Lease Questions - Ask Here

mazdax605 · August 2004

Hello again Car_Man,

I was wondering what you know about a mazda financing AVP lease?The salesman I spoke with(one who I bought a few cars from in the past) told me about a program called AVP through MAC.He says it is like a lease,but the car is essentially ours,and is registered in our name.He also said I can turn it in at the end of the term like a lease and pay $350 or buy it for 40% as the residual.He also told me it didn't use a MF but that the interest rate was 1.87%.He gave me a payment of $319 a month for 48 months and 15 K a year.$1400 due at inception which was sales tax and registry fees along with a doc fee.The residual fee was $9400 he said.The cap cost he told me was $23500 on a 6 sport wagon w/auto,bose package,and LEV package in Squall blue.I have no idea on this AVP thing.Is it a good deal?The thing is I have a quote from the dealer I leased my RX-8 from on the same 6 wagon in silver and they gave me a price of $329 a month on a 48 month lease w/12k a year 43% residual which included all taxes per month(sales and excise taxes)and $765 due at inception.The cap cost from that dealer was $22200.Help please.

Chris

ch7656 · August 2004

Hi Car_man-
Welcome back...
Hoping you can help with the following info. 2004 VW Bug...looking for MF & Res on a 36/12k...also if there's anything else I should know about current incentives (to dealer or buyer) that would be great. Thanks so much!

spatulaman · August 2004

Alrighty, I think I've decided what I'm going to get if/when my TT sells...its either going to be a Titan or a Tundra, and it will defintely be a lease. Here are the candidates:

2004 Titan King Cab LE 2x4 w/ Big Tow & Nav

or

2005 Tundra Access Cab Limited 2x4 w/ Leather, Nav & VDC

I'm going for 15k miles/year and 36 or 39 months

What kind of MFs and Residuals am I looking at through Nissan/Toyota finance??

I'm in Texas, BTW

mrbentley · August 2004

Hi there,

I am trying to figure out how interest is calculated on a lease.

Consider the following (all Canadian $, FYI):

MSRP on an Infiniti FX35 with tech pkg: $60,200
48 months lease
47% residual
$5,000 down
$2,000 for freight/airtax/gastax/admin/etc
5.9% interest

How is the interest calculated?
...Do you minus the downpayment from the MSRP then add on the misc charges (ie. $60,200 minus $5000 plus $2000)??
...Is residual taken into consideration?

Please help! Thanks so much!

njdriver1 · August 2004

Hi Car_Man - hope you had a good time off (its never long enough).
BMW has been making overtures since my 330i lease is over Oct 15th. I've gotten over most of the issues associated with the X3 (stiff, suspension, cheap interior, etc). I'm actually kind of excited about the car, since its alot like the 330, except bigger (doesn't handle the same, of course, but thats for another topic).
Anyway, I've been offered a MF of .00095 for 39 months, 61% residual for 12,000m. But I think the dealer is cutting a bad deal on the price, only $800 off MSRP. Do you know the details on any current promotions? I think I should be getting invoice or less, but I need some info to negotiate with. Thanks, Car_Man.

ortega · August 2004

Welcome Back CarMan!

I've been told this month's Money Factor for 2004 S80's is .00004 - rediculously low. I've also been told that becuase of the low money factor, all the other money Volvo is throwing (somewhere around 7-8 grand) at its dealers to move 2004 inventory does not apply to leases.

I guess what I'm asking is what are Volvo's lease programs for 15K leases (Money factors and Residuals) for both 36 and 48 months, and what should I plan as a target number for a Cap Cost. Can I take advantage of any other manufacturer cash with a Volvo lease this month?

I'm looking at a 2004 S80 2.5t AWD, with an MSRP of $42,455 - Premium Pkg, Touring Pkg, Xenons, 17" Rims.

thanks in advance for your help...

CarMan@Edmunds · August 2004

Hello again Chris. The program that you described is what is known in the business as a balloon note. Balloon notes are very similar to leases in that they provide consumers with low monthly payments and an option to purchase their vehicle at the end of a specific period of time. The main difference between balloon notes and leases is that with leases, the bank's name is on the title and with balloon notes, the person who took out the loan's name is on the title. Many banks have started to offer balloon notes instead of leases in states like New York, where the vicarious liability laws expose them to frivolous lawsuits if their names are on vehicles' titles. Balloon note payments are calculated differently than lease payments. As you mentioned in your post, they use interest rates instead of lease money factors. A balloon note interest rate of less than 2% is very attractive. I doubt that the dealership that you are working with is marking up the rate that you were quoted at all. Since you know that your interest rate is attractive, you need to focus on your vehicle's selling price. You should be able to get a good idea about how god the price that you were quoted is by looking up this model's Edmunds.com True Market Value in the following section of this site: . You also may want to stop by the following discussion to see how much other community members have paid for similar vehicles lately: "Mazda6: Prices Paid & Buying Experience".

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CarMan@Edmunds · August 2004

Thanks ch7656. I would be more than happy to help you out, but Volkswagen's lease program on the Beetle varies by trim level. In order to give you an idea of what this car's current lease program is like, I need you to tell me exactly what model you are considering leasing, i.e. a 2004 VW Beetle Turbo S, a 2004 VW Beetle GLS 1.8T, etc... Let me know and I will let you know.

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CarMan@Edmunds · August 2004

I guess that you need more room, huh, spatulaman. Let's take a look at the current lease programs for the trucks that you are considering. According to the latest information that I have seen, if you were to lease a 2004 Nissan Titan King Cab LE 2x4 through Nissan Motor Acceptance Corp. this month for 36 months with 15,000 miles per year, its base lease money factor and residual value should be .00199 and I believe 50%. The money factor for an otherwise identical 39 month lease should be the same, but the residual value would be 1% lower.

Toyota is running a special lease on the 2004 Tundra in its Gulf States region this month but I do not believe that it is providing any sort of lease support on the 2005 Tundra in your area right now. If this is the case, and you were to lease this truck through Toyota Financial Services, you would have to use its standard lease program. I believe that TFS' base standard lease money factor is currently around .00215. I have not seen its residual values for the '05 Tundra yet though.

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CarMan@Edmunds · August 2004

Hi mrbentley. There is a great article on how to calculate lease payments right here at Edmunds.com. Click on the following link to check it out: Calculate Your Own Lease Payment.

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CarMan@Edmunds · August 2004

I couldn't have said it better myself, njdriver1. The lease money factor and residual value that you were quoted on this "truck" are right on the money. This is always a good thing. Having said this, I agree that the price of only $800 below MSRP that you were quoted sounds a little on the high side to me. I would think that you should easily be able to get at the very least another grand or so off, despite the fact that BMW is not providing any dealer cash on this model right now. You may want to stop by the "BMW X3: Prices Paid & Buying Experience" discussion that appears here in the Town Hall to see if anyone has recently provided any information on the deals that they have been able to negotiate on this model.

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CarMan@Edmunds · August 2004

Thank you ortega. Both of the statements that you made are correct. Volvo is providing extremely low money factors on the S80 this month, but its normal dealer cash and free option package offers can not be used in conjunction with Volvo Finance leases. It would just be too expensive for them to offer really low interest rates and the cash. According to the latest information that I have seen, if you were to lease a 2004 Volvo S80 2.5T AWD through Volvo Finance this month for 3 years with 15,000 miles per, its base lease money factor and residual value should be .00004 and 51%, respectively. The numbers for an otherwise identical 4 year lease should be .00004 and 41%.

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njl · August 2004

2004 Ford Expedition Eddie Bauer model
MSRP: $48950
Sell Price: $38450
Taxes: 1227
Net Cap Cost: $39677
36 month lease 15K/year
Inception: $1559
Payment: $568
NJ

I think I'm going to wait on the 2005's, but what's your take on these numbers?
Thanks and welcome back.

mike004 · August 2004

Hi Car_Man.
I am looking at leasing a 2004 Saab 9-3 Linear 36mo/12k for my wife. I am also told the residual value is 46% with a money factor of .00063 and $3000 lease cash from Saab. Are these numbers correct for August pricing in Missouri? Is there any way to haggle acquisition or dispo. fees?
Thanks for the great information.

spatulaman · August 2004

Toyota is running a special lease on the 2004 Tundra in its Gulf States region this month but I do not believe that it is providing any sort of lease support on the 2005 Tundra in your area right now.

Would you post the info on that special lease on the 2004s? I really wanted a 2005 Tundra since the engine has more output, an 5 speed auto, and is available with Nav, but if I can lease one for cheap, that'd be perfect. Also, when do you expect to have numbers for the 2005?

pktrckt · August 2004

Welcome back Car_man,
Apparently the Mazda RX-8 does not have enough space for the family and the wife is the final judge on it.

What other vehicles have incredible lease deals going on right now? I'm looking for something in the $300-400 a month range for 24/36 months 12/15k miles. I know the G35 sedan has some good lease rates right now as well as the Accord EX-L V6. If you could post your top picks that would help in the broadening of my search. Please include the typical money factor, residual and discounts......Since I'm already asking a lot why stop there

Could you give me the associated mf, residuals and terms for:
G35 Sedan Base w/o leather
G35 Sedan Leather
G35 Sedan Leather 6-speed
Outback XT Limited 5-speed

Thanks for all your help!!

CarMan@Edmunds · August 2004

Let's work up a sample lease payment on the truck that you are considering and see what we come up with, njl. According to my calculations, if you were to lease a 2004 Ford Expedition Eddie Bauer 4WD with an MSRP of $48,950 and a selling price of $38,450 through Ford Credit this month for 3 years with 15,000 miles per, your zero down, pre-tax monthly lease payment should be right around $506. Adding the taxes that you mentioned in your post to this truck's cap cost, I come up with a payment of around $542. These are a little less than the payment that you were quoted so I would want to go over how your dealer arrived at $560 if I was in the market for this truck. The capitalized cost that you mentioned is $10,000 below this truck's MSRP so you certainly were able to negotiate a heck of a discount.

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CarMan@Edmunds · August 2004

Hello mike004. Let's take a look at this car's current lease program. According to the latest informaiton that I have seen, if you were to lease a 2004 Saab 9-3 Linear through Saab Financial Services Corp. this month for 3 years with 12,000 miles per, its base lease money factor and residual value should be .00053 and 46%, respectively. This money factor would be slightly higher if you were to have the security deposit requirement waived. Saab is also providing $3,000 lease cash on this model in August. So as you can see, the numbers that you were quoted look pretty good to me. I believe that SFSC charges an acquisition fee of $595 and a disposition fee of $350 on every vehicle that it leases. These charges are not negotiable.

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CarMan@Edmunds · August 2004

Unfortunately, although I do know that Toyota is providing special lease money factors on the 2004 Tundra in its Gulf States region, I do not know exactly what those factors are at this time. If I had to make an educated guess, I would say that they are probably in the .00100 range though. I suspect that I will be able to get a decent idea of what Toyota's money factors and residual values are like on the 2005 Tundra when its September lease program is published early next month.

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CarMan@Edmunds · August 2004

Thanks pktrckt. As someone who also has small children, I can definitely see how one would think that the RX-8 doesn't have enough room for the family. If you get one, at least you can get away quickly when your wife is throwing things at you

. The Honda Accord has a very attractive lease program available on it at this time. While it does not inspire the passion that some vehicles do, the Accord is an outstanding value for the money and the V6 actually is pretty fun to drive. Audi is running a fairly attractive lease program on a number of models this month as well. The A4 and A6 are pretty fun driver's cars. Since you liked the RX-8, you may want to keep things in the Mazda family and consider the Mazda6. It has a pretty good lease program on it right now. The Saab 9-3 and 9-5 always have TONS of lease support available on them. These are just a few of the models that you might want to think about leasing.

Here is the information for the cars that you specifically mentioned in your post. If you were to lease a 2004 Infiniti G35 Sedan 2WD through Infiniti Financial Services this month for 39 months with 12,000 miles per year (39 months is the "sweet spot" so to speak with this car's lease program), its base lease money factor and residual value should be .00153 and 61%, respectively. According to the latest informaiton that I have seen, if you were to lease a 2005 Subaru Outback XT Limited through its captive finance company this month for 3 years with 12,000 miles per, its base lease money factor and residual value should be around .00180 and 59%, respectively.

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njl · August 2004

Car Man..thank you very much for your input on the Ford Expedition. I would also like your opinion on Honda's current lease program on the 2004 Odyssey. I think I'd wait on the improvements on the 2005, but these numbers seem pretty good. Here's the deal...

"Offer valid through 9/7/2004. Special lease rates available on all new 2004 Odyssey models. FEATURED SPECIAL LEASE* : 2004 Odyssey EX with DVD Entertainment System (Model RL1884PKW) for $259.00 per month for 24 months with a $1,499.00 capitalized cost reduction."

cpaman · August 2004

Car Man,

Hey, welcome back, i hope you didn't forget about me. I asked you last week about the money factor and residual percentage for the 2005 chrysler 300 touring here are the specs for my lease:

Place - New York
Annual Miles - 12,000
Options - Power Moonroof, sound, cold weather
Term - 39 months
Color - blue

Can you please get money factor and residual info on the 300 C as well, same terms except the only option will be power moon roof. Any information you can provide will be greatly appreciated, thank you for your help.

ch7656 · August 2004

Here are the specifics...TIA

'04 VW Beetle GLS 2.0 Auto with Leather

pattam · August 2004

Car_man, et. al.,
Great educational posts on Lease!!

I am looking to lease a 2004 525 and have been offerred approx 2500 off MSRP and a MF of 0.0021. RV of 61% for 10K/year.

I was told that the MF was set by BMW and would not be negotiable. Is this right?

Any idea if there will be any deals to push out the 2004s in Sept.?

appreciate your comments & thanks for hosting these discussions.

Joe

ejsj · August 2004

Car Man,

I'm wondering if it ever makes since to lease a car and then buy it at the end of the lease term.

Having recently purchased a home, I don't have a lot of spare cash for a big down payment on a new car or a monthly car note. Rather than buy a used car, I've thought about leasing a new BMW with a $300 monthly payment for 3 years, by which time I'll have more equity in the home and more resources to buy the car.

Does this strategy make sense or are there pitfalls I should be aware of?

gccambridge · August 2004

Car_man = Just wanted to say thanks!! This is an invaluable forum... It was indeed strange - the first dealer simply refused to budge on the deal (i.e. upping the mileage allowance)... Second dealer threw in a bunch of accessories that made the difference between the 10k mile and 12k mile lease deals about $200 (throughout the lease term)... So, I went for the 12k mile lease. The second dealer was also much better to deal with and closer to my house. Overall, I'm in driving heaven with my G35 coupe 6mt!!! (except that I just lost an appeal for a contested speeding ticket... oh well, i figure that'll help to keep me in line despite the temptations of the 3.5 ltr V6...)

vsaxena · August 2004

You pay sales tax on the rent portion of the lease which you would not pay if you buy it directly.

Another aspect to keep in mind is that BMWFS has slighly inflated residuals for their cars. If you compare the residuals posted by ALG, they will be less than the BMWFS residuals. This happens a lot at the end of the year clearance time. This means that you will be paying less on the lease but a bit more on the car when you buy it out.

The best deal is to buy a CPO car if you want to own. You get a longer warranty and the first year depreciation is gone.

kyfdx · August 2004

This is a textbook case of "when not to lease". You can't afford to purchase a car, so you want to lease it now, for a cheaper monthly payment, until the time that you can afford it. If you are going to have more resources in three years, then lease a cheaper car until then.... That $300 lease on the BMW comes out to about $400 once you roll in the downpayment and the taxes. You can lease a very nice Accord for about $280 or a Civic for $220 with nothing down.

Then, IF you are in a better financial position in three years, you'll have even more money saved up for a nice car... If, by chance, your finances haven't improved, you won't have blown your budget for a car you can't afford.

Good luck and regards,
kyfdx

6422130 · August 2004

Looking for the residual and MF for a Quest SL/SE and a Sienna XLE fwd. 48 mos, 15K. Thanks!

poman · August 2004

Hello guys. I'm looking for leasing a new car. Right now BMW has a great offer on their 325i and 36months lease with about 3k down and 299 a month. That sounds pretty good. My question is that I have a 99 Toyota Solara SLE V6 I wanted to trade in. How does that work? I don't want to pay anything in person, so I'm thinking that for the value of my trade in, let's say $9000. Can I just use $3000 of that to put as down payment and the rest of the money put toward the first 15-20 months or so of the lease payments? Can I proceed this way? TIA!

johnnh · August 2004

Hi Carman,

I am new to this forum and was refferd to, by a friend. Could you please give me your opinion on this deal that i was offered by a local dealer?
Place - Ohio
Model - 2.5 SL
Options - ABS & Side airbags, Fog lamps, Side sill & splash guards
Annual Miles - 12,000
Term - 39 months
Color - Smoke
down payment - 1000 (includes fees and 1st month payment)
Monthly - 356 (incl takes)
MSRP as per the dealer - 26,370. But, is 25,370 per edmunds.com.

What would be the best approach?? i dont want to be taken for a ride....For the dealer its business, but for people like me its a huge commitment. Please advice. Thanks.

John

gerrythegreat · August 2004

I live in Canada and curently am leasing a 2002 sentra spec v and it has 45 000 km. I would like to find out what my buyback is but my salesman has been avoiding me since I have asked him. I would like to buy it in order to buy something else but from another dealer and am afraid he wont give me the real numbers.

Is there anything I can do to get my real cost?

thank you

CarMan@Edmunds · August 2004

Hi everyone. Those of you who visit this discussion may find the following new article that is available here at Edmunds.com interesting: Dissecting the Deal - How to Spot a Good Lease. Enjoy!

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CarMan@Edmunds · August 2004

You're very welcome, njl. Honda has a very attractive lease program on the 2004 Odyssey right now. It was able to sell this van for years without any sort of incentives at all, but Honda has finally caved in an provided a little lease money factor and dealer cash support on the '04 Odyssey to help dealers unload them before the redesigned 2005s arrive. The current Odyssey is a great van for the money right now. Since Honda is providing its support on 2 year leases of this van you can always drive an '04 for two years and hope that the market for '05s cools off a little bit before you get one.

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CarMan@Edmunds · August 2004

Thanks cpaman. I didn't forget about you, but if you posted the message while I was gone I won't answer it unless you re-post it, like you did. According to the latest information that I have seen, if you were to lease a 2005 Chrysler 300 Touring through Chrysler Financial in New York this month for 39 months with 12,000 miles per year, its base lease money factor and residual value should be .00305 and 54%, respectively. You may want to consider leasing this car for 36 months instead because that term has a slightly lower money factor of .00224 and a residual value of 56%. The 36 month numbers for a 36 12K lease of the '05 300C are .00227 and 54%. When negotiating your lease on this car, keep in mind that DaimlerChrysler is providing $1,000 Chrysler Financial bonus cash on it this month. This money will help you to negotiate a lower capitalized cost than you would have been able to without it.

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CarMan@Edmunds · August 2004

Thanks for the additional information, ch7656. OK, if you were to lease a 2004 VW Beetle GLS 2.0 through VW Credit this month for 3 years with 12,000 miles per, its base lease money factor and residual value should be .00184 and 50%, respectively.

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xumuskie · August 2004

Hey Carman, I think IFS is running a special for leftover 04 coupes with premium MSRP $34,640 sales price $33,380 through Sept 7th. Do you have info on Money Factor and Residual. Last question if I get it with more options do you typically apply the same residual value to the options to arrive at the new residual? Thanks

CarMan@Edmunds · August 2004

I'm glad that you find this discussion so informative, Joe. The lease money factor that you were quoted on this car are right in line with BMW Financial Services' base money factor for it. Vehicles' money factors are negotiable in that one has to make sure that their dealer is not marking up a bank's base factor to add additional profit to your deal, but since you are already being charged the base factor you can not get them to go any lower. As far as the price that you were quoted goes, the 5-Series is in very ample supply right now. Your price, which is probably around $900 over invoice, is definitely not bad, but I would not be surprised if you could do better if there is any sort of competition in your area. In fact, I would not be surprised if BMW enhanced its incentives on the 5-Series in September to help dealers sell off some of the myriad of cars that are out there. Of course, this will vary from area to area and it is impossible to predict what automakers will do with their future incentives with 100% accuracy.

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johnnh · August 2004

Car man, the article on leasing was really informative. thanks! Could you be able to provide info on what the money factor and residual for a 05 Nissan Altima 2.5 SL for a 12k miles/yr and 39 months lease should be, if i plan to buy in this month?? or should i wait till Sep 2nd week or so if it make a difference? thanks again.
John

fitman33 · August 2004

I am in the market to lease a 2004 A6 and was offered the following deal:

42 Months
$544/mth
$3,300 down

Car is auto with premium package, cold wether package?

Can I do better? Looking to lease by end of this month (August)

Do you think can get similiar numbers for 2004 BMW 5-series?

mrbentley · August 2004

Hey guys,

Just checked out the very helpful article, "Calculating Your Own Lease Payment":

http://www.edmunds.com/advice/leasing/articles/48365/article.html

I've put together an excel sheet to help figure out the monthly payment on a car. The one thing I am not sure about is where to put extra fees (like freight/delivery, air tax, gas tax, administration, registration, etc which we have here in Canada).

If I add it to the MSRP...it will affect the residual. I can also add it to the negotiated price. Or finally, the other option is to not figure it in at all and to instead consider a completely separate charge outside of the lease.

Which one is it? Thanks so much for your help.

trneal276 · August 2004

I just stopped by a Ford Dealer today in Brooklyn, NY and was told that Ford has gotten very serious on the lease end inspection because so many dealers was letting a ton of damages go. Apparently, Ford has hired independent inspectors to do the lease end. Anyone have any info. on this. I don't have excessive W & T on my current lease, but I keep looking at little scratches and wonder if I will be charged. Especially due to the fact that I will be a returning customer for the 3rd time in 6 years.

trneal276 · August 2004

I gotta say that all the Wear and Tear talk makes people who lease feel like they should never drive the car and never let it see the light of day until the lease is up

mazdax605 · August 2004

Hey Car_Man,

It's me again.I was wondering about a few things.We just got home from test driving a 04 subaru forester XS w/premuim package(cloth),and automatic.It was a nice car,but I think I liked the mazda6 wagon more.The dealer didn't want to talk lowest price until they were sure we were going to buy.We didn't have my wifes car with us at the time so that they could figure out a trade value.We did talk about maybe buying instead of leasing becuase of the $1500 rebate.The thing is,how many miles can be on a "new" car and still be considered "new".I ask because the car we test drove is a demo model and had 4200 miles on it.Now I have bought a demo before and had good luck with it especially because I got a good deal on it.The car has never been titled before.The salesperson quoted a price of $24240 for the car which is around $1000 over invoice.I tole her no way unless you come way down on the price especially with those miles.She didn't seem too interested in doing that even after I showed her the edmunds printout I brought with me.Is asking for a significant discount on a car with those miles unreasonable?What is fair on a car with those miles?She also told me the warranty would start from when we bought as far as the months went but the miles would still be the same.So therefore we would only have 32k miles of warranty.She told me they could talk better(I read lower)numbers if we brought the trade in with us tomorrow.Thanks for your help.

rroyce10 · August 2004

"In fact, I would not be surprised if BMW enhanced its incentives on the 5-Series in September"

I betcha your right, the new "5" seems to be going down the path of the new "7" .. this time dealers will hammer BMW corp for incentives, lotsa people looking at em' but they need the incentives to move them .. maybe Bangle has bungled again ...................

Terry.

steine13 · August 2004

No no no Terry, you've got that all wrong... the 5-series is one of the cars with THE strongest resale value, according to CNN/Money Magazine -- it's right there on the CNN/Money main page...

"LUXURY
2005 BMW 5 Series

Base MSRP: $45,400
2-year retained value: 68 percent
5-year retained value: 48 percent"

Case closed.
-Mathias

CarMan@Edmunds · August 2004

Hi ejsj. One usually does not see the phrase "Lease to own" used in the automotive industry, but I definitely understand where you are coming from. One could make a case that it makes sense to lease a vehicle with the intention of purchasing it at the end of the lease in a couple of different situations. The first is on a vehicle that has low lease money factors, interest rates, available on it, but no alternative incentives like special financing rates or cash incentives. If the residual value of the aforementioned vehicle was reasonable then one could come out ahead by leasing and eventually buying it. The second case where this would make sense is if the bank that you are leasing your car through is willing to negotiate your leased car or truck's end of term purchase price. If this happens, you are able to take advantage of the low monthly payments that your vehicle's unrealistically high residual value provided and then purchase it for much less. Of course, one never knows how willing to negotiate a lease-end purchase price a bank is going to be when they sign up for a lease.

If all of your money is tied up right now and you want to drive a BMW, there's nothing wrong with leasing assuming that you get a good deal. In the situation that you described in your post, assuming that your leased BMW's residual values are realistic there would not be much of a difference between leasing this car and trying to purchase it at the end and just purchasing an equivalent used BMW several years down the road.

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CarMan@Edmunds · August 2004

You're very welcome, gccambridge. I am glad that things worked out well for you. I personally feel as though the G35 coupe is a beautiful car. I've always been partial to couples though. It's good to see that you purchased from the dealer that is closest to your home. All things being equal it never hurts to buy where you plan on having your service performed. Enjoy your new car

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CarMan@Edmunds · August 2004

Hello 6422130. Interesting user name. Surprisingly, one doesn't often see names that are entirely composed of numbers. I must have been sitting in front of my computer for too long if I actually find that interesting

LOL. Let's take a look at the vans that you are considering leasing. If you were to lease a 2004 Nissan Quest SL through Nissan Motor Acceptance Corp. this month for 4 years with 15,000 miles per, its base lease money factor and residual value should be .00197 and 46%, respectively. The numbers for an otherwise identical lease of an '04 Quest SE are .00155 and 43%. When negotiating your lease on this model, keep in mind that Nissan is providing $1,000 lease cash on it at this time.

The Sienna has been selling very well since its relatively recent redesign (how's that for alliteration). As a result, Toyota is not providing any sort of lease support on it at this time. If you were to lease one through Toyota Financial Services, you would have to use its base standard lease money factor. This number varies a little depending upon what part of the country one is in, but generally speaking it should be around .00215 or so. TFS' 4 year, 15,000 miles per residual value for a 2004 Sienna XLE Limited should be 46%.

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CarMan@Edmunds · August 2004

Greetings poman. I always advise consumers who are leasing not to make any sort of down payment. I say so for several reasons. The first is if your leased vehicle is totaled in an accident or stolen during your lease, your insurance company pays off the bank that you are leasing it through and your down payment essentially disappears. The second reason is that down payments on leased vehicles have no impact upon their lease-end purchase prices. So the purchase option price of your leased 3-Series would be exactly the same, regardless of whether you had put $5,000 down or had made no down payment at all. Despite the fact that there is a several thousand dollar down payment mentioned in the advertised lease that you have seen, consumers are free to lease any vehicle that they want without putting any money down. Of course, your monthly payment will be higher without a down payment, but you are paying that money one way or another. If you really want to get rid of your Solara you should either sell it on your own or trade it in to the dealer that you are getting your BMW at and just have them cut you a check for it. You can then put the proceeds in the bank and use it to supplement or make your lease payments on your new vehicle.

Car_man
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