Lease Questions - Ask Here

CarMan@Edmunds · February 2005

Greetings jbtwo. I would be more than happy to give you my opinion of the deal that you were quoted, however you never mentioned the selling price of the car 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.

Car_man
Host
Smart Shopper Forum

CarMan@Edmunds · February 2005

Thanks kirk123. If you wouldn't mind, stop back and let us know how the lease-end inspection turns out.

Car_man
Host
Smart Shopper Forum

CarMan@Edmunds · February 2005

Hello prisch. I believe that Audi Financial Services' current special lease money factor for the 2005 S4 Sedan is .00065 for leases up to 36 months and .00085 for 39 and 42 months. Its residual value for a 36 month, 12,000 miles per year lease of this car is currently 56%. Its residual for a 39 month, 12k lease is 53%. I have not seen its 42 month residual value. Audi has indeed published its lease program for the new 2005.5 A4. In order for me to give you an idea of what it is like, I need you to tell me if you want the 2.0L or the 3.2L model.

Car_man
Host
Smart Shopper Forum

CarMan@Edmunds · February 2005

Hi jur. Assuming that the pricing data that is available on Edmunds.com for this model is right, the dealer would indeed have the same MSRP and invoice price for it. You do not necessarily have to know this vehicle's exact MSRP, as long as you are positive that you are getting it for an attractive price. The MSRP is helpful in calculating its monthly lease payment and in determining how much of a discount you are being given though.

Car_man
Host
Smart Shopper Forum

CarMan@Edmunds · February 2005

Hello joy3. So many consumers pull the old "hide the trade" trick when negotiating deals on new vehicles, that the dealer that you are working with may not believe you when you tell them that you honestly forgot to mentioned your Civic. If it makes you feel any better, I believe you

. Having said this, whether or not you mentioned your trade really doesn't matter because this omission does not change its value to this dealer. To be honest with you, I personally feel that consumers are better off negotiating their new vehicle purchase and trades separately anyhow. If you call up the dealer that you are leasing your new Caravan from and explain the situation to them nicely, everything should be fine. See if they will cut you a check for your trade rather than using the proceeds from it as a down payment on your lease. By doing so, you will be bale to keep the deal that you were already quoted for this van intact. Furthermore, I always advise consumers against making any sort of down payment when leasing anyhow. 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 Caravan would be exactly the same, regardless of whether you had put $2,000 down, or had made absolutely no down payment at all.

Car_man
Host
Smart Shopper Forum

CarMan@Edmunds · February 2005

Don't worry about it, wilt1. Community members leave out this sort of information all the time. Let's work up a sample lease payment on this car for you and see what we come up with. According to my calculations, if you were to lease a 2005 Acura TL without navigation with an MSRP of $33,490 and a selling price of $31,100 through American Honda Finance Corp. right now for 48 months (I have not seen its 42 month lease program) with 12,000 miles per year, your zero down, pre-tax monthly payment should be around $384.

Car_man
Host
Smart Shopper Forum

CarMan@Edmunds · February 2005

Hey jbaer. I am not all that familiar with IntelliChoice's Web site, but if it said that Honda's incentives on the 2005 Accord with an automatic transmission are different than its incentives on the '05 Accord with a manual transmission, then they are wrong. The type of transmission that Accords have has absolutely no impact upon its incentives. Honda is providing 2.9% financing for up to 5 years and a special lease program on all 2005 Accords right now, except for the new hybrid model.

Car_man
Host
Smart Shopper Forum

CarMan@Edmunds · February 2005

Thanks kman1.

Car_man
Host
Smart Shopper Forum

CarMan@Edmunds · February 2005

Hey jur. There is a difference between making a down payment when leasing and paying taxes at lease signing. There is nothing wrong with paying the necessary tax on your leased vehicle at lease signing, rather than rolling it into your lease payment if you want to avoid paying interest on it. When I advise consumers against making down payments on leased vehicles, I mean that they should not make any sort of capitalized cost reduction to lower their vehicle's selling price.

If you are able to get the XC90 that you want for a couple hundred dollars over invoice and the dealer that you are working with is using Volvo Finance's base lease money factor to arrive at your payment, then you are getting a good deal.

Car_man
Host
Smart Shopper Forum

CarMan@Edmunds · February 2005

You're welcome, camil82. Let me know if you have any other questions.

Car_man
Host
Smart Shopper Forum

CarMan@Edmunds · February 2005

Here is the information that you are looking for, bja104. If you were to lease a 2005 Acura TL without navigation through American Honda Finance Corp. right now for 3 years with 15,000 miles per, its base lease money factor and residual value should be .00220 and 58%, respectively.

Car_man
Host
Smart Shopper Forum

CarMan@Edmunds · February 2005

Hi maryv. Part of the confusion here is arising from the fact that VW Credit and General Motors Acceptance Corp. (these brands' captive finance companies) publish their lease programs differently. Like most banks, VW Credit publishes lease money factors for the vehicles that it leases. GMAC on the other hand publishes what are known in the industry as lease rates. One can convert GMAC's published lease rates into approximate money factor equivalents by dividing them by 2400. So, a lease rate of 0.75% would be equivalent to a money factor of around .00031.

I would be happy to calculate a sample lease payment on the Jetta that you are interested in for you that you can compare to the one that you were quoted if you tell me exactly which model it is. This is important because VW Credit's lease program for this car varies by trim level.

Car_man
Host
Smart Shopper Forum

CarMan@Edmunds · February 2005

I am glad to hear that you are enjoying your G35 Coupe so much, maxim49. It definitely is a really sweet car. I would be happy to give you an idea of what Toyota's current lease program is like on the RAV4. However, in order for me to do so, I need you to tell me what state you are in because Toyota's lease program often varies by region.

Car_man
Host
Smart Shopper Forum

CarMan@Edmunds · February 2005

You're very welcome, bama12.

Car_man
Host
Smart Shopper Forum

CarMan@Edmunds · February 2005

No problem, carbert. I would appreciate it if you would stop back and let us know what sort of money factor deduction Volvo Finance provides for advance pay leases if you are able to find out.

Volvo Finance's current lease money factor for a base 2005 S40 2.4T is .00018. Its 36 month, 10,000 miles per year residual value for this car should be around 55%.

Car_man
Host
Smart Shopper Forum

millikin54 · February 2005

Nevermind. I went to a dealer yesterday and we worked out the numbers. The Durango Limited 4X4s have a 47% residual value at 15k miles per year. The money factor is .00182 (4.37%.)

FWIW, I was comparing the lease to the GMC Envoy XLs, and those have a 56% residual value 15k miles per year. The money factor is .00212 (5.1%.)

Thank you for all of the information that you continue to supply, Carman.

CarMan@Edmunds · February 2005

Hey ronald15. Nissan is pushing 2 year leases of the 2005 Altima right now. A week or two ago it enhanced its lease program for this term. According to my calculations, if you were to lease a 2005 Nissan Altima SE with an MSRP of $22,590 and a capitalized cost of $20,590 through Nissan Motor Acceptance Corp. right now for 2 years with 12,000 miles per, your zero down, pre-tax monthly payment should be around $240. The lease program that was used to arrive at the payment that you were quoted is right on the money. It's tough for me to comment on the selling price of your car without knowing what it is in relation to its invoice price. You can find out this number by visiting the New Vehicle Pricing section of this site. You also should stop by the following discussion to see how much others have paid for similar cars lately: "Nissan Altima: Prices Paid & Buying Experience".

Car_man
Host
Smart Shopper Forum

CarMan@Edmunds · February 2005

You're welcome, millikin54. Let me know if you have any other questions.

Car_man
Host
Smart Shopper Forum

carbert · February 2005

I'll be sure to let you know the details on the advance payment lease.

Are the mf and residuals the same on the S40 2.4i as on the 2.4T?

gillan · February 2005

I HAVE AN O4 FORERUNNER LEASE THAT I CAN'T AFFORD THE PAYMENTS ON. I HAVE BEEN TRYING TO GET OUT OF IT WITH TOYOTA BUT THEY GIVE ME THE RUN AROUND. i HEARD THAT SOME MANUFACTURES LET YOU TRADE DOWN TO A CHEAPER CAR AND LEASE WITHIN THE SAME COMPANY. DO YOU KNOW IF TOYOTA DOES THIS? i AM WILLING TO DOWNSIZE.

graphicguy · February 2005

HI Car MAn....If I were to lease a Mustang GT for 36 months, let's say selling price is ~$26K (MSRP $27,700), 12K miles/year, no money down what do you think would be the payments?

I'm hearing that lease amounts are similar to out right sale payments.

You're thoughts?

couchman57 · February 2005

Car man,

Can you describe how lease miles are calculated? I am looking at an `05 G35x with nav and the "C" package on a 3 year lease. They are quoteing all leases for 12K miles, but I want 15K....how will this be calulated and/or effect the cost of lease?

jbaer · February 2005

Car_man - thanks. I trust you before I trust intellichoice !!

hpowders · February 2005

Hey Car_man.
I need the residual value and money factor for a 2005 BMW X5 4.4: 3 years, 36,000 miles. Also 3 years, 30,000 miles.
Thanks a lot!

couchman57 · February 2005

Can you also provide the money factor on `05 G35x with nav and the "C" package? She is also looking to understand how frequently thr money factor changes?

Also, can you pay for the the taxes, tag, title and any other fees seperately from the down payment? This would say seperate $ for any down payment and seperate $ for taxes etc....

We have really done are research on this deal and appreciate your perpsective car buying....

hsp · February 2005

Car_man,

I've read your previous post about BMW 530 lease deal. Is it for 15K mils per year?
Is residual values 60% for 15k, 3yrs lease ?

Thanks - Han

ctdw · February 2005

Car_Man,

Would you happen to know what the money factor and residual are for a 05 Range Rover 3yr/15k miles?

Thank you.

DW

nickmo · February 2005

Hey Car_Man, i am thinking about the Cooper S Convertible. seems like they are selling for MSRP in my area. I configured one online and came up with $28600. Could you figure out some lease payments for 36-39 months with nothing down?

Thanks!

Nick

jadams · February 2005

Hello there:
I am interested in trading in my 2002 Volkswagen Jetta GLS, 37,200 miles, good to excellent condition, but the payoff amount is $12695.72. Do I take the difference of this and trade-in or retail when trying to figure out how much I am upside down? Thanks for your time. . .

rroyce10 · February 2005

..... Kill the Caps ...

Your blaming Toyota.?

A lease is no different than a loan .. you owe the balance of the remaining payments, plus the residual, minus any accrued interest ... have your tried selling it on your own and coming up with some CASH .... cash is King and can work wonders.

Terry.

CarMan@Edmunds · February 2005

Thanks carbert. I meant to type 2.4i in my previous post. Sorry about the confusion.

Car_man
Host
Smart Shopper Forum

CarMan@Edmunds · February 2005

Hi gillan. 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. If possible, 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. If you are willing to lease a cheap enough replacement for your 4Runner, you may be able to lower your payment some, but you will end up paying much more than you normally would have paid for it had you leased it without rolling any of the cost of breaking your current lease into your new deal.

Car_man
Host
Smart Shopper Forum

CarMan@Edmunds · February 2005

Hey graphicguy. Ford's lease program on the new Mustang is pretty bad right now, which makes sense given how well the redesigned model has been received by the public. Ford Credit's base lease rate for a 3 year lease of a 2005 Mustang GT is currently 7.5%. According to my calculations if you were to lease an '05 Mustang GT with an MSRP of $27,700 and a selling price of $26,000 through Ford Credit right now for 3 years with 12,000 miles per, your zero down, pre-tax monthly payment should be around $428.

Car_man
Host
Smart Shopper Forum

CarMan@Edmunds · February 2005

Hello couchman57. Even though a large percentage of consumers drive 15,000 miles per year, manufacturers always advertise leases with only 12,000 or 10,000 miles allowed per year. They do so because the payments for leases with only 12k or 10k miles per year are less than and as a result more attractive than the lease payments for vehicles leased with 15k. The number of miles that consumers are allowed to drive per year has an impact upon the residual value percentage that is used to calculate the depreciation portion of vehicles' lease payments. You can find out more informaiton on exactly how lease payments are calculated by reading the following article: Calculate Your Own Lease Payment. If you let me know the full MSRP and selling price for the car that you are considering, I can tell you exactly how much of a difference in payments there is between 3 year leases of it with 12,000 and 15,000 miles per year.

Car_man
Host
Smart Shopper Forum

CarMan@Edmunds · February 2005

Thanks jbaer

.

Car_man
Host
Smart Shopper Forum

CarMan@Edmunds · February 2005

Here you go, hpowders. According to the latest information that I have seen, if you were to lease a 2005 BMW X5 4.4 through BMW Financial Services for 3 years with 12,000 miles per, its base lease money factor and residual value should be .00125 and 60%, respectively. The money factor for an otherwise identical lease with only 10,000 miles per year would be the same, but the residual value would be 1% higher.

Car_man
Host
Smart Shopper Forum

CarMan@Edmunds · February 2005

Couchman57, Infiniti publishes a new lease program every month, but its vehicles' lease money factors and residual values do not necessarily change every time it publishes a new program.

You definitely can separate the normal charges that are due at lease signing, such as your vehicle's first month's payment, security deposit, acquisition fee, tag, title, etc from any down payment that you intend to make. To take this a step further, you really should not make any sort of of down payment at all when leasing. 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 G35 would be exactly the same, regardless of whether you had put several thousand dollars down, or had made absolutely no down payment at all.

Car_man
Host
Smart Shopper Forum

CarMan@Edmunds · February 2005

Here is the informaiton that you are looking for, Han. According to the latest information that I have seen, if you were to lease a 2005 BMW 530i through BMW Financial Services right now for 3 years with 15,000 miles per, its base lease money factor and residual value should be .00125 and 60%, respectively.

Car_man
Host
Smart Shopper Forum

CarMan@Edmunds · February 2005

I sure do, DW. According to the latest informaiton that I have seen, if you were to lease a 2005 Land Rover Range Rover through its captive finance company right now for 3 years with 15,000 miles per, its base lease money factor and residual value should be .00271 and 57%, respectively.

Car_man
Host
Smart Shopper Forum

CarMan@Edmunds · February 2005

Hey Nick. Let's work up a sample lease payment on this car for you and see what we come up with. According to my calculations, if you were to lease a 2005 Mini Cooper S Convertible with an MSRP / capitalized cost of $28,600 through its captive finance company right now for 36 months with 12,000 miles per year, your zero down, pre-tax monthly payment should be right around $413.

Car_man
Host
Smart Shopper Forum

CarMan@Edmunds · February 2005

Hello jadams. You are correct, the difference between what you owe on your Jetta and what you can get for it by trading it in or selling it on your own is how much you are upside down on it. You will have to either pay the difference out of your own pocket or roll it into your next loan or lease.

Car_man
Host
Smart Shopper Forum

prisch · February 2005

Car_man--thanks very much.

I would be interested in the 2.0 quattro with the tiptronic.

Also, I drove a MB 230 Sedan on Friday--MSRP of $34,930. The salesman quoted me a 60% residual on a 39 mos/10K lease which was pretty good, but the money factor was .0022 which seemed very high to me. Do you know if MB is offering any sort of lease support on this car. I have no doubt I can work on the selling price, but seems like they should also be able to get to a better money factor.

grantchstr · February 2005

Does Volvo Finance have residual value insurance. I think my residual on a 2001 Volvo S60 2.4 nonturbo at $15,950 is over market value - so can I negotiate? I have seen cars on the lot as low as the $9,000 range.

froydianslip · February 2005

Is there any site on the Internet that regularly poste money factors and residuals for all cars?

nycguy3000 · February 2005

Car Man,
Can you please provide the factor and residual for a 2005 ex v6 sedan w/navigation for NY.
assume 36 months for 15k miles per year

bbrhs · February 2005

We have a paid for 2003 Olds Bravada,we want to buy or lease a 2005 GMC Envoy SLT with option package.The MSRP on the Envoy is about 38K, we get the employee discount, or GMS which brings price to about 32.5K. We are getting 17.5K for the Bravada,and 4K in rebates. We are at 12K with taxes trade. Dealer offered to lease Envoy for 2 years,15K miles per year for about 10K , and write us a check for the 17.5K for the Bravada.What do you think ?
Thanks BBRHS

graphicguy · February 2005

Thanks.....

Looks like a straight purchase is the best way to go on a Mustang currently.

prewitt1 · February 2005

Dealer has quoted numbers on an '05 Legacy sedan GT Limited @ 27,533 (invoice). He has quoted a lease payment of $410/ mo. He quoted a rate of 1.6% which is, I guess actually a money factor of 0.0016. Residual is 43%. Does this sound acurate/OK to you?

maxim49 · February 2005

Hey Car_Man - we changed our minds and are now looking at the Nissan Murano. Can you get me the MF and Residual for this car -
2004 Nissan Murano AWD SL
MSRP - 31,430
Selling Price - 28,911
42 Months
10K miles/yr

Thanks!

kyfdx · February 2005

Wow!!!!

This is a pretty cheap lease price, considering the selling price is MSRP..

What kind of residual/money factor are they using to achieve these numbers?

regards,
kyfdx

Lease Questions - Ask Here

Comments

Helpful Tools

Most popular vehicles