Lease Questions - Ask Here

CarMan@Edmunds · November 2003

No problem, burrsr. Let me know if you have any other questions on this car's or any other models' incentives.

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CarMan@Edmunds · November 2003

Congratulations on your new car, lewh2. I am glad that the information that I provided you with helped you out. Enjoy

.

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euzar · November 2003

Thanks for the info Car_Man! I greatly appreciate it. I was able to get a 2004 Matrix XR well equipped, 36 month 15K lease with TFS for $700 @Inception & 250 month including tax!!! Once again, your assistance helped me save quite a few $$$$....Kudos to you Car_Man.....

CarMan@Edmunds · November 2003

You're very welcome, euzar. I am glad that I was able to help you out. Thanks for taking the time to come back and let us all know how everything turned out. Enjoy your new car

.

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CarMan@Edmunds · November 2003

Hello rbr. Here is the information that you are looking for. If you end up going with the '04 Accord, you're in luck because Honda just introduced a supported lease program on it this month for I believe the first time since its redesign. Unfortunately, this new supported lease money factor is not equivalent to the 1.9% special financing rate that you mentioned, but it is still not bad at around 3.6%, especially when combined with this model's relatively strong residual values. If you were to lease a 2004 Accord EX-L with navigation 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 .00150 and 56%, respectively.

Conversely, there is not currently any sort of lease support available on the even more recently redesigned Acura TL. If you were to lease an '04 TL with navigation through AHFC this month for 3 years with 15,000 miles per, its base lease money factor and residual value should be .00210 and 57%, respectively.

Last but not least we have the Lexus ES 330. If you were to lease one, equipped with navigation of course, through Lexus Financial Services in your area this month for 3 years with 15,000 miles per, its base lease money factor and residual value should be .00200 and 55%, respectively.

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CarMan@Edmunds · November 2003

Greetings Chris. Here you go. If you were to lease a 2004 Acura MDX Touring with navigation through American Honda Finance Corp. this month for 3 years with 12,000 miles per, its base lease money factor and residual value should be .00210 and 59%, respectively. If you were to lease a 2004 Lexus RX 330 4WD Premium with navigation through Lexus Financial Services this month for 3 years with 12,000 miles per, its base lease money factor and residual value should be .00200 (unless you live on the west coast) and 56%, respectively.

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CarMan@Edmunds · November 2003

No problem, newtisme. Let's do some calculations and see what we come up with. According to my calculations, if you were to lease a 2004 Infiniti FX45 with an MSRP of $53,980 and a capitalized cost of $49,100 + $2,500 = $51,600 through Infiniti Financial Services this month for 3 years with 15,000 miles per year, your zero down, pre-tax monthly lease payment should be right around $799. I calculated this payment based upon nothing down because it is in your best interest as a consumer not to make a down payment when leasing. This is because if your vehicle is totaled in an accident or stolen and not recovered during your lease, your insurance company pays off the bank that you were leasing it through and your down payment essentially disappears. Also, down payments on leased vehicles do nothing to reduce their lease-end purchase prices. So regardless of whether you were to put $0 down or $2,500 down on this model, your lease-end purchase price would be exactly the same. If you still want to put, $2,500 down, it would lower the monthly lease payment on this model to around $725. Keep in mind that these lease payments do not include tax because the methods for calculating tax on leases vary from state to state and are also based upon 15,000 miles per year instead of 18,000.

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CarMan@Edmunds · November 2003

Hi nbty. I believe that Nissan just introduced its lease program on the 2004 Pathfinder on Friday. I haven't had a chance to take a look at it yet, but should be able to within the next day or two. Please post a quick reminder for me in this discussion then and I will let you know what I have been able to find out. Talk to you soon.

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CarMan@Edmunds · November 2003

Hi brucee. If I was in your situation I personally would probably be leaning towards purchasing my leased MDX rather than a used Explorer. One reason why I would do this is that are Honda products traditionally much more reliable than Ford products. Plus I would feel more comfortable knowing the entire history of my MDX, assuming that it is a good history, rather than purchasing a used vehicle that may or may not have had problems in the past or have been properly maintained. Having said all of this, you need to compare your lease-end purchase price for your vehicle to what one could realistically expect to pay for one on the open market. Check your lease contract to see exactly what your purchase option price is. You may also want to place a telephone call to American Honda Finance Corp., or whichever bank you are leasing this vehicle through, to confirm this number and see if they would be willing to negotiate this number with you. There certainly is no guarantee that they will be willing to lower it, but you have nothing to lose by asking. If you do not have any luck getting your first contact to lower the price, you may have more success if you work your way up the ladder a few rungs.

Once you know this vehicle's exact purchase price, look up its True Market Value here at edmunds.com by visiting the Edmunds.com Used Car Appraiser. You also may want to stop by the Real-World Trade-In Values discussion that appears over on the Smart Shoppers Message Board and ask Terry, one of our most knowledgeable community members, what he believes your SUV is worth at this point.

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CarMan@Edmunds · November 2003

Welcome back, earcom. Let's take a look at the vehicles that you are considering for your new ride. If you were to lease a 2004 Honda Accord Sedan or Coupe (the programs are the same for both) EX without navigation 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 .00150 and 58%, respectively. Honda is supporting 3 year leases of this car and that is what I would choose if I was in the market for one, but just for the sake of comparison, the numbers for an otherwise identical 4 year lease should be .00200 and 50%. The numbers for an otherwise identical 3 year lease of a 2004 Accord LX would be exactly the same, but the residual value for a 4 year lease of one would be 49%.

If you were to lease a 2004 Honda Civic Sedan LX through AHFC this month for 3 years with 15,000 miles per, its base lease money factor and residual value should be .00215 and 54%. The numbers for an otherwise identical 4 year lease of this model should be .00200 and 47%.

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rbr · November 2003

Many, many thanks. Looks like you've been busy this morning! Your willingness to make this information available is absolutely invaluable.

If I may push my luck for one more: 2004 Saab 9-5 Arc Sedan, 36 months, 15,000/year ( I currently lease a 2001 9-5 SE, and Saab's lease rates are usually pretty competitive).

Again, many thanks for all your efforts.

brucee · November 2003

car_man,
thank you for the detailed response. I should have made myself clearer--the dilemna i face is should i buy out the lease on the 3 year old acura mdx, or buy a NEW explorer for roughly the same price. looking 3 to 5 years down the road, which car will have more value?

thanks again,
brucee

jerhot · November 2003

Thanks for the numbers on the Odyssey lease. I am going to complicate things a little. My salesman is offering me a 42 month Honda lease. Can you give me the Honda numbers for a 42 month lease? I also want numbers for a 36 month lease at 12,000 miles per year (not the 15,000 you quoted).

One more question, does the 42 month lease include 42,000 miles or 36,000? I have seen some 39 month leases with 36,000 miles allowed. All the numbers (residual and money factor) are the same, you just have 3 more months to pay for it, so it makes for lower payments. The 42 month lease my dealer is quoting me is also a lower monthly payment, so I wonder if the extra 6 months just allows me to divide up the total payments by 42 months, but the miles have to be kept at 36,000 to keep the depreciation low and the residual high.

Can you help me with this? Thanks!

earcom · November 2003

Wow; many thanks for the Honda lease information. One more question: what are the residuals for 12,000 miles? Can I assume an additional 2% for all of the above with 12,000 miles?

Thanks again and sorry for not being more specific the first time but I am playing with the numbers for both 12,000 and 15,000 miles. Thanks.

kyfdx · November 2003

AHFC Honda lease residuals are almost always 2% higher for 12K leases versus 15K.

regards,
kyfdx

jratcliffe · November 2003

You'd have to see how your residual aligns with current market value for the MDX. If they're pretty close, then the 3 year old MDX should be worth more in three years (at age 6) than the new Explorer, simply because a vehicle will lose a larger % of its new sale price in years 1-3 than in 4-6.

jbowman3 · November 2003

First of all, How are you? It's been about five months now and the allroad is great. Thank you so much for your wit and wisdom. So great in fact, my wife has confiscated the car, and refuses to give it back. Her car lease is up so I'm looking for a car for myself...AGAIN! I'm looking at another allroad, this time a 2.7T 6 speed, or a 4.2 Tiptronic; 39 months, 15K/yr. What are the residuals and money factors for these two automobiles for the month of November?

Always a pleasure,

JB

tratist · November 2003

I have a question for any one here who can help. If an individual has a lease on a car and is in the National Guard and is being activated to be sent to Iraq what is their legal obligation as to the lease. Can it be terminated? If law varies by state I am interested in the law in Maine. If anyone can answer this quickly I would appreciate it. If you can respond to my e-mail it is ssj1952@yahoo.com. Thanks.

s852 · November 2003

They would probably not lease to people in the reserves if reservists could cancel their obligations if they got deployed.
What a massive risk to the Leasor. It's not like an apartment where the landlord might have a good chance of getting a new tenant if the first tenant moves out early.
This is something the person leasing should think about before leasing. "What if I lose my job? What if I need to move?"

jbowman3 · November 2003

Car Man,

While we're at it, let's also look at theVW Passat W8 4 -motion wagon, and the BMW 525 wagon. Both at 36/39 months, 15K mile/yr.

Thank you so much, and it's reassuring that you're still here to help.
JB

CarMan@Edmunds · November 2003

You're welcome, rbr. Yeah, yesterday was a busy one. I'm glad that you find the information that I provided you with so helpful. Here is the information for the Saab that you are interested in. If you were to lease a 2004 Saab 9-5 Arc Sedan through Saab Financial Services Corp. this month for 3 years with 15,000 miles per, its base lease money factor and residual value should be .00037 and 48%, respectively. In addition to this special lease money factor, Saab is providing $2,000 lease cash on this model that may be used to negotiate a lower capitalized cost.

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CarMan@Edmunds · November 2003

No problem, brucee. Ahhh, I thought that you meant that you were considering purchasing a used Explorer. This changes things a little bit. It's difficult to say which vehicle will be worth more down the line, but a new Explorer is certainly more attractive than a used one. For me personally this would be a toss up. Take the Explorer out on a test drive and see what you think of it. If you like it you may want to consider going with a new vehicle that has a full warranty. You really can't go wrong by picking either one.

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CarMan@Edmunds · November 2003

You're very welcome, jerhot. I am sorry to say that I have not seen American Honda Finance Corp.'s 42 month numbers for this particular model. I can tell you though that the money factor and residual value definitely will not be the same as the 36 month information that I provided you with earlier. Its base lease money factor for a 42 month lease will be either .00215 or .00200 and its resid will be lower. A 42 month, 12,000 miles per year lease would come with a total of 42,000 miles. As far as 12,000 miles per year leases go, to convert the 15,000 miles per residual values that I provided you with to 12,000 residuals add 2% to them.

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CarMan@Edmunds · November 2003

You're welcome, earcom. Kyfdx is right (thanks by the way) for AHFC leases that are longer than 3 years one needs to add 2% to 15,000 miles per year residual values to convert them to 12,000 miles per.

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rbr · November 2003

Look like it going to come down to either getting another Saab or the Accord; just wish Lexus had something better going on -- I hate to pay $100+/month interest. I still might simply purchase the Accord as well.

Nonetheless, thanks again -- for the first time ever, I feel like I'm fully "armed to do battle," so to speak! I'll report back with the results probably by the weekend.

CarMan@Edmunds · November 2003

Welcome back, JB. I'm glad that you like the allroad so much, unfortunately a little too much as far as your wife goes

. Here is the latest allroad information for you. If you were to lease a 2004 Audi allroad 2.7T through Audi Financial Services this month for 39 months with 15,000 miles per year, its base lease money factor and residual value should be .00150 and 52%, respectively. The money factor would be exactly the same for an otherwise identical lease of a 2004 allroad 4.2L, but the residual value would be 54%.

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CarMan@Edmunds · November 2003

I agree, rbr. As far as leases support goes, both the Saab and the Accord are pretty attractive. Lexus was providing a decent amount of lease support on many of its models a couple of months ago, but it really is not providing any sort of support other than on the IS and the GS right now. Thanks for offering to come back and let us all know how everything turns out. Talk to you then.

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CarMan@Edmunds · November 2003

More cars, huh, JB? Of course I would be more than happy to help you out. If you were to lease a 2004 VW Passat Wagon W8 through VW Credit this month for 3 years with 15,000 miles per, its base lease money factor and residual value should be .00165 and 47%, respectively. The numbers for an otherwise identical 39 month lease should be .00185 and 45%.

As far as the '04 BMW 525 goes, I do not believe that BMW has introduced the redesigned 5-Series wagon yet. So I can not help you out there.

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rbr · November 2003

Look like it going to come down to either getting another Saab or the Accord; just wish Lexus had something better going on -- I hate to pay $100+/month interest. I still might simply purchase the Accord as well.

Nonetheless, thanks again -- for the first time ever, I feel like I'm fully "armed to do battle," so to speak! I'll report back with the results probably by the weekend.

nbty · November 2003

Hi Carman,

Can you please give me the residual and MF on this vehicle. I live in nyc sticker price is 34500 and looking for 12000 miles a year. Also if you can give me an estimated payment.

thx

CarMan@Edmunds · November 2003

Thanks for the reminder, nbty. Here is the information that you are looking for. If you were to lease a 2004 Nissan Pathfinder LE 4WD through Nissan Motor Acceptance Corp. this month for 39 months with 12,000 miles per, its base lease money factor and residual value should be .00104 and 50%, respectively. In order for me to calculate a sample lease payment on this truck for you, I need you to provide me with its full MSRP and selling price. Once I have this information I would be more than happy to see how the numbers work out for you.

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aqbqcq · November 2003

Carman,

can you tell me residual and mf for 12K miles/yr. Thanks. Also, any idea when VW may start offering better deals on the touareg.

buster6 · November 2003

Hi car_man,

Could you please give me the updated info on the m45 lease 36/39 mo with 15k.

Also looking for the Acura RL with navi #'s if you have them. (Acura is offering a $499 p/m lease, but does not disclose the sales price), just wanted to try to see if I can do a little better if possible.

Anything else I should know on these cars (besides the 3k offered by Infiniti right now?) in terms of rebates or insentives?

Thanks so much!!

marku22 · November 2003

Hey Carman,

What's the current residual and MF on a 36 month lease for a 2004 330 convertible?

Thanks!

CarMan@Edmunds · November 2003

Hi aqbqcq. Volkswagen has already enhanced its lease support on the Touareg somewhat. I would be more than happy to give you an idea of what its lease program is like on it right now. However, first I need you to tell me how long you plan on leasing it for. Once I have this additional piece of information I should be able to help you out.

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CarMan@Edmunds · November 2003

Hey buster6. Here is the latest on the M45. If you were to lease a 2003 Infiniti M45 this month for 3 years with 15,000 miles per, its base lease money factor and residual value should be .00020 and 48%, respectively. The numbers for an otherwise identical 39 month lease should be .00033 and 47%. In addition to this lease money factor support, Infiniti is providing $3,000 dealer cash that may be used to reduce this car's capitalized cost.

As far as the Acura RL goes, if you were to lease a 2004 Acura RL with navigation 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 .00032 and 47%, respectively.

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CarMan@Edmunds · November 2003

Hello marku22. If you were to lease a 2004 BMW 330Ci convertible through BMW Financial Services this month for 3 years with 15,000 miles per, its base lease money factor and residual value should be .00215 and 57%, respectively.

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aqbqcq · November 2003

Sorry Car Man. I'd like to lease the Touareg for 36/39 months defitnitely no more than that. Thanks.

marku22 · November 2003

Thanks Carman!

Sorry, I totally spaced on the mileage allowance. How do the numbers look for 12,000?

Also, are there any worthwhile independent leasing companies? Or is BMWFS pretty fair? (we're talking about someone with less than stellar credit if the makes a difference)

measurer · November 2003

Hi Car_man,

Long time lurker, first time poster.

I have been quoted a money factor of 0.00215 and a residual value of 44% for a 48 month lease with 12k miles/year for a 2004 Audi S4 through Audi Financial.

Are these the numbers you have for this lease and are there any "sweet spots" in their current program, e.g. significant change in money factor for a shorter or longer lease?

Thanks in advance.

snow_boarder · November 2003

Carman, can you update your info on Touareg right now, V8 for 36 months, 15000 miles/year, price around $45K?
How about brand new BMW X3 3.0, the same price and same conditions? I heard BMW just released numbers for that new truck. Thanks a lot

clpurnell · November 2003

Car_man,

Could you give me RV and MF for the above vehicle. 36-39-42-48 months 15k miles per year. Also what does AHFC add to the MF if you waive the security deposit?

TIA

chrism124 · November 2003

Car_man,

Can you provide me with lease information for a 04 Acura TL based on 42 month/12k and 42 month/15k.

Thanks,
Chris M

CarMan@Edmunds · November 2003

You're not stupid at all, aqbqcq. Leases have so many variables associated with them that it is hard for consumers who don't deal with them all the time to remember all of the details. Here is the information that you are looking for. If you were to lease any 2004 Volkswagen Touareg other than the V8x through VW Credit this month for 3 years with 12,000 miles per, its base lease money factor and residual value should be .00170 and 55%, respectively. The money factor for an otherwise identical 39 month lease of this vehicle would be exactly the same, but the residual value would slip to 53%. When negotiating a lease on this model, keep in mind that VW is also providing $500 lease cash on it that may be used to negotiate a lower capitalized cost.

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CarMan@Edmunds · November 2003

You're welcome, marku22. To arrive at BMW FS' 12,000 miles per year residual values for this vehicle, add 2% to the 15,000 miles per year residuals that I provided you with earlier. BMW FS' lease program is usually fairly reasonable. I believe that they have a high penetration rate as far as leased BMWs go. Of course, it is possible that an independent bank or banks has a slightly better lease program on the vehicle that you are considering, especially now that BMW's 2004 models don't have much in the way of lease support available on them, but I have a feeling that BMW FS' program is very reasonable when compared to the programs being run by most other banks.

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CarMan@Edmunds · November 2003

Welcome aboard, measurer. They always say this when someone calls a talk radio show for the first time, but I think that it is much more appropriate for a message board

. I would be more than happy to help you out. According to the latest information that I have seen, if you were to lease a 2004 Audi S4 through Audi Financial Services this month for 4 years with 12,000 miles per, its base lease money factor and residual value should be .00195 and 45%, respectively. If you were quoted a factor that is higher than this, it is possible that the dealer that you are working with is marking-up AFS' base lease money factor in an effort to add additional back-end profit to your deal. From what I have seen, Audi dealers frequently attempt to mark up lease money factors on consumers, especially when they are interested in vehicles that are in short supply. This doesn't mean that you can't get them to lease this car to you using the base program, just that you have to ask negotiate with them to get them to do so. Unfortunately, because Audi is not providing any sort of lease support on the S4 at this time, there is not really any "sweet spot" so to speak in its lease program.

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CarMan@Edmunds · November 2003

Greetings snow_boarder. It's almost the time of the year again isn't it? No offense, but yuck I can't stand snow or cold weather. I think that I need to move some place warmer, though I do enjoy skiing every now and then. Anyways, onto the leasing questions. If you were to lease a 2004 Volkswagen Touareg V8 (nice choice in vehicles BTW) through VW Credit this month for 3 years with 15,000 miles per, its base lease money factor and residual value should be .00170 and 53%, respectively. When negotiating your lease of this vehicle, make sure to keep in mind that VW is currently providing $500 VW Credit lease cash on it that may be used to negotiate a more attractive capitalized cost.

As far as the BMW goes, if you were to lease a 2004 BMW X5 3.0L (the all-wheel drive system in the 2004 model is supposed to be much improved past models, this will be good for your snowy trips to the slopes) through BMW Financial Services this month for 3 years with 15,000 miles per, its base lease money factor and residual value should be .00215 and 56%, respectively.

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CarMan@Edmunds · November 2003

Hey clpurnell. Here is the information that you are looking for. If you were to lease a 2004 Honda Pilot EX-L with the rear entertainment system through AHFC this month for 36 months with 15,000 miles per year, its base lease money factor and residual value should be .00215 and 60%, respectively. The numbers for otherwise identical 39 and 48 month leases of this vehicle should be .00215 and 57% and .00200 and 53%. If you want to have your lease security deposit waived, add .00010 to the aforementioned factors.

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CarMan@Edmunds · November 2003

Hi mzinzi. Interestingly enough, I recently heard a rumor that Mazda is not providing special lease money factors on the 2004 Mazda 6 this month. If this is the case, you are much better off leasing it through another bank. If you decide to do so, make sure to keep in mind that Mazda is providing $2,500 dealer cash for 2004 Mazda6 Sedans leased through any bank other than its captive finance company. You should be able to arrive at a relatively attractive payment by using this cash to negotiate an attractive capitalized cost and leasing through another bank.

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CarMan@Edmunds · November 2003

Hi Chris. If you were to lease a 2004 Acura TL through American Honda Finance Corp. this month for 42 months with 15,000 miles per year, its base lease money factor and residual value should be .00200 and 57%, respectively. The money factor for an otherwise identical lease with only 12,000 miles per year would be exactly the same, but the residual value would increase to 59%.

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