Lease Questions - Ask Here

CarMan@Edmunds · August 2005

Welcome 00ssslp. I can give you an idea of what sort of monthly payment to expect on the truck that you are interested in if you tell me its exact selling price, how long you want to lease it for, and how many miles per year you need to be able to drive it.

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CarMan@Edmunds · August 2005

Yes, ca_man, I believe that Audi is providing its dealers with $1,000 dealer cash to help them sell their leftover 2005 A6 3.2 Sedans. If I am not mistaken, this cash is compatible with AFS' special lease program for this car.

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CarMan@Edmunds · August 2005

OK, birdbird, you are interested in leasing a 2005 Acura RL with an MSRP of $49,100 and an invoice price of $43,714. Given the $2,500 dealer cash incentive for leases of this car through American Honda Finance right now, you should be able to easily get this car for below invoice if there is any competition for your business in your area. For now, let's say that you were able to lease this car for $1,500 below invoice. That would put its selling price at $42,514. According to my calculations, if you were to lease an '05 Acura RL with the above prices through AHFC right now for 36 months with 15,000 miles per year, your zero down, pre-tax monthly payment should be around $573. I suspect that you would be able to roll whatever fees you want into your car's capitalized cost, of course doing so will make its monthly payment increase.

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cableguy1 · August 2005

i have negotiated a lease on a 20051/2 Audi A4 of 36 month for $390/month with $3500 down.For an additional $1800, I can get the additional 9000 miles I need. Is this a decent deal, is the cost for extra miles negotiable? Thanks!!!

kssod1 · August 2005

car_man
how does one determine whether it is better to purchase or buy with the following scenario.
current trade equity $10k , new vehicle (RL) purchase price 44k finance 60mo at 3.9%, apply equity to purchase price thus financing 34k.
vs, lease, cap cost 44k term 36 mo. mf.00235 residual 60-62. no additional money down (ie keep the trade equity).
3 years from now when I go to get another vehicle will i have greater equity in the purchase or in the 10k left from the original. I know if i was to keep the car beyond the term of the loan I would be better off purchasing but i usually trade after warranty 3-4 years

thanks,
kssod

tremere · August 2005

I was looking over the lease calculations formula and working through the example given on Edmunds. It's very interesting how the interest amount is calculated: (Cap Cost + Residual) * Money Factor. The total monthly payment shown is $313.89 (w/o taxes and interest is $122.50)

For comparison, I amortized the depreciation over 36 months using the 9% APR, which gives me a payment of $217.47, which gives interest of $26.08.

There is a large difference between the monthly amounts, almost $100 in interest amount. I was wondering how the interest calculation has been justified?

debra171 · August 2005

Are leases available only through dealerships or can you bring your own lease to the table similar to regular financing? Also, are leases available only on new cars?

kyfdx · August 2005

You aren't just paying interest on the depreciation... You are paying interest on the whole car... After all, the bank that is leasing you the car, has to pay for the whole car upfront..

The reason they add (Cap cost + residual).. is because the average amount of money financed over the life of the lease, is the average of these two figures....

If you lease a car that has a price of $30K and a residual of $18K... You are borrowing between $30K and $18K at all times... (The leasing company just figures it as $24K to get a monthly average)...

regards,
kyfdx

taxd00d · August 2005

Car_man,

Could you tell me the Residual and Money Factor for the Nissan Altima SE, Nissan Altima SL & Nissan Altima SE-R, for 24 and 36 months with 15,000 miles annually?

Also, does the presence or absence of navigation affect the Residual?

Thanks.

fin1581 · August 2005

I forgot to mention that this was for a 36k/36mth. lease with $0 down and taxes rolled into the monthly payments on a Silverado Ext. Cab 4x4 with an MSRP of $37465 and a selling price of $28865 after rebates.

mister22 · August 2005

Hey Car_man,

Can you give me the MF and RV for a 36 month/12k per lease? Thanks.

mister22

tremere · August 2005

Thanks for clearing that up kyfdx. That makes more sense. Looking back at my calculations of amortizing only the depreciation makes it seems that one could lease a vehicle on their credit card(with a low rate of course)

andi4 · August 2005

Car Man,
Thanks so much for your message. It was very helpful. I did not know about the $750 incentive to go through VW Credit. I did know about a $500 loyalty bonus though. Are these the same thing, or can both be applied toward my deal? Also, not sure how they would factor in, since I won't have a down payment. Would you add them up and divide by 36 to see what you would get off your payment? Sorry if this is a silly question :confuse:
I am really ready to make this deal, and I won't be there is person. Would it be a good idea to call and make an offer that is say $20 less a month than your figure since the selling price is high? Then, if he agrees to that, ask about the incentive and loyalty money. Thanks so much, car man...just not really sure about how to negotiate. You have been wonderful and I am thankful beyond belief!
Andi

bobby7 · August 2005

I'm planning to lease a 2006 BMW 330i. I'm ready to go, but I've never leased a car and I want to get a good deal. Can you tell me what questions I should be asking? Who I should be talking to? What a good deal would look like for a 3 year open ended lease for 15k miles/year with an option to buy at the end? These are the features I would like:

2006 330i Sedan - MSRP $36,300
Destination Charge - $695
Monaco Blue Metallic - $475
Premium Package - $2,200
Beige Dakota Leather - included in Premium Package
Poplar Natural Wood Trim
Satellite Radio - $595
Carpeted Floor Mats - $125
6-Disc CD Player - $635

Thanks!

sob · August 2005

Car Man, unable to locate your response to msg # 22876. Expedite where possible.

SOB

poetpindar · August 2005

What is the money factor and the residual for the Honda Odyssey 2005 EX for a 12mi/36mo or a 15mi/36? Also, what is the security deposit amount from Honda leasing? Any help is appreciated... Thanks.

snail · August 2005

Car_man,

What numbers did you use for residual value and money factor?

ibs · August 2005

Ok, something isn't adding up here. Are these figures what you were given by the dealership or by carman? If they are figures from carman, then the difference in payment is the dealer trying to get some extra cash out of the deal. On the other hand, if they are the figures the dealer gave you, something isn't right. I know toyota does wierd things with residual value calculations, perhaps the manufacturer here does the same thing? That's more of a question for carman since I don't really know.

By my calculations given the numbers you have, your payment should be roughly 535 pre-tax. Depending on where you live, tax will be different, but assuming you're in a state that the tax is based on use (rather than the full amount of the car), then you would multiply the 535 by the tax rate and add that number back in. IN my location, the tax is 5.1% which gives a total payment with tax of roughly 561.

535+(535*.051)=561

Now the dealer may be quoting you the with tax price, and depending on your tax rate, that might be the difference (although that's like a 15% tax rate to get to $615). As such, if the dealer gave you these numbers, he's probably hiding something on you.

Unlike carman, I am not privy to all of the money factors, etc that would be involved, so I cannot help you with 15K or 20K.

vynom · August 2005

Thank you for the information Car_man. Could you tell me the MF and residual for the 42 month lease? I am thinking about going for that instead. Thanks again.

newbmw1 · August 2005

Thnaks for your reply. I am interested in a 36 month lease.

jimsfx · August 2005

Hi Car_man,

I live in SoCal and have been offered the deal below on a 2005 FX35, with Touring, Sport, and Technology packages, as well as Splash Guards and a Cargo Area Protector. I wonder what you think of the deal based on your current Infiniti lease knowledge and can I do any better? The term is 36 months and 15K miles per year.

Thanks in advance for your input.

Jim

MSRP $46,470 (includes destination charge)
Cap Cost $42,392
Residual $28,122
Money Factor 1.5
Payment $505.69 + tax
Drive-off $1,536 (includes 1st payment, DMV, Bank fee ($550), tax and doc fee)

babydoc · August 2005

Carman,
Having given up on the Volvo, I am now looking at a G35x 2005 version
The only extra is the premium package.
MSRP is 37100.
Adj cap is 34512
MF is 0.00113
RV is 59%
This is for a 36 month, no money down, 12k per year lease.

Can you tell me if this is a reasonable deal? The dealer says he's 500 over invoice on this car, which sounds ok to me. I am not necessarily after the cheapest possible price, just a reasonable offer with the least hassle.
Thanks in advance

carasap · August 2005

Car Man, Honda is offering some special low lease options for the LX Accord and im interested in getting one...The dealer told me today that he would offer me a 3 yr 12,000 mile, with 0 down and 245/month then plus tax, with a residual value of 11300. I want to know what is the MF that they are using right now, and i know that there are some dealer discounts out there, but how would i find out what they are and get the lowest monthly payment possible. Oh, im also a recent grad if thats gonna make any difference

This is my first car that I would be leasing (then most likely buying at the end of the lease)

Thanks for the help

papajoe · August 2005

I would like to know the Money Factor I should expect to receive from Chrysler Financial Corporation... I have some rough numbers as follows...

3 year / 15000 miles
MSRP: 33570
Employee Price: 28795 - Selling price before rebates
Rebates: 4500
Payment: 342.25
1st Payment: 815.45
Residual: 17792

Thanks for the help...
--PapaJoe

multiplechoice · August 2005

Hi Car_man, my friend is interested in a 36mo lease, 15K/yr on the '05 Chevy Equinox LT. Can you tell me what the money factor and residual would be for this vehicle? (We are in southern california). Thanks for your help!

CarMan@Edmunds · August 2005

Hi Chet. 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. You should be able to get an idea of how much you will have to pay for this car by visiting the following discussion: "BMW 3-Series: Prices Paid & Buying Experience". It gets tons of traffic from community members who have recently purchased this car.

As far as your credit score goes, some banks have a tiered system that provided different lease money factors to consumers depending upon what their credit score is. BMW Financial Services uses more of a pass-fail system. Either consumers qualify for its special lease program or they don't.

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CarMan@Edmunds · August 2005

Hi sob. I believe that Toyota's Gulf States region, much like its Southeast region, is a little different than the rest of the country in that its vehicles are not sold directly to the public there, but through a distributorship. Unfortunately, I have not seen Toyota's current lease program for the Avalon in your area. I suspect that it's not very good though because in all of the areas that I have seen Toyota's incentives and lease programs for it is not providing any sort of support on the 2005 Avalon. Sorry that I could not be of more help.

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CarMan@Edmunds · August 2005

I would be more than happy to give you an idea of what this truck's lease program is currently like, fin1581. However, in order for me to do so I need you to tell me how long you want to lease it for and how many miles per year you need to be able to drive it.

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CarMan@Edmunds · August 2005

Hello evilgenius. Let's see if I can answer some of your questions.

1) Vehicles' lease-end purchase prices are based upon their residual values. You can calculate what your car or truck's lease-end purchase price will be by multiplying its full MSRP including destination plus the MSRPs of any options that can be residualized by its original residual value percentage. Having said this, some banks will negotiate the purchase prices of leased vehicles from time to time.

2) If you like your leased vehicle, it has never been in an accident, and it is worth several thousand dollars more than its purchase option price on the open market, it definitely would be a good idea to purchase it. Even though it's worth more than its purchase price, it never hurts to see if the bank that you are leasing through will lower its purchase price anyhow.

3) To attempt to negotiate your vehicle's lease-end purchase price, place a call to the bank that you are leasing it through a month or two before its scheduled end. If your initial contact at the bank is not willing to work with you, try working your way up the ladder to a manager. During your negotiations, make sure to give the impression that your vehicle is right at its mileage limit. If it is way under, it will be worth more and they may want it back. It is is way over, they may want the excess mileage penalty that you would have to pay.

4) You can take a vehicle that is worth more than its purchase option price and attempt to trade it in on a new car or truck, using any overage as a down payment.

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CarMan@Edmunds · August 2005

Hello newbe4lease. You certainly can trade in your Jeep Liberty when you lease the new Hyundai Tuscon that you are interested in. If you decide to do so, it would be in your best interest to have the dealer that you trade it in to cut you a check for it rather than using the proceeds as a capitalized cost reduction (aka down payment) for your lease. 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 Tuscon would be exactly the same, regardless of whether you had put several thousand dollars down, or had made absolutely no down payment at all.

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CarMan@Edmunds · August 2005

Hi cableguy1. Most banks charge a fixed cost for additional miles over 15,000 miles per year. You never mentioned the selling price or MSRP of the car that you are interested in leasing. These are important numbers 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 · August 2005

Hi kssod. If I was in the market for an Acura RL right now, I personally would lease it. I say this because Acura is currently providing dealers with a $2,500 cash incentive on 2005 RLs that are leased through American Honda Finance Corp., but no special incentives that are financed or paid for with cash. If you decide to lease, just make sure to have the dealer that you trade your current car into cut you a check for it rather than using the proceeds as a down payment on your new lease.

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vynom · August 2005

Car_man, what are the MF and residual values for the murano on the 48 month with 15K year lease? Thanks again for any info.

CarMan@Edmunds · August 2005

Debra171, consumers must go through dealers to lease vehicles through manufacturers' captive finance companies, like BMW Financial Services and American Honda Finance Corp. These are the banks that the majority of leases are run through. There are still some independent banks that lease vehicles out there, like Hahn Financial and Chase, but even these banks really do not deal directly with the general public. If you can find a bank that will deal with you, you certainly can use them to lease your new vehicle. However, the vast majority of banks that have attractive lease programs only work with dealers.

Consumers can lease used vehicles, however it often turns out that because of the lack of support on used vehicle leases that they are as expensive as a lease on an equivalent new vehicle would be. Having said this, some manufacturers, such as BMW, do support used vehicle leases and have attractive leases on them from time to time.

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CarMan@Edmunds · August 2005

Here is the information that you are looking for taxd00d. If you were to lease a 2005 Nissan Altima SE through Nissan Motor acceptance Corp. right now for 2 years with 15,000 miles per, its base lease money factor and residual value should be .00175 and 66%, respectively. The numbers for an otherwise identical 3 year lease should be .00208 and 56%. The numbers for an otherwise identical 2 year lease of a 2005 Nissan Altima 3.5 SL through NMAC would be the same, but the 3 year residual would be 1% lower. Again, NMAC's money factors for identical leases of a 2005 Nissan Altima SE-R would be the same, but the residual values would be 64% and 53%, respectively. When negotiating your deal on the Altima that you choose, keep in mind that Nissan is providing a $1,500 cash incentive on leases through NMAC this month. This cash will help you to negotiate an attractive lease payment. While many banks reduce the residual values of vehicles that are equipped with navigation options, I do not believe that NMAC has a deduction for it.

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CarMan@Edmunds · August 2005

Ahhh thanks for the additional informaiton, fin1581. OK, if you were to lease a 2005 Chevrolet Silverado Ext. Cab 4x4 through General Motors Acceptance Corp. right now for 36 months with 12,000 miles per year, its base lease rate and residual value should be 6.0% and 55%, respectively. 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.

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CarMan@Edmunds · August 2005

Here you go mister22. According to the latest information that I have seen, if you were to lease a 2005 Honda Accord EX-V6 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 .00112 and 53%, respectively.

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CarMan@Edmunds · August 2005

You're very welcome Andi. The $750 lease cash and the $500 owner loyalty cash can be combined for a total of $1,250. These incentives will enable you to negotiate a lower selling price for the car that you want than if they did not exist. It would be in your best interest to comparison shop for the car that you want until you find a selling price that you are comfortable with. Then have that dealer calculate a lease payment on it using VW Credit's buy rate, meaning don't let them mark up the money factor that is used to calculate your car's lease payment to add additional profit to your deal.

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CarMan@Edmunds · August 2005

Welcome bobby7. 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 thing that you need to do is research the car that you are interested in to find out how much you should pay for it and what its lease program is like. You should be able to get a good idea of how much to pay for this car by stopping by the following discussion: "BMW 3-Series: Prices Paid & Buying Experience". I can help you out with info on the lease program. According to the latest information that I have seen, if you were to lease a 2006 BMW 330i through BMW Financial Services right now for 36 months with 15,000 miles per year, its base lease money factor and residual value should be .00250 and 60%, respectively.

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CarMan@Edmunds · August 2005

Greetings poetpindar. If you were to lease a 2005 Honda Odyssey 2005 EX through American Honda Finance Corp. right now for 36 months with 15,000 miles per year, its base lease money factor and residual value should be .00250 and 58%, respectively. This van's 12,000 miles per year residual value would be 2% higher. I believe that AHFC charges a security deposit that is equivalent to your vehicle's monthly payment rounded up to the nearest $25 increment.

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CarMan@Edmunds · August 2005

No problem vynom. NMAC's current base lease money factor and residual value for a 42 month, 15,000 miles per year lease of a 2005 Murano SL AWD should be .00099 and 54%, respectively.

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CarMan@Edmunds · August 2005

You're welcome newbmw1. If you were to lease a 2006 BMW 525xi through BMW Financial Services right now for 36 months with 15,000 miles per year, its base lease money factor and residual value should be .00225 and 58%.

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cableguy1 · August 2005

Hi car man Thanks for responding~ The negotiated cost of the car is $31,400, MSRP-$32,600. The dealer is charging .15 per miles. Is that negotiable? What should be my payment with 3000 extra miles per year for 3 years? Thanks!!!!!

banneheim · August 2005

Hey Car Man, your expertise is needed. . . The quote I received from an Acura Dealership.

State: NC
Negoitated Price: 42811.00
Residual Value: 59%
Money Factor:.00250
Term: 36mths
Mile: 12K year
Downpayment: $1000.00
Other Costs: $3356 ( I didn't want to trade in my other car but just pay off the note)
Sale's Tax : 3%
Monthly Payment : $705.99 but if I didn't roll over the balance of my other car, $598.06.
Please tell me I can do better! I asked about 48month lease and the finance mgr told me that residual drops considerably and money factor goes up. Do you have Acura's figure on residual and money factors on 48mth leases? Should I wait until 06's hit the lots? THANKS !!!!!!!

selm · August 2005

Banneheim,

FYI...Car_Man will need the MSRP of the vehicle to calculate a lease price.

banneheim · August 2005

Sorry,
MSRP, $41900
Thanks, selm!

banneheim · August 2005

Selm,
Mistake. . . MSRP 49100
banneheim

andi4 · August 2005

Car Man,
Thanks again. This will help me very much. I have just a few more questions for you as I am ready to do this on my own for the first time. If I am able to get them to come down to a selling price of $20,505 from $22,505, how would I myself figure out my monthly payments with $0 down? I think it may be possible to get them to come down $2,000 since you thought the selling price was high, plus considering the $1,200 of loyalty/incentive money. What do you think?
Also, do you think my payments would drop from $297 to around the $280 mark? I just want to know what kind of payment to expect if I am able to get them to come down to that number. I am not sure how to figure out residual value, and I am not sure what VW's buy rate means. Thanks for giving me an idea, so I will know what to expect when I speak to them again. Again, I appreciate your help and patience with me.
Andi

snail · August 2005

Thanks Car_man for all the help so far .... this is my situation now

I found a G35 coupe with premium package, sports package, aero package, etc etc with MSRP for 38650 and after few hours of talking to the saleperson on the phone, got the price down to 35800 (547 over invoice).

Now, I'm trying to get the lease for this car and talked to the finance manager, here are the numbers he gave me:
39 month lease
MF: .00273
RV: 56%
Drive off amount: first payment

month lease amount: 574.78

for a 42 month lease, monthly payment would be $548

I question in regards to the MF and he told me that the dealership adds on about 1/2 percent for their fees. Now my question is, should i pay this amount?

he also stated that the bank fee, waived security deposit was worked into the payments and that the waived security deposit ($500) added .5% onto the interest rate.

My question is, should i pay the extra .5% markup on the money factor? calculating it out it cost out to over $1400 over the life of the lease.

gdiehl · August 2005

does anyone know the current GMAC lease rate for 36 and 48 months assuming excellent credit? Or where I can look to find the rates.

Thanks

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