Lease Questions - Ask Here

carnaught · July 2005

Yes, dealer gave me the numbers.

paulnyc · July 2005

what would be a good lease for 05 murano sle awd
premium package wood grain trim 12,000 miles

paulnyc · July 2005

ps only taxes and dmv up front

shs111 · July 2005

I've settled on the car, have negotiated a purchase but would appreciate your advice on whether a lease is a better way to go (never leased before). The cash price is $44,585, I'm getting a 60 month loan at 5.8% (likely will pay off early, but figured it's worth getting the loan until I rearrange the finances). Am financing $30K of the car, balance is coming through a trade and add'l cash down.

Alternatively, the dealer offered me a 48 month lease, 12K miles per year, at $585 monthly including tax.

I typically drive under 10,000 miles a year, and keep a car anywhere up to 7 years (although in recent years far less than that).

Each way I run the numbers, it seems as though it's a toss-up to lease or buy, and everyone I know says "don't lease if you can buy."

Your thoughts?

jody5 · July 2005

My husband and I want to order a Toyota 4Runner Limited, loaded; but in discussing leasing with the dealer required about $4000 down to get payments of around $550. Is the down really required and if not where does that down money go? Commissions dollars to the salesman? Thanks!

drew10 · July 2005

Car_man,

A different type of question for you. I know that to get the money factor you divide the % lending rate by 2400, and to get the % lending rate you multiply the money factor by 2400. And I know this is true regardless of the length of the lease. Just out of curiosity, what is the significance of 2400. Where does it come from ? Thanks.

rablaw · July 2005

Good question and I would like to "tag along" on your question to CarMan, who seems to be the expert on leasing. I got a quote from Hillside Subaru for a 2006 Forester X , auto, with Prem Package and options F6W, KYE and F6N.
For a 39 month lease, 15K miles/year and $2,000 down, the quote was for a monthly payment of $374.14 including all taxes and fees.

It was like pulling teeth to get all the financials. The best I could get was:
residual value of 54%; Adjusted resid. value of $13,807.80; Buy rate of .0024 (Subaru rates-- iI assume this is the money factor?);
Cap Cost: $24,275.07; taxes $676.51 (6% in NJ);
inception fees (bank fee and first payment) $1,005.56; Downpayment (after inception fees) of $1,484.44 (includes $500 rebate)

I could not get a fixed number for the actual price of the car.

Any thoughts on the terms, CarMan?

BTW, ActionDan, what dealers have you considered? Which was easiest to deal with?
Thanks.
rablaw

actiondan · July 2005

I have only went to one dealer in person (Richard Lucas Subaru in Avenel). They were not high pressure or anything but I definitly think I can do better on the price.I just got done eating out and when I was getting in my car a guy parked next to me in a brand new 2006 Forester X with the Premium Package. He said he bought his car at World Subaru in Tinton Falls, NJ. I did not ask him how much he paid but he said he shopped around a lot and he lives in New York and they gave him the best price (He bought it, not a lease). I may get an online quote from them. It does seem like a lot for a lease on a $23,000 car ( $26,000 for the Premium Package). I really like the car though and Subaru makes a great product. I really would think I could get a 2006 X for under $300.00 a month on a lease. If I can not get a better price on a lease I may just outright buy it.

deejay2099 · July 2005

Thanks a lot Car_man, and Sandy too. I will see what I can dig up on the vehicles you both mention. With all the promotions I have seen recently I am hopeful to swing an Altima or Accord for $200.
Best regards to you.

rablaw · July 2005

Whoops,
I mixed up the 36 and 39 mo. figures.
for 39 month lease:

money factor is the same - .0024; , but res. value is 52% Adj res value is $13,296.40
Taxes $707.20 Cap cost is $24,295.83
Thanks again.
rablaw

rablaw · July 2005

Yes, I agree. we can both do better.

I emailed requests for quotes from several dealers, through Edmunds. Hillside Subaru was the ONLY one to respond.

vista · July 2005

Please provide me the current (i.e., July) money factor and residual for a 36 month lease at 15k/year for the 2005 Acura RL, 2005 A6 3.2, and 2006 Infiniti M35X. Also, do I understand that Infiniti makes it possible to lower the money factor by making additional security deposits? Thanks in advance for your help!

chunglau · July 2005

Hi Car_Man:

I would appreciate it very much if you can calculate my lease payments, assuming minimum down. '06 M-B E350, MSRP: $50,850. Sales price: $48,000. Invoice: $47,322. 39 month lease with 12K miles/year. Tax rate is 8.25%. Thanks.

davehoutx · July 2005

Car_Man,

I am looking at doing a 3 year 15k mile/year lease on a 2005 4Runner SR5 V6 in Houston, Texas. I was wondering if you have the residual and lease factor numbers for such a vehicle. I think I am in TFS Gulf Coast region. I certainly appreciate the help!

-Dave

jeffkahn · July 2005

On Edmunds.com, one of the incentives they are listing is a 229 per month lease for a Saab 9-3 Linear. However, the lease is for 24 months with 3k down. Does that sound like a good deal? Are 24 month leases normal (I am use to seeing 3 years)? Also, with GM employee pricing, does leasing even make sense?

Thanks for your help!
Jeff Kahn

CarMan@Edmunds · July 2005

You've definitely come to the right place Grace. 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.

I would be more than happy to calculate a lease payment on the Honda Accord that you are interested in for you to give you an idea of how much you will have to spend to get it, but I need you to provide me with its full MSRP first. As far as gap insurance goes, I believe that American Honda Finance Corp. (Honda's captive finance company through which most Honda leases are run) includes gap insurance at no additional charge in its leases. If this is indeed the case, there would be no need to pay extra for it.

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CarMan@Edmunds · July 2005

Domer, the lease money factor that you were quoted to lease this car is too high. Infiniti Financial Services current base lease money factor and residual value for a 39 month, 15,000 miles per year lease of a 2006 Infiniti M35 Sport should be .00205 and 60%, respectively. Using these numbers, an MSRP of $50,090, and a selling price of $49,200, I come up with a zero down, pre-tax monthly payment of around $654. To arrive at this payment, you will have to pay a security deposit and IFS' lease acquisition fee of $550 (in most states).

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CarMan@Edmunds · July 2005

Here you go kyfdx. If you were to lease a 2005 Honda Accord EX 4 cyl. sedan through AHFC right now for 3 years with 12,000 miles per, its base lease money factor and residual value should be .00112 and 54%, respectively.

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CarMan@Edmunds · July 2005

Hi cyclone4evr. According to the latest information that I have seen, if you were to lease a 2005 Honda Pilot EX without navigation or a rear entertainment system through American Honda Finance Corp. for 36 months with 15,000 miles per year, its base lease money factor and residual value should be .00119 and 59%, respectively. The residual value for an otherwise identical lease with only 12,000 miles per year would be 2% higher.

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CarMan@Edmunds · July 2005

Hey Grace. The addition of a leather interior or PZEV will not have any impact upon the Accord's lease program.

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CarMan@Edmunds · July 2005

Hi savvy2. 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.

The first two numbers that you need to know when negotiating a lease of a vehicle are its full MSRP and selling price. The selling prices of leased vehicles can be negotiated, just as if you were paying cash for them. It is much simpler to negotiate the best possible selling price on the vehicle that you want to lease than it is to let dealers play with its payment. Once you have arrived at an attractive selling price, try to find out the lease money factor and residual value that are being used to calculate your vehicle's lease payment. It is important to know your vehicle's money factor because dealers often have the ability to mark-up banks' base money factors for vehicles to add additional back-end profit to deals. Toyota Financial Services, current 36 month, 12,000 miles per year base lease money factor and residual value for a lease of a 2005 Sienna (non-Limited) should be .00142 and 61%, respectively. You can plug these numbers into the formula that is outlined in the article that I provided a link to to calculate an approximate monthly payment on the van that you want.

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CarMan@Edmunds · July 2005

Congratulations on your expected twins Andy. I am sure that must have been quite a surprise. I am sorry to say that it is usually fairly expensive to get out of leases well before their scheduled end dates. In order to do so, you need to purchase the vehicle that you are currently leasing from the bank that you are leasing it through. It often turns out that it costs more to do so than your vehicle is worth on the open market. Furthermore, many banks expect consumers who end their leases early to still make all, or at least the depreciation portion of their remaining lease payments. As you can see, this can get very expensive.

You can determine approximately how much it will cost you to get out of your current lease by comparing its purchase price to its value on the open market at this time. You should place a call to the bank that you are leasing your vehicle through to find out its exact price. Once you know exactly how much money it is going to cost you to buy your leased vehicle you need to compare it to its current value on the open market. You can find out approximately what your vehicle is worth by looking up its Edmunds.com True Market Value in the Used Vehicle Pricing section of this site. You also may want to stop by the following discussion: "Real-World Trade-In Values". One of our most knowledgeable community members, Terry, frequents that discussion and he is often kind enough to give community members who give him an accurate description of their vehicles with his opinion on their value. Don't forget to check to see if you are still on the hook for your remaining lease payments. The difference between your leased vehicle's current value and how much it will cost you to buy it plus any remaining lease payments that you are obligated to pay will equal the cost of getting out of your lease right now. You may find that you are better off waiting until you are closer to the scheduled end of your lease to get another new vehicle.

I don't think that purchasing two new vehicles from the same dealer will strengthen your bargaining position much. If you are a strong negotiator, the last thing that a dealer is going to want to do is sell two vehicles to you for much less profit than they could sell them to a normal customer.

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CarMan@Edmunds · July 2005

Hi salontantra. Consumers are able to purchase their leased vehicles from the banks that they are leasing them through well before the scheduled ends of their leases. However, most banks will not negotiate with consumers who try to purchase their leased vehicles unless they are right around the scheduled end of their deal. Of course, you can always place a call to GMAC to see if they would be willing to work with you, but I highly doubt that they will lower your truck's purchase price at this point.

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CarMan@Edmunds · July 2005

Welcome rspecter. Here is the information that you are looking for. If you were to lease a 2005 Acura TSX without navigation 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 .00235 and 59%, respectively.

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CarMan@Edmunds · July 2005

You're welcome davidw2. You said that you've also been offered a 32 month lease on this car? I don't believe that AHFC offers 32 month leases. You could lease it for 33 months through AHFC. Using the same prices that you mentioned earlier, an MSRP of $35,670 and a selling price of $32,800, I estimate that a 33 month, 15,000 miles per year lease of this car would have a zero down, pre-tax monthly payment of around $503. With only 12,000 miles per year, the payment would drop to around $493.

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CarMan@Edmunds · July 2005

Greetings actiondan. 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.

I wish that I could give you an idea of what Subaru's lease program is currently like on the 2006 Forester, but I have not seen its numbers for this model yet this month. I suggest that you comparison shop with a few dealers for two reasons, to make sure that you are getting the lowest possible selling price and to make sure that the lease money factor that you were quoted is this vehicle's base factor. Once you have established what this vehicle's actual money factor is and have been quoted an attractive price, you can double check how much your monthly payment will be by plugging the numbers that is outlined in the above article.

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CarMan@Edmunds · July 2005

Hello paulnyc. As long as you have not physically taken delivery of your new vehicle yet, you should be able to get out of this deal. Of course, if you give the dealer any money you may have a difficult time getting it back though. If you paid some sort of deposit, be firm, polite, and persistent in your efforts to get it back.

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CarMan@Edmunds · July 2005

Thanks fore the information carnaught. The money factors that you were quoted definitely do not look right. It appears as though the dealer that you are working with is marking up this car's base money factors to add additional back-end profit to your deal. This sort of thing happens all the time, especially with BMW dealers, but it can easily be avoided if you know what your vehicle's actual money factor should be and you shop around. BMW Financial Services' current base lease money factor for a non-pre-paid lease of a 2006 BMW 325i should be only .00250 for leases up to 42 months in length. I am not sure what sort of reduction BMW FS provides for pre-payment, but let's say that it is the .00070 difference in the earlier factors that you were quoted. That would put the base pre-paid money factor for this car at around .00180.

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CarMan@Edmunds · July 2005

Hi nlproductions. I am not personally all that familiar with what the market is like for the Mercedes-Benz SLK right now, but you may be able to get an idea by stopping by the following discussion: "Mercedes-Benz SLK: Prices Paid & Buying Experiences". In answer to your second question, Mercedes-Benz Credit's 2 and 3 year, 15,000 miles per residual values for the 2006 SLK280 are currently 67% and 62%, respectively. The residuals for an otherwise identical lease of a 2006 SLK350 should be 66% and 61%, respectively. Mercedes is not currently providing any sort of lease money factor support on these cars. As a result, if you were to lease one through Mercedes-Benz Credit you would have to use its standard lease money factors. The last time that I saw it, its base standard factor for consumers who qualify for its top credit tier was around .00395 for 2 years and .00335 for 3 years.

For feedback on how much you should expect to get for your BMW if you trade it in, look 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.

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CarMan@Edmunds · July 2005

Hi paulnyc. 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 Murano that you are interested in for you if you let me know what these numbers are. When you provide me with these numbers, I also need you to tell me how long you want to lease it for.

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rbevz67 · July 2005

Hi Car_Man,

Could you please give the residual and MF for the 2005 Altime 2.5s assuming 36mo and 15,000miles. Thanks so much...if the residual is around the 57% you quoted for the 3.5se, I may opt for the smaller guy

ihowe · July 2005

I am considering the purchase or lease of a 2005 Infiniti G35 sedan, 5 speed auto, Premium B package with sport suspension. From this website, the TMV pricing, the MSRP is $35,710, invoice is $32,600, and the "what others are paying" is $32,962.

I have a couple of concerns about leasing. The largest is, I have never leased a car before and the negotiating of a lease seems more complicated than a purchase. But, people lease everyday and with some research, I suppose I could negotiate this also.

My main concern though is the mileage this car will be driven. It will be my wife's car and she hardly drives any miles. Her current car is 35 months old and has 25,000 miles. Just today she has taken a new position in her company that moved her closer to home. Her round trip from home to work to home is now 4 miles.

Based on Infiniti's lease, it would be 39 months and 12,000 miles per year, or 39,000 miles for the entire lease. Based on her new job, I am estimating less than 25,000 miles for 39 months. If I were to do a lease, and turn it in at the end, I feel as if I would be leaving many miles on the table, miles that I paid for and did not use. And if at the end of the lease I purchased the car, then I have to ask why I do not just purchase it up front.

Any advice?

Thanks,
Ian

liandyk · July 2005

Hi car man. I am new to this forum. I am interested in leasing a Nissan Murano S with only the convience package. I was told MSRP is $30,600 with actual price
at $28,068. Residual is 58%, money factor is 0.00104. Lease is for 39 months at
at 15k miles/year. I was quoted (telephone) $349 month with all fees except security deposit of $350, and taxes rolled in. I am a NY state resident. My question to you is if this is a good monthly rate.
Also, do you think the rate/money factor will go down for Aug?
thanks,

jjfarrell3 · July 2005

I leased a new Saab 9-3 in january and the car is great but I grossly underestimated the amount of miles that I am driving due to a job change. The lease calls for 20 cents a mile over 36,000 (3 year lease) and right now I'm trending for twice that. What are my options?

leaseshopper · July 2005

Can you give me some feedback about this lease offer?

06 BMW 325i, manual transmission, power seats, sat prep. purchase price 31,165. MF .00265, Residual 20,500. 36/mo.. pmt 472.01/mo. At closing 1247.60 (includes 1st pmt, security dep (which he says can be used as the last pmt), title and tax. Does not include tag).

Thanks!

pacer · July 2005

Hi Car Man,
Could you tell me what the typical lease payments are for the following:
Lease terms:
3 year 15,000 per year
Zero down sign and drive
Honda CRV - SE
Honda Pilot

Thank you

kyfdx · July 2005

Car_man will need the MSRP to calculate the payment..

ajf46 · July 2005

I am brand new to car leasing. Does anyone have any expertise or advice on leasing a new Volvo XC70? I am interested in getting a model with most of the "extras." Any advice or knowledge or pricing would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

nancy12 · July 2005

I have a question about leasing. My dealership buys back leases and I'm not sure how this works or if it is worth it. My car is a 2004 Jetta, I put 4 grand down, I have 18 months left on the lease, my payments are $269 a month and I am 4,000 miles below what I should be at. Car is in great shape. If I sell it back, what should I expect to get? Thanks for your response.

tiger93 · July 2005

(A) You could try to transfer the car to someone else using http://www.swapalease.com/ or http://www.leasetrader.com/. Throw in some "incentive money" to entice someone to pick up your lease payments. That would be better done sooner rather than later while there are still miles available to drive on the lease for a new owner.

(B) You could continue to drive the car until it reaches 36k miles in a year or so. At that point, every additional mile you drive costs you $.20 in penalty. Find out what the early purchase/termination costs are at that specific point in the lease and calculate how many miles you can drive at $.20/mile to equal that termination amount. Once your mileage penalty equals your termination charges, you can logically take the hit to end the lease knowing that continued driving will only net you a bigger loss.

(C) You could also drive the car until the lease expires and then buy it for the residual you agreed to.

The big problem with (B) and (C) is that you now own a car that has a ton of miles and you're upside down in it. I did the same thing with a past leased car. Bought it at the end of the lease and then promptly sold it to a guy. If I had turned the car into the leasing company, I would have owed $4,000 in mileage penalty (yes, I drove the wheels off it :sick: ). But instead, I sold it to him for $3,000 less than I had paid for it. My net loss was $3,000 instead of $4,000.

bmwshopper1 · July 2005

Hello,
Please advise, what is the current money factor rate for current owner of a BMW still making payments to BMW Financial, I understand a loyalty rate may be offered. Also, what is the current % residual for X5's? Lastly, can you tell me if residual % is on net cap cost or purchase price? Thanks.

mbx4steve · July 2005

Hello Car_man, so what's the money factor that Volvo is using now for the current lease program for 2005 models? Please let me know ASAP as I am ready to go in for the final negotiations.

Please also advise on the lowest M.F. I should be able to get from Volvo or independent banks if I have an excellent FICA score of 750+ for a 3 year 12k mile/yr lease. I was told by one dealer that the higher the FICA score, the better rates I could get.

And what would be the residual % for 10K and 12K leases?

Finally, you are absolutely right about not paying a big down for a lease. I made that mistake before and I should learn from it. I had leased a 2004 S60 and it was rear-ended by a drunk driver at 40 mph while I sat dead-stop in traffic. I received back and neck pains but walked away without internal injuries or cuts. But the 6 month old car was totaled. The insurance company paid $25K to cover a $27K outstanding lease (the gap insurance picked up the rest). But I lost my down payment (a $4,500 trade in) essentially.

colombianking · July 2005

ok... I am currently financing a used 2002 Toyota Camry that started with 16,000 miles this past saturday and I was wondering if its possible to bring my car back to just lease it instead....reason being is that i would like to save more per month so I can get a house sooner. I am currently paying $435 with 14.5% @ 60 months....obviously my credit is not in the best shape but i figure a two year lease can help my credit and then i will finance another car at maybe 5% or as low as 0%. Do you think its worth trying?

bethc · July 2005

I wanted to thank you for the help you provided in negotiating my new lease. I went in with all my facts and figures from you, spoke directly with the sales manager who said: "you can't know all this," and got the best deal you could imagine in about 10 minutes. It gave me tremendous confidence in the negotiation to know the numbers which took the mystery out of the process. Just wanted to let you know it works! Thanks very much. Beth

jeffkahn · July 2005

Does this sound like a good lease:

Volvo XC90 AWD 2.5T with Climate, Versatility, and Premium.
He claims MSRP is 43,579 (according to Edmunds it is 43955). He is basing lease on value of 37,995. According to Edmunds, invoice is 40,755.
36 months and 12k miles per year
$5k down
Monthly rate: 400.13 (before tax), 433.14 (after tax)

Any help is much appreciated...

Jeff Kahn

davidw2 · July 2005

Thanks Car Man. Just one more question. Your calculations seem to be based on a money factor from American Honda Finance Corp. of .00235. The dealer I've been speaking to swears that the money factor "set by Honda that cannot be negotiated" is .00245. Is he being dishonest? Thanks!

davidw2

rbevz67 · July 2005

Hi Car_Man,

Could you please give the residual and MF for the 2005 Altime 2.5s and 2.5w/SL package assuming 36mo and 15,000miles. Thanks so much...if the residual is around the 57% you quoted for the 3.5se, I may opt for the smaller guy

will2702 · July 2005

Hey carman or whoever bought a 9-3 SAAB recently,
This is the quote i am getting from one dealer...
2005 9-3 Arc Sedan Black
MSRP: $32320.00
INVOICE: $31075.00
YOUR GM SELLING PRICE: $29536.00
Lease Rebate is $3000.00 ...so price is aprox $26536.00
OPTIONS:Black/Slate Gray Appointed Leather, Sentronic Automatic Transmission

Does the selling price seem too high? because based on the SAAB website the GM discount should be $26,253 and then minus the 3500 lease. Is it me that's missing something or is he trying to hide more money?

sphere99 · July 2005

I am looking to lease in august does anyone have any idea what finance deals might be available? Also has anyone heard if we should wait for the 2006 before buying?

leaseshopper · July 2005

Sorry, MSRP was purchase price + 1500. Thanks!

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