Lease Questions - Ask Here

bama60 · May 2003

I'm not looking to take all the dealer's profit margin. I'm just looking for a fair deal. It could be this was their initial offer and they will back off of it some. This dealer is the only BMW dealer within 75 miles and, like you, I don't want to drive to another city to buy my car. I computed what the monthly lease payment should be based on Edmund's TMV and the lease parameters that Car Man cited. So when I asked for their best lease payment I knew what it should be for it to be a decent deal. I have run alot of numbers and figured out that each 1% change in residual amounts to about $10 per month and each .0001 change in money factor affects the payment by about $5 per month. Also, each $500 discounted off MSRP reduces payment by about $15 per month. I'm supposed to talk to them again early next week. The thing is, I'm still trying to decide if I really want the BMW over an Audi A4 3.0. The A4 has so many more features and the acceleration is much better when considering automatic transmission. The thing is with the Audi they don't have the car I want so they would have to try and locate one in another state. The BMW dealer has a weekly build allocation in early June that I could configure and get the car in July. I haven't talked specific price with the Audi dealer yet but he did acknowledge that he feels Edmund's TMW is fair so that is encouraging. Of course, they may mark up the money factor too! Also, the Audi residuals are not very good at all. Decisions, decisions!

jpierce26 · May 2003

I have a spreadsheet that could help you with your decision. You simply enter the MSRP, how many months the lease you want, the negotiated price and the money factor, and it will give you a monthly payment. You can also figure in the sales tax because that is extra.

This will help you negotiate based on price of the car, not monthly payment. Leave your e-mail, or I can give you mine, I will send it along.

Whether you deal with Audi or BMW, if you start negotiating on the cost of the car you can better understand your cost. Also know the MSRP and Invoice with options. That helps too. Talk to the sales person from Invoice up, not MSRP down.

Hope that helps.

latifs · May 2003

Car_man:

I am looking to do a prepay lease a 2001-2003 BMW 330CI/325CI. Can you tell me the money factor and residual numbers for a pre-owned vehicle?

Would it make better sense to get an 04?

Thanks in advance.

330ifan · May 2003

Car Man,

Can you please advise what the current (May) money factors and residuals are for the 330i, 530i and 540i for 3 year leases with 15,000 miles/yr?

Thanks.

sanah · May 2003

Hi again Car Man, the last time I wrote it was about a 325, but I have a new question. I wanted to know if it is possible to lease pre-owned vehicles and if it is, how do I calculate how much I should be paying? I'm interested in a 2000 CLK, but I don't know how leasing an older car works (I'm assuming the residuals and money factors are different). Is it even worth it? Thanks in advance!

ogbuffguy · May 2003

sup car_man, you helped me so many times i cannot thank you enough, but now i have a friend who is interested in getting a car, could you give me the rates for a 2003 Infinti G35 Coupe w/ Auto Tranny, 2004 BMW 325ci, and a MB C230K Sedan, all with 48 months/12k a year southern california, oh yeah what about a 2003 Toyota 4runner limited v8 for me? thanks for all your help

t_manero · May 2003

Hey Car man and everyone else, I need a Honda Accord V6, but my wife thinks I deserve a 525iA for being a good husband, but I'm not going do it unless I get my price.
According to Carsdirect website, they claim a price of exactly $1,000 over invoice (for a 525iA, AT w/o ANY options)- - 37,623. That "capitalized price" looks excellent to me (if I can get it).
BMW Finance website posted a 2.88% rate to June 2, which translate to MF of .0012. Their example uses a price of $38,295 & $2,500 down, 36 mos. @ 10K mi. & $399/month. Other postings here say the dealer loads up the MF and won't give better than .0015. Can I get the base MF of .0012??
Also using the BMW Finance website example, I would like to bring down the down payment to $2,000 simply because the Carsdirect price (buy price) is lower than the example MSRP.
Any comments??

tgp1810 · May 2003

Car_man I need quick info on the 2003 Envoy (4w SLT) and the TrailBlazer (4w LTZ) 36 month lease with 15000 miles year. Thanks!!

CarMan@Edmunds · May 2003

Hello damish003. I am sorry to say that I have not seen Subaru's lease program lately. I can tell you though that the $750 dealer cash that Subaru is currently providing on the 2003 Impreza, including the Outback Sport, is not compatible with its special lease program. So if you lease this vehicle through Subaru's captive finance company, you can not use the dealer cash to lower the price. Sorry that I couldn't shed a little more light on the factor & residual.

Car_man
Host
Smart Shoppers / FWI Message Boards

CarMan@Edmunds · May 2003

Hi Alan. American Honda Finance Corp., Acura's captive finance company, does usually require consumers to make a security deposit on leased vehicles. This deposit will be equal to your truck's monthly payment rounded up to the nearest $25 increment. Any excess wear and tear or mileage charges will be deducted from this deposit and you will receive a bill for anything over that amount.

Let's calculate a sample lease payment on an Acura MDX and see what we come up with. According to my calculations, if you were to lease a 2003 Acura MDX with an MSRP and selling price of $42,500 through AHFC right now for 39 months with 12,000 miles per, your zero down, pre-tax monthly lease payment should be right around $586 or so. An otherwise identical 48 month lease should have a monthly lease payment of around $532.

Car_man
Host
Smart Shoppers / FWI Message Boards

CarMan@Edmunds · May 2003

Hey luvmybabes. Some banks do allow consumers to roll negative equity over into leases. The exact amount of negative equity that you can roll into your new lease will depend upon the limits of the bank that you are leasing through and the price that you are able to negotiate on your new Sienna.

Car_man
Host
Smart Shoppers / FWI Message Boards

CarMan@Edmunds · May 2003

Thanks for coming back to tell us about your shopping experience, bama60. Sorry to hear that your dealer isn't offering you a very reasonable deal. I can't say that I am surprised that your BMW dealer tried to mark up this car's base lease money factor. BMW dealers are notorious for doing so. I suggest that you shop around at another BMW point in your area, if there is one. Consumers who shop around are usually able to lease BMWs using their base money factors. Good luck.

Car_man
Host
Smart Shoppers / FWI Message Boards

CarMan@Edmunds · May 2003

Hello latifs. Unfortunately, I do not personally keep tabs on used vehicle lease programs. The reason for this is that these programs are not nearly as popular as new vehicle leases and are a lot larger, in terms of all of the various model years, mileages, etc. that one has to keep track of. I am normally not a big advocate of leasing used vehicles because with the support that most manufacturers provide on new vehicle leases, leasing equivalent used vehicles often does not make financial sense. However, BMW is one of the few companies that often has a decent amount of support on Certified Pre-Owned leases. If I were trying to decide between leasing a CPO vehicle and a new one, I would make sure to get quotes on both and then decide if the amount that the used vehicle's payment is lower, if at all, justifies going with one over a new model.

Car_man
Host
Smart Shoppers / FWI Message Boards

CarMan@Edmunds · May 2003

Hi 330ifan. Here is the information that you are looking for. If you were to lease a 2003 BMW 330i through BMW Financial Services this month for 3 years with 15,000 miles per, its base lease money factor and residual value should currently be .00120 and 59%, respectively. The numbers for an otherwise identical lease of a 2003 BMW 530i should be .00120 and 59% as well. Interestingly, the numbers for the 2003 BMW 540i would be the same, too. That sure makes things simple

.

Car_man
Host
Smart Shoppers / FWI Message Boards

CarMan@Edmunds · May 2003

Hi again sanah. It certainly is possible to lease used vehicles. Mercedes-Benz Credit Corp. has its own Certified Pre-Owned vehicle lease program. One would calculate a lease on a used vehicle in a similar manner to how new vehicle leases are calculated, with one exception. Banks publish lists of dollar values for used vehicles, rather than percentages for residual values because used vehicles do not have any MSRPs to base the percentages on. Leasing used vehicles is often not worth the minimal payment difference, if any, between the used model and an equivalent new model. This is certainly true for new vehicles that receive lease support from their manufacturers. Used vehicle leases on models, like the CLK, that do not usually receive any sort of lease support on the new vehicle end may actually turn out to be better deals. You really need to compare payment quotes on a used CLK and an equivalent new model to see if the difference in payments is significant enough to justify going with the used one.

Car_man
Host
Smart Shoppers / FWI Message Boards

CarMan@Edmunds · May 2003

Hey ogbuffguy. I hope that all is well. Here's the info that you're searching for. If you were to lease a 2003 Infiniti G35 Coupe through Infiniti Financial Services this month for 4 years with 12,000 miles per, its base lease money factor and residual value should be .00220 and 48%. The numbers for a 4 yr. / 12k lease of a 2004 BMW 325ci through BMW FS should currently be .00255 and 50% (BMW's supported money factors only go up to 42 months). The numbers for a 4 yr. 12k lease of a MB C230K through MBCC should be .00275 and 48% right now. Last but not least, the 4 yr. / 12k numbers for a 2003 Toyota 4Runner Limited 2WD leased through TFS this month should be .00240 and 46%.

Car_man
Host
Smart Shoppers / FWI Message Boards

CarMan@Edmunds · May 2003

Hi t_manero. It certainly sounds like you have a pretty cool wife

. It looks to me as though you have done some excellent research. $1,000 over invoice is a pretty good price for this car, and BMW FS' base lease money factor for the 2003 525i is indeed currently .00120. You certainly should try to get your dealer to calculate your lease using the base lease money factor. As you have seen though, many BMW dealers do indeed attempt to mark up BMW FS' base money factor. As long as you live in a part of the country that has a little competition, i.e. a few BMW dealers within driving distance, you should not have too much trouble getting one of them to lease you this car using BMW FS' base factor.

Car_man
Host
Smart Shoppers / FWI Message Boards

CarMan@Edmunds · May 2003

Hey tgp1810. If you were to lease a 2003 GMC Envoy 4WD through GMAC this month for 3 years with 15,000 miles per, its base lease rate and residual value should be around 3.50% and 52%, in your area (MI). The numbers for the 2003 Trailblazer should be exactly the same.

Car_man
Host
Smart Shoppers / FWI Message Boards

damish003 · May 2003

Car_Man,

Thanks for trying anyway. Will keep the dealer cash bit in mind. Can't WAIT to get rid of this POS Jeep GC. Any idea what a reasonable money factor might be, regardless of who holds the lease? I'm guessing that a 730+ score should reflect tier 2 rates or better, or am I clueless about that? Many thanks.

mota1 · May 2003

Hey carman,

If I'm pretty set on NOT purchasing a car at the end of the lease. what negative issues are there going with a 4 year as opposed to a 3 year lease? I'm looking at an acura tsx, 4 year warranty...so I'd be covered. I can do 0 down and have lower payments than a 3 year. I'm not really gonna purchase a car anytime time soon being that a lease is more business expense friendly. Being that I'm putting more miles on the car, there is a greater chance for maintenance/repair issues to pop up. But overall it seems like a win/win for me, just trying to figure out the negatives. Thanks for any help.

sanah · May 2003

Thanks Car Man! You said that you don't follow used car leases, so you may not know this, but I'll ask anyway. How does $499 a month with $2000 down, plus tax, tags, and title sound for a 2001 CLK 55 AMG (33k miles)? Thanks

odman · May 2003

Pricing on the new Cadillac SRX has just been announced. Have you seen any news on what the 3 or 4 year residuals on it will be?

tgp1810 · May 2003

Thanks car_man! I didn't realize that the residual for these trucks was above 48%. I really appreciate it.

Also, didn't realize that I frogot to ask...Is the 2WD models the same? If not, could you please give me thoses numbers. Thanks again.

hartt · May 2003

Could you please provide me with the residual and money factor on a 36 month lease with 15,000 miles a year? I am looking at an EX-L without DVD and nav system. Thank you.

mzinzi · May 2003

Car Man...

Can you give me the money factor and residuals for a 2003 Audi TT Roadster 225 Quattro.

I'm looking to lease for 12,000 miles per year, and for either 36, 39, and 42 months. Thanks!

dpriwin · May 2003

Sanah
Careful when leasing a pre-owned vehicle, in particular a very expensive one like a CLK 55 AMG. The original warranty will only cover that car for another 17K miles or until 2005. Unless you have a very comprehensive extended warranty you may want to consider other alternatives. By the way, how long is the lease for?

dpriwin · May 2003

CarMan, it seems my quest for a new car will never end. I have not been able to test drive the MB CLK 500 and I am unwilling to sign on the dotted line sight-undriven. So I tested an M3 and I am still feeling the adrenaline after-effects. Can you help me with MF and residual for a 36 month, 12 mile lease (Coupe, SMG). I don't know when the 2004 model will be available but would be willing to wait for it. Finally, what is your opinion on BMW FS OwnersChoice balloon program?
Thanks a lot in advance

agalex98 · May 2003

Hey Carman,
Can you give me the numbers for the lease on a GX470, 3 and 4 years, 12k in California ?
Thanks in advance !

sanah · May 2003

Thank you for your advice. The lease is for 39 months. Do you think I should get the extended warranty (do you know how much it might cost) or just bypass it altogether?

CarMan@Edmunds · May 2003

No problem, damish003. Your credit score is very good. You should not have any difficulty qualifying for most banks' top credit tiers. So, even though I can't tell you what Subaru's current lease money factor for the Outback Sport should be, I can tell you that most vehicles' lease money factors are in the low .00200 range right now for consumers who qualify for top credit tiers. This is equivalent to an interest rate of right around 4.8%. If you would like, you can convert any lease money factors that you are quoted into approximate interest rates by multiplying them by 2400. For example, .00200 x 2400 = 4.8%. This will give you a good idea of what sort of deal you are getting.

Car_man
Host
Smart Shoppers / FWI Message Boards

CarMan@Edmunds · May 2003

Hi mota1. Traditionally most cars have had 3 year / 36,000 mile warranties. So leasing them for 3 years made sense because if you did so for longer than that you would be liable for 12 months of non-warranty repairs. However, today many people are leasing vehicles for longer terms. Four year leases have become very popular, in large part because many manufacturers now offer longer bumper-to-bumper warranty coverage. The only problem that I would have entering into a 4 year lease is that 4 years is a long time to be married to one vehicle. A lot can happen to change one's lifestyle during a 4 year period, such as having a child, changing jobs creating a longer commute, etc... Getting out of leases early certainly is not impossible, but it can be expensive. The Acura TSX is a sedan so it's lot like locking yourself into a small convertible or a gas guzzling SUV. If you feel as though a 4 year lease is attractive to you, I personally don't have a problem with it.

Car_man
Host
Smart Shoppers / FWI Message Boards

CarMan@Edmunds · May 2003

Now you're making me jealous, sanah

. A CLK 55, very nice choice. I actually personally like the looks of the last generation CLK better than the current one's. The payment that you posted sounds fairly reasonable, but it is difficult to tell because you didn't mention how long you are leasing it for or how many miles per year you are getting. If you tell me that much, I can calculate a sample lease payment on a brand new CLK so that you can see what the difference in payments is. Also, you should find out what price you are being charged for this used CLK and compare it to what others have paid by speaking with other community members over on the Coupes, Convertibles, & Sports Cars Message Board and by looking up its Edmunds.com True Market Value.

Car_man
Host
Smart Shoppers / FWI Message Boards

CarMan@Edmunds · May 2003

Hey odman. To the best of my knowledge, General Motors has not published any sort of lease program for the Cadillac SRX yet. They are scheduled to publish a new book of standard residual values next month. Perhaps it will contain the information that you are looking for. Please feel free to check back with me then.

Car_man
Host
Smart Shoppers / FWI Message Boards

CarMan@Edmunds · May 2003

You're welcome, tgp1810. These models residual values are higher than one might expect because they are being supported, or artificially inflated, by General Motors. The unsupported residual values for the 2WD and 4WD versions of the Envoy and Trailblazer are different, but with the support they are exactly the same, and that's all that matters.

Car_man
Host
Smart Shoppers / FWI Message Boards

CarMan@Edmunds · May 2003

Hello hartt. If you were to lease a 2003 Honda Pilot EX-L without the entertainment and navigation systems through American Honda Finance Corp. this month for 3 years with 15,000 miles per, its base lease money factor and residual value should be .00210 and 59%, respectively. I hope that this information helps you out.

Car_man
Host
Smart Shoppers / FWI Message Boards

CarMan@Edmunds · May 2003

Hi mzinzi. If you were to lease a 2003 Audi TT 1.8T Roadster with quattro through Audi Financial Services this month for 3 years with 12,000 miles per, its base lease money factor and residual value should be .00085 and 58%, respectively. The factor for an otherwise identical 39 month lease would be the same, but the residual value would fall to 56%. The factor for an otherwise identical 48 month lease would increase to .00095 and the residual value should be 51%.

Car_man
Host
Smart Shoppers / FWI Message Boards

hartt · May 2003

Hi Car man. I am looking into leasing a Tribute LX 4WD for either 36 or 48 months. Could you please provide me with the money factor and residual for both 36 and 48 months?
Thanks in advance.

sanah · May 2003

Hi Car Man. I'm sorry, I'm not trying to make you jealous. You're welcome to go for a spin in it if I purchase it! ;-) And I agree with you about the styling of the older model. Anyway, as far as the lease terms, it's a 39 month lease w/36k miles (about 11,076 per year). As always, thank-you for your help and I will visit the other board.

samn · May 2003

CarMan,
Could you tell me the current lease factors and residuals for a 2003 model, 39 months, 12,000 mi per yr. lease for :
1) Audi A6
2) Infiniti M45
3) BMW 530i

brassbed · May 2003

Hey Car_Man, Great service you're providing us! Can you give me Audi's lease and/or premier purchase (I live in TX) money factors and residuals for the following cars:

A4 3.0 Quattro manual trans, 36 or 39 months, 15K miles/yr

A4 3.0 FrontTrak CVT, 36 or 39 months, 15K miles/yr

Thanks!

odman · May 2003

Thanks Car_Man, I'll send a note later to see if there have been any updates.

CarMan@Edmunds · May 2003

Wow, another one of my favorite cars, two posts in a row. The new M3 is a sweet ride. As one might imagine, BMW is not providing any sort of lease support on this model. So if you were to lease one through BMW Financial Services this month for 3 years, you would have to use its base standard lease money factor of around .00230. Its 3 year 12,000 miles per residual value should currently be 57%.

BMW's Owner's Choice program is just what you said, a balloon note. There is nothing really wrong with balloon notes, other than the fact that consumers end up having to pay a lot more tax on them in some states. I personally am much more familiar with, and as a result comfortable with calculating lease programs and keep much closer tabs on the details of lease programs. That is the avenue that I personally would go if I was in the market for this car.

On a somewhat related note, traditionally, BMW Financial Services has allowed consumers to make up to 9 additional security deposits on leased vehicles. Each additional deposit buys down its lease money factor by a certain amount. Well, BMW has decided that this program is too expensive and is cutting back on it, both in terms of the number of additional deposits that it will allow and the corresponding reduction for each deposit, on July 1st. If you are in the market for this car before that date, you should seriously consider putting down multiple deposits while the program is still attractive.

Car_man
Host
Smart Shoppers / FWI Message Boards

CarMan@Edmunds · May 2003

Greetings agalex98. Here is the info that you are looking for. According to the most recent information that I have seen, if you were to lease a 2003 Lexus GX 470 without navigation or the rear entertainment system through Lexus Financial Services this month for 3 years with 12,000 miles per, its base lease money factor and residual value should be .00220 and 57%, respectively. The numbers for an otherwise identical 4 year lease of this truck should be .00220 and 50%.

Car_man
Host
Smart Shoppers / FWI Message Boards

CarMan@Edmunds · May 2003

Hi hartt. Too bad you are interested in the 4WD version of this truck because Mazda currently has $1,700 special lease cash only available on 2003 Tribute LX V6 4x2 models. This may be used to reduce its lease capitalized cost. No cash support is available on the 4WD version though. If you were to lease a 2003 Mazda Tribute LX 4WD through Mazda's captive finance company this month for 3 years with 15,000 miles per, its base lease money factor and residual value should be .00053 and 48%, respectively. The numbers for an identical 4 year lease of this truck should be .00147 and 41%.

Car_man
Host
Smart Shoppers / FWI Message Boards

CarMan@Edmunds · May 2003

No problem, sanah. One of the perks of working in this industry is that I get to dream about owning all sorts of nice vehicles

.

Car_man
Host
Smart Shoppers / FWI Message Boards

CarMan@Edmunds · May 2003

Hello samn. Let's take a look at the lease programs for the cars that you are interested in. First, if you were to lease a 2003 Infiniti M45 through Infiniti Financial Services this month for 39 months with 12,000 miles per year, its base lease money factor and residual value should be .00051 and 52%, respectively. Next we have the 2003 BMW 530i. If you were to lease this car through BMW Financial Services this month for 36 months (unless they are running some sort of special promotion, BMW usually does not publish 39 month lease data) with 12,000 miles per, its base lease money factor and residual value should be .00120 and 61%.

I would be happy to help you out with information in the third car that you mentioned, but Audi's lease program on the A6 varies by trim level. So I need you to tell me exactly which A6 you are interested in, i.e. the 3.0 Sedan with quattro, the 2.7T with quattro, etc... before I can give you an idea of what the program should be like right now.

Car_man
Host
Smart Shoppers / FWI Message Boards

CarMan@Edmunds · May 2003

I am glad that you enjoy this discussion so much, brassbed. Here's the lease information that you're looking for. If you were to lease a 2003 Audi A4 3.0L Sedan with quattro through Audi Financial Services this month for 3 years with 15,000 miles per, its base lease money factor and residual value should be .00130 and 54%, respectively. An otherwise identical 39 month lease of this car would have the same money factor, but the residual value would fall to 52%.

As far as the 2003 Audi A4 3.0L without quattro goes, if you were to lease one through AFS this month for 36 months with 12,000 miles per, its base lease money factor and residual value should be .00070 and 51%. An otherwise identical 39 month lease would have an identical money factor, but the residual value would fall to 49%.

Just a little FYI, if you are a returning Audi customer, this month Audi has $250 owner loyalty cash on the 2003 A4. It's not much, but hey something's better than noting, right

. If you opt to finance this car instead of leasing it, Audi also has 1.9% special financing for loans of up to 60 months in length.

Car_man
Host
Smart Shoppers / FWI Message Boards

CarMan@Edmunds · May 2003

You're welcome, odman.

Car_man
Host
Smart Shoppers / FWI Message Boards

natived · May 2003

Help. I signed a lease contract about a month ago. I've not received a payment package from the finance company. Then I recently received a call from the dealership advising that they made a mistake with regrade to the "residual amount" and that I must return to the dealership to sign a new contract reflecting a lower residual amount. My payments are not suppose to change. Should I be concerned? I've never leased before. I traded in my old car on this deal. My credit rating is excellent. Should I sign the new contract? I'm happy with the first one. Should I be prepared to return the new car? Can I get my trade-in back? Any advise is welcomed!
Thanks in advance.

kbolton · May 2003

I have an Infiniti QX4 whose lease is up in August. I had planned to lease another but discovered there will be no 2004.
Should I be concerned? Will the residual remain about the same as if Infiniti were continuing to make future QX4s? Or will the residual drop appreciatively given there will be no QX4 after 2003?

Lease Questions - Ask Here

Comments

Helpful Tools

Most popular vehicles