The other Equinox thread was getting a little clogged up so I figured I would post this as a fresh thread to make it easier to discuss as it is now a confirmed deal (I signed on the below terms). First I’d like to give a big thanks to user bro1999, due to his research and post I started the hunt for the equinox and worked out a stellar deal with the same dealer that put us in a new Cruze last year during that frenzy. The timing was great as I have a diesel that’s part of the VW buyback and was dreading the pressure that was going to be applied to get me into another VW (plus I was a little bored of them already).
This deal was on a 2017 Equinox LT FWD w/ Convenience package, Confidence package, cargo close-out panel and power programmable liftgate.
MSRP: $29,975
Selling price: $26,975
MF: .00125 (bumped original .00070 by .00055 to waive acq fee, saves about $7-$8/mo)
Residual: 67%
24 months, 10k miles/yr
Incentives: $4700 total.
Total due at signing: $1,070. Effective $370 total out of pocket once we get the Costco cash card back.
Base payment: $144/mo + 6% sales tax (on the payment = $153/mo tax included.
Total out of pocket: It includes first months payment. Costco deal removed the dealer fee and is getting us a $700 costco cash card back (you can use at Costco or flip online at places like Raise.com or GiftCardGranny if you want the cash), making the effective total out of pocket $370 and then 23 payments remaining.
The deal with Costco: You have to have been a member before September 30th to be eligible for the cash card. Regular members receive a $300 cash card but I confirmed with Costco Auto Program reps on the phone that you can upgrade to EXECUTIVE before you sign for the car which in turn makes you eligible to receive the $700 card instead of $300. Make sure you submit the form and receive an authorization number before you head to the dealer as they will need it. It’s ok to select whatever dealer appears because you’re not bound to use them; I called in to CAP and had them select the dealer I wanted to use then resend the authorization email with my dealers info, just be aware that the original dealer will call you to try and get you to come in. I shut that down by just telling them I was already signing somewhere else to which they said ok and hung up on me. Wonderful. Once the deal is done you simply go to their online redemption form, submit your authorization number, select the dealer and fill out the info. They email you back once they confirm the purchase with GM Financial, after which you receive some sort of pin number, call in, take a survey and when that’s done they mail you the card. Last year I received it within a month and the entire process was easy.
Incentives breakdown: Comprised of $1700 base lease cash, $750 incremental CCR, $1,500 Chevrolet lease loyalty (GM, Cadillac, etc. only get $500, actual Chevrolet leases get the full $1500) which was used in place of the $1,500 Conquest (but that is still available to make the deal work if you have a competing brand), $750 bonus tagged unit. I am not sure about the $500 Farmer’s on top of this but honestly I did not want to deal with the additional hassle of becoming a member somewhere else.
My thoughts: Very happy with the Equinox thus far, and even more happy that I went for one with a few options as they make the driving experience that much more enjoyable. Power liftgate is convenient, blindzone sensors + rear cross traffic alert + parking sensors (to supplement the standard camera) in the confidence package are great, and the remote start, 8-way power driver seat, roof rails, leather wrapped steering wheel, heated seats, fog lights, and factory tinted glass, etc. in the convenience package were all pretty great. I like the height of it as it sits perfectly between car & suv, and the base sound system is great. Contrary to what some people have said I don’t think the 2.4L is abysmal; sure, the V6 is obviously the way to go, but with the scarcity + much higher price I don’t think it really meets the frugal “leasehackr” criteria. I drove zippy GTI’s and other similar hot-hatches or RWD imports for years and this Equinox has more than enough engine and gizmo’s to keep me comfortable, which in turn means I’m happy. And the cargo room, to me at least, is cavernous. A different stage in my life, but it’s comfortable, versatile, and it ain’t a Caravan. Good enough.
Ultimately while I could have picked up a tagged LS for a cheaper monthly payment I think this is a lot of car for the money and between the options and the included 2 years of maintenance this lease financially beats any potential purchase I could have made in both ultimate ownership costs and plain ol’ peace of mind, worry-free driving for the next two years. Going on one year with the Cruze and it has been precisely that; cool gadgets to play with (it’s an LT w/ the MyLink system), great on gas and worry-free reliable. For what it’s worth in the last 3 weeks I also actively hunted every other deal in this price range (Renegade, Sonata, Optima, Elantra, etc.) and the dealers were either; A) polite but unwilling to deal, or B) complete a-hole’s who were under the notion their inventory was on-par with Rolls Royce or Bentley.
Dealer info: Florida. Feel free to send me a PM as I’m not too sure how they feel about advertising this deal on the internet, so out of respect for them I will withhold. Full disclosure, they do offer a referral bonus for anybody I send their way so if you do message me and end up going there I would really appreciate it if you could name drop me. If not, no hard feelings, I still hope you get an awesome deal. I dealt directly with the sales manager so there was no BS back & forth between a clueless salesperson & manager (not to knock the salesperson my deal was assigned to, they were excellent and the walk-through during delivery was top notch) and then getting hassled by internet associates calling me all the time.
Thanks for reading this novel, hope I help someone else score a deal.
