Lease Questions - Ask Here

manabout · May 2005

What is the prevailing thought on paying lease fees upfront? I read on the board that some prefer to add them to the cap cost and only pay 1st month and sec. dep. I also read that if you waive the security, the money factor goes up.

Maybe this is a question for you Car_man, should I pay the inception fees upfront or have them added to the cap cost? I'd rather part with the least amount of money upfront, even if it means a higher payment. Also, which fees can be negotiated (bank fees, doc. fees, acquisition, disposition, etc.)? I'm going through Infiniti Financial in case that helps.

Any insight would be appreciated.

hbomber · May 2005

Car man,

05 Accord Coupe LX
44060(OH)
5 spd

MSRP: 21,110
Selling price: 19,500
residual: 11, 200
36 months, 12k per, 0 down, $279 per

Got this info over the phone from a local honda dealer, didn't get the money factor, What would the money factor be on this through AHFC? I figured they quoted be around 5%, what can I actually expect. That residual I was quoted on was quite surprising but I'd rather see it in writing.

Thanks

CarMan@Edmunds · May 2005

Hi dazdconfusd36. 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.

Once you have checked out these articles, do some research on the selling price of the truck that ou are interested in. Always remember that the selling prices of leased vehicles are negotiable just as if you were paying cash for or financing them. You can look up its full MSRP and Edmunds.com True Market Value (approximately what others are paying for it right now) in the New Vehicle Pricing section of this site. For additional feedback on what others are paying for similar trucks right now, you should check out the following discussion: "Jeep Liberty: Prices Paid & Buying Experience".

When you have an idea of this truck's full MSRP and an approximate selling price, stop back in this discussion and I can calculate a sample lease payment on it for you using Chrysler Financial's current lease program.

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CarMan@Edmunds · May 2005

How much of a difference there is between a vehicle's lease payment and its finance payment will depend upon a number of factors. These factors include the lease program that is available on it as well as the interest rate on the loan that you are comparing the payment with and how long you are financing it for.

Lease payments are composed of two main components, the depreciation portion and the interest portion. When you heard that your vehicle's lease payment is based upon 50% of its selling price what the person who told you this should have said is that you only pay for 50% of typical a vehicle's depreciation in a lease. The exact amount of this percentage varies by bank, model, and the length of your lease. In addition to this depreciation you will have to pay interest as well.

Leasing this truck for 60 months is not a good idea. I usually advise consumers to lease for 36 to 39 months. One reason I advise against leasing for that long is that your vehicle's basic warranty will have long since expired by the end of your lease. As a result, you will have to pay to make any necessary repairs out of your own pocket before turning your vheicle in or have to pay a lease-end penalty for excess wear and tear. Also, a lot can happen during the course of five yours. Your needs could change, causing you to need a more or less expensive vehicle, your commute could change causing you to far excess your mileage allowance, your family situation could change causing you to need more space, or you could just plain get sick of your leased vehicle. All of these things would cause you to need, or at least want, a new car or truck before the scheduled end of a five year lease. Unfortunately, it is usually fairly expensive to get out of leased vehicles well before their scheduled end, to with a long lease like this you are stuck.

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CarMan@Edmunds · May 2005

You're welcome TrickyDick. Answering all of these questions certainly is time consuming, thanks for noticing. Dealer invoice definitely sounds like a good deal to me on a 2005 Acura MDX. Let's calculate a sample lease payment on the truck that you are interested in for you and see what we come up with. According to my calculations, if you were to lease a 2005 Acura MDX Non-Touring without navigation or the rear entertainment system, but with running boards with an MSRP of $40,845 and a selling price of $36,837 through American Honda Finance Corp. in May for 36 months with 12,000 miles per year, your zero down, pre-tax monthly payment should be around $420. This payment assumes that you will pay your vehicle's security deposit and AHFC's $595 acquisition fee at signing and that the running boards can be residualized.

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CarMan@Edmunds · May 2005

You're very welcome, David D. Let me know if you have any other questions.

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CarMan@Edmunds · May 2005

Hi huma2. The $24,998 selling price that you were quoted for a Pacifica with an MSRP of $31,340 looks good to me. I would be happy to calculate a sample lease payment on this vehicle for you using Chrysler's actual lease program so that you can compare it to the one that you were quoted. However in order for me to do so I need some additional information from you first, including how long you want to lease it for, how many miles per year you need to be able to drive it, whether it is 2WD or AWD, and what option package it is equipped with (i.e. the 26S, 26T, or 26U packages).

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CarMan@Edmunds · May 2005

Welcome aboard boomguy. In your post you said that you want to lease a "2005 300i," by this I assume that you mean a 2005 BMW 325i. Correct me if I am wrong. Even after taking the $2,500 dealer cash that BMW is currently providing on this car into account, $4,000 under invoice is an excellent price for this car. I would be happy to calculate a sample lease payment on the car that you are interested in for you, however in order for me to do so I need you to tell me how long you want to lease it for.

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CarMan@Edmunds · May 2005

Welcome back ribbonking. I was not aware that Lexus is currently providing any sort of incentives on the 2005 LS 430. What have you heard is available on it? Lexus was providing some regional lease support on it in April, but that program expired. According to the latest information that I have seen, if you were to lease a 2005 Lexus LS 430 through Lexus Financial Services, you would have to use its standard lease program. The last time that I saw it, LFS' base standard lease money factor was aruond .00245 for consumers who qualify for its top credit tier. Its 36 month, 15,000 miles per year residual value for a 2005 LS 430 without the Custom Luxury, Ultra Luxury, or Pre-Collision packages should be 55%.

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CarMan@Edmunds · May 2005

Hey dmc1. It is difficult for me to give you my opinion of this deal without knowing this car's full MSRP. I say this for two reasons. The first is I need to see what sort of discount you are being given on it and I need this number to calculate this car's lease payment. One thing that I notice about your deal right off the bat is that you mentioned putting $2,505 down. If this is the money that is due at lease signing, then it's not too bad because it includes your first month's payment, security deposit, and Infiniti Financial Services' $795 New York acquisition fee. However, if this $2,500 is just a capitalized cost reduction I advise against making it. 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 Coupe would be exactly the same, regardless of whether you had put $2,500 down, or had made absolutely no down payment at all.

Anyhow, let me know this car's full MSRP and I will giv eyou my opinion of this deal.

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CarMan@Edmunds · May 2005

Here you go rhard49. According to my calculations, if you were to lease a 2005 Infiniti G35 2WD Sedan with an MSRP of $32,460 and a selling price of $29,757 through Infiniti Financial Services right now for 39 months with 12,000 miles per year, your zero down, pre-tax monthly payment should be around $352. With this deal, at lease signing you would have to pay your car's first month's payment, a security deposit equivalent to that payment rounded up to the nearest $50 increment, IFS' $795 acquisition fee (assuming that you are in New York or Rhode Island), and any required state taxes or fees.

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CarMan@Edmunds · May 2005

I'm glad that you enjoy this discussion so much bobodreadrasta. The thing that I noticed about the X5 lease that you mentioned is the whopping $6,500 down payment! 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 X5 would be exactly the same, regardless of whether you had put $6,500 down, or had made absolutely no down payment at all.

I would be more than happy to calculate a sample lease payment on this vehicle for you using BMW Financial Services' actual lease program. However in order for me to do so I need some additional informaiton from your first, including this truck's full MSRP and how long you want to lease it for. I can work up a sample lease payment on the XC90 that you want as well, but in addition to the aforementioned pieces of information I also need you to tell me its selling price.

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CarMan@Edmunds · May 2005

Hey sharkala. Let's work up a lease payment based upon the latest price quote that you have received. According to my calculations, if you were to lease a 2005 Nissan Xterra SE 4WD with an MSRP of $28,800 and a selling price of $26,760 through Nissan Motor Acceptance Corp. in May for 39 months with 12,000 miles per year, your pre-tax monthly payment should be around $387 without any capitalized cost reduction. With this deal, at lease signing you would have to pay your truck's first month's payment of $387, a security deposit of $400, NMAC's lease acquisition fee of $550 (in most states), and any required state taxes or fees.

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CarMan@Edmunds · May 2005

No problem tkcane. General Motors is providing $3,000 dealer cash on the 2005 Cadillac Escalade ESV, I am not 100% positive, but I believe that this dealer cash cannot be used in conjunction with GMAC's special lease program. If that is indeed the case, then the only cash incentives that you can deduct from this truck's capitalized cost are the $1,000 bonus cash that GM is providing on all models in May, an additional $1,000 if this truck has been in dealer inventory since any date prior to January 1st, and $750 lease cash. GMAC's current base lease rate and residual value for a 36 month, 15,000 miles per year lease of a 2005 Cadillac Escalade ESV are 3.6% and 50% through the end of the month.

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CarMan@Edmunds · May 2005

You're welcome again fstlrnr

. It is difficult to say why the lease payment that I came up with is so much lower than the one that you were quoted. Perhaps you are having your car's security deposit or acquisition fee, or both waived. This would lead to a higher monthly payment.

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CarMan@Edmunds · May 2005

You're very welcome tom43. OK, let's work up a lease payment on this car. According to my calculations, if you were to lease a 2006 Infiniti M35 base sedan with an MSRP of $43,290 and an unattractive selling price of $44,280 (you did say that this included some negative equity though) through Infiniti Financial Services in May for 39 months with 15,000 miles per year, your zero down, pre-tax monthly payment should be around $604.

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CarMan@Edmunds · May 2005

No problem hpowders.

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CarMan@Edmunds · May 2005

David, the end date for your current lease definitely does not mesh well with the launch date for the redesigned Lexus IS. Since you can only extend your lease one month, that really does not help any. One possibility would be to purchase your current leased vehicle at lease-end and then sell it when you want to get a new IS. In order to determine whether you should purchase your vehicle at the end of your lease, you need to compare its purchase price to its value on the open market at this time. Even though it states your car or truck's purchase option price on your lease contract, you should place a call to the bank that you are leasing it through just to make sure that you have the correct figure. When you do so, it never hurts to try to haggle with them. Some banks will negotiate the lease-end purchase prices of vehicles. If your initial contact at your bank is not willing to lower your vehicle's purchase price, you may have better luck if you work your way up the ladder to a manager. There is a good chance that they will not lower your vehicle's price, more often than not they will not, but you don't have anything to lose by asking.

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

If your car's purchase option is as high as you say and IFS is not willing to work with you, then purchasing your G35 is not a good option. You could always look around for a good deal on an inexpensive used vehicle that you could drive for a few months. Theoretically, if you get a good enough deal on it would would not lose much, if anything on it when you turn around and sell it in a few months. I have a friend at work how always buys in demand vehicles, like the VW Beetle when it first came out, the limited BMW M3 Sedan, etc who always seems to make out like a bandit when he goes to sell his cars.

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CarMan@Edmunds · May 2005

Thanks for the additional information michael10. According to the latest information that I have seen, if you were to lease a 2005 Lincoln Aviator 4WD in your area right now for 39 months with 15,000 miles per year, its base lease rate and residual value should be 1.5% and 40%, respectively. As you can see, Ford Credit publishes what are known as lease rates instead of money factors for the vehicles that it leases. You can convert its published lease rates into approximate money factor equivalents by dividing them by 2400. When negotiating your deal on this truck, keep in mind that there is $2,500 lease cash plus an additional $2,000 bonus for leasing through Ford Credit, $4,500 total, in your area. These incentives will help you to negotiate an attractive capitalized cost.

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CarMan@Edmunds · May 2005

You are correct, hpowders. BMW Financial Services' May lease programs for the 2006 BMW 525i and 530i are identical.

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CarMan@Edmunds · May 2005

You're welcome Nick. Congratulations on your new truck. Ohio is in Toyota's Cincinnati region. In that area in May, Toyota Financial Services base lease money factor and residual value for a 36 month, 15,000 miles per year lease of a 2005 Toyota 4Runner Limited V8 4WD should be .00115 and 57%, respectively. It is difficult for me to give you my opinion on this deal without knowing its selling price as well as the amount of money from the equity in your trade that was used as a cap cost reduction (or conversely the amount that you were upside down on it).

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CarMan@Edmunds · May 2005

Hey Cyn. Unfortunately, it is difficult to predict what automakers will do with their future incentives with 100% accuracy. They don't want consumers, or even dealers for that matter to know what their future incentives will be like before the end of the money. This is because it is important to manufacturers to close out the month on a strong note, sales-wise. If dealers and consumers knew that a vehicle's incentives were going to increase in the following month, they would just hold off on their purchase, or reporting the sale in the case of a dealer, until then. If I had to make an educated guess, I would say that Nissan's June incentives on the 2005 Altima will be very similar to its May incentives, perhaps slightly better because vehicles' incentives usually gradually increase as the model year progresses. Only time will tell for certain though.

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lexman1 · May 2005

Car_man, can you tell me if this lease is any good on a 2005 Lexus LS430

MSRP: $63284
Price $56,000
36 mos./12k miles
Residual: 54%
Money Factor: .00245 --from lexus
$0 down payment
Approx.Monthly payment which includes taxes: 881.00

Would Like to bring Payment down to around $600 ?

CarMan@Edmunds · May 2005

Hi samosval. I do not believe that Toyota is currently providing any sort of lease support on the 2005 Avalon. If that is the case in your area and you were to lease one through Toyota Financial Services for 36 months with 12,000 miles per year, its base lease money factor and residual value should be .00245 and 60%, respectively for a 2005 Avalon XLS, assuming that you qualify for its top credit tier. The factor for an otherwise identical 39 month lease would be the same, but the residual would drop to 57%. Calculating a lease payment on an '05 Avalon XLS with an MSRP of $31,340 and a selling price of $29,100 the way most banks do, residualizing the full prices of every factor option, I come up with 36 and 39 month payments of around $404. The problem is that TFS does not always allow the full residualization of every option. It often places limits on which options how much can be residualized. If any of your vehicle's options cannot be fully residualized it would cause your lease payment to increase.

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CarMan@Edmunds · May 2005

Yes, Keith, Nissan's lease program for the Maxima would be the same, regardless of what transmission you choose.

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CarMan@Edmunds · May 2005

You're interested in quite a fancy ride, John. I would be happy to give you an idea of what its lease program is currently like. If you were to lease a 2005 Cadillac XLR through General Motors Acceptance Corp. in May for 36 months with 12,000 miles per, its base lease rate and residual value should be 4.6% and 60%, respectively. The numbers for an otherwise identical 48 month lease should be 4.6% and 52%. As you can see, GMAC publishes lease rates instead of money factors for the vehicles that it leases. You can convert its published lease rates into approximate money factor equivalents by dividing them by 2400. When negotiating your lease on this car, don't forget about the $1,000 bonus cash that is currently available on it.

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CarMan@Edmunds · May 2005

Hey a6biturbo. Using the prices that you mentioned in your post, an MSRP of $33,690 and a selling price of $30,294, I estimate that this car should have a 36 month, 12,000 miles per year zero down, pre-tax monthly payment of around $420. If you are eligible for GM's supplier purchase program, both of the leases that you were quoted should be based upon the sale selling price and lease program and should be equally good deals, just structured differently. GM isn't exactly offering supplier pricing to everyone in June, but it did greatly expand the list of relatives that eligible individuals can share their discounts with for a limited time. If you live in an area that has a high concentration of GM employees or suppliers then it would probably seem like just about everyone qualifies for the program. It is difficult to say whether GM's incentives on the GTO will be more attractive in June. If I had to make an educated guess, I would say that its offers on this car will either stay about the same or become slightly more attractive, give it is difficult to say exactly what will happen.

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CarMan@Edmunds · May 2005

Here is the information that you are looking for Craig. If you were to lease a 2005 Infiniti G35 Coupe through Infiniti Financial Services in May for 39 months with 15,000 miles per year, its base lease money factor and residual value should be .00200 and 58%, respectively. The factor for an otherwise identical lease without only 12,000 miles per year would be the same, but its residual value would be 1% higher.

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CarMan@Edmunds · May 2005

Hello reechz. 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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huma2 · May 2005

hi carman, sorry i left out that info. its a 39 month lease, 12k per year, fwd it has the 26t package.. thanks in advance for your help. i am in the middle of negoiating so please let me know as soon as you can. thanks and enjoy the holiday. paul

CarMan@Edmunds · May 2005

Hey tkcane. I haven't looked into this matter in a while, but the last time that I did consumers who wanted to lease vehicles through GM's employee or supplier purchase programs were required to do so through GMAC and could not lease through an independent bank. I suspect that it still the case.

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reechz · May 2005

Hi Carman;

the msrp is $20,905
the tax is $1794

the selling price with $18,073.15 (with the tax included)

so, my payments are $246 / month (35 months) $0 down, $9432 residual

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----
mazda6- how did I do on this lease? by reechz May 27, 2005 (11:22 pm)
Bookmark | Reply | E-mail Msg

Mazda6- with Automatic Tranny 2.3 4 cylinder.

Smart buy-
$0 down
$246 / month- 35 months
residual $9432-
tax in NY is 8 3/4%

Have to wait till Tuesday to get the car (they had trade with another dealer) and only put $100 down (didn't sign any binding docs) so if I got ripped off I will eat the $100 and go elsewhere.

jmcclenahan · May 2005

Car Man,
In an earlier posting from early May, for a 2005 XC90 2.5T AWD (for 36 months/12k miles/yr), you quoted a money factor of .00148 and a residual of 58%.

But the dealer (in CT) is now telling me that the best they can do is .00246 and 56% with Chase (with a price that's $3,000 off the MSRP of $47,625 = $44,625)

OR he can also do:

.00163 and 56% with Volvo Finance (with a price that's $2,000 off the MSRP of $47,625 = $45,625)

He's claiming that Chase and Volvo Finance have different dealer incentives and that's why he can offer different sales prices.

I think he's just playing with the numbers, but is there any way the finance numbers he's quoting are legitimate? Could they have changed since early May? These are supposedly May numbers he's using.

Thanks.

CarMan@Edmunds · May 2005

Skoontz, the dealer that you spoke with was right in one respect, BMW Financial Services' has only one lease program that consumers either qualify for or don't. As a result, your credit score will not have an impact upon its lease money factors. BMW FS' published lease money factor for the 2006 330i is currently .00255. Dealers have the ability to mark-up BMW's published money factors to add additional back-end profit to deals. That is likely what is happening in your situation. This is sort of thing is completely legal, but you should be able to avoid it by comparison shopping with a few dealers and insisting that the base lease program is used to calculate your car's monthly payment.

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madaboutcars · May 2005

Hello car_man.

I am seeking a GS300 AWD without navigation. The dealers in Chicago (McGrath, Orland Park) are quotoing MSRP only. I can not pay msrp but I want this car!

I uncovered an advertisement by lease-by-tel (www.leasefax.com) that seems to be offering very attractive lease options on new cars.

Is anybody familar with this program? If yes, any suggestions/pitfalls?

I am appreciative of any/all input.

Paul D.

jetfan · May 2005

Thanks Car_man: THe MSRP of the vehicle the dealer is quoting me is 36K. The quote is $500.00 out of pocket, $432.00 a month for 3yrs 12K a year. I have the GM supplier discount which the dealer says is the bet way for me to go. I also hear GM is going to be announcing a new plan Weds that gives the GM employee discount to every buyer. If I don't buy by Tuesday the 31st, I lose the Smart button cash & the " pull ahead" program. That is if GM doesn't extend them. What do you think of the above numbers? Do you think it would be better to wait for the new program announcement? Thanks.

mookie · May 2005

Carman,

I am looking to lease a 2005 Lexus es330. MSRP is $33,000.00. I would like to get a corresponding money factor and residual value for a 3 year/12,000 mile lease and what that equals for a monthly payment. Thank you for the help.

liltash · May 2005

Thanks! I've read the 10 steps article thoroughly and checked out addl leasing advice articles online, and all has been helpful. And we have decided to go with a 36m/36k lease.

As for sell price, best offer we've received so far, after soliciting quotes from several area dealers, is $25,182 before tax & lic. According to dealer, for the specific Outback Ltd he's quoting, that's $2k below invoice, which seems like a lot (is this possible?).

We also researched lease offers through leasecompare.com, and based on assumption of top-tier credit (which we have), they came back with several bank lease offers with monthly pmts between about $400 and about $420. HOWEVER, the lease term they all came back with is 39 mo, rather than 36, which was what we wanted. Is this standard? Can we go back to the bank and ask them for 36 mo rather than 39 mo term? Or do we extend warranty on car to match slightly longer lease term?

I'm not sure about difference between independent bank leases and lease through manufacturer (dealer?). Is there an advantage to either? Do we take the best bank lease offer and go to the dealer with it, and see if dealer will match, or do we just lease through bank based on negotiated price of car?

FYI, we're in Santa Monica, CA.

Thanks again!

CarMan@Edmunds · May 2005

Hi petp. In your initial post you never mentioned what vehicle you are interested in, but I believe that in a subsequent post you stated that it is a 2006 BMW 525i. Correct me if this is not right. Congratulations on finding a dealer that is willing to discount this car by $3,000 already. This is quite a discount for such a new model. It sounds like you are getting this car for a good price, but it wouldn't hurt to stop by the following discussion to see how much other community members have paid for similar cars lately: "BMW 5-Series: Prices Paid & Buying Experience".

As far as your $3,000 cap cost reduction goes, 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 525i would be exactly the same, regardless of whether you had put $3,000 down, or had made absolutely no down payment at all.

I just double checked your lease payment calculations, and I also come up with $520 per month for this car before tax, assuming that you are paying a security deposit and acquisition fee. If I was in your situation, I would make sure that this dealer walked me through this deal to see why they are quoting a higher monthly payment.

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liltash · May 2005

Sorry, left one bit of info out of my last post. I let you know that dealer quoted sale price for the Outback Ltd was $25,182. You had also asked for MSRP, which dealer says for that car is $29,289.
Thanks!!

CarMan@Edmunds · May 2005

Thanks jnijankin. Unfortunately, you are in Toyota's Southeastern region. As you probably are already aware, Toyota does not distribute vehicles directly to dealers in your area, but instead does so through another company, SE Toyota Distributors. In addition to adding all sorts of annoying extra options and charges to vehicles, SE Toyota also has its own bank. Leases in your area go through SE Toyota Finance unlike Toyota Financial Services which Toyota uses in the rest of the country. I have not seen SE Toyota Finance's lease program for the model that you are interested in this month. Sorry that I could not be of more help.

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CarMan@Edmunds · May 2005

Here's the information that you are looking for, scott31. If you were to lease a 2005 Mazda3i Sedan through its captive finance company right now for 2 years with 12,000 miles per, its base lease money factor and residual value should be .00082 and 62%, respectively. The numbers for an otherwise identical 3 year lease of this car should be .00010 and 51%. Mazda does not have any specific customer or dealer cash incentives on the Mazda3 this month, but this model does qualify for the dealer stairstep program that provides Mazda dealers that hit their monthly sales objectives with up to $500 dealer cash per model sold.

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CarMan@Edmunds · May 2005

Hello ajamo. I don't believe that the $2,000 dealer cash that Volkswagen is providing on the 2005 Touareg V8 is compatible with VW Credit's special lease program.

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CarMan@Edmunds · May 2005

Hi jazzman_. Let's work up some lease payments for you. According to my calculations, if you were to lease a 2005 Nissan Maxima SL with an MSRP of $31,420 and a selling price of $28,300 through Nissan Motor Acceptance Corp. right now for 36 months with 12,000 miles per year, your zero down, pre-tax monthly payment should be around $386. I used a money factor of .00157 and a residual value of 54% to arrive at this payment.

If you were to lease a 2005 Acura TSX without navigation with an MSRP of $27,760 and a purchase price of $25,800 through American Honda Finance Corp. in May for 36 months with 12,000 miles per, its zero down, pre-tax monthly payment should be around $363. I used a factor of .00240 and a residual of 59% to arrive at this payment.

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CarMan@Edmunds · May 2005

Hi nyatl. The selling price of this truck and the money factor that was used to arrive at its payment look good to me. It is difficult for me to say what your monthly payment would be with tax because tax rates and the methods for calculating it vary from area to area. However, before tax, using the prices and lease program that you mentioned and a $1,900 capitalized cost reduction I come up with a monthly payment of around $413 for this truck, which looks to be a little lower than the payment that you were quoted.

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CarMan@Edmunds · May 2005

Greetings lexman1. The money factor that you were quoted for this car jibes with what I have heard about it, that Lexus is no longer offering special lease money factors on it. .00245 is Lexus Financial Services' standard lease money factor right now. You never mentioned the exact LS 430 that you are interested in, but looking at its residual value it appears as though you are getting a "Custom Luxury" model. Correct me if I am wrong. The selling price that you were quoted looks attractive to me, but you definitely should stop by the following discussion to compare it to the prices that other community members have paid for similar cars lately: "Lexus LS: Prices Paid & Buying Experience".

Using the numbers that you mentioned in your post, I come up with an estimated zero down, pre-tax monthly payment of around $881 for this car. You are already being given a substantial discount on it, so there probably isn't much room to work with there and the dealer isn't marking up your money factor any so I don't see any way that you can come even close to $600 per month for this car. The current lease program will always yield a 3 year payment of around $800.

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CarMan@Edmunds · May 2005

Congratulations on your new car, a6_to_m35. Thanks for taking the time to stop back and let us all know how everything turned out. Enjoy!

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CarMan@Edmunds · May 2005

Hi rchatham. Given the lack of popularity of used vehicles lease programs and the large number of variables associated with them, factors and residuals for a number of different model years and mileages, I do not personally keep tabs on the details of used vehicle lease programs. Sorry that I could not be of more help.

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CarMan@Edmunds · May 2005

Hey hpowders. If you were to lease a 2006 Infiniti M35 2WD Sedan (non-Sport) through Infiniti Financial Services in ay for 36 months with 12,000 miles per year, its base lease money factor and residual value should be .00222 and 64%, respectively.

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CarMan@Edmunds · May 2005

Still trying to narrow down the field huh, hpowders

? According to the latest information that I have seen, if you were to lease a 2005 BMW 545 through BMW FS in May for 3 years with 12,000 miles per, its base lease money factor and residual value should be .00100 and 59%, respectively.

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