2018 Highlander LE v. 2017 Murano S Lease Deals

Ask the Hackrs
1

Between these two cars for 36 mo/15k leases, $0 down.

Any advice on if there’s wiggle room to negotiate further? I loved the highlander, but budget is still a concern on current quote and I am concerned about not getting money back if we put in MSD’s to lower the payment.

Both are AWD and we want a V6 engine for eventual mountain driving, hence the limited choices.

Highlander 2018 LE AWD
MSRP: $35,784
Cap Cost: $32,081
Money Factor: .00062
Residual: $23,260
Tax Rate: 7.75%
Quoted Lease Payment: $322 (with tax)
**we’re also exploring MSD’s, and were quoted that with 7 MSDs, we could get $293/mo

2017 Murano S AWD
MSRP: $34,065
Cap Cost: $28,650
Money Factor: .00003
Residual: $17,714
Tax Rate: 7.75%
Taxes (with first payment only): $1,018
Quoted Lease Payment (for remaining 35 payments): $299

I spoke with another dealer for the Murano, and he said he could beat with $279/mo.

Any and all help, advice, guidance is much appreciated. Thank you!

2

I think the Highlander is the much better car. If you can get similar payments, I’d go for that. What are your concerns about MSDs?

3

Thanks so much for a quick response, Jon! I should preface that I’ve never leased a car, nor used MSD, so I’m not even sure if this is a valid concern…

But are we more likely to be “nickel and dimed” at the end of our lease and lose a majority of the deposits? From the dealer’s perspective, I assume they would be more motivated to find things that are wrong with the car because there is a larger pool of $ “available” to them.

4

I’d pick the Highlander since I think its a better car all around, and if the price is similar then why not.

5

When they inspect your car at lease turn in, they have NO IDEA if you have MSD’s or not! They only inspect the car for any true damages over and above normal wear and tear. The dealer doesn’t do the inspection anyhow, it’s an outside firm doing it for Toyota, since Toyota owns the car, not the dealership.

I had put 9 MSD’s on my Highlander lease and just had someone assume the lease through Toyota Financial. The security deposits stayed with the car so I had the buyer pay me upfront for the money I had towards the MSD’s. He will get my original money back from Toyota financial at the end of the lease term now.

6

Highlander hands down. Much more superior SUV compared to the murano.

7

They aren’t in the same category, highlander is midsized and murano is considered compact. Like everyone said, you’re going to get a lot more car with the highlander.

8

Murano isn’t compact. The Rogue is compact.