Lease Questions - Ask Here

CarMan@Edmunds · March 2005

Hi exoman1. I would be more than happy to give you my opinion on this deal, however in order for me to do so I need some additional informaiton from you first. What is the selling price of this truck? This is an important number for you as a consumer to know because the selling prices of leased vehicles can be negotiated, just as if you were paying cash. Furthermore, the selling price is necessary to calculate a sample lease payment. Also, what state are you in? This is an important piece of information because Toyota's lease program often varies, depending upon which on of its twelve regions one is in. If you could find out the lease money factor that was used to calculate this payment, it would be helpful as well, but it is not absolutely necessary.

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CarMan@Edmunds · March 2005

You're welcome, prisch. All of the lease money factors that I provide consumers with assume that they are paying a security deposit that is equivalent to their vehicle's monthly payment rounded up to the nearest $25 or $50 increment ($25 for AFS). If you would rather not pay a security deposit, AFS will waive this charge in exchange for an increase of .00015 in the money factor that is used to calculate your vehicle's lease payment. I personally always pay the security deposit rather than go with the higher lease payment, because you actually get the deposit back at lease-end.

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agillman · March 2005

Carman,

Can you please provide money factors and residuals for a 2006 Lexus GS 430. I'm in Southern California and would be interested in 12,000/15,000 mile leases for 3, 4, and 5 years.

Thank you.

CarMan@Edmunds · March 2005

Here is the information that you are looking for, 429. If you were to lease a 2005 Honda Odyssey EX with cloth through American Honda Finance Corp. this month for 3 years with 12,000 miles per, its base lease money factor and residual value should be .00225 and 62%, respectively. The trend that you noticed about this van's money factors is actually exactly opposite. Honda was providing quite a bit of support on the 2004 Odyssey because it was losing a lot of sales to the redesigned Sienna. However, Honda did away with this support when it introduced the redesigned 2005 Odyssey. It has not had to provide any sort of lease support on the '05 model yet. Toyota is on the defensive with the Sienna now, introducing special financing and lease rates on for the first time on the redesigned version a couple of months ago. I don't expect Honda to introduce any sort of support on the 2005 Odyssey in the near future, but as I always say it is difficult to predict what automakers will do with their future incentives with 100% accuracy.

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CarMan@Edmunds · March 2005

Greetings Go8. Saab is having a really tough time right now. It makes nice cars, but there is so much competition out there and it has not really found its niche. As a result, Saab provides tons of support on its cars and its dealers don't make much in the way of grosses on them. If you leased this car at $200 under invoice, minus the $1,000 bonus cash, minus the $2,500 lease cash, that is about as close to a nothing deal for the dealer as possible. You did very well. Enjoy your new car.

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mond · March 2005

Thanks car man, I'll wait and hope for the best regarding April incentive on Z4 3.0. I was upset because it is poor marketing on their part, especially since they have the intelligence to offer this month's lease rate on an ordered car. They offer the incentive to the dealer so the dealer can turn Z4s and they can manufacture and ship more of them. All they need do is offer the incentive based on the number of Z4s the dealer has in inventory. If there are 4 in inventory then there are 4 incentives the dealer can apply that month. The dealer can decide whether to apply it to one in stock or one that's ordered. Either way BMW lays out the same amount of money and gets to manufacture and ship another car.

I'm impressed with the service you are offering everyone. I've been leasing since before most car companies offered leases and I had to lease from Hertz. It's the only way to go as long as you don't fixate on only one car. I was looking at Mini but there are no deals, so I moved on.

dwynne · March 2005

What are the special lease numbers on a V70r so I can compare it with a 3rd party lease (and the dealer cash).

Thanks
Dennis

prisch · March 2005

Thanks so much, I ordered my 2.0 today based on the info you gave me.

tex710 · March 2005

Hi Car_Man,

Excellent, and very valuable forum. Thanks very much for the help.

I'm looking into doing a 3yr lease on a 2005 Toyota Highlander and have been referencing several of your example lease write-ups for this vehicle, in particular the one in post 17334. I've been working through the calculations manually with some of my own assumptions regarding money factor/interest rate and have been coming up with pmts. quite a bit higher than your result. Perhaps I'm being a bit pessimistic with respect to the money factors available right now.

Could you please provide the money factor and residuals for the 2005 Highlander that Toyota Financial is currently offering for their lease programs. I'm located in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area.

Thanks very much,
Dave

jmpellet · March 2005

Anyone, it appears that a local Nissan dealer charges a document fee -- is this negotiable? I know that Honda is notorious for this but I didn't think others did. Is this somthing specific to leases?

Is the acquisition fee set by the state and is this negotiable?

Lastly, when you pay the first month's rent does that mean you only have 23 payments left (on a 24 mos lease).

Many thanks!

jeffsauls · March 2005

Car_Man:

I'm looking for some info on Saab's current leasing incentives. I'm interested in lease support and dealer cash available, as well as residual and MF on a 2005 9-3 Arc for 3 years at 12k miles per year. Thanks for any info you can provide.

lmacmil · March 2005

"Anyone, it appears that a local Nissan dealer charges a document fee -- is this negotiable?"

Everything is negotiable. Back when document fees were a new thing (1980), we walked out of a dealer saying we wouldn't pay the $35. The sales guy said "Are you going to lose this car for $35?" and my wife said "Are you going to lose this sale for $35?" Two days later they called us and said they'd waive the fee.

dwynne · March 2005

Sure, you can try to negotiate it. Around here they have taken to printing the forms with that amount printed in there box - rather than having to write it in. That shows you (in theory) that "there is nothing we can do, see it is printed on the form". We you complain they always mention some other dealerships that charge a lot more - thus making you think your are getting a deal. You can try, but they are usually reluctant to let it go - but try anyway.

Lease VS finance is like renting and apartment VS paying a mortage. Rent is due at the start of the month (lease period) where financing requires no paying until interest has accrued. So with a lease your first payment is paid up front when you pick up the car and you would have 23 more to go. With a loan, your first payment is due around a month after you pick up the car.

Dennis

nikjc · March 2005

Please help me car man. I'm in AZ and I just had a dealer tell me that the cap cost for an Altima cannot be reduced because of the lease special being offered on a 24month lease. He also said the mf is .60 and the residual is 69%. Can you tell me what the mf and res really is based on 12k miles for 24 and 36 months. Also, isn't the cap cost the equivalent of a selling price and is therefore up for negotiation? He said today was the last day the 24month lease special was being offered. Is this true? Thanks for your help.

jmpellet · March 2005

What is the deal they are offering you? I am in MA and it is $0 down with $159 a month...They never said when it expired.

echiu · March 2005

Car_Man,

I am thinking about getting a new 2006 530i (due in dealerships mid April). Do you know what the money factor and residuals will be on this car? If I order the car, can they be locked in ahead of time? Also, I have a 1999 Porsche Carrera that I want to trade in for cash, not towards the lease. How should I go about negotiating that?

Thanks,

-Eric

exoman1 · March 2005

Hi Car Man: Already did the deal at another dealership. Ended up with payment of $325 after negotiating car price to $28,??? (don't exactly recall number), using residual of $19,600, and money factor of .00131. Very pleased with the deal and 4Runner. Thanks for your excellent services!

kyfdx · March 2005

I'd be interested in seeing what happens when you actually go to close this deal..

In my local area, they are offering $199/mo with $1500 cap cost reduction.. That is about $90/mo more than what you were quoted.

I'm not doubting what you were told, but I fail to see how they can do that deal, without selling for quite a bit under cost..

regards,
kyfdx

lemmer · March 2005

It is $99 a month with something like $3 to $3.5K down.

lovebmw330i · March 2005

Hi Carman,
Does the following prepay lease sound like a good deal for a 2005 BMW 330i w/sports package and automatic?
MSRP=$39,000
Selling Price=Unknow since I negotiated based on the total cost of the lease not the selling price.
1 Payment $17,500 Total
works out to $486/month tax included
36 months/12K miles per year
Thanks again,
Mike

jmpellet · March 2005

Here's a link to the ad:

http://www.quirkcars.com/specials/nissan/ad.htm

I plan to go there tomorrow morning and will let you know how it turns out. When I called they told me the following:

1st mo payment - $159 plus 5% tax
acquisition - $550
document fee - $299
Title & reg - $86 & $29 in MA
total - $1130.95

kyfdx · March 2005

That is pretty darn good.. Roll the acq.fee and document fee into the monthly payment and you get $195 + tax.. $340 due at signing..

$205/mo. including tax for a 24 month lease.. If the deal turns out that way, you can't beat it...

Good luck,
kyfdx

stymiee · March 2005

Has anyone ever heard of being charged taxes as a lump sum at inception? This is on top of taxes being included in the monthly payment. Here's the breakdown for a Pilot EX-L with running boards and crossbars for 36 months, and 12K/year:
Residual: $19,701
Money factor: .00154
Price including accessories: $29,820.87
Monthly payment including 6% CT tax: $378.81
The dealer and I agree on the above. Now at inception he has a line item for taxes at $828.36. I said I had never heard of paying taxes twice and he said it was standard with all leases and nothing he could do about it.
Sounds fishy to me.

jbaer · March 2005

The dealer made money on their holdback, which in the case of saab is 2.2% of MSRP. So for the base linear model that would be around $600. The $3500 off the invoice is money that GM/Saab will eat not the dealer. Sounds like the dealer still made about $400 off of the transaction but that is barely anything. You should be very happy with your deal. I hope I can get a deal that good in May when I hope to buy a 9-3.

vinnyt · March 2005

I am interested in leasing a 2005 Honda Odyssey EX-L. The dealer told me I would be required to put down $1600 for my lease payments to be 375$ a month. When I told him to break down the 1600$ his response was: $ 375 1st payment, $495 bank fee, 159$ Doc fee, $349 Motor Vehicle Fee, $7.50 tire tax, $129 Window Etching, + $85.50 Misc. fees. When I approach my next Honda Dealer, I know I will only agree to the 1st month payment, but should I demand a breakdown of the $349 Department of Motor Vehicle Charges? At worst my down payment should be $375 + $349 = $724.

andyhiggs · March 2005

Got some more questions for you Car_man. Can you tell me the money factor and residual on a 2005 Nissan Altima SL? I'm looking for a 36 month, 12,000 mile lease. I'd like to add ABS and Side-impact airbags as well as the power moonroof. Do those options make any difference on the MF and residual or is it based on the trim line?

I was also wondering if you knew whether the $1500 manufacturer to customer and $500 new college grad incentives that Nissan is currently offering can be used in a lease or just for a purchase? Thanks a lot.

funky1020 · March 2005

Hey Car_man, I took your advice and went to other dealers and renegotiated with the dealer of my choice. Here's another lease scenario: BMW X3 3.0 with Premium Pkg, heated seats, privacy glass. (3 years with 15K miles). The MSRP is $40,120. Cap cost is 38,217. $3392.36 due at signing which is bank fee, sec. deposit, 1st month, taxes and MV fees/registration. My payments will be 465. month. I feel satisfied with this lease, but of course would like your input, opinion/suggestions. Thanks.

CarMan@Edmunds · March 2005

You're welcome, paulsaz. Here is the information that you are looking for. If you were to lease a 2005 Volvo S40 2.4i with an automatic transmission and the select package through Volvo Finance right now for 36 months with 12,000 miles per year, its base lease money factor and residual value should be .00175 and 54%, respectively for residents of every state but New York. The numbers for an otherwise identical 48 month lease should be .00175 and 44%.

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CarMan@Edmunds · March 2005

Lovebmw330i, the selling price of this car is a very important number for you to know for two reasons. 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 much of a discount you are being given on it. I would never ever lease anything without knowing how much I was paying for it. Furthermore, the selling prices of leased vehicles are necessary to calculate lease payments. I can't even calculate what it would cost to lease this car without this number.

Consumers who pre-pay leases are entitled to a prorated refund if their vehicle is stolen or totaled in an accident during their lease.

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CarMan@Edmunds · March 2005

You're welcome, pa32tl1. Making a capitalized cost reduction of $2,000 would definitely lower your truck's lease payment, however 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 RX 330 would be exactly the same, regardless of whether you had put $2,000 down, or had made absolutely no down payment at all.

I can try to work up a sample lease payment on the Toyota 4Runner that you are also interested in for you, however Toyota's lease program often varies depending upon which one of its twelve regions on is in. As a result, I need to know what state you are in prior to working up a sample payment for you.

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CarMan@Edmunds · March 2005

Hello deeb. Manufacturers' normal customer cash incentives are not compatible with their supported lease programs. Having said this, many automakers provide separate lease cash incentives on vehicles that can be used to reduce their capitalized costs. The $1,500 customer cash that Nissan is currently providing on the 2005 Altima cannot be used in conjunction with Nissan Motor Acceptance Corp.'s special lease program for it and there is no lease cash on this model at this time.

In answer to your second question, interest is indeed charged on any items that you add to your car's capitalized cost, like the acquisition fee.

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CarMan@Edmunds · March 2005

You're very welcome, mssmiles.

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CarMan@Edmunds · March 2005

No problem, brickyarddog. Here is the latest informaiton that you are looking for. If you were to lease a 2005 Honda Accord LX 4-cyl. Sedan through American Honda Finance Corp. right now for 3 years with 12,000 miles per, its base lease money factor and residual value should be .00038 and 53%, respectively. The numbers for an otherwise identical lease of a 2005 Honda Accord EX V6 without navigation should be .00113 and 54%.

If you were to lease a 2005 Nissan Altima 2.5S through Nissan Motor Acceptance Corp. right now for 3 years with 12,000 miles per, its base lease money factor and residual value should be .00127 and 59%. The numbers for an otherwise identical lease of a 2005 Nissan Altima 3.5SE should be .00161 and 60%. Nissan's current lease program is scheduled to run through March 31st.

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CarMan@Edmunds · March 2005

Hey nickmo. The lease money factor, residual value and dealer cash that you were quoted for this car are right on the money. It is difficult for me to fully analyze this deal though because 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.

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CarMan@Edmunds · March 2005

Hi dawnp1. The problem with leasing a 2004 model at this point is that most manufacturers have stopped providing lease support on them. Furthermore, models residual values gradually drop as the model year progresses. As a result, at this point the residual values for most 2004 models are very low when compared to equivalent 2005 models. Low residual values make for high lease payments because they force consumers to pay for a high level of depreciation. Instead of lease support, Honda is providing its dealers with $500 dealer cash on leftover 2004 Pilots. If you really want to lease, you probably would be better off going with a 2005 model at this point.

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lovebmw330i · March 2005

Thanks car man!
I believe they lowered the selling price to $34,500
MSRP=$38,500
Selling Price=$34,500
2005 330i w/Sports Package and Automatic
36 months/12k miles
Can you figure what the lease payments should be based on this information?
Again I am paying 1 payment of $17,500
which works out to $486/month tax included
Does this sound like a good deal?

lovebmw330i · March 2005

Car Man,
Lets assume the selling price is $34,500
Now can you give me some numbers?
MSRP=$38,500
2005 330i with Sports Package and Automatic
36 months/12k miles per year
Dealer quote $455/month + Tax=$486/month Total
1 payment of $17,500
Thanks for all your help and informative posts!

pa32tl1 · March 2005

Carman,
Thank you for the response. I live in Northern New Jersey.

dawnp1 · March 2005

Car man, You're always right! Dealer lease on '04 Pilot was not competitive with the '05. I too am payment driven, and hoping to lease an '05 Pilot EXL W/ DVD for $350.00 mo. Possible? I have seen this Pilot sold here in CA for $30,500 w/o tax, lic. If I put 2,000 down (I know you advise against this...)can I expect a lease payment of $350.00 (INCLUDING tax of 7.25%)with the current Honda lease special. Thank you for taking the time to help. You are my lifeline in a sea of salesman who want my money!

njl · March 2005

Car_man...

My dad is very interested in leasing a 2005 Cadillac Deville for 36 months with 15K miles/year. He received his first quote of $3000+ down and $691/month. I think it includes tax but I'll have to get back with him to find out for sure. I don't know the list price on the car he was quoted, but what I can do for him is calculate a theoretical min and max payments if you can please provide me with the current money factor and residual on this car.

As always.. thanks!

paulsaz · March 2005

Thanks, one more question for you. Is this considered a Volvo Special lease? Or can I use this with the $1500 Volvo to Dealer cash + the $1250 loyalty rebate?

easternguy · March 2005

Car man,

Looking for some lease numbers on a 2005 Jeep GC limited 4x4 with hemi. MRSP is $40,630 with options, but through a deal with my company I'm able to get the vehicle for $33,122. Please let me know the monthly payment for this vehicle in PA(9%tax on leases). Also if you could give me the typical residuals and money factors for 36 and 39 months. Thanks!!!!

smith83 · March 2005

Car Man. I recently leased a 2005 Acura TL w/NAV and am regretting my decision. The car I really want is a 2005 Audi A6. The MSRP on the car I am looking at is $48k. What should I expect on my trade, and can you let me know what I should be looking at as far as a 36 month, 15k mile per year lease on the Audi?

Thanks,
smithunc.

md241 · March 2005

Can I go to a used car dealer and ask them to assume my lease so I can get into a cheaper monthly payment?

ncdriver1 · March 2005

Hello Car_man. You are providing a great service here. This is my first post at edmunds.com. However, I've enjoyed reading this forum and a couple of other forums for a long time.

Now to my question. My current Honda Accord lease expires this month and I've been looking to possibly lease my next car. Could you please let me know the money factors and residuals for the following cars for 36 month lease (or 39 months if it is supported by the manufacturer) at 12K/year? I live in North Carolina.

1. 2005 Mazda3 Hatchback with Auto and ABS.
2. 2005 Mazda6 Wagon Grand Touring
3. 2005 Subaru Forester X with auto.

Thank you.

mvs1 · March 2005

Hello Car_man. I see your Edmunds lease guru. I posted this earlier today and just wanted to know your thoughts on the below options. Anything I'm missing? Incentives? etc.? Thanks in advance. The cash down is total out of pocket. The numbers that follow are the break down.

Murano SL AWD*MSRP $39,240* Selling price $35,000 ($629 below invoice)

36 Month Lease

* Money factor = .00133
* Residual = .59 (purchase option $23,151.60
* 12,000 miles per year
* $1,484.49 cash down* $430.85 1st payment* $59.64 up front sales tax* $155 registration fee* $289 dealer conveyance fee* $550 bank fee
* $430.85 per month including tax

* Money Factor = .00133
* Residual = .58 (purchase option $22,759.20)
* 15,000 miles per year
* $1,495.49 cash down
* $441.85 1st payment* $59.64 up front sales tax* $155 registration fee* $289 dealer conveyance fee* $550 bank fee
* $441.85 per month including tax

39 month lease

* Money factor = .00214
* Residual = .57 (purchase option $1,527.13)
* 12,000 miles per year
* $1,527.13 cash down
* $473.49 1st payment* $59.64 up front sales tax* $155 registration fee* $289 dealer conveyance fee* $550 bank fee
* $473.49 per month including tax

* Money Factor = .00214
* Residual = .56 (purchase option $21,974.40)
* 15,000 miles per year
* $1,536.92 cash down
* $483.28 1st payment* $59.64 up front sales tax* $155 registration fee* $289 dealer conveyance fee* $550 bank fee
* $483.28 per month including tax

42 month lease

* Money factor = .00133
* Residual = .56 (purchase option $21,974.40)
* 12,000 miles per year
* $1,462.70 cash down* $409.06 1st payment* $59.64 up front sales tax* $155 registration fee* $289 dealer conveyance fee* $550 bank fee
* $409.06 per month including tax

* Money factor = .00133
* Residual = .55 (purchase option $21,582)
* 15,000 miles per year
* $1,472.05 cash down
* $418.41 1st payment* $59.64 up front sales tax* $155 registration fee* $289 dealer conveyance fee* $550 bank fee
* $418.41 per month including tax

jeff15 · March 2005

I got a lease quote from a dealer yesterday for an S80 with a sticker of $40600. The cap cost was aprox $30000 supposedly because there was quite a bit of money from Volvo for lease only deals. They offered the car for $36500 on a cash deal. The factor was .00231 and the residual on a 36 month deal was 43% and a 48 month deal was 34% for 12000 miles per year. Is this the best interest rate available from Volvo and are these low residuals for real. Thanks

CarMan@Edmunds · March 2005

Hi catheryn2. Mercedes-Benz is not currently providing any sort of lease support on CLK Convertibles. You are right about this car's lease money factor. Mercedes-Benz Credit's base standard money factor for Tier 1 customers is currently around .00310. If you can finance this car at a rate that is significantly less than 7.4%, the interest rate equivalent of this money factor, they you probably would be better off financing rather than leasing this car.

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CarMan@Edmunds · March 2005

You're welcome, jimbojones. A selling price of $24,442 on a 2005 Nissan Altima with a full MSRP of $28,920 sounds very reasonable to me. Nissan Motor Acceptance Corp.'s current base lease money factor and residual value for a 3 year, 15,000 miles per lease of a 2005 Nissan Altima 3.5 SE should be .00161 and 59%, respectively.

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CarMan@Edmunds · March 2005

Hi jmpellet. Since you are new to the world of leasing, you definitely should check out the following informative articles that are available here at Edmunds.com prior to visiting any dealers: 10 Steps to Leasing a New Car and Calculate Your Own Lease Payment.

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.

The fact that this is a zero down lease does not necessarily mean that there is no acquisition fee associated with it. The zero down aspect of this deal that you saw advertised most likely means zero capitalized cost reduction. All advertised lease payments are before tax, both sales and personal property.

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