So we are just about to roll out of our 2016 Volt lease. We got a killer deal on 3 years ago, but seems that the winds of change have shifted towards better Bolts deals in the last couple years. I went down to the dealership to start negotiating on a 2019 Volt LT with no extras, and this is what they are trying to pedal. I’m not an expert, but it doesn’t seem like a great deal to me. I know the federal rebate for EV cars has dropped from 7500 to 3750 in the past year so I get there are going to be some extra cost and the payments will be higher than the last lease we had.
Here is their offer.
Market Value Selling Price 34,395.00
Discount 4,127.00
19-40BG-5 : Chevrolet Select
Market Incremental CCR Program 2,500.00
19-40CN-5 : GM Lease Loyalty
Program 500.00
Adjusted Price 27,268.00
Trade Allowance 1,500.00
Trade Difference 25,768.00
Doc Fee: 85.00
Tax: 538.73
Non Tax Fees: 1,244.75
Balance: 27,636.48
Cash Down: 2500
36 Months: 341 Monthly Payment
Annual Mileage Allowed: 12,000
Many things in this don’t make sense to me. First off, the discount of $4,127.00 which I assume includes the $3,750 federal rebate the dealership recovers ends up only being an actual discount of $377. That seems low IMO.
Next, and please correct me if I’m wrong, the “19-40BG-5 : Chevrolet Select Market Incremental CCR Program” $2,500 off is a factory rebate/discount that they automatically get from Chevy, no negotiating needed. So that number makes sense to me.
The guy at the dealership told me current GM lease holders can get a $1500 customer loyalty credit/discount if you turn in your lease before its term finishes. So when I saw “19-40CN-5 : GM Lease Loyalty Program” for $500, I’m like where is the other $1000 in this loyalty program. He tried to back pedal and talk about how it’s in the $4127 discount but that doesn’t hold water if you account for the federal tax rebate covering $3750 of that line item.
Then there is the $1500 for our trade in on a 2006 Toyota Solara which I’m still on the fence about letting go. It’s not in great condition, but having a convertible in So Cal is great.
Doc Fee of $85? Isn’t that capped at $80 in California? Did it go up last year or are they just trying to squeeze every bit of money out of me?
Tax: no problem there other than it should be based on lower sale price.
Non tax fees: I get it, there are fees. I want to see the breakdown and have asked for it to make sure there aren’t any BS or inflated fees beyond the norm.
They didn’t include the MF, so I asked for an updated sheet with that as well.
There are about 2500 in California rebates I can apply for and should get post sale.
Below is my attempt at the leasekackr calculator to find the deal I want. Not sure about the MF number being accurate until I hear back from the dealership, My credit is north of 750 so hoping I get a good number there. We had always planned on putting somewhere between 2000-2500 down and with $2500 of California rebates coming back to us my thought was too offset the tax and fees with that extra money down. By my calculations that puts us at a $290 monthly payment with 2500 out of pocket after recouping the CA rebates.
So is this a good deal if I can get them to entertain my counter offer. Can I do better or is my strategy even possible?
Edit (I wasn’t sure the fee breakdown so I just split it between the Acquisition and Government fees on the calculator.)