Lease Questions - Ask Here

mpklaf · May 2005

Hi Car_man
Thanks for the response and the pointers. I read the articles and they are very very informative. The MSRP of the car is $33670. The selling price for the car is $30,200 (500 dollars below invoice).
Thanks in advance for your help.

CarMan@Edmunds · May 2005

You're welcome, fish2575. Different states use different methods for calculating sales tax on leased vehicles. There are three main methods of doing so (I suppose that you could say that there are four if you count the states that don't charge sales tax at all). In the first, the state taxes the payment and down payment. Most states, including Florida, Georgia, Missouri, Connecticut, and California use this method. The second way is to tax the entire selling price of the vehicle. This is how sales tax is calculated on leases in states like Illinois, Texas, and now Ohio. Lastly, some states only tax the depreciation portion of leases. I believe that this is how tax is calculated on leased vehicles in New Jersey.

Man Washington state has a 9.1% sales tax! Yikes. I hope that there isn't any state income tax. I am not personally all that familiar with how sales tax is calculated on leased vehicles in your state, but you may be able to find out by visiting one of the following sites: Washington State Department of Licensing or Washington State Department of Revenue.

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CarMan@Edmunds · May 2005

Hi inbjce. I am not personally all that familiar with what the market is like for the Lexus ES 330 in your area right now. You should be able to find out what this car is going for by visiting the following discussion: "Lexus ES 300/ES 330: Prices Paid & Buying Experience". For the purpose of giving you an idea of what it would cost to lease this car, I will assume that you are paying $1,000 over invoice. According to my calculations, if you were to lease a 2005 Lexus ES 330 without navigation with an MSRP of $37,709 and a selling price of $34,367 through Lexus Financial Services right now for 48 months with 12,000 miles per year, your zero down, pre-tax monthly payment would be around $421. If you trade your current vehicle in and have equity in it, you would be better off having your Lexus dealer cut you a check for it than using the proceeds as a capitalized cost reduction for your ES 330 lease.

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CarMan@Edmunds · May 2005

Ravi, $2,000 off MSRP is probably a pretty good deal on a 2006 Infiniti M45. I don't recall referring to any dealer cash or huge discounts on the M45 because there are none. Perhaps we had a miscommunication.

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CarMan@Edmunds · May 2005

Greetings stame22. If you were to lease a 2005 Nissan Murano SL AWD through Nissan Motor Acceptance Corp. right now for 36 months with 15,000 miles per year, its base lease money factor and residual value should be .00080 and 58%, respectively. Many banks allow consumers to make additional security deposits on leases, providing a discount in the money factor that is used to calculate their vehicle's payment for each additional deposit. I am not sure if Nissan Motor Acceptance Corp. offers this sort of program, but I suspect that it does.

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CarMan@Edmunds · May 2005

Hello Scott. You never mentioned the selling price or MSRP of the truck 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 truck'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 Equinox that you are interested in for you if you let me know what these numbers are. When you give me these numbers remind me that you live in Connecticut because this truck's lease program varies by region.

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CarMan@Edmunds · May 2005

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.

Of the three leases that you provided details of in your post, the third one looks the most reasonable to me because its money factor is the closest to Lexus Financial Services' base lease money factor for this truck. I am not sure what the "Cap Cost--$5,189.30" that you mentioned means though. Do you mean that this money is a capitalized cost reduction aka down payment? If so, I suggest that you rework this deal using the same prices and money factor, but no cap cost reduction. It is in your best interest to put as little money down as possible when leasing.

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davidd3 · May 2005

Car_Man,

Thanks for putting the quoted MF into better perspective for me.

Unfortunately I am coming off-lease in mid-Sep, which will probably not be long enough for me to realize any appreciable savings on this hot new model.

Speaking of hot new models, I would also like to consider the 2006 Lexus IS for my next car, but it has an Oct 1 launch date as of now. I have inquired about extending my 2003 Infiniti G35 lease, but the lessor, Chase, will give me no more than 1 month. I saw the new IS at the NY Auto Show last month and just about fell in love with it. Of course looks aren't everything. There is also promise of 300+ horsepower. I expect that this second generation Lexus IS will be much more comparable to the performance and road feel of the sports sedan benchmark BMW 3-Series. At the same time, I expect the new Lexus model to be far more reliable than the new BMW model.

David D

CarMan@Edmunds · May 2005

No problem, cark. The lease rate and residual value that I quoted you for this truck earlier should be available in your area. Ford is also providing $2,000 lease cash plus an additional $2,250 Ford Credit Bonus, for a whopping total of $4,250 on leases the 2005 Explorer Sport Trac in your neck of the woods.

If you were to lease a 2005 Toyota Tundra 4WD (not the Double Cab version) through Toyota Financial Services in your area in May for 36 months with 12,000 miles per year, its base lease money factor and residual value should be an extremely attractive .00001 (that's about as close to an interest free lease as one can get) and 62%, respectively. TFS calculates leases on vehicles a little differently than most captive finance companies do though because it places strict limits and caps on the options that can be and the residualized.

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dwynne · May 2005

0.00250 and 62% for 36/36k on the 2006 530i
0.00125 and 60% for 36/36k on the 2005 530i

At 1/2 the MF sure makes the 05 appear to be an option....

Dennis

rhard49 · May 2005

Carman, can you give me some numbers on this lease Ininifty G35 MSRP 31460
buy 28995 36/39 months 12k mi year 795 aquistion fee.

taddec · May 2005

Hi,

I've just found this page and I would like to check if I did a good deal and help anyone looking for the same type of car and deal.

Trade in:
2003 Audi A4 Avant 1.8T Quattro Tip. Cold, Premium and 16" wheels. Metallic Paint. 32K miles.
Payoff: $20,700.00

New car:
2005.5 Audi A4 Sedan 2.0T Quattro Tip. Cold, Premium, Sport, Lighting, Navi, Dark Wood, Bose, Metallic Paint.

Deal:
32K Miles;
Contract: 24 Months
No Money Down + 23 x $576.00
Money Factor: 0.00135 (3.24%)
Residual Value: 66%

Do you think it was a good deal?

BTW, for those looking for some information about the new Audi:
Most have:
Sport Package (All Season);
Bose

It's a great improvement over the B6 platform.

Thanks!

liltash · May 2005

Car Man,

I'm self-employed and my accountant has recommended leasing for tax deduction purposes. Never leased before, interested in 05 Subaru Outback 2.5i Ltd and trying to estimate what we might expect to pay per month. Wondering about money factor, residual value & lease term options.

Accountant we should get 48 month term instead of 36, bc it will keep mnthly pmts low and bc it's very unlikely car will require mech repairs in that last year past warranty term that will exceed what we'll save in monthly pmts (I work from home and drive very little, usually under 10k mi per year, but planning to get 12k mi allowance). All tips on edmunds say don't get lease term that extends past standard warranty. Who's right?

Also wanting to know if we face penalties for turning car back in after 48 v 36 months.

FYI, just put out call for buy price quotes via edmunds "get dealer quotes" function (understand it's better to do this than start with lease quotes) . Waiting to hear from dealers.

Help?

timd3 · May 2005

Carman:

Looking at leases for '05 SRX (V6) through GMAC in the Washington DC area.

Basic contours of lease offer from various DC dealers:

3 year lease
12,000 mi/yr
$389/mo
$3,579 due @ signing
$99 processing fee + tax and tags

Is the down payment a negotiable term in leases through GMAC or are these figures set in stone by GMAC?

I am aware that GM is currently offering $1,000 Hot Button Cash which I believe can be used to reduce capitalized cost but not the down payment. Is this correct?

Are there other GM cash offers or financial incentives available in this area to help bring the capitalized cost down?

Assuming a purchase price of $36,000 for the '05 SRX I want to lease what would be an acceptable residual value for this vehicle at end of lease.

Thanks in advance for any feedback

Jaynj1 · May 2005

Hello Car_man ,

I just found this site. I live in NJ. I am currently looking at Audi A8L. I would like to lease the car for 42 months. I am new to lease. What should I look for in lease? What are the current lease rates for A8L? I would appreciate if you tell me what if I go for 48 month lease.

Thanks in advance.

Jiten

nyatl · May 2005

Thanks Car_man for your response.

The "cap cost" is the down payment that I am willing to put down to keep the monthly payment under $500. Would making additional security deposits get me to this point as well? They have a lease program that would allow me to make 9 additional security deposits. What is the correct money factor for someone with Tier 1 credit?

Also, is the $39,500 or $39,146 a good selling price if the MSRP is $43,683 (includes everything except Mark Levinson system and rear ent. system) or could I do better. My main concern is the selling price and the money factor and trying to keep the monthly payment under $500. Is this doable?

munchmouth · May 2005

Another accountants (CPA) 2 cents...

liltash, if you have a major repair in the last month of the lease, will your accountant pay for the repair?

My recommendation is to make sure you have a warranty that covers the full term of the lease.

jmcd0 · May 2005

Car Man,

This is a follow up question to a response you gave me a couple weeks ago...

I am moving to New York in a few weeks and wanted to lease a car in MA before I move so that I don't have to pay the NY vicarious liability charges (because of vicarious liability I don't think you can even lease a Subaru in NY). However, will I have to pay anything towards vicarious liability coverage when I do move? Will the leasing company give me any trouble if I want to move to NY state, or are out-of-state leasing companies not held to the NY vicarious liability charges, even if the car they are loaning is being used by someone in NY?

Thanks!

c0v3rr1d3 · May 2005

Thanks for those figures, i'm looking for pretty much the same car if i decide to lease.
For 3 years a dealer quoted me a residual value of 56% .

Hey Car_Man could u check my math on these numbers for me, new to all this trying to get everything straight.

Plan on paying title/reg/all other fees up front..

Audi A4 Quattro Lease (Premium/Sport/Bose/Paint)
Money Down 1500(includes 1200 for trade)

Sticker Price $35,670.00
Residual Value Percentage 0.56
Total Residual Value $19,975.20

Invoice Price of Car $33,140.00
Net Cap Cost $31,640.00
Residual Value $19,975.20
Depreceation over 36 Months $11,664.80

Term of Lease (months) 36
Monthly Depreceation Payment $324.02

Net Cap Cost (A7) $31,640.00
Residual Value (A5) $19,975.20
Total $51,615.20
Money Factor 0.00135
Money Factor Payment $69.68

Monthly Depreceation Payment (A12) $324.02
Money Factory Payment (A18) $69.68

Bottom Line Monthly Lease $393.70
RI Tax $27.56

TOTAL Montly Lease Payment $421.26

Is this 1) right, lol and 2) optomistic or flat out wrong.

Thanks
Michael

shivan · May 2005

Hey carman,

Could you provide me with the latest numbers on a lease for an M35x for 39 months/15,000 miles and 36months/15,000? Thanks

rchatham · May 2005

Car_Man
The lease on my 2000 BMW 740iL is about to end and I would like to lease
another two year old (i.e., 2003) 745Li. Can you give the me the various lease
variables I should expect to see for a fair lease in New Jersey; also any strategies I should use. I usually get a 36 month, 12k miles per year. Also I noticed that two year old 745's are $5-10k more than the two year old 740iL I leased three years ago and to boot they seem scarcer. Do you have any reasons for the higher price and lower inventory of 745Li's? Thanks in advance for your help.
Rich

jetfan · May 2005

Hi Car_man: Looking for your thoughts & info on the following: I currently lease a 2003 Buick Rendezvous for $383.00 a month & the lease is up in december 2005. We like the car & would consider leasing another for 3rys 12K a year. I am eligible for the gm supplier discount for the next two weeks. Do you think the " pull ahead" program is a good option? Does GM have any lease incentive deals out there on this vehicle? What would be the monthly payment on a Renezvous CXL with a MSRP of 33K? I think the residual value of the car when I leased in 12/02 was 52%. What is it on the 2005 currently? Would the Caddy SRX be a better option? thanks in advance for your help.

cgreen1 · May 2005

Hi Car_Man,

I would greatly appreciate your advice as my lease ends in a few days and I'm not sure what to do. (I'm in NYS)

The 36 mo lease on my 2002 VW Passat ends May 31st and I'm a little more than 16,000 miles under the 45,000 miles allowed! I want to be as economical as possible but I'm not sure what to do in terms of leasing another Passat to take advantage of any incentive they might give me since I'm returning way under the mileage or leasing a different car. (I know - I should have done my homework before now.) I love the Passat but I think I want a different car for my next car. I really like the Audi A4 and am wondering if you think I can work out a good deal - no cap cost reduction and monthly payments under $400 for a 36 month lease, 12 or 15k miles/yr?? What does VW or Audi do in terms of loyalty incentives?
I am also considering the Saab 93 2.0T - can I do anything with them to take advantage of the low mileage on my Passat?
Also, when visiting a dealership, do I mention straight out that I have a Passat lease ending and am way under the mileage or would that be something to negotiate after negotiating the cap cost of a new car?
Thanks very much for your help.

hpowders · May 2005

Thanks Dennis but the more powerful engine is just what the 530i needs.

caronna · May 2005

Car_Man

Would you kindly supply me with the following lease information for a 05 Acura TL w/ std options @12k miles. MSRP is $33,100+$570 (delivery)

1. Residual @36 months?
2. Residual @48 months?
3. MF I should expect to receive? Is this negotiable?
4. How much should I try to negotiate below TMV?

One dealer quoted me:
Residual 51% @48months
Edmunds TMV price
MF .0023 (5.52%)

I just want to make sure I'm not missing anything. BTW, I have excellent established credit.

Thanks in advance for your help!
Richard

skobola · May 2005

Hi, can you please let me know the current MF for 2006 3 series and 525. In addition, can you let me know whet is the max security deposits thet BMW FS will accept and the related reduction of MF. Thanks. I was originally looking forward to lease 3 series, but provided that the MFs are pretty high, that opened a possiblitiy to go for the 525, therefore my request is as above. Thanks in advance.

ikramerica · May 2005

One thing VW credit does (like most others) is pre-approve you for their leases and not require a security deposit on the next one without a penalty in rate. They might also waive the disposition fee, but they also might not, so don't count on it.

Also, you might see if you can find a private buyer for your car if it is so under mileage and see if you can get more than buyout on it. I was able to do this once, and even used the dealer to complete the private sale transaction. Why? Because they could handle the money matters, they inspected the car for $100, and they helped the new buyer finance it rather than pay cash. They got a good deal out of it (two financing deals, not one) and everyone was happy.

YMMV.

natas · May 2005

Car_Man
Hello. I was wondering if I could get a sample lease on a base M35. I keep getting high monthy payments when I figure it out. I also dont really want to buy the vehicle after the lease. I have a trade in. What bothering me is i have a 2003 Dodge Ram that cost me 34000 (36000 with tax) . I put 0 down and my payment is 585 with tax. Some of the lease figures i am gettig and seeing are alot higher. Thanks for any help

loefflerb · May 2005

What would the money and lease factors be on this if it were a 12000 mile lease?

cyninhi · May 2005

Thank you. Yes, my miles add up quickly taking my kids to soccer practice, games, etc.

Aloha,
Cyn in HI

rroyce10 · May 2005

... **What is your opinion of using a lease consultant? I was just contacted by one who said he deals directly with the manuf. He said his fee is $299 but only payable if I accept the deal he is able to get**

There is no such thing as a "lease consultant - deals directly with the manuf" .... they either work for a dealership or they are the dealer principle for that particular manufacturer ..... sounds like a broker who's charging $299 ..

Terry.

hpowders · May 2005

Sounds like you, Dennis and Car_man are "advice consultants."

CarMan@Edmunds · May 2005

Hi Nick. In order for me to know if the lease money factor that you are being offered on the Toyota 4Runner that you are interested in is in line with Toyota's current base Tier 1+ money factor for this car I need some additional informaiton form you. This informaiton includes whether this truck is a V6 or a V8, this matters because Toyota has different lease programs for each, and what state you are in. It is important for me to know your home state because Toyota's lease program often varies depending upon which one of its twelve regions one is in.

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CarMan@Edmunds · May 2005

You're welcome Chris. Both the Touareg and the X5 are very nice trucks, but if I had to choose between the two, I personally would go with the X5. Here is the Touareg info that you are looking for. If you were to lease a 2005 Volkswagen Touareg V8 or V8, their lease programs are currently the same, through VW Credit right now for 36 months with 15,000 miles per year, its base lease money factor and residual value should be .00024 and 52%, respectively. If you were to do an otherwise identical lease of this truck with only 12,000 miles per year, its residual value would be 2% higher.

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CarMan@Edmunds · May 2005

Hi kd270. Payment-wise, you would be better off leasing an Infiniti FX 35 for 3 years than you would be leasing it for 2 right now. There are two main reasons for this. The first is that new vehicles experience their highest rate of depreciation during the first twelve months of ownership. By leasing for 36 months instead of 24, you have an additional 12 payments to spread this large initial depreciation hit out over. The second reason is that Infiniti Financial Services' money factor for this vehicle is slightly lower for 3 year leases than it is for 2 year leases at this time.

You never mentioned the selling price or MSRP of the FX35 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 vehicle'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 FX35 that you are interested in for you if you let me know what these numbers are as well as how many miles per year you need to be able to drive it.

In order to determine whether you should purchase your vehicle at the end of your lease, you need to compare its purchase price at that time to its value on the open market. 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 will not, but you don't have anything to lose by asking. All of this has to happen several years down the road at the scheduled end of your lease.

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CarMan@Edmunds · May 2005

Hey cagorm. According to the latest information that I have seen, BMW Financial Services' current base lease money factor and residual value for a 3 year, 12,000 miles per lease of the 2006 330i should be .00255 and 60%, respectively.

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CarMan@Edmunds · May 2005

Ravi, I know for a fact that BMW will lock in lease programs on ordered vehicles, but it is very possible that Infiniti will not. If that is indeed the case then you would only be eligible for the program that is available on your car when you physically take delivery of it. I am not aware of any dealers that are selling the 2006 Infiniti M45 at invoice right now. For additional feedback on this car's pricing, you may want to stop by the following discussion: "Infiniti M45: Prices Paid & Buying Experience". There you will find other community members who have either recently purchased this car or who are in the market for one.

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CarMan@Edmunds · May 2005

You're very welcome teamboulton. It is difficult for me to say whether the dealer that you are working with is marking-up the money factor that is being used to calculate your car's payment without knowing what factor they used. I used Infiniti Financial Services' base 39 month factor of .00179 on the 2005 G35 Sedan 2WD to calculate the payment that I quoted you. Also, keep in mind that the payment that I gave you did not include sales tax and requires that you pay a security deposit and acquisition fee at lease signing.

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CarMan@Edmunds · May 2005

Hi jcc3. There is often an advantage to consumers leasing a new vehicle for 39 months instead of for 36 months, but this is not always the case. Whether or not the 39 month term is more attractive depends upon the lease program that the manufacturer is running at that time. If the lease programs for your vehicle's 36 and 39 month terms are similar, the 39 month term would provide a slightly lower monthly payment because with this longer term you are able to spread out your vehicle's large initial depreciation hit out over an additional three payments. When considering a 39 month lease, make sure to think about whether your state will require you to renew your vehicle's registration and if it will end up costing you more money to keep your car for 39 months and also how long your vehicle's bumper-to-bumper factory warranty is.

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kyfdx · May 2005

The '06 330i has a base rate MF of .00255 for 36 months..

What is the money factor for the same lease, if prepaid?

thanks,
kyfdx
(Car_man rocks!!)

dwynne · May 2005

Normally 12k per year leases have a 2% higher residual than 15k per year leases. 10k per year lease (if offered) would be 1% higher than 12k - or 3% higher than 15k lease. That can vary from lease bank to lease bank, but this is fairly common. The money factor is normally the same no matter the miles allowed.

You should KNOW how many miles you need on the lease and do not try to reduce your payment to suit your budget by getting fewer miles than you need. At lease end, you have to either buy the car or pay $0.15 (or so) for every extra mile. Much better to get the proper lease miles up front.

Dennis

dwynne · May 2005

Do you know your residual - how much the Passat costs you to buy at the end of the lease? Should be right in the contract.

Compare that number with values you find for trade in and private party sale here at Edmunds, KBB, and NADA, etc. Be sure to factor in the condition, option, and miles. You can also ask in the Real-World Trade-In Values Forum .

If the car is worth more than residual to a dealer or trade in, then you can probably get a dealer to take it off your hands where you make a little profit. If the reality is that it is not worth that much to a dealer, then you can try to sell it private party or just turn it back in.

Find all this out before you go car shopping - since playing trade in can get you a bad deal. Once you know what the old car is worth, then decide to try to trade/sell it or turn it in. If you are going to try to trade, then work the price down on the new car then work the deal on the trade - keep the two deals distinct.

Dennis

dwynne · May 2005

Someone asked me this lease question and I had never heard of it before and did not know the answer.

Say you lease a car for 36/36k. At the end of the lease you have some parking lot dents and dings and some scratches - something the lease bank may hit you up a few hundred for. If your car is way under miles, say 25k on the clock, are they likely to "forgive" the condition problems or still charge for them?

Normally un-used miles are just "tough luck" for the lessee, but...

My logic was: You agreed to return the car to them at the end of worth the residual. So a perfect car with 36k miles on it would be worth the residual, in theory. If you had a less than perfect car with 25k miles on it - then it should be worth as much or more than the perfect car.

Right?

If you ran the Edmund and KBB values for both noting condition and miles, wouldn't this be a wash? If so, couldn't you avoid having to pay to the problems since you were real low on miles?

Never heard of this, but I was wondering if "the collective" had....

Thanks,
Dennis

kd270 · May 2005

I would like to thank u for your response carman... heres what I was able to get through edmunds on the fx35 The MSRP on the car is $42.060 The invoice is $38.439 and it also lists here " what others are paying " which is $40.338 Now the destination charge is $610 Iam thinking I can get the salesman down to $40.000.. If I do that what Should be the Monthly payments and I will be needing to use 12k per year anything else I should look for? Thanks again

julie6 · May 2005

I am seeing different invoice prices for the ex-l pilot. Then a dealership told me invoice was 29,609. Is this correct? How do you find out what invoice is on a car?

Thank you!

cgreen1 · May 2005

Thanks Dennis.
The trade-in value is slightly lower than the residual. The retail value, however, is about $2100 higher than the residual - can I make any deal on that basis?

I don't want to sell to a private party (time, hassle) so I'm either going to just turn it in or try to trade in on a new lease, either on a new Passat lease or another car lease. I wasn't sure how to broach the trade in subject with a dealer who I might want to lease from and wasn't sure if I can actually "trade in" a leased car from another mfr.

Although I love the Audi A4 and the BMW 325xi, for economic reasons I think I would either get a new Passat or the Saab 9-3 2.0T. I'm stuck car shopping this weekend now since my lease expires on Tuesday.
Do you know the money factor and residual on a 15k mile, 36 mo lease for each of the 2005 VW Passat GLS 4Motion 1.8T and the 2005 Saab 9-3 Linear 2.0T?

I'm trying to pay 0 towards a cap cost reduction and keep my monthly payments under $400 (preferably no more than $369/mo).
I greatly appreciate any help you can give me.

Thanks very much.

cgreen1 · May 2005

Thanks YMMV.

I would like a change from the Passat (although I love the car) and was considering the Audi A4, BMW 325xi or Saab 9-3. I want to keep my monthly payments under $400 and don't want to pay anything towards cap cost reduction so I think my only option is to go with another Passat or the Saab. Any opinions/suggestions?

I posted another message asking if Dennis knows the money factor and residual for each of the Passt GLS 4 Motion 1.8T and the Saab 9-3 2.0T. If you know that information, I'd greatly appreciate it.
Thanks for your help.

kyfdx · May 2005

You are correct.. if you want to stay under $400, you'll have to go with the Saab, out of those three cars... The other two are much closer to $500+

regards,
kyfdx

dwynne · May 2005

If you don't want to hassle with it, just turn it in.

Basically, what you want to do on your new car is buy a low as possible - right above invoice or less if there is dealer or rebate money. If you do this, then no dealer will give you more than auction or low trade money for your car. You are getting your new car for wholesale so expect wholesale for your trade.

If you had something to trade that the dealer could put on the lot and sell, then you could get more money. Otherwise they will either auction it or wholesale it to a used car lot - and neither of those pays much. The odds of them wanting your trade go up with it is a popular model or perhaps if you trade for the same make - then someone who can't afford (or get financing) new could take your low mile used car.

Get your best price from a number of dealers on the new car, then see what they will do on the trade. If the trade makes you money do it, otherwise turn it in.

Dennis

cgreen1 · May 2005

Okay, thanks. The Saab it is!

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