Lease Questions - Ask Here

bengal3 · February 2003

Hi CarMan,
Could you please provide the MF and residual % on a 36 and 42 month lease for a Pilot EX, 15k miles a year. Northern KY/Cincinnati area. Thanks.

tomwannabmw · February 2003

I have decided to pull the trigger on a 330i with performance package if I can get a fair deal.

Three questions:

1) Are the money factor of .0015 and 62% 3yr/36K residual unchanged?

2) Are the MACO advertising fee and destination charge included in the MSRP of the vehicle when calculating the lease?

3) If the MF changes while my car is being built and shipped to the USofA, does my lease MF change or stay the same? I have heard that BMW locks you in if it goes up, but allows you to use the lower MF if it drops.

Thanks again!

gpwatfrd · February 2003

I would be interested to know the answer to tomwannabmw's question #3

3) If the MF changes while my car is being built and shipped to the USofA, does my lease MF change or stay the same? I have heard that BMW locks you in if it goes up, but allows you to use the lower MF if it drops.

I special ordered a bmw 330i in the end of Jan and it should be here by early march. I will not pay more but was wondering if I could negotiate even more if the MF is lower in March

magpie64 · February 2003

just left the dodge dealer to lease another durango and he told me residual is at 38%....and will go lower next month.could it go any lower? i find it hard to believe.maybe he's just trying to get a higher price on the lease? it was an slt plus that stickered at 37,750.car man had residual at 42% ,this sounds a little more reasonable.do these residuals change weekly?thanks

sbpowell · February 2003

Car_man-

Can you provide me with the latest money factor, residual percentage, and any incentives for the following vehicles for a 3 year/15,000 mile lease configuration. My zip code is 33647 (Tampa, FL).

2003 Ford Expedition XLT 2WD Premium (MSRP $37,075)
2003 Chevy Tahoe LS 2WD (MSRP $36,475)
2003 Toyota Sequoia SR5 2WD (MSRP $36,170)

Thanks!

stahop · February 2003

Carman,
Working on a lease deal. While we can agree on a price the lease numbers he gave me caused me to walk.
15k miles
36 months
54% residual
.0025 MF (I have "A" credit)

The MF sounds high to me. And the residual sounds low. (3 years ago I leased a rx300 for 39 months and got a 62% residual)

What's a reasonable lease deal?

taste · February 2003

Hello Members:

I have a 9-5 Wagon at ~32,000 miles. We turn in the 4 year lease in June (when it should have around 34,000 miles. SAAB is asking for almost $700 for the 30,000 mile tune up. Given that we are turning in the car in ~4 months this is very painful.

Does anyone know how the lease companies handle maintenance issues? If I don't do it will they penalize? Can I get by with something less expensive?

Any insight would be appreciated. The lease is through Chase Finance

taste · February 2003

As you can see from the above post I will be the market shortly for a new lease (maybe)?

I also have a lease come up in one month on my TT

I could sure use some additional assistance on the following:

1) SAAB Process (they just come and pick-up and Chase sends me final bill). Any thing I should watch out for?

2) On TT in March Audi sends out 3rd party inspector and then I must turn it in to dealer I got it from. Problem is that dealer is 800 miles away because we moved. According Volkswage I can turn it in to a local dealer if they will take it. Any suggestions?

3) When should I begin shopping for a new lease. I am very interested in a 5 Series BMW with AWD or the equivalent Audi 6 series. Also looking at Murano and Pilot if I go something bigger. Any recommendations.

Carman I went back to the beginning where you had a link to a post explaining all of the ins and outs but the link is no longer valid. I am on the bubble this time of whether to do another lease or buy. Both have ups and downsides.

Thanks everyone for your help.

ruoregon · February 2003

Made all the wrong choices in my 63 month lease of a Y2K Ford Excursion Limited. Now, after 37 months, we find this vehicle too large for our shrinking family. What is the cheapest way to have Felco accept this rig so that we can get into something more practical.
THX

jumboloan · February 2003

The Volvo dealer said he had a money factor lease of .00170 for a XC/90. It had a lower residual and requires I buy the car at the end. If the payment is lower than open lease should I take it? I have never heard of this type of lease for a consumer car?

CarMan@Edmunds · February 2003

You're welcome, cstabile. I am glad that I was able to help you out.

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CarMan@Edmunds · February 2003

Hey Squirrel. I've always liked the redesign of the Nissan Altima. I believe that Nissan continued their January lease program for this car unchanged. If that is the case and you were to lease a 2003 Altima 2.5 S or SL through Nissan Motor Acceptance Corp. this month for 3 years with 15,000 miles per, their base lease money factor and residual value should be .00170 and 53%, respectively. Their 12,000 miles per residual value for these cars should be 1% higher than the ones that I just posted.

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CarMan@Edmunds · February 2003

Hi bradlake1. You should have them take a closer look at their incentives, because I am positive that there is now $1,000 owner loyalty cash on all 2003 A6 models. As far as the 4 year, 12,000 miles per numbers for the 2003 Audi A6 2.7T go, their base factor and residual value should be .00120 and 48%, respectively. Did I tell you that their 4 year residual value was higher than that? If so, I apologize, I must have thought that you were talking about their 3 year residual value for this car. Sorry for the confusion.

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CarMan@Edmunds · February 2003

Hi chrish11. Here's the info that you're looking for. If you were to lease a 2003 Audi A6 Avant 3.0 through Audi Financial Services this month for 3 years with 15,000 miles per, their base lease money factor and residual value should be .00075 and 51%, respectively.

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CarMan@Edmunds · February 2003

Ah ha. Back to back posts, huh chrish11

. That will teach me to answer questions without reading all of the posts first. If you were to lease a 2003 Chrysler Town & Country Limited 2WD, LX 2WD, or LXi 2WD through Chrysler Financial in your area this month for 3 years with 15,000 miles per, their base lease money factors should be .00253, .00147, and .00258, respectively. Their residual values should all be 40% for this term. When negotiating your lease on these vans, keep in mind that Chrysler is providing $2,500 lease cash on them right now. This money may be used to negotiate a lower capitalized cost for your lease.

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CarMan@Edmunds · February 2003

Hello bengal3. Let me begin by saying that if you are not completely sold on leasing this truck you may be in luck. Rumor has it that in many parts of the country, Honda is going to roll out a special President's Day financing program, much like the one that they ran at the end of 2002. This program will supposedly provide extremely attractive finance rates on all 2003 Honda models, including the Pilot. Just some food for thought. As far as this truck's current lease program goes, if you were to lease a 2003 Honda Pilot EX without Navigation through American Honda Finance Corp. this month for 3 years with 15,000 miles per, you would have to use their standard lease money factor which I believe is around .00220 or .00230 (check back with me tomorrow and I will let you know for certain) and a residual value of 61%.

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CarMan@Edmunds · February 2003

Hello again tomwannabmw. The lease program for the 2003 BMW 330i has not changed since I last provided you with details on it. BMW did however enhance their money factors on all 325 models so that they are now as low as the ones that are available on the 330. When calculating monthly lease payments, destination charges are included in vehicles' full MSRPs, but any sort of other charges like advertising are not. BMW allows their consumers to lock in a particular lease program for several months. If your vehicle is delivered within that time frame you would still be able to use the current lease program. I don't know for certain if they would allow you to take advantage of a new lower lease program if they enhance their money factors on this model, but I believe that they will. You need to check with your dealer to find out if this is the case. Even if BMW was to enhance this car's money factors, in order for it to be worth your while to use the new factors their enhancement would have to be large enough to offset any drop in residual values that will naturally occur as the model year progresses.

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CarMan@Edmunds · February 2003

Hi magpie64. Chrysler usually publishes their residual values for vehicles on a quarterly basis. So I personally find it unlikely that Chrysler Financial's residual for this truck will drop next month, but it almost certainly will fall once the second quarter of 2003 begins. I just went back and looked at your previous post. According to what it said, you are interested in leasing a 2003 Dodge Durango SLT Plus 4WD through Chrysler Financial for 3 years with 12,000 miles per, if this is indeed the case, then the 42% residual value that I quoted you is right on the money. Perhaps the dealer that you are working with is running your lease through a bank other than Chrysler Financial. It would not surprise me if some independent banks out there had lower residual values for this truck than CFC does.

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CarMan@Edmunds · February 2003

Greetings sbpowell. Let's take a look at the lease programs for the trucks that you are interested in. If you were to lease a 2003 Ford Expedition XLT 2WD Premium through Ford Motor Credit this month for 3 years with 15,000 miles per, I believe that their base lease rate and residual value should be 6.25% and 49%, respectively. Next, if you were to lease any 2003 Chevrolet Tahoe through General Motors Acceptance Corp. this month for 3 years with 15,000 miles per, their base lease rate and residual value should be 6.50% and 52%. Lastly, if you were to lease a 2003 Toyota Sequoia SR5 2WD through Toyota Financial Services right now for 3 years with 15,000 miles per, their base lease money factor and residual value should be .00230 and 58%, respectively.

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chrish11 · February 2003

Hi CarMan,

Thanks for the quick reply and sorry for the back to back posts ;=). Would you please advise the MF and res for 3 yr/ 15k mi for the EX trim in Town and Country also?

Thanks.

carsthatgo · February 2003

Hi,

Just wanted to confirm the MF and residuals on 36 and 39 month leases for the M45; speaking to a local Infiniti dealer -- he informed me that the annualized money factor was 1.40% and the cars were being discounted $5000 (inclusive of a $1000 from the factory to the dealer).

Thanks for your help.

magpie64 · February 2003

thanks for the info.dealer said it was thru chrysler financial so now i can go back and haggle with him.thanks again,,i'll keep u posted...

msp_guy · February 2003

Carman,
Can you validate the following numbers I received regarding an '03 GS300 in Minnesota?

39 mos / 12k miles
56% residual
.00220 MF
600 Acq.Fee

Any other fees I'm not considering? The dealer is currently quoting Invoice plus $2808 (which I think is pretty high, even for a Lexus).

Can you also provide the residual/MF for a BMW 330xi for 36 mo (or 39, if it's the same) with 12k miles.

I won't pull the trigger on this until late March or early April, so if there are changes looming (that you know of), please advise.

Thanks much!

CarMan@Edmunds · February 2003

Hi stahop. The lease money factor that you were quoted on the 2003 Lexus ES 300 sounds a little on the high side to me. Lexus is providing special lease money factors on all of its again vehicles this month. The highest lease money factor that they are charging consumers who qualify for their top credit tier is .00210, and many vehicles like the ES 300, IS 300, and RX 300 have lease money factors that are even lower than that. There is a good chance that the dealer that you are working with is marking-up Lexus Financial Services' base money factor in an effort to add additional profit to your deal without you knowing that they have done so. I will investigate what this car's actual base lease money factor should be this month. Please check back with me with a quick reminder tonight or tomorrow morning and I will let you know exactly what the lease program should be like for this car. Talk to you soon.

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CarMan@Edmunds · February 2003

Hi taste. I wouldn't worry about having the 30,000 mile tune up on your leased vehicle done only a couple of months before you are scheduled to turn it in. As long as you have changed your car's oil on a regular basis, you are not going to be penalized by the bank that you are leasing it through for not having done an extravagant 30,000 mile service.

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CarMan@Edmunds · February 2003

Hi again taste

. You should be able to turn your Audi TT into any Audi dealership in your area, not just the one that you leased it from. I would call around to a dealership or two to see if you can set up an appointment to return your TT. Having an appointment is usually a makes the process go a lot more smoothly than just walking in off the street and expecting to be able to leave your car with a dealer.

If your TT lease is up in March, I would start shopping for a replacement for it now. Take test drives in the candidates that you have narrowed your search down to and research what a fair price for them should be. Once you have narrowed down the field, wait until March and ask me what the lease program or programs of the vehicle(s) that you are interested in should be like. Then get down to business, negotiating a good deal. As far as which vehicles you should look at go, AWD seems to be a requirement for you. The Honda Pilot and Audi A6 both would be great new vehicles. The same goes for the new Nissan Murano and the Infiniti FX35. The Lexus RX 300 is a pretty nice vehicle as well, and it has a replacement set to arrive in the near future so you will likely be able to get a very attractive deal on one right now. The Volkswagen Passat 4Motion would be a good car to look at as well. I have provided a great deal of information on leasing in the discussion titled "The Return of 'How to Calculate Monthly Lease Payments'." You can find it at the very bottom of the Finance, Warranty, and Insurance Message Board discussion list. Check it out and let me know if you have any other questions.

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CarMan@Edmunds · February 2003

No offense, ruoregon, but a 62 month lease is extremely long. I usually advise consumers not to lease for more than 39 months, 48 at the very most. Unfortunately, there really is no inexpensive way for you to get out of your current leased truck several years prior to your scheduled termination date. Your best option is to try to purchase your Excursion from the bank that you are leasing it through and then to either trade it in on your next vehicle or sell it on your own. In order to find out exactly how much money it will cost you to buy your truck right now, please a call to your bank. Once you have that figure, compare it to what you can realistically expect to be able to sell it for. You can find out its approximate value by looking up its Edmunds.com True Market Value here on this site or by hopping on over to the Real-World Trade-In Values discussion on the Smart Shoppers Message Board and asking one of our most helpful and knowledgeable community members, Terry, if he can help you out. The difference between your truck's purchase price and its current market value is how much it will cost you to break your lease early. If that number is large, which I expect it will be, you are much much better off just keeping your current truck and driving it until you are closer to your scheduled termination date.

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CarMan@Edmunds · February 2003

Hi jumboloan. Something sounds strange about this deal to me. Volvo is not currently providing any sort of lease support on the new XC90. If you were to lease one through Volvo Finance at this time, you would have to use a money factor of around .00355, which is much higher than the .00170 that you were quoted. I don't know of any independent banks out there that have money factors as low as that. Furthermore, all of the leases that I have seen for quite some time provide consumers with the option to turn their car or truck in at lease end. This requirement to buy that your dealer mentioned sounds very unusual to me. I would be very hesitant to enter into a contract that I did not fully understand. Perhaps your dealer could provide you with some sort of documentation on this deal prior to you agreeing to anything. If so, I would be very curious to see all of the details.

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CarMan@Edmunds · February 2003

You're welcome, chrish11, and don't worry about the multiple posts, the more the merrier as far as I am concerned

. OK, if you were to lease a 2003 Chrysler Town & Country EX through Chrysler Financial right now for 3 years with 15,000 miles per, I believe that their base lease money factor and residual value should be around .00345 and 46%, respectively. Furthermore, instead of the $2,500 lease cash that was available on the other model that you are interested in, the EX only qualifies for $500.

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CarMan@Edmunds · February 2003

Greetings carsthatgo. There certainly is quite a discount on the new M45 already isn't there. The honeymoon didn't last very long for dealers on this model. It sounds as though your dealer is being very straightforward with you if they volunteered the information on this car's dealer cash. I think that there may have been a little confusion as far as the money factor is concerned. Infiniti Financial Services' base lease money factor for 39 month 2003 M45 leases is currently .00140, not 1.4%. A factor of .00140 equivalent to an interest rate of around 3.36%, which is still very attractive. Here are the exact details of IFS' current lease program for this car. If you were to lease a 2003 Infiniti M45 through IFS this month for 3 years with 15,000 miles per, their base lease money factor and residual value should be .00123 and 52%, respectively. The numbers for an otherwise identical 39 month lease should currently be .00140 and 51%.

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CarMan@Edmunds · February 2003

You're welcome, magpie64. I am glad that I was able to help you out. Keep us informed about how everything is going with your deal.

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carsthatgo · February 2003

Car_man

Thanks for info on the M45 and bringing the correct MF to my attention. Hopefully, armed with this info I can negotiate a very favorable deal.

em111 · February 2003

I may be moving in the next year to a state about 1300 miles away. I love the car, and would consider taking it vs. breaking the lease for financial reasons. My question is - are you expected to return the car to the dealership you purchased from - or is the lease with the manufacturer and can be returned at any of their dealerships nationwide?

Thanks in advance!

agillman · February 2003

Can you please provide information for a 2003 Sequoia Limited 4X2. I am interested in 3 and 4 year lease, with 12,000 miles per year. I am in Southern California, if that matters.

Thank you.

taste · February 2003

Hi Carman! Thanks for the feedback on the Lease situation. I have some leeway after I turn in the TT because the wife will drive our new Ody and I will drive the Saab Wagon.

The biggest concern I had is what maintenance I should at 32,000 miles given I will turn it in at the end of May however based on your comments just the regular oil change should do.

Quick question regarding the turn in on the lease...what exactly does happen. I am sure a physical inspection but what about a mechanical one? Would they be able to tell or roughly estimate that I skipped the 30K service?

Once again the car looks good and given that it is a 48 month lease that will have ~33,000 miles or so turn in should work out well.

taste

Thanks again look forward to your feedback

msp_guy · February 2003

Car Man - this is a bump for info requested in msg.#5591.

thanks!!

tomwannabmw · February 2003

I ordered my 330i with performance package today for April delivery! Yee Haw!!! You saved me a bundle!!

Gotta change my handle to TomgottaBMW now.

See you in three years/36,000 miles.

CarMan@Edmunds · February 2003

Hi msp_guy. Here's the info that you're looking for. If you were to lease a 2003 Lexus GS300 through Lexus Financial Services this month for 39 months with 12,000 miles per year, their base lease money factor and residual value should be .00210 and 56% with a $600 acquisition fee. It looks as though the dealership that you are working with may be marking up the money factor that they quoted you a little bit, unless you are having them waive your car's security deposit. Banks will often waive security deposits on leases in exchange for a slight increase in the lease money factor.

As far as the BMW goes, if you were to lease a 2003 BMW 330xi through BMW Financial Services this month for 36 months (to the best of my knowledge, they are not currently offering 39 month leases on this car) with 12,000 miles per year, their base lease money factor and residual value should be .00150 and 62%.

Both of these lease programs are only scheduled to run through March 3rd, so if you are going to lease your car after that date you will need to check back with me for any program changes.

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CarMan@Edmunds · February 2003

You're welcome, carsthatgo. I am glad that I was able to help you out. Good luck with your deal.

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CarMan@Edmunds · February 2003

Hello em111. You are currently leasing your car through a bank, not the dealership that you got it from. If it is a bank that is owned by your vehicle's manufacturer, like Volvo Finance, then you would be able to return your leased car to any dealership that sells that make, regardless of what state you are in. Of course, they may have a problem with you taking your car and moving to Hawaii or Alaska, but it should not be a problem if you move within the continental U.S.

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CarMan@Edmunds · February 2003

Good morning, agillman. I do not believe that Toyota is currently providing any sort of support on the 2003 Sequoia. If that is the case any you were to lease one through Toyota Financial Services this month, you would have to use their standard lease money factors. I believe that TFS' base standard money factor is currently .00230 for all leases up to 60 months in length. TFS' current residual values for the 2003 Sequoia Limited 4X2 should be 54% for a 3 year 12,000 miles per lease and 47% for a 4 year 12,000 miles per lease.

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CarMan@Edmunds · February 2003

No problem, taste. Each bank that leases vehicles to consumers has its own policies on the return of leased vehicles and how they are inspected. I have found that manufacturers' captive finance companies are usually pretty lenient in their inspections and almost definitely would not care / notice if you have had your 30,000 mile service done. Independent banks are occasionally a little more strict in their evaluation of vehicles, but their exact policies on this matter will again vary from bank to bank. Of course it is difficult for me to say without actually seeing your car in person, but given the fact that you only have around 33,000 miles on a vehicle that was leased for 4 years and your car is in good shape as you have stated I personally don't foresee you having any lease-end problems.

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CarMan@Edmunds · February 2003

Hi again msp_guy. Sorry for the delay, there were a ton of questions for me to answer. I just responded to post #5591 in message #5606. Please let me know if you have any other questions.

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CarMan@Edmunds · February 2003

Congratulations on your new car, TomgottaBMW

! I am glad that I was able to help you out. Enjoy your new ride.

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ct_yank · February 2003

Hi Carman
Thanks for the great forum!
I am looking to get into a new sedan this month and would very much appreciate the money factor and residuals on the following cars for a 3 year/36,000 mile lease in Connecticut

2003 Audi A4 3.0 quattro
2003 Volvo S60 AWD
2003 Saab 9-5 Aero (any lease cach on this one?)
2003 Nissan Maxima

Thanks

msp_guy · February 2003

Thanks for the info. No problem on the delay -- I just thought you had overlooked my first message. I don't know how you keep up with them all! Wouldn't it be easier (for you) to maintain a FAQ page that shows current residuals/MF for the most requested vehicles (rather than responding several times to multiple folks).. Just a thought for you.

thanks again! I'll let you (and the forum) know how things work out.

sbpowell · February 2003

Car_man

Thanks for the lease info earlier on the large SUV's. I want to make sure the formula that I am using to calculate my lease payment is accurate. Can you check the formula below and let me know if its correct. Also, are there any costs that I may have left out of this equation?

MSRP = $37075
Invoice = $32075
Sale Price = $33075
Sales Tax = 7%
Money Factor = 6.25%
Residual = 49%
Down Pay = $1500
Lease Months = 36

Monthly Payment = Sale Price - Down Pay - (MSRP*Residual) / Lease Months * Sales Tax * Money Factor

423.43=(((33075-1500(37075*.49))/36)*1.07)*1.0625

Thanks!!!!

CarMan@Edmunds · February 2003

Hi ct_yank. Here is the info that you are looking for. If you were to lease a 2003 Audi A4 3.0 Sedan quattro through Audi Financial Services this month for 3 years with 12,000 miles per, their base lease money factor and residual value should be .00165 and 56%, respectively. If you were to lease a 2003 Volvo S60 AWD through Volvo Finance this month for 3 years with 12k per, their numbers should be .00085 and 55%. Volvo is currently providing thousands of dollars in outside lender lease support, so you may actually find that leasing this car through a bank other than Volvo Finance and then using the this cash to reduce your car's capitalized cost is the best way to lease an S60 right now. If you were to lease a 2003 Saab 9-5 Aero through Saab Financial Services Corp. this month for 3 years with 12,000 miles per, their base factor and residual value should be .00046 and 50% with $1,000 lease cash. Last but not least we have the 2003 Nissan Maxima. In order for me to tell you exactly what this car's lease program should be like, I am going to need you to tell me if you are interested in the GLE, GXE, or SE. Once I have that additional information I should be able to help you out. Talk to you soon.

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CarMan@Edmunds · February 2003

You're welcome, msp_guy.

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CarMan@Edmunds · February 2003

Hi sbpowell. One problem that I see with your calculations is your use of the lease rate. General Motors and Ford publish lease interest rates for their vehicles instead of money factors. In order to use their published rates in traditional lease formulas, they must be converted into approximate money factors. You can change a rate into a factor by dividing it by 2400. So in this case, a lease rate of 6.25% would be equivalent to a money factor of around .00260. Plug this factor, along with the other information that you have into the lease formula that I have described at the bottom of the Finance, Warranty, and Insurance discussion list and you are in business.

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