Trud,
I got back from the dealer late last night. I haven’t had much time with the car but from last night’s drive and this morning - I am absolutely loving it
I knew nothing about leasing prior to Friday. Negotiations I’m well seasoned. I had the q50 3.0 sport awd in mind. I contacted close to every infiniti dealership in the tri-state and still wasn’t getting where I needed to be. I think my best quote was 410/month for the 3.0 sport, 0 down.
I messaged HN and he gave me the direct email info of the sales manager. I emailed that dealer with the stock number and asked if they can do 35k cap cost on a 44k car (HN’s advice). HN’s sales manager said he had no more sports but would I be interested in a 3.0 essential. I was reluctant to let go of the sport all the way up until the hour I went to go pick up my luxe, but I agreed on looking at essentials because this was the only dealer that was going to get where I needed to be.
He ended up coming back with 39/15k 369/mo just first month and tags at delivery. That was driven by a 35,500 selling price. This was better than my other offers. The dealer stopped negotiating with me at 35,271 ($355/mo) and said there was nowhere else to go without VPP or corporate. I told him I appreciated the 35,271 selling price but in that case I would have to go with a sport from another dealer. I stated that they were giving me 26% discount msrp (made it up) - backed by the fact that there’s also $275 more lease support on the 3.0 sport trim - which made up for the residual drop on the sport and put me where I needed to be.
The dealer emailed back by asking me to send over their deal so he could look at it. I did not respond yet. About an hour later, the dealer called me and said I cant believe I’m doing this, you cant tell anybody, I cant put it in writing, but I will give you the car for 34k selling price making your monthly payment 294 plus first, tags, and tax at delivery. Had him roll the tax in and you get 314/month.
Process took 20 emails and less than a full day. I hit it at the exact right time. The dealer had about 30 of them left in stock and zero sports or red sports. It was clear these were the units they needed to move. Turning down the 355/mo was scary because I had already sold my car and needed to get to work this week. But I stuck to my guns and insisted upon 34k to the point where I made him believe I was walking. And they folded and gave me the car. Timing was everything. And the service I received picking up the car was top notch.
Comments:
2018 means 18in wheels and redesigned front fascia standard on the luxe which look much better imo than the previous 17in wheels on past luxes and makes the car look great to me without being a sport. I knew I could always buy a factory set of 19in wheels/rims combo if I ever got sick of the standard wheels. Plus, it’s winter and these tri-state roads are unforgiving, so I was cool with not having them for the next few months. I could always buy the new set in the future and put the others back on before lease end.
Fully understand a lease payment and the factors that drive it before your negotiations, as this will make it much easier to identify when they are trying to screw you. And it will make it much easier to negotiate knowing you have all the numbers in front of you therefore there are no surprises they can throw at you.
When leasing, you’re paying solely for the depreciation expense and finance charge of the vehicle. Every other fee is just ways that the dealer pads their profit. Don’t fall for any of their tricks, they are trying to make money off of you. You are doing them the favor. You are taking a unit off their hands. Not the other way around. Say in your opening emails you will not pay these extraneous fees not included in the lease calculation or you will walk. You will have plenty of nasty emails back and/or lack of responses, but you will find someone who is willing to work with you if you are persistent.
- Use Leasehackr to find a range you’re comfortable paying by seeing others’ experiences
- Go to edmunds and find the base mf and residual for your vehicle
- Copy/paste emails to make it less tedious while updating name info/stock numbers
As HN says: dealerships have to sell thousands of cars to stay in business, yours is just one. Let them make a killing elsewhere.
