Lease Questions - Ask Here

kyfdx · February 2004

There is no V6 Cayenne. The base model is the "S", which has a V8. The other model is the turbo, which has a V8 turbo.. Perhaps you were thinking of the Touareg?

regards,
kyfdx

smd5 · February 2004

Carman - Do the lease factors that you quoted above also apply to the 4 Matic versions of these cars? If not can you please provide for E320 and E500 4 matic, the 39 mos residual and rate factor, 10k/year.

jamber · February 2004

Hi Car Man,

I'm getting ready to lease an MDX base model (non-Touring).
Selling price is $35,300 (MSRP of $36,945)
Could you please provide me the Residuals and Money Factors for the following on the above MDX:
36 month / 15k miles year
39 month / 15k miles year (would it now be 16k miles or still 15k?)

Also, the dealer said leasing through Acura will give me a $1,200 allowance at year end for excessive wear and tear vs. leasing through a bank... Do you know if this is true?

Are the numbers you will be providing me based on a Acura lease or a bank lease?

Thank you for your help Car Man.
James

mellis · February 2004

I'm afraid you're mistaken kyfdx, there is indeed a V6 Cayenne.

http://www2.us.porsche.com/english/usa/cayenne/cayennev6/default.- htm

kyfdx · February 2004

New for this calendar year, maybe? I was sure there was no V6, when they debuted. Thanks!

regards,
kyfdx

sross · February 2004

Hello CarMan. I'm going to be taking delivery on a Toyota RAV4 "L" Automatic in 2-3 weeks. The final price will be 23,376 (plus 299 dealer prep [I know, please don't chide me] and 7.2% tax, minus my trade in of $5500). I was originally planning on getting a loan through my bank, but I'd appreciate it if you could give me figures for a 32 and 39 month lease, 12K miles per year
As you suggest, I won't put "money down" in the form of the trade-in into the lease. I assume, though, that I should pay the tax out of my trade-in.

explorerx4 · February 2004

Thanks for the answers on my ssab lease questions, about a week ago. i only asked about 10k and 5k mileage, but thanks for adding the 12k quote (over 4 years you are still under the factory warranty). at least i won't have to ask you about bmw 3 series, you've answered that often enough! soon, you'll have to answer a lot of 4 series questions, though.

krochelli · February 2004

Car man--

What is the MF and residual for the 325ci for 3yrs/12k?

Car will be bought in LA area....

Thanks again--my second lease thanks to you!

CarMan@Edmunds · February 2004

Hi murphy24. Lease trading is indeed a legitimate way for consumers to get out of their leased vehicles prior to their scheduled end dates. The main problem with it is that consumers often have to offer to pay the individual who assumes their lease in order to entice them to do so. For example, you may have a difficult time convincing someone to assume your lease on a used RX300 when they could lease a brand new RX330 for around the same price, or perhaps even less. So in order to convince someone to assume your lease, you may have to sweeten the pot a little so to speak. This ultimately may be less expensive than paying a huge excess mileage penalty at the end of your term though. Remember that if you really enjoy your truck, you can always purchase it from the bank that you are leasing it through at the end of your term and now have to pay any sort of excess mileage penalty.

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CarMan@Edmunds · February 2004

Hello smd5. Many companies have run early lease termination programs lately. However, I am sorry to say that I am not aware of any sort of early termination program being offered by BMW at this time. I have not heard of any sort of loyalty program being run by BMW FS either.

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CarMan@Edmunds · February 2004

Hi John. Here is the information that you are looking for. If you were to lease a 2004 BMW 545i through BMW Financial Services this month for 30 months with 15,000 miles per, its base lease money factor and residual value should be .00225 and 66%, respectively. The numbers for an otherwise identical 36 month lease of this car should be .00225 and 62%. If you were to lease this vehicle with only 12,000 miles per year, its residual values would be 2% higher than the ones that I just posted.

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CarMan@Edmunds · February 2004

You're welcome, knockoff. I have not seen the lease program for the V6 Cayenne, but I believe that they probably are the same as the Cayenne S. Given the fact that there is no lease money factor support on this model, at least the lease money factor would be exactly the same as the one that I mentioned earlier.

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CarMan@Edmunds · February 2004

Hi there tbone1744. In order for you to find out how easy it will be for you to get a new vehicle, you first need to find out of you are upside down on your current one. You should be able to find out your vehicle's current value by looking it up in 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. One of our community's most knowledgeable members, Terry, hangs out there and he is usually willing to give consumers an idea of what their vehicles are worth. Once you know your vehicle's current value, compare it to the remaining balance on your loan. If you owe considerably more on your vehicle than it is worth, it will be fairly expensive for you to get a new car or truck at this time. This is because in order for you to get rid of your current car, you would have to either sell it on your own or trade it in and cover your negative equity out of your own pocket or perhaps roll some of it into your next vehicle loan or lease. Rolling negative equity over into one's next new vehicle is never a good idea because it just buries you even further in your next ride. Some dealers may claim that they will pay off your vehicle for you, but by doing so they are only eating into their profit and hurting your ability to get a good deal on your new vehicle.

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CarMan@Edmunds · February 2004

Good question, smd5. I believe that the money factors that I provided you with earlier are not available on the 4-Matic versions of these cars. The 4-Matics would have the same residual values, but their base money factor would be .00265 for 3 year terms.

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CarMan@Edmunds · February 2004

Good morning, James. Here is the information that you are looking for. If you were to lease a 2004 Acura MDX without the navigation or rear entertainment systems through American Honda Finance Corp. this month for 36 months with 15,000 miles per year, its base lease money factor and residual value should be .00215 and 59%, respectively. The numbers for an otherwise identical 39 month lease should be .00215 and 56%. The total number of miles that you would be able to drive with a 36 month 15k lease is 45,000 and the total number of miles for a 39 month 15k lease is 48,750. AHFC is fairly lenient in evaluating excess wear and tear on leased vehicles. I do not know how much in charges they will waive, but I do remember hearing something about it waiving penalties when it increased its acquisition fee a while ago.

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CarMan@Edmunds · February 2004

Hi sross. Toyota's incentives programs vary by region. Having said this, I do not believe that it is currently providing any sort of lease support on the 2004 RAV4 in any of its regions. If this is the case, then you are probably better off just financing this vehicle. If you were to lease it through Toyota Financial Services, you would have to use its standard lease money factors. I have not seen TFS' program in a while, but the last time that I did, its base standard money factor was .00220 for all terms. The RAV4's residual values vary depending upon whether you are getting the 2WD or the 4WD version. I should be able to give you an idea of what this model's residuals are like if you let me know which one you are getting.

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CarMan@Edmunds · February 2004

No problem, explorerx4. I am glad that I was able to help you out. Thank you for taking the time to come back and say thanks

.

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joatmon · February 2004

Car_Man. BMWFS often waives the security deposit for their current customers.

CarMan@Edmunds · February 2004

Welcome back, krochelli. Let's take a look at this car's current lease program. If you were to lease a 2004 BMW 325Ci through BMW Financial Services this month for 3 years with 12,000 miles per, its base lease money factor and residual value should be .00125 and 59%, respectively.

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CarMan@Edmunds · February 2004

Very true, joatmon. Thanks for adding that. I was thinking about any sort of loyalty cash or lease payment waiver, but it does indeed often waive its security deposit requirement for returning lessees. I guess that it's better than nothing, but not much

.

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jamber · February 2004

Thank you for your help Car Man.

c182skylane · February 2004

Car-Man:

I noticed a 2004 Honda Accord today at the dealership that has 1,275 miles on it and it claims it's a demo car. Does AHFC treat demo cars the same as new cars for leases?

Thanks.

kjisaacson · February 2004

The title says it all -- who gets the acquisition fee? The dealer or the bank? Is the fee just another way of putting more money in the dealers pocket? Or another way of getting bilked by the bank?

Many thanks.
Ken

P.S. How does one reply to a response on the board? I see threads of conversations, but can't figure out how to reply. Thanks.

yk40 · February 2004

On Feb 02, I leased a 325xi with premium, leather, cold weather and metallic. Next day, I found a letter in the glove compartment stating that my BMW was not equipped with BMW assist hardware due to part shortage at the time of assembly. It is my understanding from the customer notification form that was also in the glove compartment that I should have been asked to sign the form confirming my knowledge of unavailability of BMW assist in the car. I contacted my dealer and they will install the hardware once they get it.( this may take weeks)

Here is my point. If had known that the particular vehicle that I picked ( it was the only one on the dealers lot with the options/color I wanted) did not have the BMW assist hardware installed then I would definitely NOT have signed the lease on that day. Then I would have leased the same vehicle few days later, possibly from another dealer, with the better finance rate that BMW announced on Feb 05. (MF=0.00125 instead of MF=0.0019 that is in the current contract).

I am requesting that BMW compensate me for this by reducing my payments by appropriate amount. Is this a fair request? Or am I out of line ?

CarMan@Edmunds · February 2004

You're welcome, sross. I like your other choice in vehicles quite a bit. The 2004 Volkswagen Passat GLS 1.8T 4motion Sedan with a manual transmission would be a really neat car to drive. On average, Volkswagens are not as reliable as Toyotas, but I know several people who have owned completely trouble-free Passats. Let's take a look at Toyota's lease programs first. Again, I do not believe that it is providing any sort of lease support on the 2004 RAV4 4WD right now. I haven't seen Toyota Financial Services' lease program in a while, but the last time that I did, its 36 month, 12,000 miles per year base lease money factor and residual value were .00220 and 61%, respectively. The money factor would be the same for an otherwise identical 39 month lease, but the residual value would fall to 58%. As far as the 2004 Volkswagen Passat GLS 1.8T 4motion Sedan goes, if you were to lease one through Volkswagen Credit right now, its 36 month 12,000 miles per year base lease money factor and residual value should be .00085 and 51%, respectively. The numbers for an otherwise identical 39 month lease of this car should be .00115 and 49%. In addition to these special lease money factors, Volkswagen is providing $400 lease cash on the 2004 Passat in most of the country that may be used to negotiate a lower capitalized cost. This cash is higher in Volkswagen's Western region, but I do not think that Colorado is in it.

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CarMan@Edmunds · February 2004

No problem, jamber.

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CarMan@Edmunds · February 2004

Yes, c182skylane, I believe that demo Honda models are still eligible for Honda's new vehicle lease program, as long as they have never been titled.

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CarMan@Edmunds · February 2004

Hello Ken. Lease acquisition fees are charged by banks and individual dealerships do not have any authority to waive them. The only way that dealers profit directly from acquisition fees is if they mark-up a bank's base fee to add additional profit to a deal.

You have already figured out how to post a message in this forum. There really isn't a way for community members to reply directly to another post. When I want to do so, I just copy the title of the post, paste it in the title line, and put an "Re:" in front of it.

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CarMan@Edmunds · February 2004

Hi yk40. I can certainly understand why you are upset. I would not be happy if I had leased a car that usually comes with certain equipment only to find out after the fact that it did not have it and I was never informed that it didn't. If you were never informed of this situation, never signed any sort of document about it, and BMW requires that dealers tell consumers then you certainly have a legitimate gripe. I really don't know if they will be willing to do anything for you, but it's worth a shot. I would love to hear how things turns out if you wouldn't mind coming back to let us know.

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yk40 · February 2004

Thanks Car_man. I wasn't sure If I would be totally out of line for making such a request. Most probably They will not do anything. However, I will try and let you guys know whatever response I get from BMW. I would like to write to a BMW person who can make financial decision ( not BMW Customer reps). Whom should I write to and where do I get the contact info? Any idea?

itaback · February 2004

Thanks for the info on the A4. One more request - can you please provide me with the MF and residuals for a Volvo S60R for a 36 mo. lease and for 10K miles per year. (I know from previous posts that if leased from some other company than volvo's captive finance co. there is a $4500 cap cost kicker.)

And, can you give me an example of what this car would lease for from a third party finance company if the car had a selling price of $39K. Thanks.

Thanks in advance for your tremendous help.

CarMan@Edmunds · February 2004

You're welcome, yk40. I don't know the names of anyone who you should speak with, but you might want to start by calling up BMW's customer service center and working your way up the ladder to some sort of manager or supervisor.

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CarMan@Edmunds · February 2004

No problem, itaback. Here is the information that you are looking for on the 2004 Volvo S60R. If you were to lease this car through Volvo Finance this month for 3 years with 15,000 miles per, its base lease money factor and residual value should be .00041 and 53%, respectively. For leases with only 12,000 miles per year, Volvo Finance adds 2% to its 15k residual values. I haven't seen any information on leases through Volvo Finance with only 10,000 miles per. Most banks that lease vehicles with such a small mileage allowance usually add 3% to their 15,000 miles per year residual values to come up with the appropriate residual value, but Volvo Finance may not even lease vehicles with 10,000 miles per year at all. You need to check with your dealer to find out for certain. As an interesting side note, Volvo is providing $4,500 lease cash on 2004 S60 R models that are leased through banks other than Volvo Finance. If another independent bank has an attractive enough lease program on this car, it may be possible to use this cash to reduce its capitalized cost and actually achieve a lower lease payment than if one was to lease through Volvo Finance.

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itaback · February 2004

One more question. How do you go about leasing a care from a third party bank? Do you tell the salesman that is what you want to do? Also, is there a way to prove to a salesman that the $4500 incentive exists (I spoke to a guy this morning that told me it doesn't apply to the S60R).

As an addendum, I just called Volvo customer service and they told me that the $4,500 incentive is a "retailer" incentive that each dealer may choose to share (or not share) with the customer. So I guess the idea is to shop around and see which dealer will share it.

Thanks so much.

stever12 · February 2004

Hi Car_man, I see GM advertising their Sign and Drive lease deal on the CTS. $399/mth for 48 months, with $0 sec, $0 down, and no first month payment. Their add specifies a cap cost and residual, but I was wondering if you could give me the money factor currently being used. Also, the cap cost seems kind of low and I am wondering if a dealer will actually agree to it. Is a lease acquisition fee included in that cap cost? Thanks for any help you can provide.

CarMan@Edmunds · February 2004

You're welcome again, itaback. Consumers usually don't lease through independent banks on their own. Most outside lending institutions rely on dealerships to connect them with consumers. Many dealers have computer systems that enable them to search the country to see which banks are running the most attractive lease program on a specific vehicle at a given time. It would be virtually impossible for a consumer to figure out which bank was running the best program on their own, and even if they were able to the bank may not do business directly with them. Your best bet is to comparison shop with several different dealerships for the Volvo that you are interested in. If you can get a cheaper lease payment on it by leasing through a bank other than Volvo Finance, one of these dealers should know about it. The salesperson who you spoke with who told you that this $4,500 alternative bank lease cash is not available on the 2004 Volvo S60 R was either very miss informed or was lying to you because this cash is ONLY available on the S60 R and not on any other Volvo models. This cash is a dealer incentive and the dealerships that you are working with may or may not be willing to share all of it with you. Unfortunately, I do not know of any way that you can prove to your salesperson that this cash exists other than to shop around until you find an honest / informed dealer.

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CarMan@Edmunds · February 2004

Hi stever12. I have seen the CTS advertised lease that you mentioned in your post. It actually is a pretty good deal. General Motors Acceptance Corp. publishes lease interest rates instead of lease money factors for the vehicles that it leases. You can convert its lease rates into approximate lease money factors by dividing them by 2400. If you were to lease a 2004 Cadillac CTS, not the CTS-V, through GMAC right now for 48 months with 12,000 miles per year, its base lease rate and residual value should be 3.95% and 45%, respectively. In addition to this special lease rate and residual value, General Motors also recently introduced lease cash on this car that may be used to reduce its capitalized cost. Specifically, in your area it is providing $1,400 lease cash on 48 month GMAC leases. I am not positive, but I suspect that GMAC's acquisition fee is indeed included in this car's capitalized cost.

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itaback · February 2004

Dear Car Man:

Can you please tell me what the residual and money factor would be on a mercedes CLK 500 convertible for 39 months and 12,000 miles per year. Even better, can you give me what the monthly payment would be based on a $65,000 purchase price.

Thank you again.

g17 · February 2004

This question is for CAR_MAN or anyone else who has had an experience.

What is the earliest Mercedes or BMW will take back a lease on a 39 mo. term assuming you are on the mileage schedule, and you plan to lease another vehicle from them. 3 months, 6 months, 1 month????

Any experinces would be helpful!!
Thanks

crashtestdingo · February 2004

yk40's story of the BMW w/o BMW Assist has me wondering: Is there a Federal "Cooling Off" Period law which allows the buyer or lessee of a car to change his or her mind and return the car within a couple or a few days after the transaction is consummated?

doying5 · February 2004

You should be able to call BMW customer service directly on your lease question. So many banks have been changing policy on this lately so even if someone gave you a number, I would still suggest calling BMW finance and simply say...

"I am planning on purchasing a new BMW blah blah and would like to take advantage of your great lease on it now. What is my remaining balance of payments due? Once you recieve a check for the balance of payments, when will you pick up the car?"

Several manufacture finance places will allow you to turn in the car when ever you want with the balance of payments. The banks (Like US Bank) are getting pretty sticky about it.

Good Luck

CarMan@Edmunds · February 2004

Hey itaback. If you were to lease a 2004 Mercedes-Benz CLK 500 Convertible through Mercedes-Benz Credit Corp. this month for 36 months with 12,000 miles per year, its base lease money factor and residual value should be .00265 and 65%, respectively. In order for me to calculate a sample lease payment for you on this car, I need you to tell me what its full MSRP and selling price are.

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CarMan@Edmunds · February 2004

G17, banks usually will not allow consumers out of their leases early, unless you are leasing your vehicle through a manufacturer's captive finance company that is running an early lease termination program, and your purchase or lease the same brand of vehicle as your next new car or truck. Unfortunately, I do not believe that BMW or Mercedes-Benz are running early lease termination programs right now.

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CarMan@Edmunds · February 2004

Crashtestdingo, I am sorry to say that there is absolutely no "cooling off period" in auto sales. Once a consumer has driven their car or truck off of the dealer's lot they own it. In some rare cases, consumers may be able to convince their dealer to unwind their deal if they act quickly, but they have no legal obligation to do so.

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c182skylane · February 2004

Car_Man:

Okay, I have a new scenario-- The dealer has a NEW 2003 Accord Coupe EXV6 w/NAVI and 6-speed MT. I know that Honda is offering a $1000 incentinve on the 2003 Accords. Can you look up the AHFC Money Factor and Residual Value info for a 36 month lease with 12k and 15k miles per year? Many thanks again.

mobofe · February 2004

what happens often, especially if you're buying at the same dealership, is an offer by the sales staff to take on the remaining months of your lease in order to get you into a new vehicle. How many months they would consider would really depend, although i can't see them doing more than a 3 month span. I would also assume that length would be factor in how much discount off MSRP the dealer will be willing to budge.

b4z · February 2004

Thanks for the reply regarding my SRX lease question and to stever12's question regarding the CTS lease.
Very helpful.
I am being quoted a cap cost that is about $5,000+ off of MSRP. $38,690 down to $33,XXX.
Do you see me being able to get any more off?
They are advertising $459 for the SRX.
I come up with $404 a month and I guess the rest is the no money down, no 1st payment, no security deposit.
The GM fine print says all applicable rebates and incentives are used in this promotion.
My salesman says he is only making $110(personally, not the dealer profit) on this no option car.
He says these are the cars they advertise but that they hope nobody buys.LOL.
I have spent too much time on this deal and am thinking I can't do any better.
Do you think I am leaving any money on the table?

ricochet600 · February 2004

Hi again, Car_man. Thanks for all the info. Regarding the Jeep, I unknowingly but luckily recorded the commercial. The commercial shows a 39 month, $999 down, $299/month lease deal. It also states the following, "After $5250 Cash Allowance/4.49% APR. $13,361 balloon payment due at loan end if vehicle is not returned."

In fine print at the bottom of the screen is, "Amounts based on MSRP and include conquest/loyalty bonus. Offer requires dealer contribution."

I am assuming that this is for the Laredo RWD (and NOT the 4WD), which has a base MSRP of $48,055 including destination charge. I'm also assuming that they are offering only 12,000 miles/yr.

Based on the above numbers ($5250 cash allowance, $999 down, $299 per 39 months, 4.49% APR), the numbers make sense, well, sort of. If I plug in 45% residual, then I get a monthly payment of $301.67 before taxes.

1. Does that mean that they are using 45% as the residual for both 36 as well as 39 month leases?

2. Why are they advertising a high APR (4.49%), in comparison to the money factor of 0.00137 (3.29%) that you mentioned was their standard MF?

3. Can I combine the cash allowances and residual offered by this President's Day promotion with the standard money factor?

4. I understand loyalty bonuses, but what is a conquest bonus? According to edmunds incentive page for this car, the 2nd $750 cash allowance states, "Offer valid for customers who own or lease a non-Chrysler Group brand vehicle." Doesn't that apply for anyone who owns a car, period?

5. Where is the other $1000 cash allowance coming from?

In this ad - http://bbjeep.com/ad.pdf

it mentions in fine print, $500 Jeep discount. Any idea what that is? And is the remaining $500 the 'dealer contribution'?

6. Can we use the final balloon payment figure to deduce that the residual value is $13,361? The only problem is that 13,361/28,055 equals 47.7% residual value...

7. Can I possibly have any more questions:)

Thanks in advance.

307web · February 2004

If I were to lease a new CLK Coupe without navigation for 3 years, 36,000 miles with the minimal possible money paid up front what would the payment be?

The full retail MSRP as equipped is $48,210. There is a 7% discount from for purchasing through the European Delivery Program which puts the European Delivery price at $44835.30 and a $835.30 discount from the dealer, which puts the before-taxes-and-fees price at $44,000 even.

CarMan@Edmunds · February 2004

Hey c182skylane. You may actually find that it is less expensive to lease a 2004 Accord than it is to lease a 2003 model at this point, even with the dealer cash that is out there. At the very least, there is not as much a difference between the lease payments of these two vehicles as one would think. This is because A) Honda has stopped providing lease support on 2003 models and

its residual values are lower for the 2003 Accord than they are for the 2004 model. If you were to lease an '03 Accord through American Honda Finance Corp. this month, you would have to use its standard lease money factors. The last time that I saw its lease program, AHFC's base standard money factor was .00220 for 36 months. The corresponding residual values for a 2003 Accord EX-L with navigation should currently be 50% for leases with 15,000 miles per year and 52% for leases with 12,000 miles per year.

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