Lease Questions - Ask Here

surfsome · June 2005

Hey Car-Man !

I figured out the error. The value of the "purchased" Grand Am was too low in my analysis. I used Kelly Blue Book & saw that the value of a 2001 GA now is approx. $6,500, which is a good approximation of what a '04 GA will be worth in 3 years. Thus, the purchase (in this case) is better by $1,500 or more (even before I consider possible penalties due to mileage, etc ...).

Thanks any way !

dg170 · June 2005

Hi Car_Man,
Can you help me with the money factor and residual with this lease (and tell me if I'm missing something):
I am ordering an Audi A4 2006 and the lease information they are using is for the current 2005.5

40110 (MSRP), 37374 (invoice). I'm paying:$38374
MF=.0015
resid=56%
due at signing 3100=1st month, dmv fees 250, documetnation fees 129 and bank fees 800. Tax is 8.375%

It works out to $546.21/month for 15,000mi per year, 36months.

Thank you for your help.
Dave

kmouradian · June 2005

Car_man,

A buddy of mine is interested in leasing a 2005 Cadillac CTS with 1SB package/automatic. Another member answered but I want to verify numbers and have a couple more questions.

For a 36month/36k mile lease, can you verify a 3.95% lease rate and a 54% residual?

Also, what is GM's acquistion fee and does GM charge a security deposit?

Finally, is there any additional lease or bonus cash on the CTS in the state of Florida on top of the current "you pay what we pay" program? I was informed $2600 but don't know if that is a regional thing or not.

Thanks!

carefree · June 2005

I am exchanging emails with a Volvo dealer to lease a S80 2.5T AWD- with audio and Nav, Premium and climate pkg. With 0 down he gave me a figure of 726.80 for a 36 month / 36 K lease. (!!)

When I mentioned to him that Volvo is offering 7500 off from MSRP in public advertising , he said that they get dealer cash from Volvo only if they sell a car but not for lease, which I think is incorrect.

On Volvo's webiste, a base model of S80 - 2.5T FWD is for lease at appx $400 pm with 4K down and that too when the gross capitalized cost is the MSRP.

I would appreciate the wise words form somebody on what should be :
1. Appx. lease rate if I lease AWD with Nav. / Audio/ Premium.
And 2. if I lease FWD with Premium

kyfdx · June 2005

You'll need the MSRP for any car that you want an opinion or calculation on..

1nomadic · June 2005

Car Man,
Welcome back! I am considering the Acura TSX and the TL. Do you know what the MF and the residuals are for these cars? I don't plan on getting the Navi system nor do I plan on adding any of the other wind deflectors, gold package, wood grain, sport wheels, etc. Just the base models with an auto trans. I am looking for the June numbers. If they don't have the vehicle in their inventory I would have to order the car. Do you think the MF and residual would change much if the contract didn't go through until July? Thanks a bunch.

carefree · June 2005

My mistake.

The MSRP for that car is around $41000. The invoive would be around 38695. Volvo also has a 4000 dealer cash incentive which the dealer states can not be applied to leases.

andre1 · June 2005

CarMan,
Welcome back! A few weeks ago you gave me a residual of 54% and interest rate of 3.95% (3 year / 12 miles a year) for a Cadillac CTS. What is the same information for a 2005 CTS-V for June? Also, does this vehicle have the $1100 lease cash still active or any other rebates or incentives (other than the GM employee discount offer)? Thanks again!

stixpixx · June 2005

Car_Man,

I am reposting the question I had on the Infiniti M35 Sport.

I am shopping for an Infiniti M35 Sport. Hoping to pull the trigger in June. Do you have MF and residuals for a 36 and 39 month lease from IFS on this vehicle with 12k and 15k miles per year. Also can you tell me if there is an acquisition fee or any other fees through IFS. The car with Tech/Journey msrp is $49910. I was quoted $2500 off for a cap cost of $47410. Can you give me a sample monthly payment on the 39month/15K miles, with only paying the necessary drive-offs. Your assistance is greatly appreciated

bp714 · June 2005

Thanks Car-man. You are a lifesaver!

One more thing-- my MSRP and selling price have gone up a bit since my post--more options.!. Now at $51360 with selling price of $49283. The $2000 up front was not a down payment but rather a ballpark estimate of the fees you describe.

Where my calculations fall apart is the taxes. I am subject to 8.75% State and county sales tax on and a 6% per payment Chicago "lease tax".

I have ordered the car and locked in the .00211 MF and 61% residual until I take delivery.

Could you calculate the monthly including tax for me, based on these numbers and associated taxes?

Thanks again--you provide an invaluable service.

texasex1 · June 2005

Is this reasonable, especially at this point in the month/quarter?

Car Specs:

Black/Beige 2.0, AWD, Automatic
Preimium Package
Audio Navigation Plus
Lighting Package
Coldweather Package
Wood Trim

Base Price: $38,995 ($37,995 is the MSRP target according to Edmunds, with a TMV of $37,616)
Lease Price: $37,499 ($35,268 is invoice according to Edmunds)
Downpayment: $2000
Lease Term: 36 months
Moneyfactor/Interest Rate: .0194/4.65%
Residual: 58%

Lease Per Month: $539.21

I have not attempted to negotiate this price at all. I'd like to go for the 17" Alloy Wheels with All Season Tires (live in VA, which gets more snow than you'd think). What are the best levers to try to negotiate to bring down the price?

I plan to definitely try to get any security deposit waived and the moneyfactor lowered, given my credit.

Thanks -- hoping to close this tomorrow.

Kirstie_H · June 2005

A reporter is interested in speaking with baby boomer women who have decided to indulge themselves by buying or leasing a luxurious or dream car. If you live in either Riverside County or San Bernardino County in Southern California and would be interested in speaking with this reporter, please send your name, daytime phone number and the car you purchased or leased to Pam Krebs, Edmunds.com PR, at pkrebs@edmunds.com by end of day Tuesday, June 21. Thank you

cc12359 · June 2005

Dear Carman,

c55 pewter/black with navigation, Lightning
Msrp $59600.00

39mos@ 10,000 miles $ 823.71 with tax on approve credit from lender

With $ 2176.55 drive away

All Tax is included.

Is it a good deal?

steine13 · June 2005

"I believe that the GM "In the Driveway Program" allows non-GM employees to purchase new vehicles at its employee purchase price. In order to take advantage of this program you have to have a GM employee give you a certificate for it."

I bought a car through this in '03, and I was not familiar with the program at the time. I thought it provided you the GM Supplier price and not the Employee price.

There was also talk about $500 coupons associated with the program. I thought I had it figured out that I got the supplier price, the rebates, and the GM Card points. The dealer got the coupon and sold a car.

Anyway, it would be good to know for sure how the program works before using it vs. the "everybody pays GMS" deals going on right now.

Trying to help, and ending up confusing everyone as usual, I remain
-Mathias

pcouv · June 2005

Car Man,

I am a recent college grad planning on moving. I don't know if it would be better to use a dealership where I am now or where I'll be moving. How important is it to lease from a dealership near where you will be living?
-Thanks

pauliep · June 2005

Car Man, do you know the money factor and 12k residuals for the Audi allroad V8 (4.2)?

kywon · June 2005

Carman-

The lease on my second Saab (9-5 Aero) is expiring next month and though I wasn't planning on leasing another Saab, these GM deals may just be too good to pass up.

I've seen a lot of information on the base 9-3 linear, but could I please get the residual and MF on the 9-3 Aero and 9-5 Aero plus any incentives that are compatible with the GM employee discount for these cars on a 2 and 3 year 12k lease?

Thank you very much in advance... for potentially my 3rd lease with your help.

kywon

horsepower2 · June 2005

does anyine know the residual value for Lexus RX330 AWD 2005 after three years and base money factor?

jspears · June 2005

Thanks again Dino and Ddelise,

You are right, I double checked with the dealers and directly with the SAAB customer service that the employee discount price for the car I want is roughly $26K. Then with the added SAAB incentives/rebates it comes down to about $24K.

Anyway, I'm not doing business anymore with Sales#2. I chose another dealership that completely isn't one of the two ladies I mentioned before.

And here is what this sales guy quoted me:

SAAB Linear 9-3 with a manual transmission and a moonroof in a metallic paint

MSRP: 29295
Sales price: 26665
Rebates: 3500
RV: 39%
MF: 0.0015
Term: 48 mo
No down payment, no upfront money, just the first monthly payment
Monthly payment = $345

Does this seem like a good deal? Compared to the one I got from Sales#2 previously, this looks better. What do you experts think? Thanks a bunch again for you opinions.

JS

bondguy1 · June 2005

Local dealer here in Weston Florida, Weston Volvo, had a deal two months ago that for a real 0 down, sign and drive, you could lease the S80 non T6 for 48 Months for $449/month w/ 10,000 miles annually.
I think that given the competetion out there, first of all I would be looking at other cars in this class. But, if you have your heart set on a Volvo, I would think the nicer T6 model with a 39 month lease should lease w/ only inception (approximately $1,500 out of pocket) should be w/ 12,000 miles about 549/month. The figure you were quoted seems awful high. And, price should be the same for lease or purchase because when they lease it to you, the are actually buying the car for the leasing company...there is what's referred to as the cap cost price...or the net price the dealer is leasing you the vehicle at.

jetfan · June 2005

Hi Car_man: Still looking to lease a Rendezvous & need you help. I have two quotes to run by you. The first is for a Rendezvous with A MSRP of 41,825 & an employee price of 36,334. 3 yrs, 12K a year, 1K to drive the car off the lot. $467.00 a month. The second quote is for a Demo with a MSRP of 37,505. It has 6,000 miles on it but was never titled (dealer owner car) so it is being sold new with a full 3yr 36K warranty. Selling price is 31700 with a 22,395 residual. This deal is a smartbuy according to the dealer. If I return the vehicle after the 3yrs I pay a 250 disposal fee. Taxes, Title MV fees are 2728 & the end result is a payment of 414,50 for 3 years 12K a year. I am told that I am getting 1K off the employee price for buying the Demo. My initial thought is the selling price should be much lower for a demo. The Dealer insists it is a "new" car so that is all they are taking off. First of all, how do these deals sound? I live in NJ & normally lease. Is the smartbuy a better deal for me, the same or worse when comapred to a GMAC lease? I thing GMAC provide a 1K smartbuy support to compensate for the taxes of a smartbuy vs. a smart lease. Is that true? Do you have any personal preference regarding Demo cars? Thanks alot.

cadub49er · June 2005

Looking at the special offer that Saab has on the 9-7x Linear SUV on their website, it seems they base the $396 per month on the MSRP of $38,990. My calculations with the $3999 they want down, a $22,224 residual value (about 56-57% as Car_Man calculated in an earlier post) and 12K miles show the money factor to be .0015?. (Car_Man had it at .0024) Are they utilizing a rebate (perhaps the Employee Discount?) to come to those per month figures? The only way I see those numbers make sense is if Saab had a $3500 incentive.

The current MSRP based on the GM Employee Discount is $34,474. Would I use all the same calculations above for residual ($22,224?) and money factor? If they drop the MSRP because of the discount, do you drop the residual value accordingly or do you keep the original residual value of the higher price? (take 56-57% of the $34,474?)

Goal is to put little or no money down and get 15K miles/yr in order to come up with a correct payment. Have been playing around with the Edmunds payment calculator and now I have perplexed myself! Help me please!

Signed
Lease Novice

andy2812 · June 2005

Does anyone know the exact way to calculate the NY sales tax when I am including the tax in the lease payment. I know how to calculate a lease payment when the tax is not included, but I'm not sure when how it is done when you include the tax. I just leased a car and in the lease note, the tax seems to be higher than it should be based on what the payment is. Thanks for any help

ae5555 · June 2005

Dear Car_man!

Can you please post the residual and money factor for 2005 Acura TL WITH NAV.

The numbers i got from the dealer are the following for AHFS:

36 Months/12K miles - 58%

MF without sec deposit - .0025
MF with sec deposit - .0024.

Are these accurate?

Thanks a lot!

stormy111 · June 2005

I would like to know if it is possible to negotiate a lower residual value with higher monthly payments for a lease. Sounds crazy, but I am looking a leasing for 2-3 yrs and buying out at the end of the lease. I can deduct lease payments from my company but not buyout costs, so anyway I can diminish the final buyout figure is desireable. This is sort of an a reverse subvented lease. Due to high mileage (20k/yr), it usually is easier to buy out car instead of turning it back and paying for miles. Right now, I am looking at either a Honda CR-V, Toyota Highlander or Ford Freestyle.

Thanks in advance.

texasex1 · June 2005

Car Man,

Sorry, one more thing to add . . . this is for 15K miles per year. Thanks.

danf1 · June 2005

To lower your residual, just get more miles. Some banks will allow up to 25,000 per year. They lower the residual to adjust for miles.

kyfdx · June 2005

This is true... The last time I bought extra miles for a Honda, they reduced the residual by $0.10 for each mile.. 9000 extra miles lowered my residual by $900.

If you want to lower the residual substantially, just add 30K miles.. that will lower the residual by $3000 over a 45K lease... and add about $80/mo. to the payment..

If that isn't enough, some banks will allow you to just lower the residual... They have no reason not to...

regards,
kyfdx

jb3z28 · June 2005

I am currently pricing a balloon payment on an 05 Dodge Ram Quad Cab Hemi with a MSRP of ~ 34K. I was quoted at about $350 a month for 39 months with just taxes down. The dealer told me the $3500 rebate advertised on Dodge.com was not as good a program as the $2000 rebate because of the interest rate. I am unsure if he is blowing smoke. He also had the interest rate change a few times while negotiating. I was told the residual was around $18887. Should I be able to get a better interest rate than he is telling me I believe about 6.6%? And does anyone know anything more about the incentives or where I can get a no bull answer? :mad:

brentkhack · June 2005

Went to the dealership today and they had what I wanted with a MSRP of $41955 and the lease pmts they gave were $642 for 36/36 and $667 for 36/45. Does this sound right? I really like this unit, but with those pmts they quoted are waaaay outta my range. What other nice SUV might be out there around the $500 range. I am thinking about the RX330, FX35, and H3, would those work? Need help with this. Thanks in advance.

rroyce10 · June 2005

... **If that isn't enough, some banks will allow you to just lower the residual... They have no reason not to...**

You lost me here .. unless your paying the payment difference, they have every reason "not" to ......

Terry.

stormy111 · June 2005

That's interesting - when I had talked with the Ford dealer, they wouldn't reduce the residual dollar for dollar based on buying additional upfront miles. I think that for another 24,000 miles it would cost $3600 (3 yr * 8k/yr @ .15/mile), the residual on a 30k Freestyle would only drop by about 7%, or $2000.

Also, has anyone had good experience with a bank which does car leasing in the Hartford/New Haven, CT area? The only leasing I have seen offered is via the dealer.

Thanks again.

cadub49er · June 2005

jspears....In what area are you located? did they quote 36 month for you?

delrick · June 2005

I too tried to understand what the Saab 9-7X lease deal was.

Since I qualify for GMS financing the old fashioned way, I was hoping to work a deal on an Arc for about the same money as the retail offer on the Linear.

The numbers seem to be beyond the ability of anyone to justify, and my dealer also said that the ad ws in error in that it wasn't a 12K/year mileage limit but 10K...

Walked next door and leased a BMW X3 for $400/month.....

CarMan@Edmunds · June 2005

Welcome back, darthken. I'm always amazed when someone comes back and tells me that the lease that I helped them out with three or four years ago is about to expire. Here is the information that you are looking for on your replacement vehicle. If you were to lease a 2005 Honda Odyssey EX through American Honda Finance Corp. right now for 36 months with 12,000 miles per year, its base lease money factor and residual value should be .00245 and 57%, respectively. This money factor assumes that you pay a security deposit equivalent to your van's monthly payment rounded up to the nearest $25 increment. I believe that AHFC will waive its security deposit requirement in exchange for an increase of around .00010 or .00015 in your vehicle's money factor.

While there is a chance that some automakers will enhance their incentives for the 4th of July weekend, I personally doubt that Honda will do anything on the 2005 Odyssey. It really hasn't provided any sort of support on this van since the redesigned version was introduced.

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CarMan@Edmunds · June 2005

You're welcome briana. As far as the 2005 Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo 4WD goes, if you were to lease one through Chrysler Financial right now for 36 months with 12,000 miles per year, its base lease money factor and residual value should be .00206 and 53%, respectively. When negotiating your lease on this truck, make sure to take the $2,500 lease cash that is currently available on it into account. Also, DaimlerChrysler is giving consumers who trade in a vehicle on a new one an additional $1,000 bonus this month.

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CarMan@Edmunds · June 2005

Andy2812, 15,000 miles per year is the highest mileage allowance that Infiniti Financial Services, and most banks for that matter, publishes residual values for. If you need to drive more miles than this per year, you will have to purchase additional miles on a per-mile basis. It is less expensive to do so at lease signing than it is to wait until lease-end and have to pay an excess mileage penalty. I am not sure exactly how much IFS charges for each additional mile purchased at signing, but your dealer should be able to tell you. This model's money factor will be the same, regardless of your mileage allowance.

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CarMan@Edmunds · June 2005

Hello Paul. I just scrolled back and looked at the posts that you mentioned. It may be possible for you to get the same monthly payment on the Nissan Maxima that you are interested in without having to make such a large down payment. In order for this to be possible, you have to negotiate a lower selling price on this car. I am not intimately familiar with what the market is like for the Maxima in your area right now, but you should be able to get a good idea by stopping by the following discussion: "Nissan Maxima: Prices Paid & Buying Experience". When negotiating your lease on the '05 Maxima, make sure to take the $500 lease cash that Nissan is providing on it this month into account.

Vehicles' residual values are not negotiable. They are set by the bank that you are leasing through and individual dealers do not have the authority to change them. Vehicles' base money factors are also not negotiable, but you have to make sure that the dealer that you are working with is not marking-up a bank's base money factor to add additional back-end profit to your deal. This sort of thing is completely legal and happens all the time, through it is much more likely to happen on a European luxury vehicle, like a Mercedes-Benz or BMW, than it is on a Nissan Maxima.

As far as the Nissan Altima lease that you mentioned goes, you never mentioned the selling price or MSRP of this car. These are important number for you as a consumer to know for two reasons. First, the selling prices of leased vehicles can be negotiated, just as if you were paying cash for them. Without knowing this car's selling price in relation to its MSRP you don't know how much of a discount you are getting on it. The second reason is that one needs the selling price and MSRP, including the destination charge, of a vehicle to calculate its lease payment. I would be more than happy to work up a sample lease payment on the car that you are interested in for you if you let me know what these numbers are.

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CarMan@Edmunds · June 2005

Aloha surfsome. Welcome to the Edmunds.com Forums and welcome to the wonderful world of leasing. Honda has a very attractive lease program on the Accord right now. One thing that I noticed about the lease that you were quoted though is the large 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 the Accord that you are interested in would be exactly the same, regardless of whether you had put $4,000 down, or had made absolutely no down payment at all.

It is difficult for me to say which of these deals will end up being more expensive for you because we really don't know exactly what the future value of the Grand Am that you are considering will be. However, I think that it is fairly safe to say that the used car will end up costing your less, baring any unforeseen major repairs, after three years than a lease of a brand new Accord will.

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CarMan@Edmunds · June 2005

Hi Dave. The lease program for an ordered 2006 model year Audi A4 will be different than it currently is for the 2005.5 model, but I suppose that you could look at the current car's lease program to give you a general idea as to what your monthly payment will be on your ordered car. Audi Financial Services' current 36 month, 15,000 miles per year base lease money factor and residual value for the 2005.5 A4 2.0T quattro sedan should be .00135 and 56%, respectively. Using these numbers, an MSRP of $40,110 and a selling price of $38,374 I come up with a zero down, pre-tax monthly payment of around $525 for this car.

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CarMan@Edmunds · June 2005

Hi kmouradian. The lease rate and residual value that you were told for a 3 year, 12,000 miles per lease of a 2005 Cadillac CTS through GMAC are correct. In most states, GMAC charges a lease acquisition fee of $595. Its security deposit requirement is your vehicle's monthly payment rounded up to the nearest $25 increment. GM's lease cash on the '05 CTS does vary regionally. In most of the country, it is providing $1,100 lease cash on this car right now, but in states that have a high concentration of its employees GM sweetened its lease program on a number of models this month to make up for the fact that everyone qualifies for the GM employee purchase program. $1,100 Lease Cash for 24-48 mo. GMAC leases in all regions. Specifically, GM is providing an additional $1,500 lease cash, $2,600 total, on this car in Michigan, Kentucky, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and in parts of Indiana, New York, and West Virginia.

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CarMan@Edmunds · June 2005

Carefree, did you say $726.80 a month to lease a Volvo S80?!?! Yikes. One can lease any one of a number of awesome cars for that much money per month. The dealer that you spoke with was correct when they told you that the dealer cash that Volvo is providing on the '05 S80 is no compatible with Volvo Finance's special lease program. However, if one was to lease this car through a bank other than Volvo Finance they would be able to take advantage of a whopping $8,500 cash incentive. If you were to lease a 2005 Volvo 2.5T FWD through Volvo Finance right now for 36 months with 12,000 miles per year, its base lease money factor and residual value should be .00017 and 55%, respectively. Interestingly, the numbers for an otherwise identical lease of a 2005 Volvo S80 2.5T AWD should be exactly the same. If you let me know the full MSRP and selling price of the car or cars that you are interested in, I would be more than happy to calculate sample lease payments on them for you.

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CarMan@Edmunds · June 2005

Thanks 1nomadic. In order for me to give you an idea of what these cars' lease programs are currently like, I need you to tell me how long you want to lease them for and how many miles per year you need to be able to drive them. It is difficult to say what Acura's July lease program for these cars will be like. However given the fact that it has not been providing any sort of lease support on these cars, banks' standard interest rates have been gradually climbing, and July begins a new quarter in which AHFC may publish lower residual values for these models, there is a good chance that one or both of these cars will be more expensive to lease next month than they are in June.

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CarMan@Edmunds · June 2005

Thank you andre1. I believe that GMAC's lease program is the same for the 2005 Cadillac CTS-V as it is for the plain CTS this month. In addition to the employee discount that you mentioned, the '05 CTS-V is eligible for the $1,100 GMAC lease cash and the additional regional lease cash that I mentioned a few posts ago.

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CarMan@Edmunds · June 2005

Thanks for taking the time to repost your original question, stixpixx. It is much easier for me to answer questions for community members who do so rather than having to scroll back through tons of messages to find the one that they are interested in having me respond to. If you were to lease a 2006 Infiniti M35 Sport through Infiniti Financial Services this month for 36 months with 15,000 miles per year, its base lease money factor and residual value should be .00199 and 61%, respectively. The numbers for an otherwise identical 39 month lease of this car should be .00205 and 60%. If you were to lease it with 12,000 miles per year instead of 15,000, its residual values would be 1% higher for these terms. At lease signing, IFS will require you to pay your car's first month's payment, an acquisition fee of $550 (it is higher in some states), a security deposit equivalent to your vehicle's payment rounded up to the nearest $25 increment, any capitalized cost reduction that you choose to make, and any required state taxes or fees. Using the prices that you mentioned in your post, an MSRP of $49,910 and a selling price of $47,410, I estimate a 39 month, 15,000 miles per year, zero down, pre-tax monthly payment of around $607.

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CarMan@Edmunds · June 2005

You're very welcome bp714. Using the new prices that you mentioned, an MSRP of $51,360 and a selling price of $49,283, I estimate that a 2005 Infiniti M35 AWD would have a 39 month, 15,000 miles per year, zero down, pre-tax monthly payment of around $631. I always calculate monthly lease payments before tax for community members because the sales tax rates and the rules for calculating it on leased vehicles vary so much from area to area.

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CarMan@Edmunds · June 2005

Let's take a look at the lease that you were quoted texasex1. The first thing that jumps out at me is the $2,000 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 the Audi A4 that you are interested in would be exactly the same, regardless of whether you had put $2,000 down, or had made absolutely no down payment at all.

Also, Audi Financial Services' base lease money factor for the 2005.5 A4 2.0 Sedan is currently only .00135. It looks to me as though you were quoted a money factor of .00194, which leads me to believe that the dealer that you are working with may be trying to mark-up this car's base money factor to add additional back-end profit to your deal. Consumers should always insist that a bank's base money factor aka buy rate is used to calculate their vehicle's lease payment. Using the prices that you mentioned in your post, an MSRP of $38,995 and a selling price of $37,499, using AFS' base lease program I come up with a zero down, pre-tax monthly payment of around $463. With a $2,000 capitalized cost reduction, this payment would drop to around $409. As you can see, the payment that you were quoted looks a little high.

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CarMan@Edmunds · June 2005

This is a good month to be in the market for a 2005 Mercedes-Benz C55, cc12359. This is the first time that I believe I have ever seen Mercedes-Benz ever offer any sort of lease support on this model. 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 · June 2005

Hi pcouv. It really is not necessary for you to wait until you move to lease your new vehicle. You should be able to do so from either a dealer that is near your current home or one near your new home. Having said this, if you can afford to wait you may want to consider doing so. I say this for two reasons. The first is that by waiting to lease you won't have to put tons of miles on your car driving it to your new home, or even worse have to pay to transport it there. The second reason is that many dealers give preferential treatment to their own customers when it comes to setting up appointments for service. This normally isn't a huge deal, especially given the fact that you will be moving and have a good explanation as to why you didn't buy your car from the dealer that will do your service work, but all things being equal it never hurts to buy your vehicle from the dealer that you plan on using from service work.

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CarMan@Edmunds · June 2005

Hi pauliep. I have seen this car's current lease program. However in order for me to give you an idea of what it is like, I need you to tell me how long you want to lease it for.

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