I test drove an AWD Advance today for an hour and came away very impressed with the vehicle. Very luxurious, the engine has plenty of power and I found no issue with any turbo lag accelerating from 40-60 numerous times. The transmission to me was very smooth. Currently lease a 2018 AWD Tech and I will wait to drive the Type S before deciding what to lease next. I anticipate that Acura will eventually lower the interest rate especially for the 4 cylinder models in 2021 so that the monthly cost will become more appealing.

 

Wow on MF... They wouldn't budge on my trade-in - others offering $31.5k for my car, Acura offered $28k then rolled in $3k which I refused to eat.
But ... my MF is literally nearly zero (0.00003) - Nissan, Genesis, etc. all did this once sedans got based on residual...

 

My current 2020 Z4 lease is MF .00142 or 3.4 %. Residual 36 months @ 59% After discounts loyalty etc. MSRP $72,000 monthly lease payment in mid $600's. Purchase Price at lease end is $41,597.95

 

Yea don't expect a good deal on the new gen's. Probably will need to wait until at least Spring time. General rule of thumb on a good lease deal is if you pay less than 1% on the monthly of the cost with no money down. Example: 1% of $40K is $400/mo with no money down. At 1% is an OK deal. Over that, it gets worse the higher you go. In this case, you're at what? $480/mo with no money down on a $40K car? Almost as bad as leasing a Subaru WRX. Some car brands and models are better to lease than others, but it also heavily depends on the timing of the generation, MMC, leftovers, incentives, etc. The lower trim Accord's aren't bad but leasing a Touring trim were always terrible.

 

Right. I always heard $100 per month for every $10,000 (no money down). That is excellent lease deal.

Good/Fair is up to $120 per month for every $10,000 (again with no money down).

And they always say "don't put money down on a lease". Well, what if you have a trade-in worth $10,000 (and they are willing to give you that for it) ?
You just subtract that first, right? $50k car - $10k trade = $40k so $400 a month is excellent ... correct ?

2. I think because residual value (final buyout at 36-months) is not much higher on the "special high-trim cars" ... than it is for the more normal ones. At least not on Hondas and Acuras.

 

That sounds very good. Must have gotten over $10k in discounts and incentives (unless you put a little money down).

 

That makes sense. Lol I was offered 9K in trade value for my 2013 Acura TL FWD Technology Package with 87k miles.

 

Don't trade a car in on a lease, it's the same as burning the money on a down payment. Leasing is basically renting and you rent to pay less, not more. If you absolutely must trade in buy the new vehicle vs leasing it.

 

A bit over 16% off MSRP. Actual price was in the very high $50's. Does not include other freeB's like comped Greer SC Performance Driving School, hotel, meals & swag bags etc.

Acura has to be real careful with their OTD pricing as a lot of cars are not as expensive as people think. Outside of color my Z4 is identical to the car in the Pro Driver video.

 

Yea, but you have a long-standing with your dealer. Not everyone does. I know for the M340i, many say to target 10-11% off sticker. But I do agree that most people are going to look for substantial discounts from Acura if they’re going to take it over some of their competition. I know I would.

 

Not true I have zero dealer loyalty. Cars are a commodity & all a brands dealers are selling the same thing.

This is the first car I bought from Leith, Raleigh NC. Last two before that were bought from a dealer in Portland OR, One from Atlanta & the two from Performance in Chapel Hill, NC. I always shop price nationally for exactly what I want in equipment at the best price. One thing thats long term have had BMW's since 2004. So there are benefits from BMW corporate & Financial.
One key is keep it a business transaction & don't get personally invested in the deal. You have to be able to walk out the door.

Speaking of walking out the door, walked out on the 2006 Acura TL. Was a phone message when I got home to come back in & sign the deal I wanted.

 

1. Thanks for the advice. No offence, but I was hoping @reddogTL could answer my question.

2. Yes, I think I have the basics down as I have leased cars before. However, any down-payment money should get properly applied. If nothing else, it covers TTL, your first Lease-Payment, and makes your monthly payments lower.

3. Seems excessive. I think you can just "no money down" Lease and have the dealer just write you a check for the amount they are paying you for your trade-in.

 

1. I'm now very offended
2. Any money down and payment shopping on a lease is not a good idea. You don't own the car so anything you put down is completely lost. And if you're strictly monthly payment shopping that gives the dealership a lot of leverage.
3. Yeah you probably could but I would not want to deal with that, as I am sure they will spend a lot of time trying to get you to roll it into the lease or will low-ball you more than usual if you stand firm. I've never tried this, though, so not speaking from experience.

 

Funny, how after you analyze a topic enough to write a coherent post about it, you start to be able to answer your own question.

I don't think my little "subtract the $10k first " formula works because that just makes the Lease look better than it really is.
So the "$100-$120 per $10k of vehicle value" only works for zero-down leases.

I think a honest dealer should be able to apply the example $10k down in the proper way. That would be to subtract it off the top of the Principal, and THEN divide the balance into 36 months payments. This is after the actual price of the car is negotiated/determined and it has been written-up as a zero-down-Lease. But I get your point ... why not just put this money in the bank and spend it a little at a time for 36 months.

So, I think the simplest way (with less complicated math on dealer worksheets and contracts) is to just:
- Get best price on Lease zero-down
- You write them a check for TTL etc (whatever minimal things/amounts you can get a way with).
- They write you a check for your (fairly evaluated) trade-in.

 

Unfortunately no. When you lease, do not trade in your car. The problem is they cannot pay you in cash for the difference if there's equity in your trade. Otherwise they will use that equity towards the lease which is a BAD idea. Always sell your car separately whether its privately or through 1800-Car-Cash or Vroom, etc. Take that money and save it. Never use equity on a trade for a lease. The tax advantage of trading it in vs selling it separately still isn't worth it either.

Your #2 point is semi-correct. Because it really depends. It depends on the brand, model, trim, and at what point of that model's generation it is(1st year of new gen's lease the worst, 1st year of MMC's are 2nd worst, the rest usually are better deals). I've seen lease deals on BMW's that included 3 year maintenance/36K miles that were better than Honda Accord's and Camrys just because of the timing of the model, it was a leftover, maybe even an executive demo with some miles already accumulated on it. Plus on top of that some manufacturer and dealer incentives tagged on. I've seen BMW i3's lease for as low as $150/mo. For awhile towards the end of last year there were BMW 430's leasing around $300/mo. But they were leftovers that sat on the lot for a while and there were a lot of incentives to move the metal. As I said, it really depends, but usually its in the timing.

 

I've always purchased vs. lease, so I'm a bit uneducated on the fine details of leasing and how to get the best deal and not let a dealer screw you over. Can anyone direct me to a comprehensive resource that shows all the math, explains how money factors are applied, how residual value affects the lease payment, etc.

 

Stripped definition. Residual value is the percentage of the cars MSRP that will be left at the end of the lease. The higher the residual value the lower the payment because you are basically paying for the deperication.

Money factor is just another name for the interest rate, don't as why, have no idea. To convert the money factor to the actual interest rate multiply it by 2400. A money factor example .00140 = 3.36%. The lower the money factor the lower the interest rate.
MSD = multiple security deposits.

Not available on all leases. If the security deposit is equal to one payment you can make a deposit at the beginning of the lease equal to a number of payments generally maxing at 6. These MSD lower you money factor & you get the all the MSD back at the end of the lease.

FWIW. Most of the guys who have been here since 2006 know I like to lease because I like a new car every few years & believe its the best way to do short term car deals.

Anything over that I purchase. So by use my daily drivers are leased. My trucks are purchased. Any special car I will keep over 3 years is also purchased.

 

https://leasehackr.com/

 

My fault, I could have sworn you had talked about having a good rapport with the dealer you buy your BMWs from.

When shopping for the RDX, we walked out of three different dealers and none called us back. Also, shopping online via email, I consistently get the same BS line, "you have to come see it in person, it's an incredible car!" And when asking again about what kind of pricing we're looking at, it's always the same, "we can talk about pricing and financing when you come down, but you'll fall in love with it once you sit in this thing!" response. WTF. I don't see how people are actually getting quotes over email. Literal dozens of emails sent out to different manufacturers/dealers and almost a cookie cutter response. Maybe Long Island dealers are just scumbags (well, more than the average dealers).

 

When shopping for our TLX, I exclusively negotiated everything over emails. Sent an email to the internet sales managers for all 34 dealerships in the state (I have a whole workflow I go through to decide when to email which dealership with what message), slowly finally whittling it down to the one I bought it from. Showed up with a cashier's check in hand with the pre-negotiated price, and it was easy peasy. Maybe New Yorker dealerships are just slimy, much like the residents themselves (I keed, I keed, but not really)

 

Same here, all negotiations were conducted and finalized through email. My initial email made clear the only time I'm setting foot on the dealer lot was for a test drive after the OTD price was finalized.

 

Thank you!

 

There's a whole gaggle of scumbags living in NY, especially in the Long Island area. It's not exclusive to any class, race or age group either. The day I retire, I want to move away ... I especially want to distance myself from the cesspool known as NYC.

 

FWIW only met one sales advisor in person in about 15 years. Did email to make the deal & FedEx for final docs.

 

We bought my wife's CRV completely via email - below is an outline of the basic email I initially sent to a dozen different dealers:

"I'm interested in purchasing a 2016 white CRV EX-L. I'm emailing all the Honda dealerships in the area and will be purchasing from the dealer who offers us the lowest out the door price. Please respond with the best price (including all fees - please document them) you can offer."

Most dealers respond with fairly similar prices, I'll take the lowest price and forward that email to several local dealers and ask them to beat it. Rinse lather repeat. When we got to our target price (I knew what to expect based on research) we went to the dealer the next day to sign the papers and pick up the CRV.

 

I do the same with all the Acura dealerships in my Province......it's a simpler workflow with just one

 

wtf... only 1 Acura dealership in the whole province?! Where u at? I'm in ON but a small town near Kitchener-Waterloo n we only have 1 Acura dealership here but I can drive to the gta.

 

It's not that simple.
INTEREST RATE is simple. You finance $20k. Interest rate is 4% (annual). So for a 5-year purchase, it's $20k * 1.04^5 (compounded) = $24,333.

MONEY FACTOR is calculated on the capitalized cost AND the residual. It's basically a way to charge leasees for both borrowing the car, and also an additional financial kicker for not being the owner of the asset.
So they're charging you for borrowing the money and the car.

 

This is correct. What you're really doing is borrowing money for the sale price of the car (the amount you're borrowing directly) PLUS the residual value of the car (the agreed upon value of the car after Xyears/Ymiles), where that residual value is paid back in full (the final balloon payment) at the end of the loan term.

 

Maybe its cuz I'm simple headed but I can't see why anyone would want to make payments on a car for 3-4yrs and then give it back, I made payments on a car for 5yrs but I've owned it for 15 and will try for another 5. I guess if u have the money, a new car every 3-4yrs is great but then ur also limited to what you can do with the car when it comes to mods.

 

The idea is that if you want to drive the latest cars, it’s more convenient (and sometimes cheaper) to lease than to buy and sell. In the case of BMWs, it usually ends up being substantially cheaper to lease for 3 years than to buy it new and then resell it in 3 years.

As to modding, the vast majority of owners don’t do any modifications. I’ve owned my fair share of tuner cars, and I can say at this point that other than for a dedicated track car, I’m pretty done with mods.

That being said, I don’t lease because it doesn’t make sense for me personally. I don’t like having a mileage allowance because if I go over, I pay a penalty, and if I go under I overpaid. Also, even though my wife and I do tend to keep our cars for just 3-4 years, much like with our phones we pass them on to our parents, so each car tends to stick around the family for about 8-12 years before they get replaced even though we’re buying new cars every 3-4 years.

 

Its like rent, you are paying for what you use. So you pay $24,000/25,000 or so with a $650 lease on a $72,000 MSRP car for 3 years, give it back & get something else. Its not for everybody but if you want something new every few years its cheaper in many cases than buying it, paying it off in 3 years & selling it.

That said there are keepers. My COBRA was a cash deal because I had to build it & nobody in their right mind would finance a bunch of parts & its a long term car. I have one car thats a keeper currently 8 years old that was a 36 month auto loan. One truck that is 21 years old also a 36 month loan. One truck thats about 1 year old that will be a 10 year keeper like the one it replaced. That's on a 48 month loan.

The point here is there are a number of ways to finance your toys depending on how you will use it, how long you will keep them, what you can afford pay.

 

Yeah but the thing is I was describing the term Money Factor not its components. Used the words "Striped Definition"

The Financial Times Dictionary of Financial Terms official definition is:


The money factor is the financing charge a person will pay on a lease. It is similar to the interest rate paid on a loan, and it is also based on a customer's credit score. It is commonly depicted as a very small decimal. Multiplying the money factor by 2,400 will give the equivalent annual percentage rate (APR).


In banking the financing charge is interest. Interest is the price you pay to borrow money from someone else. Money Factor is the price you pay to borrow money from someone else.

 

In my case, I'd end up buying a new car in 5 years anyways, so once I'm done with my finance payments I found myself turning right around and buying another car which essentially is no difference. I've found that all my cars have been having issues after 100K miles and rather than spending thousands upon thousands to keep fixing them, I figured leasing works better for me. Now I do have a couple of cars that are paid off so that I can take lease breaks for a few months or even a year before I decide to get something else. I lease "luxary" cars because it's a much better deal than financing. Especially German. The depreciation is outrageous.

 

I completely understand this philosophy but there is a financial cost for this decision. Putting nothing down means you are financing everything (multiply money factor by 2400 to get the equivalent APR%). Every little bit of downpayment is that much less not earning interest in the lease payments.
I've been driving cars for over 23 years and I've only ever had one car declared a total loss (the first car I ever owned). Just how likely will you total your car on any given day (I suppose this is highly dependent on your driving style)? My philosophy is to average $100 per month of lease to calculate my downpayment (cap cost reduction). If I turn in my lease 3 months early (as I did recently), I've lost $300 and that's it.

 

Congrats! I've seen that phantom violet pearl color in person and it's pretty sweet! When the sun hits it just right....BAM!

 

During slow times there are also "pull aheads" where the captive finance company will forgo a number of lease payments to get you into a new one. Had 3 months eaten on the 440 to Z4 lease.

 

I'd like your opinion of my lease deal since we're talking about "pull aheads".

I was leasing a 2018 MDX AWD w/Tech and had 3 remaining lease payments. Most Acura dealerships told me that there is no pull ahead program for the 2021 TLX because it's a redesign and the promos aren't as strong. However, they were willing to buy my MDX outright to put it on their lots to sell it as a pre-owned.

So here's the deal I got:

Acura paid off my 3 remaining MDX payments (~$1250)
2021 TLX AWD A-Spec for 3 yrs, 10k miles/yr, $5k to dealer (of that amount, ~$3500 was cap cost reduction) for $415/month.

Bad/Good/Great?

 

Two things is the pull ahead was an Acura Financial not a dealer sponsored deal? If its a separate item not part of the new lease calculation its good. What was the selling price before tax & your cap reduction (down) payment? Also what was the $1,500 for that did not go against the cap cost? Did the selling price have any extras in it like paint protection etc?

 

Since there was no official "pull ahead" promo for the TLX, Acura paid off my MDX. I don't think this figured into my lease calcs as they were just doing me a favor to mimic a pull ahead program for any car other than the 2021 TLX.

Negotiated purchase price was < $43,000 and the remaining $1500 of my downpayment was first lease payment ($415), doc fees ($699,), title/registration, tire fee, etc.
At that purchase price, I seriously considered financing at 1.9% but payments were well above $700/month. I couldn't break the cycle of leasing because I didn't have a car to trade-in for a big downpayment.