.

Gross Cap Cost : 25,688 + 400 Acquisition = 26,088
Cap Cost Reduction (Down Payment) : 4,145 (DOH!)
Adjusted Cap Cost : 21,942
Residual Value : 15,299
Depreciated and Amortized Amount : 6,643
Rent Charge (Interest Payment?): 3,552
Total Base Monthly Payment : 10,196
Base Monthly Payment : 283
Monthly Sales Tax: 22
Total Monthly Payment : 305

I purchased the car in Orange County, California

Did I get raped or am I in the average?
Thanks

hpowders · July 2004

Hello Car_Man. I would like the residual and mf for a BMW 330i with automatic and premium package. 3 years, 36,000 miles in the Tampa, Fl area.
Thank you.

hpowders · July 2004

Hello again Car_Man. I would also like the residual and mf for an Acura TL, automatic, non-navigational, for 3 years, 36,000 miles in the Tampa, Fl area.
Thank you.

rroyce10 · July 2004

.... ** (Down Payment) : 4,145 (DOH!) **

             You might as well just taken the money and dropped it in the backyard barbeque .. at least you could have enjoyed a good steak over it .l.o.l......



                           Terry

mike11 · July 2004

Mr. Car Man, I have a deal being offered to lease after I negotiated a selling price with at trade. The car that I am buying is a Rwd FX35 with MSRP of 43840. My Trade (Ford Explorer) has TMV trade value of 17500. We negotiated selling net of 23000. Did I get a good deal? Now we are talking lease vs. buy and I am getting confused. What is a good lease deal? I am offered $15,000 cash back, 39 month lease, 15000 miles, payment of 610.66 (which includes taxes of $39.95). Would you shed some light on this for me? Thanks, Mike

CarMan@Edmunds · July 2004

Dealers make a large percentage of their revenue from the sale of used vehicles, mdf. In fact, many dealers that are often forced to sell new vehicles at close to invoice, like those that sell Ford, GM, or DaimlerChrysler products, are able to keep their doors open because they make a decent amount of money from selling used vehicles and through their service departments. I don't believe that there is any place where you can query the lease-end purchase prices for vehicles that banks have coming back from leases. Consumers can not transfer leases without permission from the bank that the lease is through and many banks do not allow lease transfers at all. You need to contact the bank that your friend's lease is through to find out if their deal can be transferred into your name. Keep in mind too that the residual values of many leased vehicles are actually higher than their real world values at the end of their leases. This is especially true with domestic vehicles. So you will not come out ahead by purchasing off-lease cars and trucks in every instance.

Car_man
Host
Smart Shoppers Message Board

amy · July 2004

I am getting ready to lease a car, and have been told different things by different dealers about the amount I should/could put down at the start. I want to keep my monthly payments as low as possible, but have been told by some that it's not a good idea - that I should just do the minimum. Any help would be appreciated!

CarMan@Edmunds · July 2004

You're welcome, hartt. Most of Kentucky resides in General Motors' Southeast region, but a few counties are in its South Central region. If you are in the eastern 3/4 of the state then you are in the Southeast. For now, I will provide you with an idea of what GM's lease cash is like in that region. If you let me know what county you are in, I can confirm that you are indeed in this region. General Motors is currently providing $1,000 lease cash on GMAC leases of 2004 Chevrolet Trailblazer models in its Southeast region. If I recall correctly, I believe that GM introduced another program this month that provides another $1,000 lease cash on the '04 Trailblazer to residents of the states of Kentucky, Michigan, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Indiana. If this is indeed the case there should be a total of $2,000 lease cash on this truck in your neck of the woods.

Car_man
Host
Smart Shoppers Message Board

CarMan@Edmunds · July 2004

I am glad that you find this discussion so helpful, janamax. Toyota does lease Scions. In fact, it has a sample lease payment for this neat new car right up on the Scion Web site. Here is a link to it if you want to check it out: Scion Payment Examples. I am not sure why this sample lease was not included in the incentives section of Edmunds.com if that is indeed the case. There is not any sort of lease support on Scions at this time. So if you were to lease one through Toyota Financial Services, you would have to use its standard lease money factors. I am not sure what that is at this time, but it is probably around .00230 or so.

Car_man
Host
Smart Shoppers Message Board

CarMan@Edmunds · July 2004

Thanks soccermom4. The lease payment that you were quoted on this van definitely looks a little high. Given the fact that Honda is introducing a new, redesigned Honda Odyssey for the 2005 model year, dealers will probably be willing to cut fairly thin deals to unload their remaining '04 models. Furthermore, Honda is providing $500 dealer cash on this van. This cash is compatible with Honda's lease program and will help you to negotiate a more attractive selling price. I would not be surprised if you were able to lease an Odyssey right at invoice right now, leaving the dealer to profit from the $500 dealer cash. The lease money factor that you were quoted is way too high as well. American Honda Finance Corp.'s current special 2 year lease money factor is only .00089 in New Jersey this month. You definitely should comparison shop with another dealer or two because it does not appear as though the one that you are currently working with is being very straightforward with you.

Car_man
Host
Smart Shoppers Message Board

nycadguy · July 2004

Looking for residuals and MF's for 2004 Volvo XC90's
3 Year
10K or 12K miles per year (whichever is the lowest available)
No Nav

both 2.5T and T6 trim levels.

thanks!

njdriver1 · July 2004

Hi CarMan - we're back. Two months into our Volvo XC90 lease and we're very happy with the car. So, we're going to look at another Volvo. My current BMW 330i is up in October, and I'm eyeing the s60R. How does one lease a car that needs to be special ordered? Am I rolling the dice as to what rates and incentives will be when the car arrives? What is a reasonable deposit? And, is it at risk if we don't take the car? Or, do I just wait and see what I can pick off a lot when I'm ready in October? Any idea of current money factors and residuals for a 12,000 m lease. Thanks CarMan.

garyking · July 2004

Car_man,

Did you have time to look up those SRX lease numbers yet?
(Both 6 & 8 cyl, 15K, 36 mo)

jdp60004 · July 2004

Hi Car_man,

I'm looking at a 2004 Lexus ES330 (without navigation). MSRP is $34,744; still negotiating sale price.

Dealer told me Lexus rates for 36/48 month leases with 12K miles per year are:

36 mo: Residual = 54%, MF = .00133
48 mo: Residual = 47%, MF = .00143

Do those seem correct?

Thanks!

georgeju1 · July 2004

Hi Car_man,
I understand that you are at risk when you put up a cap reduction - that insurance would only cover remaining lease payments if you were in an accident. Is there an upside to rolling all your payments into one payment at the beginning? Downside?
Thanks.

jrig · July 2004

is the following a good lease deal for a 2004 honda accord LX? this is the national lease program advertised on tv as offered by my local dealer.

$183.00 per month for 36 months
$1,520.00 capitalized cost reduction
$2,000.00 total due at lease signing (includes first months payment, security deposit, and capitalized cost reduction; total net capitalized cost and base monthly payment does not include tax, license, registration, options and the like)
residual is approximately $11,407 (or 55%).
money factor is .00071.
12,000 miles/year.
lease term is 3 years.

lizt · July 2004

Hi Car Man, Can you help. These payments are killing me. 3 months into my lease and the payments and insurance are more than I can handle. Tried talking to the volvo dealership, but they said Volvo would force me to pay remaining payments even if I traded down to a less expensive Volvo. Do you think I can go into a different Car Dealership and trade in my XC90 for another car? Any Ideas? Please help!

michaelb1 · July 2004

can you tell me if it is possible to increase the mileage on your lease after one year. I leased a 2003 Ford Explorer for 39 months 12 months ago with 12,000 miles. I have had a job change and have 23,000 on the vehicle Do you now if i can now raise that annual mileage to 24,000 for the remainder of the lease term?

lirealtor · July 2004

Hi Car_Man,
I got the numbers you needed re: Honda Pilot ex/leather 2004.

MSRP 31360.00
Selling price: 29159.75
16k miles per year/ Term: 36 months
Downpayment: 4067.00

I Was offered 352.00 per month lease/ buyout 18,516.00 or I was offered a "smart buy" at 377.84 per month (5.79%) w/ tax since I am leaning towards purchasing it with a balloon payment of 18516.00 on the 36th month. I also live in New York. Please advise me as I am due to take delivery on Wednesday. Thanks a bunch..

gwarren · July 2004

Car_Man

Well I finally finished my Lease deal on a new Lexus RX 330.
Well here are the details good or bad it's done and I believe that it was a close deal for them.

Vehicle includes Premium package, Power door, Wood Steering wheel, and other options to come to a total MSRP of $39,483

Now there was a new twist to the lease which made the deal work, and I think that it made perfect sense to me.

1. The lease is through Lexus Finance, which I did prefer and they waived my last two payments, on my current lease. Lease Terms are 36 Months with 12,000 miles per year, and no disposition fees.

2. I put down a $4,500 REFUNDABLE SECURITY DEPOSIT, to reduce the Money Factor from .0020 to .00105 or 4.8% goes down to 2.52%. Again this is not a cap cost reduction, but a Refundable Deposit. In essence they hold this money in exchange for reducing the interest rate.

3. Cap cost at $34,000 + $600 Acquisition fee, + Dealer fee of $596 and additional cost of $150 for Pin Striping For a total
                  Adjusted Cap Cost of $35,346
(MSRP = $39,483)

4. So with these figures and the 54% Residual payments came in at $449 + $27 Tax for
                   Monthly payment of $476

5. Inceptions were the first Month $476.00
                       Tag & Title $70.49
and of course the Deposit of $4,500
            Cap Cost reduction of $1.65
(Not certain as to the $1.65 but he said it had to be there for some reason)

Total of $5,048.14 of which I get back the $4,500 at lease end

All sounds good, but I was a little surprised by the Money Factor reduction via the Deposit. A twist that I had not heard of until today, and it made the deal palatable for me. After all with interest rates where they are the money wouldn't possibly do better elsewhere.
Comments appreciated

copper · July 2004

Lizt,
How much is your monthly payment? Maybe you can get someone to take over your lease.

Copper

lizt · July 2004

Hi Copper,

The monthly payment is $551.00. The car is loaded (w/o nav sys). It's absolutely gorgeous, but I just can't afford it. Would I be able to trade it in at a dealership?

ponytrekker · July 2004

You will probably lose thousands any way you look at it. There are various .COM sites on which you can SWAP your LEASE.

copper · July 2004

Lizt,
Please email me all the car specifics at abarsky@vitalgroupinc.com

Copper

kyfdx · July 2004

gwarraen:

You got $5483 off MSRP on a new RX330? I'm familiar with the multiple security deposit method of buying down the MF, but I'd take a real close look at the paperwork. Edmunds TMV on that car is only about $2500 under MSRP.

I hope all your numbers are correct.. IF so, you got a great deal, but I'd be poring over those documents. I'm wishing you good luck.

regards,
kyfdx

rroyce10 · July 2004

.... ** These payments are killing me. 3 months into my lease and the payments and insurance are more than I can handle **

         All do respect, but what were you thinking 3 weeks, 3 days or 3 hours before you signed that lease ...

    ** Tried talking to the volvo dealership, but they said Volvo would force me to pay remaining payments even if I traded down to a less expensive Volvo **

                  The Volvo dealer has *Nothing* to do with the contract, they were paid the day you signed the paperwork, so your way better off dealing direct with VF since you owe them the money and they hold the title, unfortunately Volvo doesn't allow transfers .. basically you owe them the remaining payments plus the residual .......

                            Terry.

CarMan@Edmunds · July 2004

Hi mkfx. The 36 month lease money factor and residual value that you were quoted on this vehicle are right on the money. Infiniti Financial Services' 39 month numbers for the '04 FX35 2WD are .00179 and 54%. According to what I have heard, consumers aren't exactly beating down showroom doors for the FX35 right now. Taking the fact that Infiniti currently has up to $500 dealer cash on this model into account, I suspect that you should be able to lease one at or slightly over invoice if you comparison shop a little bit. The $37,074 that you were quoted is indeed just over this car's invoice price of $36,800. Using this selling price and an MSRP of $40,100, your zero down, pre-tax lease payment on this model should be right around $523 and its 39 month payment would be around $501.

Car_man
Host
Smart Shoppers Message Board

CarMan@Edmunds · July 2004

Unfortunately, used vehicle price guides are not always on the money when one tries to use them to determine what a used vehicle is worth. Making matters worse, they are often fairly erratic, meaning that one can't always shoot for X% over a used vehicle's published value when they are in negotiations. You should be able to get a pretty good idea of what the used vehicle that you are interested in should cost you by stopping by the following discussion and posting a description of the exact car that you want, including where you live: sysop "Real-World Trade-In Values" Jul 25, 2004 3:59pm. One of our most knowledgeable community members, Terry, hangs out there and he is usually kind enough to share his opinions on the values of used vehicles with other community members.

Car_man
Host
Smart Shoppers Message Board

CarMan@Edmunds · July 2004

Thanks for the additional information, garyking. OK, according to the latest information that I have seen, if you were to lease a 2004 Cadillac SRX V6 through General Motors Acceptance Corp. in Colorado this month for 3 years with 15,000 miles per, its base lease rate and residual value should be 3.95% and 54%, respectively. The numbers for an otherwise identical lease of an '04 SRX V8 should be 3.95% and 55%. As you can see, GMAC publishes lease rates instead of money factors for the vehicles that it leases. You can convert these lease rates into approximate money factor equivalents by dividing them by 2400. General Motors is providing $1,000 lease cash on the '04 SRX in your region. This cash will assist you in negotiating an attractive capitalized cost, but it is only available for 4 year leases. It is providing another $750 lease cash, to residents of the state of Colorado this month.

Car_man
Host
Smart Shoppers Message Board

CarMan@Edmunds · July 2004

Hey hpowders. Here is the information that you are looking for. If you were to lease a 2004 BMW 330i through BMW Financial Services this month for 3 years with 12,000 miles per, its base lease money factor and residual value should be .00150 and 56%, respectively. When negotiating your lease on this car, keep in mind that BMW is currently providing $2,400 dealer cash on it. This money will enable you to negotiate an attractive capitalized cost.

Car_man
Host
Smart Shoppers Message Board

CarMan@Edmunds · July 2004

Hi chowderhead22. At first I thought your deal looked pretty good. This van's selling price and lease payment are very attractive. However, when I took a second look at your deal, I noticed that you made a down payment of over $4,000. This is way too much money to put down when leasing. I always advise consumers to lease without making any sort of down payment. At least you negotiated a good selling price on this van, provided that the number that you listed did not take your down payment into account.

Car_man
Host
Smart Shoppers Message Board

hpowders · July 2004

Thanks very much Car_Man! A 330I is going for only $30 per month more than my 325I from 2002. Shows what a little heat from Acura and Infiniti can do!
hpowders

CarMan@Edmunds · July 2004

Hi again, hpowders. Acura is not providing any sort of lease support on the TL this month. So if you were to lease one through American Honda Finance Corp., you would have to use its standard lease program. I am not sure of what its exact money factor and residual value should be at this time, but I suspect that the numbers for a 3 year, 12,000 miles per lease of an '04 TL without navigation should be around .00250 and 57% in your area.

Car_man
Host
Smart Shoppers Message Board

CarMan@Edmunds · July 2004

You're welcome, hpowders.

Car_man
Host
Smart Shoppers Message Board

CarMan@Edmunds · July 2004

Hello Mike. If you would rather trade your Explorer in rather than sell it on your own, you will be much better off if you have the dealer that you are working with cut you a check for it, rather than using it as a down payment on your lease. I always advise consumers against making down payments on leased vehicles. I do so for two main reasons. The first is if your leased vehicle is totaled in an accident or stolen during your lease term, 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 the lease-end purchase price of your leased FX35 will be exactly the same, regardless of whether you put $10,000 down or make absolutely no down payment.

The best way to look at your deal would be to work up a lease payment on the FX35 without taking your trade into account. What is its selling price without your trade in allowance? Once I have this number, I can give you an idea of what your lease payment should be like.

Car_man
Host
Smart Shoppers Message Board

CarMan@Edmunds · July 2004

Hi amy. I always advise consumers against making down payments on leased vehicles. I do so for two main reasons. The first is if your leased vehicle is totaled in an accident or stolen during your lease term, 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 the lease-end purchase price of your leased car or truck will be exactly the same, regardless of whether you put $10,000 down or make absolutely no down payment.

Car_man
Host
Smart Shoppers Message Board

CarMan@Edmunds · July 2004

Hello nycadguy. According to the latest information that I have seen, if you were to lease a 2004 Volvo XC90 2.5T AWD through Volvo Finance this month for 3 years with 10,000 miles per, its base lease money factor and residual value should be .00235 and 57%, respectively. The numbers for an otherwise identical lease of a 2004 XC90 T6 should be around .00220 and 58%.

Car_man
Host
Smart Shoppers Message Board

CarMan@Edmunds · July 2004

I'm glad to hear that you are enjoying your XC90, njdriver1. I believe that BMW will allow consumers to lock in a supported lease program on an ordered vehicle for a couple of months. If you do not lock its current program in, you will only be eligible for the program that BMW is offering on your car when you physically take delivery of it. Locking in the current program is a good idea because I believe that when your car arrives you have the option to use the lease program that was available at the time of your order or the one that is available when your car actually arrives, whichever is more attractive. As long as you aren't ordering some really unusual combination of options that the dealer that you are working with would never order on its own and would have a hard time selling to the general public, I would think that you would only have to make a small refundable deposit of only a few hundred dollars to place your order. Generally speaking, dealers usually provide better deals on vehicles that they already have in inventory than they do on ordered vehicles because they want to turn over their inventory as quickly as possible. If you aren't looking for anything unusual you may be better off just waiting until October and looking around for the car that you want.

Car_man
Host
Smart Shoppers Message Board

hpowders · July 2004

Wow! A BMW 330I for only $504 + tax vs. $481 + tax for a comparably equipped Acura TL. I never thought I'd live to see the day. Shows what a little heat on BMW from the likes of Acura and Infiniti can do.
Thanks Car_Man!

CarMan@Edmunds · July 2004

Yes, jdp60004, the lease money factors that you were quoted are right in mine with Lexus Financial Services' current base lease program for this car. It appears as though your dealer is being very straight forward with you.

Car_man
Host
Smart Shoppers Message Board

gwarren · July 2004

kyfdx,

Thanks for the info and warning. Yes I went over the Lease agreement with a fine tooth comb, and it is exactly what it says. The figures I gave in the post 12085 are precise and to the penny. Again the concern / confusion I had was with the Multiple Security deposit concept. Only downside I see is if interest rates jump up in the next year or two than the money is in accessible? I figure with Lexus Finance there should not be any nonsense when it comes to end of Lease, other than I'm sure that they will want me to roll into another one.

The MSRP is $39,483, and the Cap cost was $34,000 Adjusted to $35,346 including $600 Dealer fee and $600 Acquisition costs + $146.
I guess they needed to make the deal happen.
Drove the car home today and thoroughly enjoyed the new upgrades to my 01 RX300. I had to skim through the 700 page manual to understand some of the additions?

Still Waiting on the mighty Car_Mans thoughts?

Gwarren

kyfdx · July 2004

You are correct about the MSD program.. Really, there is no downside at all. BMW used to have a great MSD program, but they pretty well gutted it. Congratulations on your new car. Even with the dealer fee, it sounds like you stole it.

regards,
kyfdx

Lease Questions - Ask Here

Comments

Helpful Tools

Most popular vehicles