Advertised leases are a rip off...

[joe215]

...if you walk in and take an advertised lease. You can always negotiate a better deal just as with a purchase. Don't even bring up lease vs. buy in your negotiation. If they ask, say your not sure. Just focus on getting the best price you can get for the car. Make sure you research what the standard depreciation is for the model. Also, get an idea of what range of interest (or money factor) you qualify for. With this info you can get as good a deal as is possible.

Once you have set the sales price, know the depreciation, interest, and TTL, etc... you can calculate the lease amount using an online calculator.

I lease all my vehicles for 36 months. Have for over 15 years. Leasing works for me due to my driving style and tax reasons. It is not for everyone.

Again, for my specific purposes, I also wrap everything into the lease. I simply make 36 payments and turn the vehicle back in. No cash out of pocket. Cars are a terrible investment 99% of the time. I'll use my cash for better purposes. I also never take depreciation, get a tidy sum back from Uncle Sam, never have repair cost other than oil changes and an air filter, and drive a new car every three years.

Do your research first. Then call multiple dealerships and multiple leasing agencies and have them all bid on the exact same model (easy with the Genesis). Round-robin those guys until the last man standing. You just got your best deal. I do this every time and always come out way ahead.

I generally see a ~25% reduction in cost (monthly payment, which I never bring up with the dealer. Use an online lease calculator) from the first call to the last.

The dealerships hate this because they know it works in the customers favor.

It's worth a few hours of your time and you can do the entire thing over the phone.

 

[Sal Collaziano]

Sounds like excellent advice.. Thank you!

 

[Coug]

... I'll use my cash for better purposes. I also never take depreciation, get a tidy sum back from Uncle Sam, never have repair cost other than oil changes and an air filter, and drive a new car every three years.

I'm new to leasing. When you say you never pay for repairs, is that just becuase a new car is under warranty should any repairs be needed, or does a lease typically require the dealer to pay for any and all repairs? What about regular maintenance like a 30,000 mile service? Thanks.

 

[joe215]

Right. I generally do a 36 month/45K mile lease. The leasing company requires that the vehicle be under full factory warranty for the term of the lease. The dealership has extended the warranty, if they needed to, every time. I average less than 10K/year for the last 10 years. Therefore, by the time my lease is up, the vehicle only has 26-28K miles on it. I have never seen a scheduled maintenance bill, tire bill, brakes, etc...

Again, this works for ME. I'm a low mileage driver, I take very good care of my vehicles, etc..

My next lease is going to be a 36 month/36K term. I will see a small savings (higher residual value) by dropping down from 15K miles/year. After ten years I think I have a pretty good idea of how many miles I will use.

The worst thing is when you do a lease and then "run out of miles" six months before your term is up. Can you say 25 cents per mile?

Don't get yourself into this trap.

 

[RichieRichLancair]

Can you buy the car after the lease? Do they put a percentage of the payments toward the purchase price?

 

[joe215]

You can purchase the car at the end of the lease, but if that's your plan you probably shouldn't lease in the first place. By the time you make all the lease payments and then "pay off" the final payment, it would probably have been cheaper to buy in the first place.

I hand in the keys and walk out with a new car every three years and make roughly the same payment every month.