Getting the wife a compact SUV. She has a very specific style and only the CX-5 and the Infiniti QX50 made the cut in the looks department.
The dealer invoice comes to about 5% off MSRP. There are only 2 other dealers in the area but the quote I got is from a dealer willing to work with me.
This is the lowest MF ever, and the residual is what it is. It’s just an awkward time to lease the '18’s - do it now or wait until there are more offers, but then you risk a lower residual - so it’s a wash? Our current lease, a 2016 Buick Regal (P1) doesn’t end until February. It has some scratches to it that I’m sure I’ll need to take care of, can I negotiate on that front?
I will try to negotiate a higher % off MSRP but it’s hard to lease here - market is smaller and not much competition. It’s hard to accept delivery out of state. I considered a lower trim, but my goal is getting as close to the 1% as possible. Leather is a must and GT is the only trim that has it. Any other suggestions?
Not sure where you’re based, but my guess is that there is some more room on the discount to MSRP.
I just leased a CX-5 Grand Touring AWD with Premium package from a dealer in MD in Metallic Grey. MSRP was $33,635. My base payment before taxes was $318/mo, with only first month due at signing (i.e. monthly payment included $299 dealer processing, $336 DC docs fee and $595 lease acquisition fee). All-in after 10% DC tax is $350.01/month with just the first month DAS.
I think at the 59% residual and standard .00001 MF, that implies an 11% discount to MSRP.
Here’s what my process was:
Did all the basic research on here, Edmunds, TrueCar to understand the MF, invoice, etc. Looks like you already have all of that. Also emailed a few dealers via TrueCar to get some basic “buy” price quotes.
I then followed the suggestion on this site to email a bunch of dealers with a request for what they could do on a 36/10 lease with only first month DAS and $0 down. Made it clear that I was ready to do a deal in the next day or two.
Lowest quote I got back was $367/mo (incl. 10% DC taxes). This was also the only dealer who really gave a direct and straightforward answer to the original email without multiple back and forths. I negotiated with them until I got to what I thought was a good deal $359/month with just first month DAS. Only issue was that they had parchment interior, not the black one i wanted.
As we neared the end of the month, I started getting emails from some of the dealers who just a week ago were way higher on their deal or refused to give a straight answer. I replied to let them know my $359 price and said that I was going to move forward with that deal unless they could do at least $10/month better. A few dealers told me outright they thought the deal was too good to be true and couldn’t match it. Another said they could match if I had email documentation, but couldn’t beat it. Finally one of them bit, saying that they would do $350 if I would go in and sign that night. Was at the dealership late, but walked out with the car I wanted (black interior) and deal.
Thanks. Good advice. I’m on step 3, but didn’t think to be more aggressive in committing if i can get them to meet my discount requirements. The invoice price they keep quoting me is 5% off MSRP. I’ll ask for 7% more and hopefully they meet me in the middle.
I’m just not sure what to do with my current lease - it still has 2 payments, it’s probably worth nothing for a trade (Buick residual is horrible) and I’m looking at 1-2k in repair costs
All your numbers seem similar except the acquisition fee (this dealer I’m working is has $0) and my residual is lower (probably because of the 15k/36). That 4% might give the deal the necessary boost. I would likely buy the vehicle after the lease to avoid overage fees. Is that a good strategy?
FWIW, I’m no expert - I’m sure the true lease hackers will have better advice. A couple of reactions:
I think they are right on the invoice price being relatively high on these - don’t think Mazda has as big of a markup between invoice and MSRP, unlike some of the luxury brands. My deal was definitely below invoice - but they were willing to do it because they were chasing a bonus for being the top volume dealer at end of the month. Dealer said “the deal was really ugly.”
A second thing that might work in your favor is the need to clear up room for the 2019s. I think those are hitting the floor relatively soon. Given that you have at least some time before the Buick lease ends, maybe you aim for an end of the month deal the first month the 2019s come out?
This might not be relevant given your wife’s style preferences, but did you look at any of the BMW X1 loaner deals? They day after I pulled the trigger on the CX-5, I got a pretty compelling offer on an X1 loaner that I would have thought about doing instead.
On the Buick, what kind of forgiveness does your lease agreement give for repairs/wear and tear? I know on my Acura lease, there was a $1,500 forgiveness - maybe the Buick has something similar so your scratches end up being a non-issue? The other thing would be seeing whether the dealer would be willing to buy out the Buick for you so you don’t have to return it and incur the repairs. Might be hard given lower demand for sedans vs. SUVs, but sometimes it could work in your favor if they are effectively willing to eat more of a margin hit in the used car side than they would be able to give you in the form of a reduction on the new car price. When I returned my last lease car (2015 RDX), I had 6 months left on the payments but the dealer was willing to buy it outright in order to get the deal with me.
Anyways, just a few thoughts - hopefully some of the real experts will correct anything I got wrong!
Thanks. I tried to get them to accept it as a trade but no bueno. The lease buyout is in the $18’s and the claimed the appraisal was in the $13’s. The sales manager said he could take it and roll the remaining 2 payments into my new payment but I didn’t even entertain that option. Not sure how that would’ve looked and I still have nearly 1500 miles on it. So I’ve kept it and will take it to a friend who owns a body shop and drive it out. Unfortunately, I realize now it needs new brake pads so not sure what to do.
Makes sense keeping the car with you rather than rolliing up payments.Check with your lease finance if they can forgo one payment for lower milage return.
My drive-off was a lot lower because the Mazda cash was applied to DAS. I rolled in the amount of the free carplay upgrade into the cap cost. I opted for some protection package because i’ve consistently come out of pocket to fix these issues in the past (bent rims - we have bad potholes here, rock chips, lost key, etc) and i find value in it, but these are not reflected in the numbers.
Tried, but they rejected. Problem is I also overpaid so I only owe like the amount of one payment over the next 2 cycles. I’m going to take it a local mechanic to have it checked out. I’m having a hard time believing a car that only has 37k miles needs new brake pads - i don’t drive like maniac.
Very informative post…I’m just outside of DC and just curious if you can share the dealership that gave you this deal. New to lease hacker so not sure if there is a way to inbox folks.
I’m assuming the same 59% residual and .00001 MF still apply… Not seeing credits unless the $1000 customer cash applies to leases
Having sold Mazda, I can verify there is pretty tiny markup from invoice to MSRP. Is there other money? Yes but not much. Holdback could be $400-600 and if they hit step bonus they get kicked back about $1500 car. Will they take massive loser deals to hit goal? If they are a few cars short, yes. I was so used to selling other brands with more margin, I would pull the real invoice out of the MSO jacket to show people what we paid, because if I had not been working there I would not have believed how little margin these cars have
When I was in the market a few yrs ago, I remember being shocked at how little discount was given on Mazdas (coming from MBs, where discounts are huge on the lower-end cars where a redesign hasn’t just been released)… The cars are nice and the dealer was very pleasant and professional, but Mazda doesn’t price itself well for the US market (IMHO)… We shall see if Mazda can successfully sell a $38000 CX-5…
They price themselves very well, their business model just isn’t based on massive margins or perceived discounts. If you compare a Mazda to a Honda in general I like the Mazda better.
I don’t want to wander too far off-topic, but the problem is that, at $38000 w/ maybe 10% MSRP, Mazda is no longer competing against Honda or Toyota… You blink and can get 15-20% off of a BMW or MB (at least in SoCal) and it remains to be seen whether Mazda can compete against established luxury brands if/when people that the actual transaction price of a Mazda and an established luxury car isn’t as big as it seems.
