Just thought I would pass this on in case anyone was interested in leasing an RL. This was from a dealer in NJ:

"they're leasing just over $800 / month with inceps down. 36 months. 12,000 miles."

 

That is definetly too high.

 

And how much do you think a *NEW*...key word NEW 50K car should lease for? Bland new cars will always have some of the worst lease programs offered.

 

This rate is by the book. It is not 'high.' Standard money factor, residual, etc.

Brand new cars don't always have the worst lease programs offered. The VW Phaeton is already going for something like $600 per month. It all depends upon whether the factory subsidises the money factor or not. Acura doesn't have too (unless it's the RSX).

 

I have seen 05 (Navi) TL leases (same time period and mileage) for around 300. 500 more a month for the RL? Seems a little high. I could be wrong, but I'm just giving my opinion.

 

Where did you see those TL leases? My dad had been looking into a TL before he just got his MDX and none of the least rates were anywhere near that good unless you were shelling out like $8K up front.

 

There are only 4 different ways to affect a lease payment:

1. Residual - This is not set by the factory.
2. Selling price (Capitalization Cost) - This depends upon how well you negotiate at the dealer.
3. Money Factor (Interest Rate) - This could be low if it's subsidized by the factory, lower because you have excellent credit, or just a standard rate (set by finance company).
4. Term - How many months/miles.

 

Actually, there's a 5th way as well:

Capitalization Cost Reduction (putting more money down) - This will 'pay down' the lease. There is a maximum you can put down.

 

I think it was Joe Rizza Acura here in IL.

 

The Phaeton has a subvented lease program. That same subvented lease did not apply to the Phaeton when it was first on the market. Lease programs get adjusted depending on how well or not the car is doing.

 

Justin, I was charged $595 for a "car acquistion fee"..any ideas what that is, and/or is that a fixed or negotiable amount?

 

The acquisition fee, which is included in most lease transactions and is either paid up front or included in the gross capitalized cost. It may be also be called a bank fee, an administrative fee, or an assignment fee. It is non negotiable...the fee is being charged by the lessor not the dealer.

 

My point with the Phaeton was that even if the car is brand new, the factory can subsidize the money factor to move a slow (or expected to be slow) car.

 

I think $800 a month for the RL is way too much. Mercedes Benz has a sweet lease deal on the E320 for only $599 per month, with 49K MSRP. I could settle for RWD for that price. However, the RL seems to be a sweet buy, why not put down $5K, and purchase for $900 a month?

 

Why does Honda Finance make it so difficult to get out of a lease? especially when you want to bring them $50K in additional business? I've went through 1 transmission, and a host of other items on my 03 TL-S, but they simply don't care about this bad luck I'm having. I just want to get into another vehicle, at least one that won't break down every few months! Does anyone know of a way to get out of a lease through Honda Financial Services? If so...please let me know!

 

There should be no reason the dealer shouldn't be willing to do a "buy back" on your lease. I leased an '03 QX4 from Infiniti Leasing Services and decided to turn it in a year early for a new SUV. I was looking at an MDX and FX and both Acura and Infiniti dealers offered to get me out of the lease, although I knew up front it would add $$$ to the deal.

The dealer should be able to determine the payoff (even though it's a lease there is still a "payoff") on your car as well as the current value and calculate the difference. If the difference is negative, they should simply be able to roll it into your next lease via a larger downpayment or higher monthly lease payments.

A lot would depend on how long you've had your lease and how many months are left. If you are less than halfway through, the charges would probably be enormous. Hope that helps.

 

I leased one and only one RL through HFC. In my opinion, they are the weakest and worst link in the entire Honda network.

They treated me like I was a deadbeat that was lower than dirt whenever I had to contact them.

Never again, finance or cash is my preferred option.

 

Thanks for the infomartion "Dseag2 ". My lease is for 39 months, and I've had the vehicle for 24 months now. The options that HFC gave me were so confusing that it went in one ear and out the other. I'm very disappointed with there customer service. Maybe I'll keep my current vehicle, purchase the RL and when 8 months are left...trade the TL for a TSX.

 

I think $800/month is too high. Also, sales tax is added each month (in TN anyway). The sales tax here is 9.75%, which would make the total payment $878. In TN the state sales tax is 7% and the local tax is 2.75%. When you purchase a car the local tax only applies to the first $1,600, or $44. For a 36 month lease, you would pay an additional $1,496 in local sales tax.

I think in most cases a purchase is better than a lease. After all, the leasing company has to buy the car and make some money off of the deal.

 

Don't contact HFC directly. Go to your Acura dealer and see what they will do if you're really interested in trading. I've never contacted the leasing company directly.

And BTW, for those of you who think HFC is bad, my FX is leased through Infiniti Financial Services and I got two tickets for expired tags because I was never given power of attorney to RENEW the tags. All renewal notices were sent to Infiniti and they never did anything with them. It took many calls to IFS and lots of wrong information before they finally sent me a power of attorney. They also ended up sending me $40 in AMEX gift checks for all the trouble (which still didn't make up for the citations).

 

I guess all my calling around has finally paid off, when the dealer where I purchased my RL found out I was looking into purchasing from a rival dealer, they decided that I could get out of my lease without taking the big hit I was afraid I was going to have to take. As of Monday I'll be the proud owner of an Opulent Blue Pearl RL, with spoiler and protection pkg (mug guards trunk tray, etc).

 

Congrats, and welcome!

 

Thanks so much Dseag2, enjoying the RL so far. Love the solid, heavy, yet safe feel of it....compared to the TL.

 

So are you now going to change your handle to My05RL ????

Congrats on buying an excellent vehicle

Pete

 

Congrats and welcome! The best buy of this year for me so far!