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CarMan@Edmunds · February 2005

Will do, coby03. sorry about that. For some reason I thought that I gave you this info last month. OK, according to the latest information that I have seen, if you were to lease a 2005 Chrysler 300C 2WD through Chrysler Financial right now for 3 years with 12,000 miles per, its base lease money factor and residual value should be .00266 and 54%, respectively.

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CarMan@Edmunds · February 2005

You're welcome, mazda04rx8. You certainly are a loyal fan of the RX8

.

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CarMan@Edmunds · February 2005

Hi Chris. I saw that Infiniti announced pricing on these cars a week or so ago, but it has not published a lease program for them yet. It probably will not do so until they begin to arrive at dealers.

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CarMan@Edmunds · February 2005

Oh, sorry about that, twoof1. I am so used to everyone asking for 3 year lease information that I provided you with the 3 year lease rate and residual value even though I typed 2. Ford's current 2 year, 12,000 miles per base lease rate and residual value for the 2005 Freestyle Limited 2WD should be 0.25% and 64%. Its numbers for a 3 year, 12,000 miles per lease should be 3.0% and 56%. Sorry for the confusion.

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CarMan@Edmunds · February 2005

Thanks for the reminder, Han. BMW's February lease program is exactly the same as it was in January. If you were to lease a 2005 BMW M3 Coupe through BMW Financial Services right now for 30 months with 15,000 miles per year, its base lease money factor and residual value should be .00200 and 64%, respectively. The money factor for an otherwise identical lease with only 12,000 miles per year would be the same, but its residual value would be 2% higher. This car's residual would be 3% higher for a lease with only 10,000 miles per year.

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CarMan@Edmunds · February 2005

Here is the information that you are looking for, arx330. If you were to lease a 2005 Lexus RX 330 AWD without navigation or the rear entertainment system through Lexus Financial Services right now for 3 years with 15,000 miles per, its base lease money factor and residual value should be .00145 and 56%, respectively. The numbers for an otherwise identical 4 year lease should be .00145 and 47%.

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CarMan@Edmunds · February 2005

You're very welcome, jim53. I do not believe that BMW FS is allowing 39 month leases on this model right now, but you can lease one for 42 months if you want.

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CarMan@Edmunds · February 2005

Hi webable. The problem that I have with demo models is that dealers never seem to be willing to discount them enough for me to personally justify buying what is essentially a low mileage used vehicle over a brand new one. You never mentioned the selling price or MSRP of the car that you are interested in leasing. These are 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 this car's selling price in relation to its MSRP you don't know how much of a discount you are getting on it. The second reason is that one needs the selling price and MSRP, including the destination charge, of a vehicle 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 these numbers are.

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CarMan@Edmunds · February 2005

Hi rjbpa. There's nothing wrong with leasing a vehicle from a dealer in a different state. Just be aware that you are still liable for your home state's taxes on it rather than the taxes for the state that you buy it in.

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CarMan@Edmunds · February 2005

Hi again Ernest. Let's work up a new lease payment on this car for you, based upon the new parameters that you mentioned. If you were to lease a 2005 Lexus ES 330 without navigation with an MSRP of $35,419 and a selling price of $32,419 through Lexus Financial Services right now for 3 years with 15,000 miles per, your zero down, pre-tax monthly payment should be right around $426.

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CarMan@Edmunds · February 2005

Hi vishpool. Infiniti is not currently providing any cash incentives on leases of the 2005 FX35 AWD. I can tell you that Infiniti Financial Services' 3 year, 15,000 miles per base lease money factor and residual value on it are currently .00179 and 59%, respectively. This matches the numbers that you were quoted, which is a good thing.

You never mentioned the selling price or MSRP of the car that you are interested in leasing. These are 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 this car's selling price in relation to its MSRP you don't know how much of a discount you are getting on it. The second reason is that one needs the selling price and MSRP, including the destination charge, of a vehicle 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 these numbers are.

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CarMan@Edmunds · February 2005

Thanks for the reminder, chrisbeau. If you were to lease a 2005 Nissan Pathfinder SE Offroad 4X2 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 .00199 and 57%, respectively. This truck's 39 month lease program is a much more attractive .00159 and 58%. I provided you with 12,000 miles per year residual values for this truck because I have never seen NMAC residuals for leases with only 10,000 miles per year. Using these numbers, an MSRP of $32,470, a selling price of $30,000, and adding in $2,000 in negative equity, I come up with zero down, pre-tax monthly payments of $476 for 36 months and $419 for 39 months both with 12,000 miles per year.

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CarMan@Edmunds · February 2005

Hi Rick. If I was trying to decide whether to take over this lease myself, I would compare the monthly payment for this car with what it would cost to lease a similar brand new model. Look up the MSRP and invoice prices of a similar 2005 330Ci and let me know. I can then work up a payment on it for you.

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CarMan@Edmunds · February 2005

Hi tal. I can help you decide if this is a good deal or not. At least the dealer that you are working with is being very straightforward with you about this car's pricing. It even mentioned the $3,800 dealer cash that is currently available on it without being asked. Having said this, if there is a decent amount of competition for your business in your area, you may be able to lease this car for less than $1,500 over invoice ($1,850 after taking the silly fee into account), perhaps at $1,000 over or a little less.

Another thing that I noticed about this deal is the substantial down payment that you are being asked to make. 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 this 330i would be exactly the same, regardless of whether you had put $2,500 down, or had made absolutely no down payment at all.

Let's work up a sample lease payment on this car, based upon the prices that you were quoted and see what we come up with. According to my calculations, if you were to lease a 2005 BMW 330i with an MSRP of $39,870 and a selling price of $34,820 through BMW Financial Services right now for 4 years with 15,000 miles per, its zero down, pre-tax monthly lease payment should be around $449. If you were to put $2,500 down, which I recommend against doing, it would drop this car's payment to around $391 before tax.

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CarMan@Edmunds · February 2005

Jim53, "market allowance" is a euphemism for dealer cash.

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CarMan@Edmunds · February 2005

Hi phoebe. The best time of the year to lease depends upon when the manufacturer of the vehicle that you are interested in is providing the most lease support on it. All things being equal, namely the lease money factor (interest rate) and selling price, vehicles are less expensive to lease at the beginning of the model year because their residual values are the highest then. Having said this, as the model year progresses automakers usually increase their lease support on vehicles to more than offset any rise in payments caused by a drop in residual values. You are right when you said that the 2005 version of the Beetle will probably be fairly attractive to lease once the arrival of the 2006 Beetle is on the near horizon or has just come out. Dealers will be anxious to unload the remaining leftover Beetles at that time and Volkswagen will likely provide them with a decent amount of lease support to help them do so.

You never mentioned the selling price or MSRP of the car that you are interested in leasing. These are 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 this car's selling price in relation to its MSRP you don't know how much of a discount you are getting on it. The second reason is that one needs the selling price and MSRP, including the destination charge, of a vehicle 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 these numbers are. I do not track manufacturers' lease programs for Canada, so unfortunately any lease payment that I estimate for you would be in U.S. dollars and would use our lease program, which may very well be significantly different than the one that is running in Canada.

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CarMan@Edmunds · February 2005

Hi dkjr. I will make some calls and see if I can find out what this truck's lease program is like for you. Check back with me in a day or two and I will fill you in on what I have been able to find out. Talk to you soon.

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CarMan@Edmunds · February 2005

Hello cjsot. The lease money factor that you were quoted for this car is right on the money. This is a good thing because it means that the BMW dealer that you are working with is not trying to mark it up to add additional back-end profit to your deal. As far as the selling price goes, I am not personally all that familiar with what the market is like for the 7-Series in your area right now so I can't really comment on whether you can beat the price that you were quoted.

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CarMan@Edmunds · February 2005

I sure can, ajpbf7. According to the latest information that I have seen, if you were to lease a 2005 Honda S2000 through American Honda Finance Corp. this month for 36 months with 12,000 miles per year, its base lease money factor and residual value should be .00250 and 60%, respectively. The numbers for an otherwise identical 39 month lease of this car should be .00250 and 56%. I have not seen its 42 month lease program, but its 48 month numbers should be .00225 and 53%.

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CarMan@Edmunds · February 2005

Here is the information that you are looking for, ken5. If you were to lease a 2005 Dodge Magnum RT AWD through Chrysler Financial right now for 3 years with 15,000 miles per, its base lease money factor and residual value should be .00251 and 48%, respectively. The money factor for an otherwise identical lease with only 12,000 miles per year would be the same, but the residual value would be 2% higher.

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CarMan@Edmunds · February 2005

Hi cheng6991. For specific feedback on what others are paying or have recently paid for this car, you should stop by the following discussion: "BMW 3-Series: Prices Paid & Buying Experience" .

BMW Financial Services' base lease acquisition fee for vehicles leased in New York is $900. It sounds like the dealer that you are working with is trying to mark up this car's acquisition fee by $95.

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phoebe · February 2005

Thanks Car_man, sorry about that...the MSRP of the car I wish to buy with options (in US dollars) is $20,625, including the $615 destination charge. I'm hoping to play with the MSRP when I decide to buy (most likely in the fall, at the rate I'm going) so my cap cost is considerably lower. By then, the '06 model will be out, and hopefully they'll have some good incentives. Or I'll be able to compare and maybe get a similar deal on the newer one, which would be even better.

Thanks again.

tal · February 2005

Thank you for all your help

rolandny · February 2005

Hi. I have Audi TT 2004 coupe. I have 36 more months on my lease. I to get out of the lease, but not get into a new lease. I want own my car from now on and not have monthly payment period. What's the smartest way to do this? Audi keeps me liable in a lease assumption. Should I just suck it up and pay it off with all the penalties? any advice would be appreciated.

vishpool · February 2005

Car_Man,

I was wondering if you might know of the going price for the fx35. Is the invoice price a fair play? Should I look out for anything else when analyzing the lease #s?

The MSRP for my config is $46,110, with an invoice of $41,921. I would appreciate your input, and the sample lease you offered.

Thanks

cmks02 · February 2005

car_man:



Your opinion of the following deal. Also, what would should residual and lease rate and factor be?



2005 ES330

MSRP $35,419

Sell Price $32,875

12K miles/year

Tier 1 credit

48 month @$408/mo Nothing down

Tax, DOC, title, plates, etc. 1st month payment to be paid on delivery



Thanks

dkjr · February 2005

Thanks, carman! We are sitting on the edge of our seats (Touareg seats, that is!) waiting for your input.

jkr2 · February 2005

Hello Car_Man,

I have a question about leasing Audi A4 1.8T AWD Special Edition sedan. I have been offered $420 a month Premier Purchase for 36 months on this vehicle with an MSRP of slightly over $32,000. The car comes with a Special Edition Package, metallic paint, automatic transmission, and cold weather package. It sounds like Premier Purchase is similar to lease but does not require an acquisition fee and security deposit up front. The deal assumes $0 capitalized cost reduction and $0 cash at signing, except for the license plates. The quote includes a sales tax of 6.5% in Illinois (suburban Chicago), where it is paid on the entire cost of the vehicle rather than the leased portion. I plan to drive $15k miles per year.

Is this a good deal? If not, what should a good deal look like? Also, are there comparable/better deals available on BMW 325i this month?

Thanks in advance for your time and effort.

cmks02 · February 2005

If dealer cost on a Lexus ES330 is $30,000 for example, what is the real cost to a high volume dealer in the midwest...is there dealer hold back or other manufacturer to dealer credits or rebates that effectively lower the actual dealer cost below $30,000?

hsp · February 2005

Thank you Car_Man,

Would you tell me what is included in total cost due at lease signing?

Thanks, Han

tal · February 2005

Carman how about 36 months 15,000 miles with premium package, navigation and xenon headlights, with and without the 2500 cap reduction? Thanks.

CarMan@Edmunds · February 2005

You're welcome, phoebe. Thanks for the additional information. Now I can calculate a sample lease payment on the car that you want for you. Let me make some calls and see if I can find out what the Canadian lease program is currently like for this car. If I can't, I'll just work up a lease payment on it based upon the U.S. program to give you a general idea of what it would cost to lease.

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CarMan@Edmunds · February 2005

You're very welcome, tal. Good luck and let me know if you have any other questions.

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CarMan@Edmunds · February 2005

Hi rolandny. I am sorry to say that it is usually fairly expensive to get out of leases well before their scheduled end dates. In order to do so, you need to purchase the vehicle that you are currently leasing from the bank that you are leasing it through. It often turns out that it costs more to do so than your vehicle is worth on the open market. Furthermore, many banks expect consumers who end their leases early to still make all, or at least the depreciation portion of their remaining lease payments. As you can see, this can get very expensive.

You can determine approximately how much it will cost you to get out of your current lease by comparing its purchase price to its value on the open market at this time. You should place a call to the bank that you are leasing your vehicle through to find out its exact price. 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. Don't forget to check to see if you are still on the hook for your remaining lease payments. The difference between your leased vehicle's current value and how much it will cost you to buy it plus any remaining lease payments that you are obligated to pay will equal the cost of getting out of your lease right now. You may find that you are better off waiting until you are closer to the scheduled end of your lease to get another new vehicle.

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CarMan@Edmunds · February 2005

Hello vishpool. I am not intimately familiar with what the market is like for the 2005 Infiniti FX35 right now. The segment of vehicles that this model is in is a fairly competitive one though, so if you are in an area where there is a decent amount of competition for your business, I suspect that you may be able to get one for $500 or perhaps a little more over invoice. I think that you may have a hard time getting a dealer to sell you one right at invoice at this time. Like I said though, I haven't been following the market for this vehicle all that closely. You may be able to get an idea of what it is selling for right now by visiting the following discussion here at Edmunds.com: "Infiniti FX45 / FX35: Prices Paid & Buying Experience".

For now, I will base the sample lease payment that I work up for you on a selling price that is $500 over invoice. According to my calculations, if you were to lease a 2005 Infiniti FX35 AWD with an MSRP of $46,110 and a selling price of $42,421 through Infiniti Financial Services for 3 years with 15,000 miles per, your zero down, pre-tax monthly payment should be around $548.

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CarMan@Edmunds · February 2005

Hi cmks02. According to the latest information that I have seen, if you were to lease a 2005 Lexus ES 330 without navigation through Lexus Financial Services for 4 years with 12,000 miles per, its base lease money factor and residual value should be .00145 and 47%, respectively. Using these numbers, an MSRP of $35,419, and a selling price of $32,875 (which looks good BTW), I come up with a zero down, pre-tax monthly payment of around $409. As you can see, this is extremely close to the payment that you were quoted. If you like the car, I don't see any reason not to pull the trigger on this deal.

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CarMan@Edmunds · February 2005

No problem, dkjr. Talk to you soon.

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CarMan@Edmunds · February 2005

Hello jkr2. Audi Financial Services' Premiere Purchase program is what is known in the industry as a balloon note program. Balloon notes are very similar to leases in that they provide consumers with low monthly payments and an option to purchase their vehicle at a pre-determined price 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, while with balloon notes yours is. Many banks have switched from offering leases to offering balloon notes in states like New York, where the vicarious liability laws that are on the books expose them to unnecessary risk of lawsuits when leased vehicles are involved in an accident.

Balloon notes are not nearly as popular as leases. As a result, I do not personally keep tabs on the details of automakers' balloon note programs. The payments that are available through banks' balloon note and lease programs are often fairly similar. I can work up a sample lease payment on the car that you are considering if you would like. You never mentioned the selling price of the car that you are interested in leasing though. This is an important number for you as a consumer to know when leasing 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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CarMan@Edmunds · February 2005

Hi cmks02. While it is interesting to hear about dealer holdback and how it works, in reality Lexus dealers are not dipping into holdback to make deals. The more important question is, "What is the market like for the car that I am interested in and how much are others paying for it right now?" You should be able to find an answer to this question by paying a visit to the following discussion here at Edmunds.com: "Lexus ES 300/ES 330: Prices Paid & Buying Experience".

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CarMan@Edmunds · February 2005

You're welcome, Han. At lease signing, consumers typically have to pay their vehicle's first month's payment, a security deposit equivalent to that payment rounded up to the nearest $25 or $50 increment (in BMW FS' case nearest $50), and the lease acquisition fee that is charged by the bank that they are leasing through ($625 for BMW FS in every state but NY).

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CarMan@Edmunds · February 2005

Tal, in order to calculate a lease payment on the exact car that you are interested in, I need you to provide me with its full MSRP and selling price.

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rodist · February 2005

What are the MF's and Residuals on a 3 year / 36,000 mile lease on the below cars.

325cic Convertible

330i Sedan

330ci

Thanks for your help with this

tal · February 2005

2005 330i premium package 36/15,000

MSRP $39,870

Selling Price $34,820

What is a fair lease payment?

what is the residual and mf?

How much should I expect to pay at signing?

What if I wanted to add Nav and Xenon headlights? Thanks for all your help.

salamon · February 2005

Greetings Car_man,

What would be my payment on the following:

2005 MDX Premium model

MSRP 37,270

Negotiated price 34,732

15K Miles

36 months

Thanks!

vishpool · February 2005

Thanks Car_man!

Few other minor questions -

I don't want to sound redundant, but is the MF of .00179 true for '05s as well as '04s?

If a dealer says .58 residual, should I push them toward .59?

I have been reading somewhere that there might a deposition fee (at the end of the lease, if when you decide not to buy the car). Do you know if that is avoidable (negotiable)? What is it actually?

Also, other than the acquisition fee + 1st month + security + T&TL , should I expect to pay anything more upfront?

Since the taxes would be included in with the payments, I should just pay for Tags and Title upfront, right?

Also, could you please please run a sample lease with a 5% MD sales tax? Also, could you make one for a 39 month lease? What is the reason for these old-number lease terms?

I know I am asking alittle to many questions; hope you don't mind :-). This is my first lease and I don't want to get screwed.

And, I can't thank you enough for your time and effort that goes into help me and many other. Your opinions and service are uncalled for and very much so appreciated.

THANK YOU SOOO MUCH!

ddelise · February 2005

Hi Car_Man -

GM is advertising a lease special on this car. I am curious as to the 36 month, 12k miles/yr. money factor and residual. I am looking at an LT model with automatic.

Additionally, are there any incentives applicable to the lease deals?

I am located in Florida.

Thanks - Damon

stalnaker · February 2005

Car_Man,

A dealer in Illinois has offered me the following deals on the G35x, both 2004 & 2005 models. Please help me determine if these are good deals:

2004 w/Premium Package

Term: 36 months/15,000 miles per year

MSRP: $36,070.00

Selling price: $31,289.00

Residual: 57%

Money factor: 0.00162

Nothing down except first payment (he is waiving the security deposit)

Monthly payment: $400.95 + tax

2005 w/Premium Package C

Term: 36 months/15,000 miles per year

MSRP: $36,590.00

Selling price: $33,571.00

Residual: 58%

Money factor: 0.00172

Nothing down except first payment (he is waiving the security deposit)

Monthly payment: $461.32 + tax

I assume the money factors are higher than what you told me before due to waiving the security deposit. Would I be better off paying the security deposit and getting the lower money factor?

What would the money factors be for 2004 & 2005 if I paid the security deposit?

Do these look like good deals to you?

Thanks for your help!

Ernest

jkr2 · February 2005

Car_Man,

Thanks much for your response. The details on the Audi I am looking at are as follows:

A4 1.8T AWD Automatic Transmission

Metallic Paint

Special Edition Package

Cold Weather Package

Destination Charge

MSRP: $32,370

Invoice (using Edmunds information): $30,123

According to the sales person, Premier Purchase deals are similar to the leasing ones, except that no acquisition fee and security deposit are required. He is willing to discount the price by $1,300 off of MSRP. I am looking at the 36 months term with 15k miles per year.

Also, if you have access to residuals and lease factors, could you check if those are the same or similar on the A4 3.0 CVT Special Edition and A4 3.0 AWD Automatic Special Edition? Please let me know if you need any additional information.

Thanks again for your help.

lycanthris · February 2005

Thanks Car_man for all your help. Just to clarify, the numbers from infiniti are only good thru 2/28 correct?

dlr1031 · February 2005

jettatdi:

I'm in the BMW biz and the numbers are good..you can get a better dl on the MF..residual is determined by BMWFS and won't change..tax is payed monthly..were in US are you?

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