Lease Questions - Ask Here

steine13 · December 2004

"I leased a new Honda Accord [..] the car was the wrong car and it needed to be returned."

That's funny. For the rest of us, I mean.

"Is it possible that they could have given me the wrong car even after it was registered to me?"

This is a bit of a mess, but relax, you'll be fine.

First up, if they're right and you're in the wrong car, there is no deal and you can walk if things get fishy. A car deal in most (all?) states requires you to drive off in the car. *THE* car, not some other car. I'm not suggesting you run away, I'm saying you CAN, and they know it, so I doubt they're trying to play a fast one on you. Stuff happens.

Look at your paperwork from the dealership, the Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) will figure prominently on it. Then look on your registration papers and see if it's the same. Then go out to the car; it's on a decal (usually white, size of a playing card) on the driver's side door or the driver's side B pillar. Open the door and look at the narrow end of it; if the decal isn't there, look where that surface mates up to the car.

It'll have load rating and manufacturing information, along with the VIN. If all three VINs are not the same, the whole thing will be a bit of a mess to sort out; just make sure when it's all done, you've got the right car with the right number of miles on it, and the right price, and the right paperwork.

"I never heard of such a thing"

Me neither, but I'm not surprised, esp. at a larger Honda dealer. Since they package all their options in a trim line, I'm not surprised they have identical or near-identical Accords on the lot. Easy to get confused. Lemme guess, it's a silver LX 4cyl sedan with automatic? :-)

Good luck, and let us know how it turns out.

-Mathias

dwitham · December 2004

We have 6 months left on our 5 year lease agreement and we are trying to determine which is the best way to go. Buying out,turning it in early etc. The buy out right now is 15200 and the risidual is 13000. This is our first lease and any help would be appreciated since we would rather not have to trust the dealers

thanks

stevern · December 2004

Can you tell me what dealer in NY you have used for your new X5 lease? Thanks so much and good luck with your X5! Steve

julioseventh · December 2004

I am looking to lease a Nissan Altima. My credit has some rough spots, so I don't feel I will qualify on my own for a lease.

My credit has been flawless for the last 2 years...but have been told they go back 5 years for auto decisions. I make over $50,000 and can easily make the payments. The trouble with buying instead of leasing is, they want to really stick the APR to me because of my past credit. (I've been approved, but I'm not happy with the APR)

I have a great job, etc... Can having my father (with tier 1 credit) enable me to get into the leases they are offering at good rates? Or...any other suggestions?

durability05 · December 2004

We leased an 04 Honda Pilot almost a year ago for 60 months. The money factor is .0024 and the vehicle was bought at $1,000 below MSRP or $1,500 above invoice. Today I noticed Pilots are bought at or below Invoice. The Pilot I have has low lease payments mainly due to its high residual. Would Wells Fargo take a hit later if the vehicle is returned or would they offer a lower residual price just to get the lessee to purchase at the end of lease?

shatzi · January 2005

I just went to two Toyota dealers and this is the best lease price that I got. Is it a good deal.



2005 4Runner Sport Edition.



MSRP: 33,556

Invoice: 30,217 (included $495 advertising and $595 destination fee)

Money Factor: .0138

Residual: $20,528

Money down: $424.87(first payment)+ Motor Vehicle approx. $150 - everything else was rolled into the payment

Our Cost: $30,577 ($350 over invoice)

Monthly Payment: $424.87



They said that the lease program was a lower money factor or the $900 marketing promotion - one or the other, not both



Please respond, have to make a decision right away.

gorbonzo · January 2005

I am being quoted an APR of 5.86% on my Grand Cherokee Lease through Chrysler financial. My credit is 770 plus and my bank said I should qualify at a rate of 5.25% or lower. When I asked the dealer, he said that since Chrysler has lease rebates built in of $1,000 they can charge a higher rate. Should I expect to get the 5.24 rate from Chrysler?

gorbonzo · January 2005

I negotiated a lease on a Grand Jeep Cherokee 5.7L.

$42,560 MSRP

$38,152 Invoice

$39,237 Negotiated Price (Before Acquisition fee & tax)

$40,900 Edmunds FMV

($2,500) Rebates

$38,400 Adjusted Edmunds FMV

$837 Premium I am paying.

This equates to a 6.2% Dealer Profit

Dealers Profit

Based on Edmunds FMV

$275 - Diff from invoice and negotiated price

$1,276 - 3% MSRP Holdback

1,533 - Total Dealer Profit or 4%

Is 4% correct? That seems very low for high demand vehicle. Could I be missing something.

The problem with negotiating 4% on this car there is really only one dealer in the 3 state area that has any decent supply so price shopper is difficult. You get the take or leave and really can not go any where else.

lwhite · January 2005

Hi Steve,

The dealer is Wide World of Cars in Spring Valley, NY- right off the Thru-way.

Its funny, you never see WWC's advertise around the metro area, but they are continually rated as one of the top 10 or so BMW dealerships in the country for customer service/ satisfaction. I know the dealership recently changed owners, but I saw no difference in my dealings- could not have been easier.

Additionally, they are a huge Ferrari dealership/ service center. Always cool checking those cars out if you have to wait. Usually have more of those in stock than BMW's.

Would tell you my salesman's name, I love referring him, but believe that is not allowed on these boards.

rshlachter · January 2005

Thanks very much.

rob

kyfdx · January 2005

1) Adding the $625 Acquisition fee to your cap cost, I come up with a payment of $367.17 + tax.. which matches your payment almost exactly.. this is a very good thing, as your dealer is using the base rate money factor.

2) conv fee ($275)? I'm guessing this is a conveyance or document fee.. Either way, it is just profit to the dealer and ought to be considered an addition to your negotiated price.. If you add that onto your price, you are about $1100 under MSRP and about $1900 over invoice (about.. I didn't look up the invoice price).

It looks like you could work on that negotiated price a little... I'm thinking another $500-$1000 lower would be fair to both sides... That would lower the payment $15-$30 per month..

Your dealer seems to be straightforward in his dealings with you.... This is a very good thing.. I'd be inclined to stick with them, if I could... maybe try to work that price a little lower.... You aren't far off now. If this is the best they will do, I don't know that it would be worth going elsewhere..

regards,

kyfdx

(not the expert)

PS: 3yr/36K, right?

superep · January 2005

Hey Car-Man,

Had to get back 2 U and say thanks for the advice. As it turned out we bought an 04 Touring from Rick Case in Ft. Lauderdale and took advantage of the 2.9% finance. It took 5 hrs on a rainy new years eve day but I got the SUV I wanted, MDX Touring and the color my wife liked (Blk w/tan)....... they were great to deal with and we were satisfied with the price.

Superep

hpoohh · January 2005

Returned my corolla after 36month lease.

Received the invoice from the bank.

left fender 5 or more dings $55

left rear door 5 or more dings $55

right front door 5 or more dings $55

Left tire

/32 $100
total $265.00
I was like, what the hell? it's because i brought the car to a tire shop to check and they said all 4 tires have more than 3/32. If it has less than that, i would have replaced them for $50 regarding the dings, i don't agree to it at all. I need to fix the rear bumper before i return it, so i asked the body shop to fix the dings also (if any). But the bodyshop said no ding was found. I think i am being treated unfairly, i just drop off the car at the dealer. Do you think the dealer DINGS my car on purpose before they send someone over to do inspection?because i didn't get a new car from them? (but what would they get by doing that?) do you have any idea what i should do? I mean i am ok with the charge if it's like a lease turn in fee or something (like what MBZ do) but charging me what i shouldn't be charged is not cool at all. Especially when i really checked everything before i turn the car in.

stevern · January 2005

Thanks again! Steve

leeshuck · January 2005

Hi gjm,

It seems like many BMW Dealers mark up the money factor and fees to make more profit. You may be able to negotiate them back down to the base rates if you can confirm what it should be.

I signed a lease with BMWFS in December and the gap insurance was included.

Lee

bisedogg · January 2005

kyfdx,

Thank you very much for your insight. I think that as far as car dealers go, this dealer seems to be pretty straightforward. That being said, your advice regarding the price of the car was the exactly the advice I was looking for. Having never purchased a BMW before, I wasn't sure what would be a fair price for this car. As it turns out, the dealer gave me a breakdown of invoice price (which I don't have in front of me right now) but I'll see how much the price he gave me is above that (I'll also check here on Edmunds). I take if from what you are suggesting that $900 over the deal invoice price is fair. I'll try for that. Thanks again.

bisedogg · January 2005

kyfdx,

Yes 3yr/36k

CarMan@Edmunds · January 2005

Scrapluv, a .00145 lease money factor is as low as if gets on this truck right now. It also is the lowest that Lexus' money factors have been on the RX 330 in many months. Your truck's capitalized cost normally means the amount financed, but I suppose that one can look at leases with the vehicle's selling price being its base cap cost and its selling price plus any other fees that one wants to roll into their lease, like the acquisition fee, is its adjusted capitalized cost.

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CarMan@Edmunds · January 2005

You are absolutely right, jacqueusi. Vehicles' residual values are based upon a percentage of their MSRPs. You're also right that the more unrealistically high your vehicle's lease-end purchase option price is, the better it is for you as a lessee because the lower your monthly payment will be.

Thanks for finding out the MSRP. Let's work up a sample lease payment on this truck for you and see what we come up with. According to my calculations, if you were to lease a 2004 Dodge Durango Limited Hemi 4WD with an MSRP of $41,400 and a selling price of $35,562 through Chrysler Financial right now for 2 years with 12,000 miles per, your zero down, pre-tax monthly payment should be around a whopping $648. I can't believe that it's so high, but I just double checked my calculations and they appear to be right. It just goes to show that it is often really expensive to lease '04 models this late in the model year.

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CarMan@Edmunds · January 2005

Ssunny, it is true that Acura's December lease program for the TL is only scheduled to run through January 3rd. Let's estimate this car's lease payment using its December program and the prices that you provided me with. According to my calculations, if you were to lease a 2005 Acura TL without navigation with an MSRP of $33,470 and a selling price of $1,000 below that (this is a reasonable price if there is any competition for your business in your area) through American Honda Finance Corp. on or before January 3rd for 39 months with 12,000 miles per year, your zero down, pre-tax monthly payment should be right around $457. Check back with me later on this week if you would like me to recalculate this car's lease payment using its new January lease program.

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CarMan@Edmunds · January 2005

Hi jerseyal. I've found that the lease payment quotes from a number of manufacturers' web sites are a little wacky. Let's work up a sample lease payment on this car for you using the December lease program for Mercedes-Benz and see what we come up with. If you want me to rerun this payment for us using its January program, check back with me late this week. I am using a lot of assumptions in this example because you didn't provide me with all of the information that is necessary to calculate a lease payment on this car. According to my calculations, if you were to lease a 2005 Mercedes-Benz SLK 350 with an MSRP of $46,220 and a selling price of $45,220 through Mercedes-Benz Credit Corp. right now for 39 months with 12,000 miles per year, its zero down, pre-tax monthly payment should be right around $633. I arrived at this lease payment using MBC's tier one base lease money factor of.00310, which is exactly what the salesperson who you are dealing with told you it is. Mercedes-Benz Credit does have a multiple security deposit program. It is a little different than BMW's though. The last time that I heard about MBC's multiple deposit program, lessees could make up to ten additional security deposits on vehicles, with each one providing a money factor deduction of .00007.

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CarMan@Edmunds · January 2005

Here is the information that you are looking for, vkj. If you were to lease a 2005 Audi allroad 2.7T through Audi Financial Services on or before January 3rd for 36 months with 15,000 miles per year, its base lease money factor and residual value should be .00085 and 56%, respectively. The numbers for an otherwise identical 39 month lease should be .00085 and 53%. I believe that the numbers for an otherwise identical 42 month lease should be .00085 and 50%. If you were to lease this wagon with only 12,000 miles per year, its residual values would be 2% higher.

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CarMan@Edmunds · January 2005

Thanks for the additional information, valleydriver. OK, if you were to lease a 2005 Mazda3s 5-door through its captive finance company on or before January 3rd for 42 months with 12,000 miles per year, its base lease money factor and residual value should be .00189 and 50%, respectively. I've never seen a Mazda lease with only 10,000 miles per year so I don't know if you can lease one through its captive finance company with such a low mileage allowance.

You certainly can lease your new car in Wisconsin even though you live in California, but I personally think that doing so would be more trouble than its worth. I understand that dealers in certain parts of California are a little shady, but there is a lot of competition for your business there. As long as you know what you want to pay for this car, know what its lease program is like, and understand how leasing works you can use this high level of competition to your advantage during negotiations. Plus, you won't have to worry about getting your new vehicle all the way from Wisconsin back to Cali.

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CarMan@Edmunds · January 2005

Hi yaz. Most dealers definitely seem a little more willing to negotiate at the end of the month as they try to squeeze a few more deals in. It wouldn't hurt to shop for your new car then.

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CarMan@Edmunds · January 2005

Hi burpey. You certainly have an interesting user name. It is because you drink a lot of soda or is it in reference to the seed company

? It is difficult for me to estimate how much it should cost to lease every vehicle out there, but I can give you a few suggestions about good cars that are in the price range that you mentioned, based upon advertised lease payments that I have seen lately. A few cars that are in the $200 to $350 per month range for a typical 3 year, 12,000 miles per lease that I would personally consider include the Honda Accord, Honda Civic, Toyota Camry, Toyota Corolla, Mazda6, Mazda3, Subaru Impreza, Subaru Legacy, Acura RSX, Volkswagen Jetta, and Nissan Altima.

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CarMan@Edmunds · January 2005

You're welcome, Zanskar. You're right, the navigation and rear entertainment systems do lower this truck's residual values. Through January 3rd, Lexus Financial Services' 3 year, 12,000 miles per residual value for a 2005 RX 330 2WD without navigation and without the rear entertainment system is 58%.

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CarMan@Edmunds · January 2005

Hi sfcharlie. Interestingly enough, despite its high level of popularity, the Toyota Prius is not really a great vehicle to lease. Toyota never provides any sort of lease support on it and the residual values for hybrid electric vehicles are usually fairly low, probably at least partially because of the fact that they will eventually need an expensive battery replacement. Having said this, if you were to lease this car through Toyota Financial Services, its lease money factor would still be a lot lower than the .00320 that you were quoted. TFS' standard base lease money factors for consumers who qualify for its Tier 1 credit tier is currently .00215. I would be more than happy to try to work up a sample lease payment on this car for you, however in order for me to do so I need you to provide me with its full MSRP.

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CarMan@Edmunds · January 2005

I sure can, mabubba. Thanks for providing all of the necessary information in your post. According to the latest informaiton that I have seen, if you were to lease a 2005 Honda Pilot EX-L through American Honda Finance Corp. prior to January 5th for 36 months with 15,000 miles per year, its base lease money factor and residual value should be .00149 and 60%, respectively. The money factor for an otherwise identical 39 month lease of this truck would be the same, but its residual value would drop to around 57%. Using these numbers, an MSRP of $32,635, and a selling price of $29,698, I come up with zero down, pre-tax monthly payments of $355 for 36 months and $357 for 39 months.

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CarMan@Edmunds · January 2005

Hi big. Let me begin by saying that I always advise consumers against making any sort of down payment when leasing. I do so for two main reasons. The first is if your vehicle is totaled in an accident or stolen during your lease, 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 your lease-end purchase option price for your leased H2 would be exactly the same, regardless of whether you had put $5,000 down, or had made absolutely no down payment at all.

General Motors Acceptance Corp.'s, GM's captive finance company, lease program is a little different than most other banks' programs in that it publishes lease rates instead of money factors for the vehicles that it leases. You can convert its published lease rates into approximate money factor equivalents by dividing then by 2400. Through January 3rd, GMAC's base lease rate for leases of the 2005 H2 is 2.5% for 3 year leases. I would be more than happy to work up a sample lease payment on the truck that you are considering for you if you provide me with its full MSRP and selling price.

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CarMan@Edmunds · January 2005

Hi hartt. In your post you mentioned that your father planned on leasing a new truck on New Year's Eve Day. Let me know if he hasn't done so yet and I will be more than happy to answer any questions that you have.

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CarMan@Edmunds · January 2005

Happy Holidays to you as well, Joel. You've done an excellent job at negotiating. This sounds like an excellent deal to me. If you really like this car, which I am sure you do, I don't see any reason not to pull the trigger. Good luck and make sure to come back and let us all know how you like your new RX-8 after you take delivery of it.

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CarMan@Edmunds · January 2005

Hello rnw. The selling price and lease money factor that you were quoted for this car both look good to me. The dealer that you are working with used the dealer cash that Mercedes-Benz is providing on the '04 E320 Wagon to arrive at a very attractive selling price. Furthermore, it is using Mercedes-Benz Credit's base lease money factor of .00265 to calculate your lease payment. You're right in that this money factor is equivalent to an interest rate of around 6.36%, which isn't great but it is still better than MBC's standard money factor of .00310 (7.44%) for this credit tier. Using the numbers that you provided in your post and MBC's base lease program, I come up with a zero down, pre-tax monthly payment of around $643 for this model. If you like this wagon, I personally don't see any reason not to pull the trigger on this deal.

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CarMan@Edmunds · January 2005

Here is the information that you are looking for, John. If you were to lease a 2005 Audi A4 1.8T Avant through Audi Financial Services prior to January 3rd for 42 months with 10,000 miles per year, I believe that its base lease money factor and residual value should be around .00059 and 54%, respectively.

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CarMan@Edmunds · January 2005

Hi Mike. I am glad to hear that you find this discussion so informative. Let's take a look at the current lease programs for the cars that you are considering leasing. According to the latest information that I have seen, if you were to lease a 2005 Toyota Camry LE through Toyota Financial Services in its New York region prior to January 3rd for 3 years with 12,000 miles per, its base lease money factor and residual value should be .00055 and 56%, respectively. I do not believe that Toyota is currently providing any sort of lease support on the Matrix in your area. If that is indeed the case, and you were to lease one through Toyota Financial Services, you would have to use its standard lease program. I believe that its base standard lease money factor for consumers who qualify for its Tier 1 credit tier is currently around .00215. The 3 year, 12,000 miles per residual value for a lease of a 2005 2WD Matrix should be around 55%.

Using the above numbers, I came up with zero down, pre-tax monthly payments of around $291 for an '05 Matrix with an MSRP of $19,713 and a selling price of $19,000 and a payment of around $206 for an '05 Camry with an MSRP of $20,515 and a selling price of $18,300. These estimates may be a little off though because I do not believe that TFS allows the complete residualization of every option and because the selling price that you were quoted for the Camry probably includes customer cash which I do not believe can be used in conjunction with the special lease program.

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shatzi · January 2005

I just went to two Toyota dealers and this is the best lease price that I got. Is it a good deal.



2005 4Runner Sport Edition.



MSRP: 33,556

Invoice: 30,217 (included $495 advertising and $595 destination fee)

Money Factor: .0138

Residual: $20,528

Money down: $424.87(first payment)+ Motor Vehicle approx. $150 - everything else was rolled into the payment

Our Cost: $30,577 ($350 over invoice)

Monthly Payment: $424.87



They said that the lease program was a lower money factor or the $900 marketing promotion - one or the other, not both



Please respond, have to make a decision right away.

golfer0608 · January 2005

I have negotiated a price of 33500 for a 2005 acura tl w/ navi. The dealership is trying to convince me to lease. I've always been wary of leases since I drive about 30k miles/yr.

My monthly payment on a buy with 4k down would be $593. My payment on a 42 month lease through acura would be $659/month, but no money down.

Please advise, as my car will be delivered around the 14th.

eric4 · January 2005

What are the lease money factor and residual value for a the a4 avant 1.8T with a 6sp man for 42 months and 15k miles a year?

Thanks a bunch,

ESH

CarMan@Edmunds · January 2005

Hello bigblueindy. You are correct, through January 3rd, American Honda Finance Corp.'s base lease money factor for the 2005 Pilot is indeed .00149. You have to pay a security deposit that is equivalent to your lease payment rounded up to the nearest $25 increment to qualify for this money factor though. If you decide to have your truck's security deposit waived, the money factor that is used to calculate your lease payment would be .00010 higher, or .00159.

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CarMan@Edmunds · January 2005

Hey hornfan1. Unfortunately, I am not aware of any site that provides information on banks' lease programs to the general public. I can assure though that the information that I provided you with earlier is correct. I forget, did I tell you what this car's base lease money factor and residual value are? If not, let me know and I will provide them to you.

Different states calculate sales tax differently than others, so I do not know exactly how much your lease payment would be including tax.

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CarMan@Edmunds · January 2005

Hmmmmm, this sounds like a very strange situation, fja1. Do you have a copy of your lease contract? If so, take a look at it and see if the vehicle that is listed on it is the one that you actually have. If not, then someone at your dealership really messed up and you may indeed have to give the car back and possibly renegotiate your deal. The more informaiton about this situation you provide us with, the better our advice will be.

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CarMan@Edmunds · January 2005

Greetings therose400. If you were to lease a 2005 BMW Z4 2.5i through BMW Financial Services prior to January 3rd for 39 months with 12,000 miles per year, its base lease money factor and residual value should be .00100 and 57%, respectively. I would be more than happy to work up a sample lease payment on the car that you are interested in for you so that you can compare my estimated payment to the one that you have been quoted, however in order for me to do so I need you to provide me with its full MSRP and selling price.

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CarMan@Edmunds · January 2005

Hi gjm. Through January 3rd, BMW Financial Services' base lease money factor for the 2005 X5 3.0i is indeed .00125. You are required to pay a lease security deposit that is equivalent to your vehicle's monthly payment rounded up to th nearest $25 increment to qualify for this factor. BMW FS will waive its security deposit requirement in exchange for a slight increase in vehicles' money factors, I believe .00015 or so. BMW dealers have the ability to mark-up BMW FS' base money factors to add additional back-end profit to deals. In fact, BMW dealers mark-up money factors all the time. This might be what is happening in your situation. I believe that BMW FS includes gap insurance in its leases at no charge, but I am not absolutely positive.

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CarMan@Edmunds · January 2005

Hi arlodog. Unless you can convince Volvo that your car is a lemon, you don't stand much of a chance of having them let you out of your current lease at no charge. There is an interesting article on this subject here at Edmunds.com. Click on the following link to check it out: Getting Some Lemon-Aid From Your Lemon Maker.

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CarMan@Edmunds · January 2005

Hi jpl. BMW is not providing much in the way of lease support on 2004 3-Series models right now. Instead it is providing 1.9% financing for up to 5 years on them. If I was in the market for a 2004 3-Series, this is probably the way I would go. If you were to lease a 2004 BMW 330Ci through BMW Financial Services prior to January 3rd for 42 months with 12,000 miles per year, its base lease money factor and residual value would be an unattractive .00235 and 46%, respectively. You may be able to use the fact that this is an old model to your advantage to negotiate a low selling price, but because this car's lease program is so bad this low price will not translate into an attractive lease payment. In fact, you will probably find that it is actually less expensive to lease a 2005 version than it is to lease an '04 right now.

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CarMan@Edmunds · January 2005

You're very welcome, lwhite. It sounds like you got a very good deal. Congratulations on your new ride!

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CarMan@Edmunds · January 2005

Hi bisedogg. The lease money factor that you were quoted to lease this car is right in line with BMW Financial Services' base money factor for it. This is a very good sign because it mans that your dealer is not trying to mark-up this car's base money factor to add additional back-end profit on your deal. As far as this car's selling price goes, it looks to me as though you are getting it for around $1,000 or so over invoice. I am not all that familiar with what the market for this car is like in your area, but that looks like a reasonable price to me. You may want to stop by the following discussion to see what other community members who are in the market for or who have recently purchased this car have paid for it: "BMW 3-Series: Prices Paid & Buying Experience". I would be more than happy to work up a sample lease payment for you to compare to the payment that you were quoted, but I don't believe that you ever mentioned the length or mileage allowance of this lease. Let me know and I will play with some numbers for you.

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samiam11 · January 2005

Could you provide me with the money factor and residual values for both a 2005 Subaru Legacy GT and 2005 Subaru Legacy GT Limited? I need both 36 and 48 months at 12,000 miles per year.

Thanks for your help.

CarMan@Edmunds · January 2005

Hi dwitham. It is definitely in your best interest to wait until the scheduled end of your lease to purchase or return your vehicle. In order to determine whether it it better to purchase your vehicle at the end of your lease, you need to compare its purchase price to its value on the open market at this time. Even though it states your car or truck's purchase option price on your lease contract, you should place a call to the bank that you are leasing it through just to make sure that you have the correct figure. When you do so, it never hurts to try to haggle with them. Some banks will negotiate the lease-end purchase prices of vehicles. If your initial contact at your bank is not willing to lower your vehicle's purchase price, you may have better luck if you work your way up the ladder to a manager. There is a good chance that they will not lower your vehicle's price, more often than not they won't, but you don't have anything to lose by asking.

As I said earlier, once you know exactly how much money it is going to cost you to buy your leased vehicle you need to compare it to its current value on the open market. You can find out approximately what your vehicle is worth by looking up its Edmunds.com True Market Value in the Used Vehicle Pricing section of this site. You also may want to stop by the following discussion: "Real-World Trade-In Values". One of our most knowledgeable community members, Terry, frequents that discussion and he is often kind enough to give community members who give him an accurate description of their vehicles with his opinion on their value.

If you have liked your vehicle, it has not given you any major problems, has not been in a major accident, and its purchase price is less than its current value you may want to consider buying it. If not, just turn it in and walk away.

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CarMan@Edmunds · January 2005

Hello julioseventh. If your father's credit is in good shape, having him co-sign your loan will definitely increase your chances of getting approved to lease the vehicle that you are interested in.

On a somewhat related note, it would be a good idea for you to check your credit score. It is very inexpensive to do and in doing so one can often find mistakes that would have caused them to have a lower score than they should have. You can find out your scores by visiting the following Web sites: TransUnion, Experian, and Equifax

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CarMan@Edmunds · January 2005

Wow, you leased your truck for 60 months, durability05. That is a really long time to lease a vehicle for. I usually try to steer consumers towards 36 to 39 month leases. If the bank that you are leasing your Pilot overestimated its future value and used an unrealistically high residual value to calculate its lease payment it definitely is to your advantage. They will have to absorb the hit when they send your truck to auction or sell it to a dealer if it ends up being worth less than they had estimated it would be. Some banks will indeed sell leased vehicles to consumers for less than their originally calculated lease-end purchase price. It is difficult to say whether Wells Fargo will do so with your Pilot. In order to find out, you will need to give them a call when you are close to the scheduled end of your lease.

Car_man

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