Black0ut

Acura is advertising a 2010 TSX V6 (MSRP $34,850) lease offer at $319/mo with $3599 due at signing. I've heard it's a bad idea to leave ANYTHING down on a lease. I've never leased before, but the lower payment is attractive so I'm considering it.

I'm currently paying $467/mo on a 2004 TL so $319 sounds awesome for a brand new 280hp 3.5 vtec engine! I have $13k left on my car now, 91k miles.

To all the lessee's, what are you paying and how much did you put down (cash/trade value)?

ressling

Putting money down to lease a car (capital cost reduction), is not necessarily a bad thing, so long as you keep it within reason. I would NEVER put anything more than $3k down on a lease. That's just my . It just depends on how you want to dish it out, because with leasing, you're paying for it one way or another; something's gotta give.

Less down payment = higher monthly payments.
More money down = lower monthly payments, but it's not a smart decision because you're throwing money at a depreciating asset that you may decide not to own.

Herein lies the benefit of a lease deal - You don't have to commit until the lease term.

My current lease deal for my '09 TSX i4 (and I think it's a pretty good deal IMO), is $3k down, 15k/yr mileage allowance, $350/mo. with a residual value of $18k if I want to buy the car at lease term (3 yrs). Considering that I can put 45k miles on my car at the end of 3 yrs and still only have to pay $18k to buy it out if I want seems like a decent deal to me, considering most 3yr old TSX's with mileages under 50k go for around $21-22k...

The goal with leasing is to get your residual value to be lower than the bluebook value of your car at lease term.

If your residual value is less than the bluebook value, then you got yourself a good deal. If it's more than the bluebook value, then you're technically upside-down on your investment.

No matter how you cut it, buying a car after a lease is always financially the worst deal for the consumer, namely due to taxes but also due to the fact that the first 3 yrs of a vehicle are where you get hit the hardest with depreciation.

Remember to always negotiate on the price of the car first. By no means do you have to tell the salesman that you're buying vs. leasing until after you've decided on price. It's a #1 rookie mistake. Don't even tell them you have another car. Just negotiate on Price and price only. NEVER answer the question "how much are you looking to spend per month?" - It's a classic question that car salespeople love to ask so that they can fudge the numbers to make it seem like you got a deal.

Start from there and then exercise your options.

P.S. Another tip is to purchase a vehicle (lease or buy), at the end of the month. I bought mine on New Year's Eve last year and attribute that to the deal that I got.

katmai

That's all true...you end up paying regardless. Pay now upfront and less per month or spread the pain out....

Get the total cost down as much as possible then decide how you want to spread it out.

Black0ut

thanks for the great info! much appreciated!

how willing are the dealers to negotiate price when you are leasing vs. financing? is it unreasonable to expect the same $319/mo payment with only $2000 down?

anyone else paying something different?

saw1

Never take a dealer's advertised lease price.

Always negotiate the price of the car first. Then decide on leasing vs. financing with the finance manager.

Everything is negotiable, even the money factor (sometimes).

General guidlines for a solid lease:

1. Cap cost at or below invoice.

2. Residual at least 60% for 36 month lease.

3. Money factor less than 0.0015.

Other leasing pearls:

1. Never lease a car you can't afford to buy.

2. Never put money down on a lease, unless your state requires taxes up front. (first month payment at signing is ok).

3. Try to get disposition fee waived (it really sucks to have to pay this after lease is over).

4. Anticipate having to pay for 1 set of tires during a standard 36 month lease.

Nicky Pass

I was torn between leasing and buying when I bought my TSX 4 cyl last night. I traded in a 06 F150 an the end result was a little over $9K in liquidity. If I did a lease, I'd get something like $8K back and have a $397 a month payment. I had cash...so I gave them another $7K and bought it for $250 a month for 60 months.

What turned me off from the lease is the payment being $400 and the fact that I do not own the car. I would give them $15K to "drive" their car....but since I had $15K to put down between the trade and cash, my payment was $150 cheaper per month and I owe $13K, so for me it was a better deal.

I'd would lease a car if I had nothing to put down...otherwise, I'd buy. I'll probably keep it for 4 years....pay it off in 2 and get something new in 2013...assuming the world doesn't end.....

StonedCL

iTrader: (1)

I am currently looking to lease a 2010 base tsx for 30 months. With 2000 total out of pocket it 367 for 12k miles and 384 for 15k miles. The tech jumps to like 440 for 15k miles. All those numbers include all fees and taxes. I called a few other dlrs and no one was able to beat that price but my cuz is used car manager. You r not gonna get a v6 cheaper then a i4 and also the advertised add never includes fees and taxes!

StonedCL

iTrader: (1)

Btw for 36 months the prices is $1 more!

Life Dies

This post is so uneducated. Worst post I've ever seen on a forum in 9 years.

ressling

Life Dies:

You have no idea what you're talking about. Go waste time somewhere else.

ttk5

Seriously Life Dies, we all know now that your just loitering and you have zero knowledge about cars what so ever. (You dont even drive a TSX! wtf are you doing here) Your act is up here so can you please make an acount at g35driver or 8thcivic and start your act up there. Please.


But if you are going to post any more of your stupid blatant comments on here then try writing up a few more sentences to support what your trying to say atleast. I want to know why you think the above post is the most uneducated post you've seen in 9 years...I'm very curious how you're going to back that up.

Newmanium

Leasing is just an alternative way of financing - depending upon the details, sometimes it's better to lease, even if you had $40k sitting in the bank (i.e. lease for 3 years, then buy at residual cost at end). Sometimes it's a horrible decision to lease.

If the money rate on a lease ends up being at 1%, you could keep your cash in an investment that could make 5% and have a much better deal than if you "owned" the car yourself.

The good feeling of "ownership" is, just that, a feeling. There's no real functional difference between somebody who buys a TSX new, and somebody who leases that car for 3 years and buys it at the end (or if each buyer sells the car after 3 years) - it's just a different financial arrangement. Leases put the risk of depreciation on the lender if they offer a good deal up front.

For some reason, leases seem to be mysteries to the average car buyer. To understand a lease, you have to understand depreciation and the time-value-of-money. Then you simply run the numbers, and see whether it's a better deal to buy or lease. There are some good lease calculators around that let you put in all the numbers, and see how the lease compares to buying.

Generally, if the MF is low - you want to put zero money down. There's no point in giving them money if they're willing to lend you it at a low interest rate.

StonedCL

iTrader: (1)

leasing DOES make sense If u financed this car I4 with 2K down for 60 months your payement is over $500 where lease with the same money down its $364 for 12 K miles for 30 months.. If you decided u did not like your TSX in 30 months after paying $500 a month and go to trade it in you are most like Upsidown and thats even at 0% which acura never does for 60 months. I think (depending on residuale and money factor) leasing IS THE WAY to go with the base I4 TSX..

StonedCL

iTrader: (1)

i bought a CL new almost 10 years Ago i put down 5K and payed like 550 a month for 5 years and then a tranny / tires/ coil packs so I added up how much I spent on the car maintence, interest and all that stuff (not gas or insurance) and it came out to almost $50K so thats about 5K a year the last 10 years..
OK leasing the TSX $364 X 36 = 13,140 + 2000 (down payment) is $15,140 so a little over $5,000 a year to drive a new car every 3 years so after 10 years I would have been on my 4th lease and spent the same amount I spent now and am driving a 10 year old car that is worth less then I payed for the new trans.. MAKES SENSE TO ME!!

exl_ent_v6

Anyone ACTUALLY lease a V6 on here? If so, please post up your details of the lease. I'm interested in leasing a V6 w/ Tech in the next couple months.

23109VC

i have leased and bought. both have ups and downs. buying is cheaper in the long run because in the end you own the car, and can sell it/trade it. leasing gives you a newer car more often, you avoid repair costs, but you pay for it.

anyone who thinks leasing is cheaper is wrong. unless you own a business, can write off the lease and take advantage of tax benefits... but for Joe Average who just leases a personal vehicle...you pay more. you may pay LESS per month to lease a more expensive car..but in the end of the lease, you don't own it, you have to put down more money on a new lease, and keep making car payments. so you pay a montly car payment forever.

imagine guy A who buys his TSX and guy B who leases one. Guy A financed his over 5 years. guy B leases. lets go out six years total. so guy A pays off his car in 5 years, and then has one year of no car payments. guy B does two 36 month leases back to back.

if you run the numbers, the guy who leases will pay more. i've done it. the guy who leases, hwoeever, gets a new car in three years, and guy A drives the same one the whole time. i'd rather have a new car than an old one. you get what you pay for MOST of the time. driving a new car all the tiem is not cheaper than dreiving an old one a long time. i don't care what anyone tells you. leasing is more expensive..over time.

but hey, leasing is good. i've leased cars, it does make sense for certain peopel for certin situations. just research it, understand it, and make an informed decision. most people don't really understand it that well.

there are soem really great forums and info on edmunds.com that really will educate you about het basics. for the average person, it will arm you with at leas tthe basics so you don't get ripped off.

don't put money down on a lease. if you put money down on a lease, and then the car gets totalled, you LOSE that down payment. yes, gap ins will cover the gap...but that $3000 yo put down...it's bye bye. Acura isn't going to give you the 3k back and neither is the ins co. it's just gone.

if you look at any website that lists the pros and cons of leasing - they will all tell you to put nothing down on a lease. the only reason why dealerships advertise leases with "down payments" is that if they said "lease a TSX for only $500/month" no one would do it. but when people put down $3000 and then ge ta relatively small payment, it psychologically seems more palatable. the reality is, you will pay that money now or later. why pay it up front when you could have that down payment in yoru pocket working for you. you are always better to put zero down.

it's like people who get a big refund check at the end of the year from Uncle Sam for their taxes. that is NOT good. that just means you screwed up on your deductions and let the gov't have a tax free loan all year. ideally, you want to end up at the end of year owing nothing, paying nothing. gertting a big refund check while nice and in some ways a forced savings plan.... from a strictly financial point of view is dumb. same for a lease... don't pay money up front you do't have to.


not knocking leases, just pointing out the pros/cons. if you want to maximize your value - buy a car and drive it a long time. but not everyone wnats to drive the saame car for 10 years.....

jjsC5

I have a lease quote. Here are the details. 36 month, no money down except first month payment. It's a Texas lease, so the tax is on the purchase price of the vehicle EXCEPT that right now there are tax "credits" so tax on the car is only 1.25%.

The car is a V6 tech, list price 38,760. Capitalized cost is 33,892 which should be about $200 over invoice (invoice includes advertising assesment of $200 I believe). That cost includes a $2000 factory incentive on V6 models right now.

Also, they gave me the "base money factor" (.00119). Payment is 483.49. I consider this a very good deal, but I'm really looking at TLs. A similar lease deal on a TL FWD with tech is about $110 a month more.

Lexusconvert?

Doesnt acura have the financing where you own the car but pay like you lease it. Its some type of baloon I think where you only finance a part of the car and at the end either pay the rest or trade it in. Is this a good idea.

ressling

in this economy, I wouldn't pay anything over invoice. Just my 2 cents...