Did you recently take on (or consider) a loan of 84 months or longer on a car purchase?
A reporter would like to speak with you about your experience; please reach out to PR@Edmunds.com by 7/22 for details.
Options

Lease Questions - Ask Here

11112141617468

Comments

  • CarMan@EdmundsCarMan@Edmunds Member Posts: 38,514
    Plastic19, all things being equal it goes without saying that the deal that provides you with the lowest monthly payment is most attractive. Just make sure that these two deals are identical. Dealers often change the number of miles per year that are allowed to be put a leased vehicle without penalty in order to provide a lower monthly payment. If these two deals are the same, then I certainly think that you should go with the second one.

    Car_Man
    Host
    Smart Shoppers / FWI Message Boards
  • Plastic19Plastic19 Member Posts: 6
    Car_Man:

    With your vast knowledge of numbers and calculations, do the numbers on either deal add up? I tried a Yahoo lease calculator that said the payment should be 524/month and then I tried the autosite.com lease calculator which said the payment should be 456/month. Obviously, the second one is a better payment per month but is the deal a good deal?

    Thank you for your help.

    Plastic19
  • mjoo600mjoo600 Member Posts: 10
    Hi Car_Man,

    I was wondering if you could provide the residual value (%) for the 2001 Lexus IS 300 for a 36 months at 15,000 miles/year. If I am getting options, am I correct in multiplying the residual value x (Base MSRP + MSRP of options)?

    Could you also tell me what the money factor would be for a 36 month lease using Lexus' captive finance company?

    Thanks in advance.
  • kevino5kevino5 Member Posts: 5
    Carman,
    I was thinking of leasing the V70 for 36 months, or possibly 39 months, no longer. I would probabally opt for 15k a year. We are thinking of doing the Overseas delivery and getting the car in Sweden. My wife tends to get attached to cars, and if we(she)descides to buy at lease end, is there anything I should look for or ask for in the lease contract up front to make a possible purchase easier or cheaper?
    Thanks - Kevin in FLA
  • njshore1njshore1 Member Posts: 2
    My 3 year lease on my 98 Volkswagen cabrio XLS is up next week. I have 61,000 miles and my limit was 45,000 (.15 per mile after) .. I was hoping to turn it in pay the miles and start all over, I am looking at a 325 convertible or a scab 93 convertible. My buy out is 13,032 on this lease.
    After reading this board I am thinking I should buy this car and then when I finalize my decision sell it privately. The car is in good condition and has ad changer leather seats (black on black).
    What do you think I can get for this car privately?
    Do you know if Volkswagen Credit will negotiate the buy out cost and if so How do I go about it?

    Any info on BTW lease vs Saab lease on these cars right now?
  • mwilmemwilme Member Posts: 8
    Using the lease calculator at www.autosite.com

    Sequioa SR5 at $34,345
    Sales Tax at 5%
    Down payment 10%
    Term 36 months
    Int rate 7.68% (= money factor of 0.0032)
    Include sales tax
    Residual 65%

    Lease payments $428 per month

    Am I way off with any of these assumptions before I get my wife all rilled up to go look and buy one at the dealer ???
  • freightsellerfreightseller Member Posts: 4
    Hi Car_Man. Compliments on the quality and info on this board, both by you and guests.

    Thinking of leasing an '01 Chewy Venture AS, for 36 months with 12k miles/year. What are expected residual% and money factor for this model? We are undecided whether to go with Short or Long wheelbase. Will this make a difference?

    Alternatively, are better lease deals available on the equivalents to the Venture - the Pontiac Montana or Old Silouhette?
  • nighter50nighter50 Member Posts: 127
    just wondering where you got your information on residual and money factor. Those are (obviously) the factors that I have tried to find out before I get too excited about the Sequoia. From another post I read the Toyota mf was .0034 or .0033 if you are a current Toyota owner. Car_Man thought the residual of the Sequoia for 36 month lease to be around 69% but I think that is high. Again from another post I read that for a Highlander (understand it is different truck altogether) the residual is 59.6%. So I have assumed closer to 60% for Sequoia rather than 65 or 69%. My search has just begun and if anyone knows this information please post - thanks.
  • freightsellerfreightseller Member Posts: 4
    Hi again Car_Man. I have a question about the GM discount plan as it pertains to negotiating a lease. I understand that because of GMAC supported leases, the only thing I really have to negotiate on a lease is the cap cost. But as someone eligible for GMS discount, the price is pretty well set for me. Am I stuck? Or how much can I fight the dealer? Thanks again.
  • CarMan@EdmundsCarMan@Edmunds Member Posts: 38,514
    Plastic19, let's play with a few numbers and see what we come up with. If you were to lease a 2001 BMW 325i with an MSRP of $29,885 for 36 months and with 15,000 miles per year through BMW Financial Services right now, your zero down pre-tax monthly lease payments would be abound $480 per month without any sort of discount. With $1,000 down and no discount this car would have an approximate pre-tax monthly lease payment of $450. And with $2,000 down the payment would be $419 per month. I understand that BMW dealerships are usually a little hesitant to lower the prices of their vehicles, but I still think that it is important for you to find out the capitalized costs of the cars that you have received payment quotes on. This will allow you to find out how good a deal you are really getting and also give you a concrete number to negotiate.

    Car_Man
    Host
    Smart Shoppers / FWI Message Boards
  • CarMan@EdmundsCarMan@Edmunds Member Posts: 38,514
    Hi mjoo600. The 3 year, 15,000 miles per lease residual value for a 2001 IS 300 leased through Lexus Financial Services should currently be 59%. I believe that the residual value for this car is based upon its base MSRP. If I am not mistaken, LFS has "hard adds" for any additional options. This essentially means the they have placed a cap on the amount of money that can be residualized for each option. Unfortunately, I don't know what those adds are. You can probably come very close to this vehicle's actual cash residual value by just adding the MSRPs of any options that you are getting to the vehicle's base MSRP and then using the above percentage.

    LFS currently has a special 39 month lease money factor of .00275 available on this car. I think that this is the only term that this special factor is available for, so it is probably in your best interest to lease this car for three months longer than you were planning to. If you opt for the 39 month term, the 15,000 miles per year residual value should be 58%. LFS also has special lease money factors for recent college grads that are even lower than the one that I just mentioned. Let me know if you are eligible for this program and I will fill you in on the details.

    Car_Man
    Host
    Smart Shoppers / FWI Message Boards
  • mwilmemwilme Member Posts: 8
    I chose my residual from a prev msg on this board stating that 69% seemed "a bit high".

    The .0031 was what we got last time from TMC when we leased a Tacoma PreRunner (which we still have). We pushed them to get this but it was based on my wife and I both havibng separate TMC auto loans together with exceptional credit.

    I also would be interested in 'actual' numbers
  • expedition2expedition2 Member Posts: 34
    Here is another dealer ad in my local newspaper for leasing the Sequoia. I still say I can't see how the residual is so high. Maybe you can sit and figure it out. The info is:
    MSRP $38,240 Sale price $35,543
    60 month lease is $364 PRE-TAX
    Then the funniest part of it all is in small print at the bottom. 25% down!! That would be $8,885.75 !! Which doesn't include tax, title or tags. So basically you are leasing an SUV for 5 years worth $35,000 and putting around $33,000 in it, based on my tax rate. That whole scenario does not make any sense to me!! Anyone?
  • nighter50nighter50 Member Posts: 127
    that might be close if the total DRIVE OFF was 25%. That would make it an 8.1% interest (about .0034 money factor) and 43% residual. From other posts here the money factor is probably right (seems you can get as low as .0031 if you are a great TMC customer like mwilme above).
  • leehaleeha Member Posts: 1
    Carman,

    Would you happen to know the current NMAC interest rate is on a 36 month lease for a Maxima GLE. My current Maxima lease is through NMAC and my credit rating is excellent.
  • CarMan@EdmundsCarMan@Edmunds Member Posts: 38,514
    Kevin, if you lease a 2001 Volvo V70 (any trim level except for the Cross Country) for 36 months with 15,000 miles per year the Volvo Car Finance residual value would be around 56%. I really don't think that there is anything specific that you should look for in terms of your lease that would make buying this car easier at lease end. The main factor that will influence your vehicle's lease-end purchase price is its residual value. Your contract's stated lease purchase option will be 56% of your car's full MSRP. A residual value of 56% for a 3 year lease with 15,000 miles per is a decent residual value, not too low but not outrageously high either. A low residual value would provide you with a cheap lease-end purchase price, but at a price. The low residual would also make you have high monthly lease payments. I think that the one important thing that you should keep in mind if you decide to buy this vehicle at the end of its term is that lease-end purchase prices are often negotiable. I have seen numerous instances where banks were willing to lower a consumer's purchase option. I think that this sort of thing is more the exception rather than the rule, but it doesn't hurt to ask.

    Car_Man
    Host
    Smart Shoppers / FWI Message Boards
  • CarMan@EdmundsCarMan@Edmunds Member Posts: 38,514
    Hi freightseller. Thanks for the compliments. I am glad that you enjoy visiting Edmunds. The Long Wheel Base Venture has slightly (about 2%) higher residual values than the Short Wheel Base version does. So, even though it is a more expensive van and will have higher monthly payments, the Long Wheel Base model actually makes a better vehicle to lease. The Value Edition Ventures actually have the highest residual values, but these are offset by its higher lease interest rates. If you decide to lease a 2001 Venture through GMAC prior to April 2nd, you will be able to take advantage of their special lease rate of 4.85% for 36 month terms. The 3 year 12,000 miles per residual values for this van are 44% for the Long Wheel Base, 42% for the Short Wheel Base, 48% for the Value Edition, and 44% for the Warner Brothers Edition.

    The Pontiac Montana has slightly better lease rates of 4.5% for 2001 Montana EWB, 2.75% for Montana LWB models (excluding the Value Edition), and 4.0% for Montana RWB Value. Furthermore, the 2001 Oldsmobile Bravada has an even better lease rate of 3.0% for the term that you are interested in.

    Car_Man
    Host
    Smart Shoppers / FWI Message Boards
  • CarMan@EdmundsCarMan@Edmunds Member Posts: 38,514
    Freightseller, if a member of your immediate family is a General Motors employee you really don't have a whole lot to negotiate on your lease. You should be eligible for their employee purchase plan, which will provide you with a low purchase price (or in this case capitalized cost) for the vehicle that you are interested in. I think that the two items that you need to pay close attention to prior to signing anything are your vehicle's cap cost and the lease rate. Make sure that the dealership is charging you the correct price that you are eligible for through this program on your lease contract. Also, make sure to take a look at the interest rate that you are being charged to lease your vehicle to make sure that the dealer is not marking it up to bake additional profit into your deal. I am not sure if they are allowed to mark-up rates on this sort of lease, but it never hurts to pay close attention to the numbers just in case.

    Car_Man
    Host
    Smart Shoppers / FWI Message Boards
  • mjoo600mjoo600 Member Posts: 10
    Car_man,

    Thanks, I appreciate you taking your time to answer our questions so thoughtfully and patiently. I first got your help in this forum about a year ago, it's good to see that you're still here helping all of us in our search to find a decent deal.

    The 39 month special lease factor of .00275 sounds good, compared to LFS's regular lease factor (I read it in one of the forum threads someplace, but I'm not sure where and if the post is recent enough to be valid - could you tell me again?). Also, do you know when this special lease offer is ending?

    Regarding the college grad program, I am definitely interested and would appreciate any more info.

    One consideration that I have is that for every car that my family has leased (at 36 months and 15,000mi/yr), we have gone over the allotted mileage by an additional 15,000 miles, resulting in extra $2-3,000 in overmileage fees. I do not foresee any decrease in mileage over the next several years. I would like to see if it would be worth it to negotiate the lease from the beginning at 20,000 miles a year. I realize that another option would possibly be to negotiate down the cents-per-mile rate for the overmileage (actually, will they negotiate on this?), but for the sake of comparison, could you give me the residual value rates for 36 and 39 months both at 20,000 mi/yr?
  • market4youmarket4you Member Posts: 1
    Just coming to the end of a 36 month lease on a TOYOTA AVALON. Lease ends in JULY, but I have just few hundred more miles left before I get into a penalty situation for extra miles. Here is the question....Do I dump the car NOW and pay the payments due? Do I let the car sit and make the payments? or do i pay the extra for the extra miles? Your help will be appreciated. WIll probably lease again from the same dealer, but a different brand car. JOHN IN BOSTON.
  • tj99saharatj99sahara Member Posts: 9
    Carman, I worked a deal at my local Saab dealer. Here it goes, 01 9-3 SE 4dr, Auto, Heated seats. MSRP $35270, Invoice is $33,245. Cap Cost is $31,000 ($2000 lease incentive), Resid. 46%, money factor .00058, 36 months, 12K/yr., 6% tax on usage portion. $477.85/mo, $0 cap reduction, 1st pmt due at inception. Are these numbers correct?
    What are the residual and money factors for 36 month, 12K/mo lease for the SE Convertible.
    Thanks in advance!!!
  • njshore1njshore1 Member Posts: 2
    Carman please help...
    My 3 year lease on my 98 Volkswagen cabrio GLS is up next week. I have 61,000 miles and my limit was 45,000 (.15 per mile after) .. I was hoping to turn it in pay the miles and start all over, I am looking at a 325 convertible or a saab 93 convertible. My buy out is 13,032 on this lease.
    After reading this board I am thinking I should buy this car and then when I finalize my decision sell it privately. The car is in good condition and has manual stick,cd changer leather seats (black on black).
    What do you think I can get for this car privately?
    Do you know if Volkswagen Credit will negotiate the buy out cost and if so How do I go about it?
    How much could i save?

    Finally.
    Any info on BmW 325CI lease vs Saab 93 convertible lease on these cars right now?
  • ferris9ferris9 Member Posts: 7
    Car Man can you tell me if Toyota is correctly applying their tired leasing rates in the following scenario?

    The MSRP for my sister's Toyota Highlander 2wd v6 Limited is $32,326 and the dealer came down to $29,041 ($1000 over invoice in CA)as the selling price.

    My sister wants to have a payment < $400.00/month and her credit score is 682. Under tired leasing Toyota said the best money factor they could extend is .00535. The residual on her Highlander would be $14,299 on a 60 month lease. Her start-up costs were $6469.46 ($5224.93 [down payment] cap reduction, $398.54 first payment, $417.99 cap reduction tax, $428 1st year fees). Net cap cost = $24,111.07 and her payments came in at $398.54 per month. How does this deal sound to you?
  • CarMan@EdmundsCarMan@Edmunds Member Posts: 38,514
    Mjoo600, Lexus Financial's Standard lease money factor is currently around .00330 for consumers with good credit. So the supported 39 month IS 300 lease rate is a little more than 1.3% less than the standard rate. This special lease program is scheduled to run through April 2nd. It is difficult to say for certain what Lexus will do with the IS 300's money factors after that date. As far as the recent college graduate program is concerned, you would only be eligible for it if you have graduated from college or graduate school in the past year or two. If this is the case, I would be happy to provide you with additional information on it.

    I have seen many banks' lease programs over the years, but I do not ever recall any of them publishing residual values for vehicles that are leased with 20,000 miles per year. In order to lease a car with this high a mileage allowance, I believe that you will likely have to actually purchase additional mileage in advance. Most banks provide consumers who purchase extra miles in advance with a discount off of what the miles would have cost them at lease-end. You need to speak with either someone at Lexus Financial or at the dealership that you are shopping at to find out the exact cost per mile.

    Car_Man
    Host
    Smart Shoppers / FWI Message Boards
  • mwilmemwilme Member Posts: 8
    Has anyone looked into the Land Rover Discovery SD lease deal


    http://www.landrover.com/index_promotions.jsp


    $399 month, 36 months, closed end lease

    $1995 down, Only 10K miles pa


    I don't have any more info than that and my LR dealer is over an hour away.


    Feedback ???

  • busikbusik Member Posts: 6
    A friend of mine leased a 1998 Nissan Pathfinder SE about 3 years ago. His 39 month lease will be up in Aug., 2001. He recently received a call from the bank holding the lease an offer to buyout for around $400/month (they will be financing about $17K). The SUV has less than $30K miles. But my friend has no interest in the lease buyout, he simply want to return it back to the dealership and lease a new one.

    Now I am interested in buying his SUV. Does anyone know how this process works? Can he or I negotiate the selling price/monthly payments directly with the bank holding the lease?, or do we have to go thru the dealership who leased the SUV?, which I do not want to do. Any suggestions/comments on negotiating the best price? before we call the bank? for further info.

    Thanks, Kishore
  • CarMan@EdmundsCarMan@Edmunds Member Posts: 38,514
    Hi John. You seem to have a pretty good grasp of the options that are available to you in your situation. My advice to you would be to contact the bank that you are leasing your Avalon through now to see if they would be willing to work with you. Even though they are not obligated to do anything for you, there is always a chance that they would be willing to reduce your anticipated excess mileage charges or perhaps let you turn your car in early for only a portion of your remaining payments. I don't think that it is likely that your bank will be willing to give you any break, but it certainly doesn't hurt to ask. You've got nothing to lose by doing so. If you can turn your car in early, but will still have to pay all of the remaining payments on your car I know that I personally would rather just keep it and let it sit. Of course, it doesn't do you much good if you aren't driving it, but I guess that it is just the principle of the matter.

    Car_Man
    Host
    Smart Shoppers / FWI Message Boards
  • CarMan@EdmundsCarMan@Edmunds Member Posts: 38,514
    Tj99sahara, it is nice to see that you were able to obtain all of the important numbers for the lease that you are negotiating. Doing so always makes the analysis of it much easier. The residual value that you were quoted is right on the money at 46%. However, I believe that the base lease money factor for this car should be .00048 for the term that you are interested in and not .00058. Still, the monthly lease payment that you were quoted seems reasonable.

    Here is a sample lease payment that Saab has advertised on their Web site. This should be helpful for you to use as a point of reference: Lease a 9-3 5-Door for $339 Per mo*/36 mos. with $2,482.86 due at lease inception (includes down pmt., sec. deposit, acq. fee and first mo. pmt.). This car has an MSRP ($29,170.00) that is much lower than the one that you are interested in, which will obviously affect its payment.

    The Saab Financial Services lease money factor for the 2001 9-3 SE Convertible are not nearly as attractive for the 36 month term that you are interested in. I believe that if you want to lease this car for three years, the lease money factor would be .00348 and the 12,000 miles per year residual value would be 43%. Saab is advertising the following lease on a 9-3 Convertible: Lease a 9-3 SE Convertible for $499 Per mo*/36 mos. with $3,492.61 due at lease inception (includes down pmt., sec. deposit, acq. fee and first mo. pmt.).

    Car_Man
    Host
    Smart Shoppers / FWI Message Boards
  • freightsellerfreightseller Member Posts: 4
    Car_Man thanks for your recent answers. Please help:

    Considering an '01 Chevy Tracker with Leather and ABS (only options available). MSRP 22520 for the 4x4. Two questions:

    What are the residual and money factor for this vehicle at 36 months, 12k miles/year?

    The rebate section of Edmunds lists customer cash on this model of 2000 for North Central, and 2500 for Southeast. I am in Ohio. The rebate page suggests I am eligible for either one. Of course I want the higher rebate. Do they break up the state or do I have a choice? Will leasing affect my rebate amount, or can I apply the full rebate to reducing the cap cost?
  • melissamelissa Member Posts: 27
    I'm on the search for a consumer who is willing to be interviewed by a major NY-based publication and who can attest to the fact leasing is not what it used to be.
    Did you or someone you know get a great leasing deal years ago and now are back in the market and have sticker shock? Did you have to downgrade the model, or did you find other ways to cope with the significantly higher prices? If so, please respond to jfallon@edmunds.com with your e-mail, phone number, city and state of residence, and a brief description of your experience. The journalist promises to keep you identity hidden at your request.
    Hope to hear from you soon!
  • mwilmemwilme Member Posts: 8
    I've been quoted the following for an instock Land Rover disco LE ($2,000 off MSRP)

    " .........(2001 Epsom Green LE). This vehicle
    is on special and the sales price of $32,995 is reflective of a $2,000 discount from the original MSRP. The discount on the nationally advertised
    lease for an SD is $1,660. (See my earlier post refarding the National Lease deal)

    Here is what you get with the LE (..... more stuff .... The SD national lease is $399/month (36 months, 10000 miles per year, and
    $2,000 cash cap reduction), with the special savings on this LE (stock# 21096 (and same criteria of 36 months, 10K/year and $2K cash cap reduction) will lease for $443/month.

    The LE has a slightly lower residual 58%
    compared to the SD's which is 61% and thus a higher monthly payment on the lease. "

    Are these numbers reasonable ?

    Residual at 58% on a 30K mile 3 yr old Disco
    Lease at $443 per month

    I have inquired as to money factor etc but had no response yet
  • CarMan@EdmundsCarMan@Edmunds Member Posts: 38,514
    Hi njshore1. Purchasing an off-lease vehicle with the intention of selling it on your own can be a risky business. If you decide to do this, you need to be as sure as possible that you will be able to sell it for more than you buy it for. Of course, you can take the excess mileage penalty that you would have had to pay into account when trying to decide whether or not to buy your current vehicle. Still, you need to be very sure that you are going to end up in the black because I have heard numerous stories of consumers who were burned in the process of trying to turn over their leased vehicles for profit.

    If I had to guess, I would say that right now your 1998 VW Cabrio GLS is probably worth slightly more than your $13,032 purchase option. You may actually be able to exercise your purchase option on this car, sell it privately, and come out ahead. However, the spread between this car's market value and purchase price is not wide enough for my taste and I would probably just turn the car in if I was in your situation.

    Make sure to place a call to VW Credit prior to taking any action. Although lease-end purchase prices are usually set in stone, once in a while banks are willing to negotiate on them. If they are willing to lower the price, it makes this plan of action more attractive.

    Car_Man
    Host
    Smart Shoppers / FWI Message Boards
  • CarMan@EdmundsCarMan@Edmunds Member Posts: 38,514
    I am glad that you checked with me, Ferris9. A lease money factor of .00535 is higher than Toyota Motor Credit's lease money factors for their worst credit tier (Tier IV .00490). If your sister were to lease this truck using the lease money factor that she was quoted, she would be paying the equivalent of an interest rate of about 12.8%. As I am sure you are well aware, this is a terrible rate in today's economy.

    The deal that you were quoted definitely does not sound like a good one to me. To begin, as I mentioned earlier the lease money factor is way too high. Also I generally advise consumers against leasing vehicles for longer than 36 to 39 months. I say this for several reasons. One is that a lot can happen during the course of several years in a person's life. Your sister's financial situation may change dramatically for better or worse, causing her to need to get out of her Highlander. However, she will be unable to do so without paying a lot of money if she is locked into a 60 month lease.

    Furthermore, this truck's warranty will have long since expired by the time that your sister has to return this car. As a result, she will be responsible for paying for any necessary repairs to it out of her own pocket, or possibly face a large lease-end penalty for excess wear and tear. Also, if your sister ends up driving more than her allotted mileage limit (likely 12,000 miles per year), over the course of 5 years she could accrue an enormous excess mileage penalty that she would have to pay when she turned the truck in.

    I also don't like the fact that your sister is making such a large down payment on this truck. Down payments on leases only serve to buy down the amount that one is financing and do not have any effect upon a vehicle's lease-end purchase price. So none of her $5,000 down payment will reduce her purchase option for this truck. Moreover, if this truck is unfortunately totaled in an accident or stolen and not recovered during the duration of this lease, your insurance company will pay the bank for the vehicle and the down payment will essentially be lost.

    I definitely advise against going with this particular deal.

    Car_Man
    Host
    Smart Shoppers / FWI Message Boards
  • CarMan@EdmundsCarMan@Edmunds Member Posts: 38,514
    Freightseller, the lease money factor and residual value for a 36 month, 12,000 miles per year lease on a 2001 Chevrolet Tracker through GMAC would be 2.35% and 47% for the 4-cylinder and 49% for the 6-cylinder model.

    As far as the incentives on this truck go, the division of General Motors' regions is really a moot point because they do not allow their special lease rates to be combined with consumer cash offers. GM does not currently have any cash incentives available on the 2001 Tracker that can be used on leased vehicles.

    Car_Man
    Host
    Smart Shoppers / FWI Message Boards
  • tj99saharatj99sahara Member Posts: 9
    I just got the numbers on the Convertible from my dealer. He states that the residual for 36 months is 50% with a mf of .00132. I think that is awesome! My only other question is: Do you know what lease incentives Saab is giving ($$wise)? I know the SE has a $5500 incentive if you buy, what is it for the lease?
    Thanks
  • dasixersdasixers Member Posts: 1
    im interested in leasing a clk430 cabriolet im interested in finding out the residual on 48 and 60mths 12k a yr any help would be greatly appreciated
  • svmansvman Member Posts: 25
    Car_Man, Awhile ago you answered my question about the residuals for GM's new SUVs. Thanks and I have some follow-up questions. What is the residual for these after 3 years at only 12000 miles/yr? And will GM be coming out with new residuals after April 2? - since you previously said the current residuals were only good through then. Do you think the April figures will be any different? How often do they update? Is it usually higher or lower as time goes on for new vehicles? Thanks for your help!
  • kmarebkmareb Member Posts: 1
    I am trying to avoid some of the problems that I had the first time around with leasing. A lease made sense for me since I am in sales and go get a mileage allocation. However, my mileage is high (25K per year) and although I had 20K per year in my last lease, I still ran over. I am now looking at purchasing my 98 V6 accord or rolling the additional mileage charges towards a new Honda Lease. My questions are: Do the dealers ever absorb those additional mileage charges to make a sale, or is it just a shell game? What is the real residual value for the 2001 Accord V6 - 36 month, 60,000? the last residual value was high - 14,500( I think the book value is more like 12,500) and prevents me from turning the vehicle over. After I negotiate the TMV, can I still expect to be able to use the Honda special lease rate of 4.9% being offered on this vehicle? Are the acquisitions fees ever negotiated and is a $450 fee standard for Honda? Does Honda ever negotiate the additional mileage charge at purchase (like .10 a mile vs. .15)? Any help is appreciated!
  • ozleeozlee Member Posts: 1
    Car Man, Please help me out as I'm confused. I've negotiated a price of $26K plus TT&L for a Maxima GLE. The dealer has determine the gross capitalized cost at $27,333 which adds the negotiated price of $26K, plus $342 for T&L, plus $409 as my first monthly payment and the $582 I am putting down. Is this the normal way to calculate the gross capitalized cost or am I getting screwed. Why isn't the gross the $26K plus the $342? He is backing out the $582 as cap cost reduction but that's after he has added it in in the first place.
  • cjb10350cjb10350 Member Posts: 6
    which items in a lease, other than the cap cost, are negotiable by the dealer?
  • jones1272jones1272 Member Posts: 3
    What is the residual and money factor for a 24 month lease on a 2001.5 Passat with the leather package, luxury package, manual transmission, and V4 Turbo?

    Is there a site that publishes this info? I tried the VW Credit site and their customer service line.

    Thanks!
  • ferris9ferris9 Member Posts: 7
    Thanks Car Man for your response to my previous post regarding the Toyota Highlander lease. Unfortunately, my sister signed the papers because the salesman kept telling her the money factor was the best she qualified for under Toyota's tiered leasing system due to her credit score. Toyota Finance says they have no control over the deals their dealers make so there seems to be no remedy, even though she was misled. She was also pressured by the "today I'm giving you $1000 over invoice as the price...tomorrow it will be more..it's usually $2000 over invoice" routine. They didn't even tell her about a 36 or 39 month lease option, only a 48 and 60 month lease term compared to a loan purchase of the vehicle. I tried talking to the salesman and the dealer about their misrepresentations but they don't feel they need to do anything since the papers were signed. Buyer beware. Thanks again.
  • CarMan@EdmundsCarMan@Edmunds Member Posts: 38,514
    Tj99sahara, that would be an excellent lease money factor if you are able to get that on a Saab Convertible. It's interesting that the dealer told you that Saab Financial Services has a money factor of .00132 available on the 2001 9-3 Convertible, because I have seen their lease program and the lowest money factor that I remember them having on Convertibles is .00141 on a Convertible Viggen.

    As far as any cash incentives that are available on this car go, you are right, Saab does have a significant amount of dealer cash available on retail purchases of 2001 9-3s. Unfortunately, this cash can not be used in conjunction with their special lease program. However, Saab does currently have $2,000 lease cash that may be used with their special lease rates on all 2001 9-3 and 9-5 models excluding Viggens and Aeros.

    Car_Man
    Host
    Smart Shoppers / FWI Message Boards
  • CarMan@EdmundsCarMan@Edmunds Member Posts: 38,514
    Dasixers, here is the information that you are looking for. If you lease a 2001 Mercedes-Benx CLK430 Convertible (amazing car by the way) through Mercedes-Benz Credit Corp. for 48 or 60 months with 12,000 miles per year, the residual values would presently be 61% and 53% respectively.

    Car_Man
    Host
    Smart Shoppers / FWI Message Boards
  • CarMan@EdmundsCarMan@Edmunds Member Posts: 38,514
    Hi again svman. If you decide to lease a 2002 Oldsmobile Bravada, Chevrolet Trailblazer, or GMC Envoy through GMAC the 3 year, 12,000 miles per supported residual value should be 57% right now. I believe that you are correct when you mentioned that these residuals are scheduled to expire on April 2nd. It is difficult to say whether or not GM will change them on that date. Ordinarily I would say that they definitely would reduce them, but given that these are brand new models, that their residual values are already fairly low, and that the residuals were only introduced a little while ago I would not be surprised if they remained unchanged. Of course, it is hard to say what a manufacturer will do with their future lease or incentives programs with 100% accuracy.

    Car_Man
    Host
    Smart Shoppers / FWI Message Boards
  • CarMan@EdmundsCarMan@Edmunds Member Posts: 38,514
    Ozlee, a vehicle's capitalized cost should consist of the price that you are able to negotiate on it MINUS your down payment PLUS any sort of fees that you want to roll into your monthly lease payments. These fees will always include your vehicle's destination charge, other than that what you add to this figure is really up to you as a consumer. Many people roll their bank's acquisition fee and taxes into this figure. Your first month's lease payment and down payment definitely should not be added to your car's capitalized cost.

    Car_Man
    Host
    Smart Shoppers / FWI Message Boards
  • CarMan@EdmundsCarMan@Edmunds Member Posts: 38,514
    Cjb10350, a vehicle's capitalized cost is by far the most important figure to negotiate when leasing a vehicle. A vehicle's residual value is set by the bank that you are leasing it through and is set in stone. Individual dealerships do not have any authority to alter a vehicle's residual. Certain banks do allow consumers to lower a vehicle's residual value if they want to, but generally speaking the higher residual value the better. The only way that you normally would be able to change a vehicle's residual would be by changing the number of miles per year that you are able to drive without penalty. Make sure to lease a vehicle with enough miles per year, otherwise you are setting yourself up for a substantial lease-end penalty.

    Banks also set vehicle's lease money factor. The money factor is essentially the interest rate that you are paying to lease the car or truck that you want. In some cases, individual dealerships have the authority to "mark-up" the lease money factor for vehicles in order to bake additional profit into deals. This is why it is also very important for consumers to find out exactly what money factor is being used to calculate their payments. By doing so, you will be able to get a pretty good idea of whether or not the dealer is trying to mark up the rate on you.

    Car_Man
    Host
    Smart Shoppers / FWI Message Boards
  • CarMan@EdmundsCarMan@Edmunds Member Posts: 38,514
    Jones1272, I am not aware of any Web site that allows consumers to query the actual lease money factors and residual values that are being used by manufacturers' captive finance companies to calculate monthly payments. However, I come across lease programs from time to time and would be happy to help you out. Given the fact that it is a brand new model, Volkswagen is not providing any sort of lease support on the 2001.5 Passat right now. So if you choose to lease one through Volkswagen Credit, you will have to use their standard lease money factors. Their standard factor is currently .00320 for 24 month terms. This car's exact residual value will vary depending upon whether you want a GLS or GLX, Sedan or Wagon, 4-Motion or non-4-Motion, and the number of miles that you plan to drive per year. If you can fill me in on these additional details, I would be happy to let you know what I think this vehicle's residual values should be like.

    Car_Man
    Host
    Smart Shoppers / FWI Message Boards
  • jones1272jones1272 Member Posts: 3
    Thanks, Car_Man. I am looking at a 24 month, 12K miles per year lease on a GLS Sedan, non-4-Motion, V4 Turbo, leather package, and luxury package. The dealer quoted me .0038 MF and 69% residual. I think they may be adding MF onto the top...

    On a related question, how often do they adjust MF? I was told daily by the dealer, but I don't trust them. (Unfortunately, we only have one dealer in my area) Further, how long does a decrease in the fed funds rate take to impact MF?

    Thanks so much! This site is tremendously helpful!
  • scottnsc1scottnsc1 Member Posts: 16
    Good lucking trying to lease one of the new 2002 GM SUV's. Below is the quote from my dealer on a 02 Envoy SLT. The MSRP is $33,215, my price is $30,494.

    36 mo. - $505 w/ $3245 due at signing
    48 mo. - $533 w/ 3298 due at signing

    From reading other post on Edmunds the culprit seems to be a money rate equivalent to 9.99%. I don't know for sure about that though.

    I am now considering a Tahoe or even the 2002 Ford Explorer because I have heard that I can get a better deal on the Ford. Unfortunately, I can't use my GM Card rebate on the Ford, but if I save enough on my payment each month for 36 months it might just be worth it.
This discussion has been closed.