After gouging on the wealth of information and advice on this site over the last week I wanted to share the outcome of my adventure.
2018 Subaru Outback 2.5i Limited w/Eyesight
Loaded with all available options (option package 2)
MSRP: $36,540
Invoice: $33,822
Selling Price: $31,422
=> 14% off MSRP
=> $2400 below invoice
This was the pre-arranged Costco price HOWEVER I was lead to believe that without Costco membership, the price would still have been $2300 below invoice.
I actually ended up financing the vehicle (see below) but this is the lease offer:
Months: 36
Annual Mileage: 12,000
MF: 0.0004 (see below)
Residual: 62%
Zip Code: 91950
Leasehackr Score: 11.1 years
LeaseHackr Calculation
Notes:
- I’m rebuilding my credit and want to refinance my loan in about 3 months. I didn’t want to be locked into a higher rate with a three year lease so decided to finance the vehicle instead.
- I wasn’t quick enough to take a picture of the lease offer numbers (sorry) but the selling cost is accurate. For good credit, the financing APR was 0.9% so those of you more experienced in these matters can take a guess at the MF.
- The residual value was stated as 62% but I didn’t see the actual number written down.
- Putting money down did not affect the lease deal (as expected) but it also didn’t affect the financing deal. I was willing to put $15K down but it didn’t budge the APR.
- There didn’t seem to be an option to provide multiple security deposits to bring down the MF (as I’ve read on this site is sometimes possible).
- There was plenty of choice in inventory. For the fully loaded model we chose, I could have had any color - don’t judge our choice
- Costco program was fantastic and the dealership service was excellent. Thoroughly enjoyable, went at my own pace and felt collaborative… certainly not aggressive or pushy.
Other things I was told but can’t validate:
- The dealership allocation of Subaru Ascents (release in July 2018) will be based on their Outback volume. They expect the Ascents to be hugely popular and go like hot cakes so are taking a hit on Outbacks in the short-term in order to benefit from (I expect) non-discounted Ascents over the summer.
- 80% of their customers come through Costco (really?)
- They’re the best-rated dealership in San Diego County (actually, that’s a verifiable fact)
More about my situation:
- Our previous Outback was stolen and I was paying for a rental car… therefore time was not on my side.
- If I had waited 3 months, I would have been tempted by the Ascent AND my credit would have been where it needed to be to get their best MF/APR
- I was a few points off from getting 0.9% APR and instead had to go with 4.49%. Ouch. I’ll refinance with my credit union at 2% soon.
- By putting only $5K down, I am reserving the rest of my insurance payout to cover my monthly payments for the next 2 years. I realize that might not make sense in terms of the eventual bottom line but it’s what I had to do in the circumstances.
Requisite celebrity pics of dear wife getting (apparently ‘her’) new Outback:
I want to sincerely thank everyone involved in this website and those who contribute to the forum. I spent hours doing research and much of it was in reading the guides and forum posts on LeaseHackr. I’m a convert: not to either Financing or Leasing… just to consider both, understand the math, and do what makes sense. I’ll be back again… maybe when I sell my new Outback for a profit in a year’s time and lease a new Ascent 
For those interested, my final numbers with taxes, fees, extended warranty, security subscription and some other extras are as follows:
Total cost: $40,026
APR: 4.49
Due at signing: $5000
Term: 63 months
Payment: $633.94
My insurance payout will cover ~20 months at that rate but longer once I refinance.
