Lease Questions - Ask Here

mick0212 · March 2004

Car_man:

I'm looking for a new vehicle before the end of the month, and wonder if you could provide me with a couple money factors/residuals. I'm interested in:

Chrysler Pacifica FWD, 39 mo/ 12k miles
Toyota Highlander FWD 4 cyl, 36 mo/12 miles
Honda Accord LX 5sp, 36 mo/12 miles

I know Toyota is advertising a 48 mo lease on the Highlander, but I'm not interested in going much if at all over 3 years. I live in the Detroit area, if that makes a difference.

Thanks for your help.

CarMan@Edmunds · March 2004

Hi jrig. Let me begin by telling you that General Motors Acceptance Corp. publishes lease rates for the vehicles that it leases instead of money factors. You can convert its lease rates into approximate money factors by dividing them by 2400. If you were to lease a 2004 Cadillac Escalade 2WD through GMAC this month for 3 years with 15,000 miles per, its base lease rate and residual value should be 4.0% and 51%, respectively. If you were to lease this truck with only 12,000 miles per year, its residual value would increase to 54%. When negotiating your lease on this model, keep in mind that General Motors is providing $750 bonus cash on it this month that may be used in conjunction with this special lease program. I don't know what sort of lease programs the major independent banks have on this model right now, but if I had to make an educated guess, I would say that you probably will be able to get the best payment on an '04 Escalade by leasing it through GMAC right now.

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CarMan@Edmunds · March 2004

Hello acorby. You're getting both an Accord and a S2000? You must be a big Honda fan. I can't say that I blame you though, they are both very nice cars. Honda is running a special lease on the 2004 Accord this month, but it does not have any sort of lease support on the 2004 S2000. AHFC's current base lease money factor and residual value for a 3 year 12,000 miles per lease of a 2004 Honda Accord EX V6 Sedan without navigation should be .00146 and 59%, respectively. Its numbers for an otherwise identical lease of a 2004 S2000 should currently be .00220 and 60%, respectively. I don't know if AHFC leases vehicles with only 10,000 miles per year. Most banks that do leases vehicles with this few miles increase their 15k miles by 3% to arrive at their 10k residual.

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CarMan@Edmunds · March 2004

Greetings jfgobraves. As I mentioned in an earlier post, General Motors Acceptance Corp. publishes lease rates for the vehicles that it leases instead of money factors. You can convert its lease rates into approximate money factors by dividing them by 2400. If you were to lease a 2004 Cadillac CTS (not the CTS-V) through GMAC this month for 4 years with 12,000 miles per, its base lease rate and residual value should be 3.95% and 45%, respectively. When negotiating your lease on this car, make sure to keep in mind that General Motors is providing $1,400 lease cash on it in most parts of the country. This lease cash is slightly higher in its Northeast region, so let me know if that is where you are located. Also, as you already may be aware, GM is running a "Sign and Drive" lease program this month that waives the first lease payment and security deposit for GMAC lessees.

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CarMan@Edmunds · March 2004

No problem, tstarks33. I am glad that I was able to help you out. Audi dealers are allowed to mark-up Audi Financial Services' base lease money factors up to .00125 higher than its base rates, so I'm not surprised that your dealer is trying to mark your factor up on you. This sort of thing happens all the time, of course the lying isn't very endearing though.

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CarMan@Edmunds · March 2004

Hi mick0212. Let's take a look at the current lease programs for the models that you are interested in. First, if you were to lease a 2004 Chrysler Pacifica FWD through Chrysler Financial this month for 39 months with 12,000 miles per year, its base lease money factor and residual value should be .00110 and 51%, respectively. When negotiating your lease on this vehicle, keep in mind that DaimlerChrysler is currently providing $3,000 lease cash on it and is running a dealer stairstep program on it that will make dealers anxious to sell them this month.

Next, we have the Toyota Highlander. Toyota's lease program varies by region. It is only providing lease money factor support on this vehicle in certain regions. I have not seen if it is providing any special lease money factors on this model in the Detroit area, but if it is its supported factor is probably between .00150 and .00175. For now I will tell you what its standard lease program is like. If you were to lease a 2004 Toyota Highlander Base FWD through Toyota Financial Services this month for 36 months with 12,000 miles per year, its base lease money factor and residual value should be .00220 and 59%, respectively.

Last but not least we have the 2004 Honda Accord. If you were to lease an '04 Accord LX Sedan through American Honda Finance Corp. this month for 36 months with 12,000 miles per year, its base lease money factor and residual value should be .00146 and 58%, respectively.

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mick0212 · March 2004

Thanks, Car_man for the fast response.

I'm surprised (and pleased) that the residual on the Pacifica is 51% - for some reason I thought it was lower, being non-AWD.

I don't know anything about dealer stairstep programs (and this probably isn't the place to ask), but if it results in dealers 'anxious' to deal, it's gotta be a good thing.

Really appreciate your help.

tstarks33 · March 2004

"Audi Financial Services is running a promotion that allows its wholesale dealers to extend its special financing rates out to 66 months, but this has absolutely nothing to do with its lease program. I have a feeling that is where he got the idea for this fib."

That is EXACTLY what he said!!! He said "I can't even get the 66 month finance deal, let alone the .00020 rate". Grrrr, thanks carman, once again, you have been a big help to me. This dealer is really starting to be a pain.

jfgobraves · March 2004

on gm website they advertise a lease of 48 months at 399 a month it says the cap cost is $30,337 and if i am figuring out right with money factor at 3.95/2400 and residual of 45% i get payments of 419 so what gives? Thanks for your help
Also I live in IN is 1400 lease rebate available here?

infinitimn · March 2004

I cut a deal today for a 3 year lease on a new BMW 530i at BMWFS base MF and $1800 over factory invoice, or $1600 over what dealer says is his cost including advertising. Could not have done it without your help and information.

Now I can only hope that they put some lease support behind this car and the MF goes down between now and taking delivery at the end of the month or the beginning of April.

vsroman · March 2004

Car_man...I'm getting ready to sign a lease for an X3 which will be built to my specs. Is the MF locked in? Can you lock today's MF and then get the benefit of a lower MF if one comes out prior to delivery? What about the residual...does that lock? I assume that would never get any better over the next 8 weeks.

Thanks for your insight.

glevitt · March 2004

Hi Car_Man,
Can you give me Infiniti's lease terms for March on the G35 Coupe?

I am looking for a the money factor and residual values for both 36 and 48 month lease terms as well as for 12k and 15k miles.

Thanks!

moeronn · March 2004

Car_man - Thanks for your help when I was looking at the Inifinit G35 and Acura TL. I ended up buying my TL last night, as the payments between buying and leasing were too close to justify a lease.

I am not trying to help a friend who is interested in a F-150 XLT 6.5 SB. Would you be able to provide me with the MF and residual for this truck based on 12K and 15k miles a year for 36 and 48 months (4 combinations)? Also, what is Fords lease aquisition fee? I will also be researching a possible purchase of this vehicle.

Thanks in advance.

mookie · March 2004

Hey Carman,

Thanks for the information. The MSRP on the 330cic is $47,045.00. Purchase price is $46045.00. I am looking for a 36 or 42 month lease and 15k miles per year. Can you calculate the monthly cost for me? Thanks so much.

audi_buyer · March 2004

I keep reading about M/F and Residuals, what do they mean??
In a lease, is the higher M/F better for the buyer??
Is the higher Residual better for the buyer?

Car_man... if you could take time and clarify

audi_buyer · March 2004

Car_man, after much shopping around, the best price I got for an A4 1.8T Quattro, with premium, sport and lighting packages is $500 over invoice, making the price to be 30000(approx.)
And, for a 15K/yr, 36month, 0 down lease, the same dealer quoted me $460/month with a M/F of 0.0006 and residual $17,345 (58%approx.)
So, is this a good lease offer?
What does the M/F and Residual say?

Thanx in advance

jzack24 · March 2004

If you submit a credit application on the BMW website, you get an approval good for 60 days. This approval locks in the current MF and residual, though if either improves you should be able to get the better number.

jzack24 · March 2004

I just signed the paperwork on my X3 for a 24 month/15K lease. The residual and MF were exactly what you listed (after negotiation) but I did throw them a bone of an extra $100 on the acquisition fee. Thanks for your help.

kirby2010 · March 2004

Audi buyer - great choice on the car. The money factor is equivalent to 1.44% financing. A great residual, too. I'd be interested in hearing from others if they think the payment is line with expectations. Any thoughts??

tstarks33 · March 2004

Thanks carman, I just got back from leasing the exact car I wanted without feeling like I got taken. I got an A4 with auto, quattro, premium, cold package, bose stereo, and sport package for $340 a month! Many thanks for all of your assistance

nnahmed · March 2004

Carman,

I am looking to lease a civic vp auto 4 dr. They are selling for 12.6k (in edmunds what did you pay townhall). The acquisition fee is $575 and the residual is 8,109. Money factor is 0.00017 (.00017 is correct I have verified with a couple of dealers). I was wondering if you could help me figure out the lowest monthly payments. The best quote I have right now is $127/month for 36 months with $1500 down for 12k miles/yr. However, I believe I can do better given that Honda has incentives going on and that it is selling for around 12.6k. Could you please help and tell me the lowest I can get given this price. Also, per advise here if I put zero down what can I expect my payments to be. Thanks in advance.

sjmurray3 · March 2004

Has anyone had any experience with leasing the TSX? Does anyone know the current AHSS MF & Residuals for a 36/39 Month lease for a TSX/non-nav?

truck56 · March 2004

I am looking to lease an "04" Murano SL AWD with touring package and accessories. My local dealer's MSRP is $34,980. I have an excellent credit rating & history. I am interested in a 36 month/12k or 39 month/12k with $3500.00 down to keep my payments lower. Would appreciate your input. P.S. I am a newbie THANKS

lucifer · March 2004

Car_man

I am neg a 2004 tl lease - msrp-33,195, selling price-31,500 for 42 months/17,000 miles, zero down.

Can you let me know what res% and MF I should expect?

It would be great if you could help me calculate the lease payment. The sales tax for my area is 7%. However, my sales rep is telling me that it will be 10%--Is there an additional tax above state/county tax?

Thanks!!!!

ashleyandersin · March 2004

Hi Car_Man. Am now interested in the Porsche Cayenne V6 as well as the BMW X3 3.0 as the base Cayenne has all of the options I want and is roughly the same price as a similarly equipped X3 3.0. I test drove the Cayenne yesterday, and actually preferred it over the X3. I do not know how the financials on a 3 yr. lease compare on the two vehicles though. Do you have any info (i.e mf and resid. on a 3 yr., 12k mi. lease on the Cayenne v6? Also, how do you feel about on-line leasing services (such as those that compare leases and provide quotes). In your opinion, do you believe that the quotes are "real"?

fuzlbutt · March 2004

See a lot of discussion on the sedan. I'm looking to lease an Avant with premium, cold, lighting, sport, bose. MSRP $35,185. Shooting for near invoice at $32,000. What are M/F and residual for 36 and 42 month respectively, at 12,000 miles, please? Dealer was pushing hard to close me yesterday at $365/month for 42 months at 10,000 miles per +TTL, which I think ain't so hot.

lmp180psu · March 2004

What is your area? You forgot to mention it in your post

kirby2010 · March 2004

fuzlbutt -- your monthly looks "close" to me - though I'd like to see someone else confirm. I used a money factor of .0006 and a residual of 64% for 42 months and came up with $366/month. Some may have first hand experience with the residual for 10K miles. For example, if your residual rose to 60% the monthly would fall to If anyone else is close I'd appreciate hearing about it - I'd like to independently verify my formula.

fuzlbutt · March 2004

I assumed Avant money factor would mimic sedan factor of .0002, not .0006.

mcwenzel · March 2004

Hey Carman,

Thanks for your recent help on an A4. I am looking at a 36 month lease, with 12,000 or 15,000 miles. I was at the dealer today and they told me the residual on the A4 Quattro is higher than the CVT, and that the money factor is lower, making the Quattro more affordable on a lease.

Specifically, they told me on a 36 month 12,000 mile lease, the residual is 56% on the Quattro and 54% on the CVT.

Can you confirm the residuals and money factors for the A4 for both the Quattro and CVT for a 36 month 12,000 and 15,000 mile lease?

So far, with your help, the dealer knocked $40 a month off, but I hope to do better. Thanks so much for your help.

jfgobraves · March 2004

Car man I need a little help figuring out a lease of a 2004 acura tl non nav.
you quoted earlier a residual of 50% and money factor of .00195 on a 48 month 12000 mile lease.
Using these numbers i get a payment of 423.67.
But the dealer quoted me a price of 454.85 What gives here are the numbers i used
MSRP-33195.00, sales price-32300.00, cap cost reduction- 1000.00, adjusted cap cost- 31300.00, money factor- .00195, residual 50%, term- 48 months 12k, sales tax 6%. Please help me out with any ideas on why these figures are so far off any help well be appreciated.
Also I have very good credit so i dont think this should be a factor. If I am using the wrong numbers please provide the right numbers. Thanks

CarMan@Edmunds · March 2004

You're very welcome, mick0212. Please let me know if you have any other questions.

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CarMan@Edmunds · March 2004

Hey jfgobraves. I am not sure why your calculations are not coming out the same as General Motors'. I can tell you though that the $1,400 lease cash is available in your home state.

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CarMan@Edmunds · March 2004

I am glad that I was able to help you out, infinitimn. Congratulations on negotiating the deal on your car. I'll keep my fingers crossed in an effort to get BMW to introduce more lease support on it for you. Let me know when you need an update.

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CarMan@Edmunds · March 2004

Hi vsroman. BMW does allow consumers who order vehicles to lock in its current money factor and residual value for a couple of months. In the event that the program that is available when your vehicle actually arrives is more attractive than the one that you locked in, I believe that you are allowed to switch.

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CarMan@Edmunds · March 2004

I would be more than happy to help you out, glevitt. According to the latest information that I have seen, if you were to lease a 2004 Infiniti G35 Coupe through Infiniti Financial Services this month for 3 years with 15,000 miles per, its base lease money factor and residual value should be .00220 and 59%. The numbers for an otherwise identical 4 year lease of this car should be .00220 and 50%. If you were to lease it with only 12,000 miles per year, its residual values would be 60% for the 3 year lease and 52% for the 4 year lease.

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CarMan@Edmunds · March 2004

Congratulations on your new Acura TL, moeronn. It is a great car, but it is nice enough that unfortunately Acura does not need to provide any sort of lease support on it. Ford's lease program on the 2004 F-Series is not very attractive either. Let me begin by saying that Ford Motor Credit publishes what is known as lease rates rather than lease money factors. You can convert these lease rates into approximate lease money factor equivalents by dividing them by 2400. OK, if your friend was to lease a 2004 F-150 Regular Cab XLT 4WD through Ford Motor Credit this month for 3 years with 15,000 miles per, its base lease rate and residual value should be 5.75% and 49%, respectively. The numbers for an otherwise identical 48 month lease of this truck should be 6.5% and 42%. If you were to lease this truck with only 12,000 miles per year, its residual values would be 2% higher. Ford is providing an additional $1,500 total lease cash on this truck that may be used to negotiate a lower capitalized cost.

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CarMan@Edmunds · March 2004

I would be more than happy to calculate a sample lease payment on this car for you. According to my calculations, if you were to lease a 2004 BMW 330Cic (MSRP: $47,045 / Capitalized Cost: $46,045) through BMW Financial Services this month for 3 years with 15,000 miles per, your zero down, pre-tax monthly lease payment should be right around $595. The payment for an otherwise identical 42 month lease should be around $574.

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CarMan@Edmunds · March 2004

Greetings audi_buyer. Edmunds.com has a couple of great articles that are must reads for anyone who is interested in leasing a new vehicle. Click on the following links to check them out:

- Leasing Glossary

- Calculate Your Own Lease Payment

- 10 Steps to Leasing a New Car

These should answer any questions that you have, but please let me know if you still have any after checking them out.

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CarMan@Edmunds · March 2004

Volkswagen and Audi have been having a rough couple of months, sales-wise, so consumers should be able to negotiate fairly attractive deals on most of their products right now. It sounds as though you have been able to negotiate a pretty solid selling price on this car, audi_buyer. However, the lease money factor that you are being charged is a little higher than Audi Financial Services' current base money factor of .00020 for this car. This probably means that the dealer that you are working with is marking-up AFS' base money factor to add additional back-end profit to your deal. You should insist that they use Audi's base money factor in your negotiations. I would be more than happy to calculate a sample lease payment on the exact car that you are interested in for you. However, in order for me to do so, I need you to tell me its exact MSRP and selling price.

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CarMan@Edmunds · March 2004

You're welcome, jzack24. I am glad that I was able to help you out. Congratulations on your new ride. Enjoy!

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CarMan@Edmunds · March 2004

No problem, tstarks33. I am glad to hear that everything worked out well for you. Thank you for taking the time to come back and let us all know how everything turned out.

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CarMan@Edmunds · March 2004

Hi nnahmed. You should be able to purchase, or lease in this instance, a 2004 Honda Civic for very very close to dealer invoice right now. I would be more than happy to calculate a sample lease payment on one for you. However, in order for me to do so, I need you to tell me the exact full MSRP and selling price of the car that you are interested in. You can find out this information by looking up the car that you want in the Edmunds.com New Vehicle Price Guide. Its MSRP and invoice prices will be listed there. Your car's selling price should be a couple hundred dollars over invoice.

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audi_buyer · March 2004

Car_man, I greatly appreciate your response to my questions.
The MSRP for my 1.8T Quattro with Premium, sport, lighting is $32420, the selling price is $29993.
And to lease it for 36months, 15K/yr, 0 down, the dealership offered me a M/F of 0.00020 and residual of 17,344.80 and a monthly payment of $460
What do you think?

jratcliffe · March 2004

$460 a month? Using the numbers you gave ($32,420 MSRP, $29,993 sales price, 0.0002 MF, 36 months, $17,345 residual), I come up with $360.83, pre-tax, not $460.

Capital cost: $29,993-17,345=12,649=$351.36/month
Money cost: ($17,344+29,993)*.0002=$9.47/month
Total: $360.83/month

audi_buyer · March 2004

my mistake... the M/F the dealership offered is 0.0006

kyfdx · March 2004

Even with that its only $19/mo. higher. Around $380/mo... even if you roll in $600 for an acquisition fee, it would still be under $400/mo. Even rolling in tax, should be under $430/mo, unless you are rolling in some negative equity from a current loan or lease.

regards,
kyfdx

CarMan@Edmunds · March 2004

Hi sjmurray3. I should be able to give you an idea of what Acura's lease program on this car is like. If you were to lease a 2004 Acura TSX without navigation 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 57%, respectively. The numbers for an otherwise identical 39 month lease should be .00215 and 52%.

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CarMan@Edmunds · March 2004

Welcome aboard, truck56. Let me begin by saying that I always advise consumers against making large down payments on leased vehicles. I say this for two main reasons. The first is if your leased vehicle is stolen and never recovered or is totaled in an accident during your lease term, your insurance company pays off the bank that you were leasing it through and your down payment essentially disappears. The second main reason is that down payments on leased vehicles do nothing to reduce their lease-end purchase prices. So let's say that you like your leased Murano so much that you decide to purchase it at the end of your term. Its lease-end purchase price would be exactly the same regardless of whether you had put $3,500 down or had put absolutely nothing down at all. If you really want to lower your monthly payments, you are better off keeping the $3,500 that you would have put down in the bank and using it to supplement your monthly lease payments.

I would be more than happy to calculate a sample lease payment for you on the exact Murano that you are interested in. However, in order for me to do so, I need a little additional information from you first, namely this model's selling price. You should be able to get a good idea of what this vehicle is going for right now by looking up its Edmunds.com True Market Value in the New Vehicle Pricing section of this site.

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CarMan@Edmunds · March 2004

Hello lucifer. According to the latest information that I have seen, if you were to lease a 2004 Acura TL without navigation 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 .00195 and 51%, respectively. I do not believe that AHFC publishes residual values for leases with 17,000 miles per year. If you need to drive this many miles, you may have to purchase additional mileage on a per-mile basis. This can usually be done at a discount at lease signing. I would be more than happy to calculate a sample lease payment on this car for you, but any payment that I estimate will not include sales tax because the tax rates and the methods for calculating sales tax on leased vehicles can vary tremendously from area to area. According to my calculations, if you were to lease a 2004 Acura TL with an MSRP of $33,195 and a selling price of $31,500 through AHFC for 42 months with 15,000 miles per year, your zero down, pre-tax monthly payment should be right around $442.

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