3.2cl-s

If you dont have a financial calculator, or want residual values, this is a good standard for figuring out which car to lease.

http://www.leasecompare.com/#

NJTypeS

Thats pretty useful. I just went to the site to see what a G35 coupe would cost w/ $2000 up front and it quoted $407.00 per month for 39 months. I went to an infinit dealer and they told me mid $400's

SwankCLS

I never understood why people put money down up front on a lease. It defeats the purpose of a lease and you also lose that money if your car is lost due to an accident.

chef chris

Leases incorporate GAP insurance which covers the buyer in a "deficiency" situation after a total loss(accident or theft, etc ).

You can buy it on a regular financed auto as well, costs about $300>$600 normally & is well worth the money, especially on a high dollar unit.

Anyhow, those calculators are a general guideline...don't expect it to be close when you go into a dealership...you may get a big suprise if so.

SwankCLS

Why not to put money down on a lease

GAP insurance doesn't help get your cap reduction payment back after a loss.

zamo

Try this, $0 down and $450/month.

as the other fellows already said, you should always avoid down payment for a lease. Thats only for buying.

DaBoomVatz

Correct me if I am wrong but if you put money down on a buy and got into an accident you would still lose your down payment unless you buy cars that appreciated vs depreciate. Money down usually covers tax, tags, bank fee's etc. leasing makes good business sense!

chef chris

Ideally, if you can afford the payment with no money out of pocket(without going over 39 months), that's the best way to go. But if you want a slick ride & have a cap on what you can afford each month...you gotta give up some cash.

The end result is the same. In fact, the more you finance by NOT putting money down, the MORE money you will be charged interest on. So, how is it being charged finance fees better than putting money down?

And I saw the VERY GENERAL info they gave on the site...with their WISE advise to invest the down money in a savings account... Do the math on that...7% interest on a lease vs. the whopping 1.5% you get these days on a savings account.

chef chris

True, anything can happen...whether you lease or buy.

zamo

Don't confuse money down with money out-of-pocket (fees, tag, etc). When you buy a car with low down payment, you will certainly be offered gap insurance in the event your car gets totalled.

chef chris

Yeah...the more I read on that site(which is by no means an arbitrary third party for unbiased information), the more I can see their advise leaves alot to be discussed.

It's good in a general sense...for pure beginners, but I think they miss some of the finer points.

Like they say you should lease longer if you keep your cars longer...that's hands-down BAD info. It has to do with the money-factor(interest rates) and residuals, not how long you keep your car. If you keep cars for a long time...you should be FINANCING anyhow, not leasing.

There is always a "sweet-spot" with lease figures...and they always depend on that particular car. You just have to ask a bunch of questions...sometimes a 3 month difference in lease terms will drop your rate a few percent...Case in point, my 02 CLS. 39 months thru Honda was the sweet spot, whereas both 36 & 42 months were at higher rates(over 3% higher ).