Lease Questions - Ask Here

CarMan@Edmunds · December 2004

Lee, I am not involved with the maintenance of the incentives section of Edmunds.com. If I have referenced some incentives programs that are not mentioned in that area, you can always alert the Edmunds.com employees who are responsible for that area to the fact that they are missing information by using the "Contact Us" box that is located on the following page of this site: Edmunds.com - Contact Us.

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CarMan@Edmunds · December 2004

Here you go, michael10. According to my calculations, if you were to lease a 2005 Nissan Pathfinder LE 4WD with an MSRP of $38,910 and a selling price of $36,200 through Nissan Motor Acceptance Corp. right now for 39 months with 15,000 miles per year, its zero down, pre-tax monthly lease payment should be right around $459. At lease signing, you would have to pay this truck's first month's payment of $459 and NMAC's lease acquisition fee of $550 (this fee is higher in RI & NY). You would not have to pay a lease security deposit because Nissan is waiving its security deposit requirement for leases of '05 Pathfinders this month.

If you were to lease a 2005 Acura MDX (non-Touring & without navigation or rear entertainment) with an MSRP of $44,345 and a selling price of $41,750 through American Honda Finance Corp. right now for 39 months with 15,000 miles per year, its zero down, pre-tax monthly payment should be around $553. At lease signing, you would have to pay this truck's first month's payment of $553, a security deposit equivalent to that payment rounded up to the nearest $25 or $50 increment, and AHFC's lease acquisition fee of $595 (it is higher in NY).

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CarMan@Edmunds · December 2004

Ken, I do not believe that Lexus Financial Services' residual values vary regionally. I suppose that it is possible, but unlikely, that it recently published new residual values for its vehicles. I suspect that this dealer is mistaken, especially since another dealer who you spoke with confirmed my earlier statement about this truck's residuals. Individual dealers do not have any authority to alter LFS' residual values.

Lexus Financial Services base national lease money factor for the 2005 RX 330 is .00165. It is lower than this in select regions. For instance, its base money factor for this truck is only .00145 in New York. As far as your request being aggressive goes, let the dealer make its money on the selling price of your truck. There is no need for them to make additional back-end profit on your deal by marking up its base money factor. If the dealer that you are working with does not like this, they tell them that you will take your business elsewhere.

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CarMan@Edmunds · December 2004

Hey corvette. I am very familiar with the details of General Motors' new Red Tag Sale. The main aspects of this new program are an enhancement to GM's regional cash bonuses for vehicles that are financed or leased through GMAC and a reduction of its special financing rates for 2005 models. The enhanced bonus cash for GMAC deals would help you to negotiate a more attractive capitalized cost on the vehicle that you were interested in leasing in some instances. If you let me know which model or models you are considering, I would be more than happy to fill you in on the exact details of its current incentives.

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CarMan@Edmunds · December 2004

Thanks for providing all of the necessary info, lwhite. Here are the sample lease payments that you are interested in. According to my calculations, if you were to lease a 2005 BMW 525i with an MSRP of $51,620 and a capitalized cost of $48,205 through BMW Financial Services right now for 36 months with 10,000 miles per year, your zero down, pre-tax monthly payment should be around $539.

If you were to lease a 2005 BMW 530i with an MSRP of $55,820 and a selling price of $52,030 through BMW FS right now for 36 months with 10,000 miles per year, its zero down, pre-tax monthly payment should be around $578.

Unfortunately, for residents of New York, BMW Financial Services' normal lease acquisition fee of $525 is increased to $800. Both of these fees are supposedly going to increase by $100 starting January 1st.

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CarMan@Edmunds · December 2004

Don't worry about forgetting all of the details, chubby4. It happens all the time. $1,000 over invoice is reasonable for this car. Let's work up a sample lease payment on it for you and see what we come up with. According to my calculations, if you were to lease a 2005 BMW 325i with an MSRP of $34,115 and a selling price of $32,300 through BMW Financial Services right now for 36 months with 15,000 miles per year, using a money factor of .00080 and a residual value of 60%, its zero down, pre-tax monthly payment should be around $371. As you can see, the pre-tax payment that I came up with is lower than the one that you were quoted. This is because the residual value that you were quoted, 58%, is lower than BMW FS' actual 36 / 15K residual value of 60% for this car.

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CarMan@Edmunds · December 2004

Yes, frommx5tomz3, Volvo is currently providing lease support on the 2005 V50. If you were to lease a 2005 Volvo V50 T5 FWD through Volvo Finance right now for 3 years with 12,000 miles per, its base lease money factor and residual value should be .00140 and 56%. I do not believe that Volvo is currently providing any sort of lease support on 2 year leases of this car. This lack of support, combined with the fact that 2 year leases are normally very expensive because you are spreading out the initial high rate of depreciation that vehicles experience out over only 24 payments, would make this a very expensive vehicle to lease for only 2 years.

If you qualify for Ford's X-Plan, you should be able to lease this car using the low selling price that this program provides and still take advantage of the lease support.

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CarMan@Edmunds · December 2004

Hi Jorge. You owe your remaining lease payments to the bank that you are leasing your current vehicle through. Individual dealers can not waive them for you. They can roll your remaining lease payments into your next loan or lease or have the dealer that you are working with pay them for you, but both of these things will hamper your ability to get a good deal on your next new car or truck. By far, your least expensive option would be to wait until the scheduled end of your current lease to get a new vehicle.

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CarMan@Edmunds · December 2004

Hi mtgman. I have seen the details of General Motors' new Red Tag Sale. Through this program GM is providing enhanced cash bonuses for a number of vehicles when they are leased or financed through GMAC. It has also lowered its special financing rates on a number of models. I would be more than happy to answer any specific questions that you have about this program.

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cove148 · December 2004

Never thought I would lease, but is this a good deal? Appreciate any advice.

Lease quoted in Texas on a 2005 with a MSRP of $58924, 48 months, 15Kmiles/year, $880 down, $760 a month. Pricing is part of the Dec to remember program.

Again appreciate your thoughts..

hcombs · December 2004

Hi,

This is my first post, so I hope I include the necessary information. I was quoted a monthly lease rate of $519 for a 48 month, 18,000 miles per year lease on the 2005 Acura MDX Touring with the Nav package. He's also throwing in tint and wheel locks. Right now Acura is offering to pay the taxes. This would be with $2,000 down.

Another Acura dealer emailed me the internet price of $38,650 for the same vehicle and said he could beat the other dealer's price. I did not mention to him the $2,000 down. Could I get away with only paying the necessary fees (first month's payment, etc)?? Would kind of deal should I expect. What's the current money factor and residual??

The MSRP on this vehicle is around $43,000

Rickster · December 2004

Hi CM. The S40 T5 I'm looking at has an MSRP of $31,165 and is being offered for $27,700. I think some sort of internal Volvo dealer incentive is involved.

Thanks again for your help!

markcole · December 2004

Hey Car_man

I am considering leasing a 2005 4 cylinder AWD Saturn VUE with automatic transmission for 36 months and 20,000 miles per year. The only options I want are the AM/FM Stereo w/CD/MP3, Fog Lamps, and the White lettered tires. MSRP is $21720 + $460(for the options) = $22180. There is a $750 rebate, sales tax is approximately $1000. They want me to prepay my excess miles at a rate of 10 cents a mile for the 15000 excess miles (15,000 mi/yr is their standard; I'll exceed that by 15000 mi over 3 yrs). Is 10 cents a mile reasonable? I read somwhere on Edmunds that 5 cents a mile is the norm. Is this negotiable?

Their lease disclosure form shows an acquisition fee of $595. What is that? And is it negotiable? I've read on the VUE forum about Saturn dealers giving customers flex vouchers of up to $1500. How do I get those? And are they applicable to a lease? They claim the APR on this lease is 1.94% but I've had a hard time verifying that from their lease disclosure form. From what I can decipher, residual value is 53% of MSRP - the $1500 for excess miles; depreciation is cap cost - residual + tax + aforementioned acquisition fee. To that number they add a lease charge of almost $1000. This lease charge puzzles me. Interest at 1.94% on $12000 over 3 years I believe adds up to about $350. What's the other $650 of this lease charge? They quoted me $385 a month. What's the bottom line on this deal? Thanks for your help.

ilan · December 2004

I sent this via e-mail but should have posted here.

Is there a downside to signing a 4 year lease and trading in early? I plan to trade for a new leased car in 2-3 years. I realize there must be some sort of penalty for trading in early, but it would seem to be offset by the lower monthly payments. How should I calculate this?

In other news- VW Golf TDI v. Saab 9-2 v. Subaru Impreza? Any thoughts? Any differences in the lease options?

luis_r_h · December 2004

Hello and thanks for providing the help. I am looking to lease a van for 3 years - I am planning on trading in since I will no longer need it for my child then. I am new to leasing so I'd like to get an idea what would be reasonable to pay monthly if I was to lease it now. I was being quoted $540 (the sticker is $32,410) - and I was planning to pay $3200 down. My credit score is about 700, my wife's is 800.

Of course they asked the question - How much monthly do you want to pay... I did not answer, but looking at the other leases I see here on other cars I believe $540 may be too high.. Please help.....

sandyl · December 2004

I leased the Altima 2.5S with convience package

for 239+ tax sign and drive 36 months with 12K miles per year

here is how it came out

MSRP 21840 (plus the had add ons of mud guards,

matts, and pin striping for about 200$-, worth

probably less than 100)

INVOICE is 20,348

agreed upon price was 19618.52

adjustments to cap cost was

550 aq and the bogus 599 doc fee

Gross capitalized cost was 20767.50

credit of firsts month for 230,

for adjusted cap cost of 20544.22

residual is 60% and money factor was .00096

I feel like I did a very good deal here.

sandy

teasip · December 2004

Someone please correct me if I am wrong, but I've always been of the understanding that as long as the value of the vehicle is greater than the remaining lease payoff that there is no "penalty" to opt out early, either on another lease or purchase, as long as the accepting dealer pays off the remaining lease balance which as I understand it is all the bank is interested in.

becks · December 2004

Hi Car_Man:

I'm considering this deal from a Volkswagen dealer in the Ft. Lauderdale, Florida area. The car details are:

Beetle GLS 1.8

Automatic, leather & wind blocker

Price: $26,455

Zero down payment

The dealer will pay the first monthly payment

Lease term: 12K / 36 months

Monthly payments: $349 plus tax

What do you think?

Thanks in advance!

lanks · December 2004

car man,

Im recently in debate of whehter or not to lease an acura rsx. Im a first time car buyer and i was offered a lease of 42 months with 0 down at 285$ a month. This is a base 2005 automatic rsx. Please let me know whehter or not this is a good deal cuz i know that they have a promotional offer with 209$ a month for same car with 2500$ due at signing. thanks in advance

lanks · December 2004

The acura auto rsx has an MSRP of 21,075

ewegleitner · December 2004

Hello Car_Man, I haven't posted in quite some time...it's good to post again! Anyhow, I was at my local Infiniti dealer here in Charlotte and was quoted the following on a 2005 G35 sedan RWD(auto):

MSRP $35110

Cap cost $33875

$0 down - fees only @ $1500

39 months @ 15K miles a year $489/month (incl taxes).

Is this a good deal? I did not get the money factor or residual...We left before I wanted to negotiate. Either way, I know I want the G35 but not sure which one or how to finance (lease vs. purchase). Can you tell me what residual and/or money factor I should be expecting? Thanks for your help!

mathewsommers · December 2004

Car-Man,

Does the GMAC Red Tag have an impact on either of these cars:

Cadillac SRX

Cadillac STS

Pontiac Grand Prix

Thanks

-Matt

massjake · December 2004

Carman, The MSRP of the Pilot LX including destination is $27,856. Sorry for the omission.

Massjake

hcombs · December 2004

Got a price quote of $38,650 (invoice price) for the 2005 Acura MDX Touring with the Nav system. I'm looking for a 48 month lease with 18K miles per year. What should I expect my payments to be?

Taxes are paid by dealer. I plan on only putting the necessary out of pocket money down.

CarMan@Edmunds · December 2004

Hi Nadeem. If you were to lease a 2005 Volvo XC70 through Volvo Finance this month for 3 years with 12,000 miles per, its residual value should be 56%.

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bmw4me2 · December 2004

I've read in a few sources that during the Red Tag Event there is a special Impala lease deal - $1,300 down, $113/month for 24 months. Does anybody know anything about this offer? Is it regionally based and if so, which regions are participating? I live in Sarasota, FL and one of our Chevy dealers didn't know anything about this offer. Thanks.

CarMan@Edmunds · December 2004

Hey gperr. The lease money factors for these models leased with 12,000 miles per year instead of 15,000 miles per year would be the same, but their residual values would be 2% higher.

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CarMan@Edmunds · December 2004

Hi Waltski. Unless Ford is running some sort of official early lease termination program on the Mercury Mountaineer that I am not aware of, getting out of your current lease eight months prior to its scheduled end will cost money and hamper your ability to get the best deal possible on your new truck. I would be more than happy to work up a sample lease payment on the 2005 Mountaineer that you are considering for you so that you can see just how much it is costing you to get out of your current deal early. However, in order for me to do so, I need to know its full MSRP and selling price.

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mss1 · December 2004

Hi car_man,

I'm looking at either a '05 9-3 arc or aero to lease, 36 months, 15k miles per year. I know there is $3000 cash and $750 loyalty incentive available. What is the money factor and residual for these two models. Also, is the residual calculated from the MSRP, the invoice, or the negotiated purchase price?

Thanks.

CarMan@Edmunds · December 2004

Here you go, hpowders. According to the latest informaiton that I have seen, if you were to lease a 2005 BMW X5 4.4 through BMW Financial Services right now for 3 years with 12,000 miles per, its base lease money factor and residual value should be .00125 and 60%, respectively.

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CarMan@Edmunds · December 2004

Here is the information that you are looking for, st7. If you were to lease a 2005 Lexus SC 430 through Lexus Financial Services right now for 3 years with 15,000 miles per, its base lease money factor and residual value should be .00165 and 58%, respectively.

Mercedes-Benz is not providing any sort of lease support on the redesigned SLK. So if you were to lease one through Mercedes-Benz Credit Corp. right now, you would have to use its standard lease money factors. Its current 3 year base lease money factor for consumers who qualify for its "Tier 1" credit tier is .00310. The 3 year, 15,000 miles per residual value for a 2005 SLK350 is 62%.

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CarMan@Edmunds · December 2004

Hey eman1. Did you say that you are $14,000 upside down on your current truck?!? I highly doubt that you will be able to reduce your monthly payment on your vehicle by purchasing something less expensive without making a substantial down payment until you whittle down your negative equity quite a bit. In order to trade your current truck in on a new car, you are going to probably have to pay a decent chunk of change out of your own pocket. I say this because most banks will only allow consumers to roll a certain percentage of their new vehicle's MSRP, i.e. 100%, 105%, 110%, into their loan or lease. I can't think of any inexpensive cars out there that you would be able to roll $14,000 of negative into. Furthermore, it is never a good idea to roll negative equity into a loan or lease to begin with because in doing so you will end up being even more upside down on your next vehicle. Unfortunately, your best bet would be to continue driving your Expedition until you are less upside down on it.

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CarMan@Edmunds · December 2004

Hi superman5. Your lease has nothing to do with the dealer that you got your vehicle at. It is completely between you and the bank that you are leasing through. It is likely going to be fairly expensive for you to get out of your lease almost a year before its scheduled end. In order to do so, you would have to purchase the vehicle that you are leasing from the bank at a price that is very likely above its current value on the open market. You can find out exactly how much it will cost you to purchase your leased vehicle by placing a call to the bank that you are leasing it through. If it turns out that you owe more for your vehicle than any dealer is willing to give you for it as a trade then you will have to pay the difference out of your own pocket. In the unlikely event that your leased vehicle is actually worth more as a trade than it costs to purchase, you would be able to have the dealer that you are trading it in at either cut you a check for the difference, or apply it as a trade-in allowance on your new vehicle.

Not only do you have to purchase your leased vehicle, but many banks require consumers who purchase leased vehicles to make all, or at least a significant portion of, their remaining lease payments. As you can see, by far your least expensive option would be to wait until you are much closer to the scheduled end of your lease to get a new car or truck.

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CarMan@Edmunds · December 2004

You're very welcome, ajpbf7. Here is the info for the latest vehicles that you are considering. If you were to lease a 2005 Nissan Altima SE-R through Nissan Motor Acceptance Corp. right now for 36 months with 12,000 miles per year, its base lease money factor and residual value should be .00096 and 58%, respectively. The numbers for an otherwise identical 39 month lease should be .00199 and 57%.

If you were to lease a 2005 BMW 325Ci through BMW Financial Services right now for 3 years with 12,000 miles per, its base lease money factor and residual value should be .00100 and 60%, respectively.

As you noticed, Ford is not really providing much in the way of lease support on the redesigned Mustang. 7% is the lowest lease rate that is available on it at this time and its rates go up from there.

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CarMan@Edmunds · December 2004

Wow, you certainly got a fantastic new car, Lee. Thanks for taking the time to come back and let us all know how everything turned out. Enjoy!

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CarMan@Edmunds · December 2004

Hi denverg35. I am not familiar with the XT trim level of the XC90. The only ones that I am aware of are the T6, 2.5T 2WD, and 2.5T AWD. Do you happen to know which one of these you are considering?

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CarMan@Edmunds · December 2004

Hi sacdriver. I see that the good 'ole spell checker missed the "fro" in my previous post

. Oh well. Most banks that lease vehicles to consumers charge a lease acquisition fee. The only manufacturers' captive finance company that I am aware of that does not itemize an acquisition fee is Ford Credit. I believe that GMAC currently charges a lease acquisition fee of $595 on deals in most states. Sometimes this fee is added into vehicles' capitalized costs and not broken out as a separate item though. Acquisition fees, which are also known as bank fees, are very common. They are charged by the bank that you are leasing your vehicle through and have nothing to do with the dealer that you are taking delivery of your vehicle at. Dealers have no authority to waive this charge. The lease money factor and residual value that you were quoted to lease this TL look about right to me.

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CarMan@Edmunds · December 2004

Hello cove148. Manufacturers' lease programs vary from vehicle to vehicle. So in order for me to give you my opinion on this deal, I have to know which car or truck you are are interested in leasing. Also, You never mentioned the selling price of the vehicle that you are interested in leasing. This is an important number for you as a consumer to know for two reasons. First, the selling prices of leased vehicles can be negotiated, just as if you were paying cash for them. Without knowing the price of the car that you want to lease you don't know how good a price you are getting it for. The second reason is that one needs the selling price of a vehicle that they want to lease is that it is necessary to calculate its lease payment. I would be more than happy to work up a sample lease payment on the car that you are interested in for you if you let me know what its selling price is.

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chubby4 · December 2004

Is the Mercedes Benz Base MF at .0020 or .0024 for the '05 C230 sport sedan? Reason I ask is I was quoted at .0024, so I was wondering if the .0020 is a new or special rate or if the dealer is marking it up. Also, are they waving the first payment for leases as well? Thanks.

hpowders · December 2004

Thanks a lot Car_Man!

hpowders

cove148 · December 2004

Car man,

Can buy the car for $54,000. Also which is smarter 36 months or 48 months?

Thanks so much.

cove148 · December 2004

Car man, just another note. Lexus is saying they have tax credits available to use through the end of the year and my payment would exclude taxes, since they could use the credits they have. Hope I said that right.

denverg35 · December 2004

I apologize Carman, I meant the XC 90 T6

dragonslayer · December 2004

Greetings. I have received a quote for a Saab 9-3 Aero Convertible w/ Xenon Lighting package and Touring package with a 15k per year mileage allowance. MSRP = $46,790, Initial Cap Cost = $40,671, Acquisition fee = $595, Due at inception = $1,000, Monthly payment w/o tax = 518.82.

Is this a good deal?

Thanks for your time!

neilb · December 2004

I want to lease a Honda Accord LX-V6 through Honda Finance. It will be a 36 month lease with 15K miles per year. What would the lease interest factor and the residual % be? Does putting no money down affect the interest factor?

Thanks

hcombs · December 2004

I've been doing some research on this site and found that using an outside lender (leasecompare.com) will save me about $50 a month on a lease payment. Has anyone used this service on Edmunds? Would it be better just to go through the dealer? PLEASE ADVISE

denverg35 · December 2004

Hi Carman,

I need the MF and resid for a 42 month lease [12,000 miles/year] of a 2005 Audi A4 1.8T Quattro, and the 3.0 Quattro

Thanks in advance!

CarMan@Edmunds · December 2004

Welcome aboard, hcombs. Let's work up a sample lease payment on the truck that you are interested in for you using Acura's base lease program. You can compare this payment to the ones that you have already been quoted. I will base this lease payment upon the assumption that you are not making any sort of down payment because it is in your best interest not to make any sort of capitalized cost reduction when leasing. I say this because you risk losing this money if your vehicle is totaled and it does nothing to reduce your vehicle's lease-end purchase price. According to my calculations, if you were to lease a 2005 Acura MDX Touring with navigation, an MSRP of $43,000, and a selling price of $38,650 through American Honda Finance Corp. this month for 4 years with 15,000 miles per, your zero down, pre-tax monthly payment should be right around $482. 15,000 miles per year is the highest mileage allowance that AHFC publishes residual values for. If you need more miles than this, you will have to purchase them on a per-mile basis. It is less expensive to do so at lease signing, than it is to wait and pay an excess mileage penalty at lease-end.

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CarMan@Edmunds · December 2004

you're right, Rickster. It sounds as though the dealer that you are working with is using the $1,850 dealer cash that Volvo is providing on 2005 S40 T5 models this month to arrive at this selling price. This dealer cash can not be used on vehicles that are financed or leased through Volvo Finance, so for the sake of calculating a sample Volvo Finance lease payment on it I will add this money back into its capitalized cost. According to my calculations, if you were to lease a 2005 Volvo S40 T5 2WD with an MSRP of $31,165 and a selling price of $29,550 through Volvo Finance right now for 39 months with 12,000 miles per year, its zero down, pre-tax monthly payment should be right around $423 or so.

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CarMan@Edmunds · December 2004

Wow, 20,000 miles per year, markcole. You certainly do a lot of driving. $.05 per excess mile definitely is not the normal cost for additional miles when leasing. Consumers who purchase additional miles at lease signing for leases through GMAC all have to pay $.10 per mile. This price is lower than the $.15 per mile that you would have to pay per additional mile at the end of your lease.

Almost all banks that lease vehicles to consumers charge a lease acquisition fee, or bank fee. This charge is levied by the bank that the lease is through an individual dealers do not have any authority to waive it. Specifically, GMAC charges the consumers who lease through it an acquisition fee of $595 in most states. If you want to lease through them this is a fee that you definitely will have to pay. The only way to get out of paying it at lease signing is to add it into your vehicle's capitalized cost.

General Motors provided its Saturn dealers with a number of $250 "Flex Voucher" certificates a couple of months ago. Dealers do not have enough of these certificates to use $1,500 worth of them on every deal, but the fact that you know about them while many other consumers don't definitely enhances your bargaining power.

GMAC's base lease rate for the 2005 Saturn VUE 4-cylinder AWD is definitely 1.94% this month, just as the dealer that you are working with told you. GMAC' residual value for this truck if you were to lease it for 3 years with 15,000 miles per would be 52%.

I would be more than happy to calculate a sample lease payment on this truck for you, however in order for me to do so I need you to tell me its selling price. Despite the long standing myth that Saturn dealers will not sell vehicles for less than full MSRP, a number of dealers are indeed willing to negotiate. Keep this in mind when you are working with dealers to get the selling price of this truck.

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