It’s not an arbitrary number someone just imagined up… it’s always been an ideal benchmark for a “fair” lease. When I sold cars in the early 2000’s it was where our dealership felt comfortable on negotiating to, as it was fair for us and the buyer. Of course, 9 out of ten car shoppers aren’t savvy enough to know they can negotiate on a lease, so we almost always sold above that.
Do some specific vehicles lease under that? Absolutely. Do some lease above that and are still considered a good deal for that model? Yes. There are exceptions to every “rule”… but it’s a good rule to follow overall.
Find a Broker/Dealer who can handily beat the 1% rule on an Audi A5… I’ll wait. It’s a slim and none chance on that vehicle. Any Range Rover falls into the same category… a 1% deal is almost impossible to find.
It’s a one-size-fits-most rule. A guideline to gauge a deal, nothing more, nothing less. Let’s not pretend that there are hundreds of models that beat the rule, or pretend that most of us seeking a luxury model would be satisfied with a Chevy Spark because we got it at .05%… You couldn’t pay me to drive some of the vehicles these great “deals” are found on. For instance, the C300 is a very cheap “luxury” car. It’s full of plastic, and doesn’t appeal to me at all. I wouldn’t want one, even at sub $300 payment. But that’s me… Other people just want the MB badge at the cheapest they can find it. That’s fine for them.
Every rule has exceptions. But it is a good guideline, regardless of how you feel about better deals being possible.
You don’t have to come in. If they won’t give them to you over the phone or email, then they’re likely trying to hide something. Just be upfront and tell whomever you’re working with that you want full transparency. If they can’t disclose the information, you can’t do the deal. Give and take is a part of every negotiation.
But read through the forums and so many people don’t use it has a guideline. They use it as a hard and fast rule quoting it often and usually without the proper context, but they do it anyway because someone on the Internet once told them it was a rule and everything else is extraneous. People (members and broker/dealers alike) have been lambasted because they post offers that aren’t at 1% of MSRP without realizing that’s probably a darned good deal for that brand, Audi for example.
I don’t disagree entirely with what you’re saying but so many people don’t look at it like that.
You’re identifying a much larger problem here, than the 1% rule… Which is the VAST majority of people online don’t do the research required to understand what they’re talking about…lol
Have you test driven all those cars to make sure you’re happy with them?
Bear in mind as well if you’ve got several months left on your current lease you should probably wait until the end of the month and you’re likely to get a better deal. It’s good to explore and test drive now but don’t rush in.
If you’re looking for the best deal don’t impose a time limit on yourself if you don’t have to, it puts you under more pressure and will impair your negotiating. Rushing into a major decision like a car lease only leads to buyers remorse.
It’s not even a good guideline. It’s a really low bar given the perfect storm of good RV, low MF, and incentives, particularly for sedans. No one should be aiming for 1% on sedans right now, unless they’re a fanboy who absolutely has to have that brand that isn’t leasing well.
1% “rules” are for the lazy, those who don’t want to search and run numbers. $376 for garbage like the CLA? It makes the C-class look like a Rolls Royce.
This is the lease hacker forum. Not the “we settle for what everyone is paying” forum.
thank you. That is what I am working on. My problem is my negative equity 5 months negative and $1800 in the hole for mileage. But I will continue doing what I can do. I live 5 miles from home, so I wont be driving that much. while negotiating. I really messed up by getting 10k miles. Im paying for it big time!
Miles always cost something. If you’d gotten a 15k lease to start, it would have cost something every month. Buying another car or renting a series of cars would have cost something. Don’t get too hung up on this.
And you presumably got some utility out of it. Whether it was to get to work or go on trips or whatever. Even if it was just driving to clear your head, it’s cheaper than therapy.
Keeping the car till the end is actually an option for me. Cuz it looks like the CLA is the only car that is giving me numbers in the early 40’s. Sorry, I let MB run my credit for no reason!.. Credit score is 750. 3rd buyer and they still giving me crappy numbers.
It isn’t about buying a 3rd Mercedes or 1st, it is about knowing the numbers.
The numbers they gave you for the Q50 are nonsense. Look around at the deals people have received and if you are interested in the car at a similar payment then email the dealer with the exact offer you want. Just fishing with the dealer isn’t going to get you number that you want.
