This is our second lease, but the first one we made so many mistakes. Trying to do better this time around and do actual research.
Hubby is looking at getting a 2019 Lincoln MKZ AWD Reserve I w/ the Reserve Plus package. I have attached the first lease quote we received from a local dealer. To me, it seems high and not enough discount, but we’ve never dealt with Lincoln before (he currently has a GMC Terrain). The RV is 53%, the lease rate should be .22%, and there is $1250 lease cash according to the Edmunds forum. I also attempted to use the calculator on here, but it’s still confusing to me with the taxed/untaxed incentives, etc.
Any assistance would be appreciated!
He’s also considering the Ford Fusion Titanium (gas or hybrid), but trying to get a good quote from Ford dealers is like pulling teeth. I never seem to get everything I’m looking for.
I think part of the problem is that Ford/Lincoln products generally lease like crap, unless we’re talking about certain trucks and even then those usually need a PCO code to get there. Does anyone work for a company that offers X Plan discounts from Ford? That might help. I remember BJs was offering that to members awhile back, I’m not sure if they still are. Fool around on the Ford and Lincoln websites comparing products and try to get a PCO/“Private offer” coupon form to pop up. Those can be stacked with most deals, they usually give you anywhere from 750 to 3000 dollars off, depending on how generous Ford is feeling and what make and model you are looking for.
not much for Lincoln lease discussions on LH. Personally, looked into the Continental but wasn’t getting much discount for sedan that was rumored to be getting discontinued. From what I seen discussed on LH Lincoln’s aren’t the most hackable deals. You could probably get a better deal on a Cadillac if you want another American Luxury brand.
You can build and price or check inventory on the Lincoln website and it gives you the lease payment and some numbers. Start there and then negotiate. Try cars.com and search for new MKZ and sort by price and find the biggest discount advertised.
You might be better off looking at a Cadillac product to take advantage of GM lease loyalty rebate, unless he can find a competitor vehicle which has a nice competitive rebate attached to it. There are some XT5 threads on here which lease decently.
The key to lease hacking a great deal is to Number 1 make a list of vehicles that you really like and want to lease, then narrow that list down by researching all of the lease variables: typical selling price discount, MF, RV and rebates/incentives. As you can see, this particular vehicle has no available incentives and a very poor residual - so personally I would rule it out because there is simply no possible way to generate a good lease deal. A $40k vehicle could be $600/mo or $250/mo depending on the leasing variables that I listed, this one is on the high end because of the very poor leasing numbers. Looks like you’re already on the right track with this. Good luck!
PS - if you REALLY want the MKZ, they depreciate horribly and are pretty good CPO vehicle bargains. I know this is a leasing forum, but IMO this is the perfect example of a car you should buy lightly used and not lease due to the massive depreciation. This vehicle with 20-30k miles could probably be purchased for around $20k. If he really likes this vehicle I would strongly consider that option.
Back to the drawing board. So we need to look for vehicles that have a high residual (>55?)and high incentives? We do want to stay under $500, preferably under $450. We wrote off suvs because they were more than $500…even a new Terrain. And we definitely don’t want to pay for premium gas.
He’s had a Fusion Hybrid in the past and loved it and because it’s not being made anymore so we thought it would be a great deal.
Are you referring to a Denali? If so, they lease like sh*t due to low incentives and high MF. Every Terrain trim has different RV, MF and incentives. For vehicles like this you need to do your homework up front and do a quick calculation on each trim to determine which leases the best. My SLT has leather, bigger audio screen, remote start, heated seats…”fully loaded” to us
There are some good brokers on here for the midwest/Chicago area (@Benedetto based out of Michigan would be my recommendation). And if you want to keep your payments below $450, Jeeps usually lease well due to high incentives and low money factors; we got a limited for ~$415/month.
Oh, sorry. It was the SLT and had the 2.0T, AWD, infotainment package II, panoramic sunroof, red quartz, preferred package, dark accent package, driver alert package I, and the floor liner package. I don’t think I’m missing anything.
I agree with getting a slightly used certified MKZ. You can get a certified used with a 11 year warranty with up to like 120k miles (close to bumper to bumper) from the initial buy date all under 21k. We just got one 2 years ago. If you really want an MKZ, I recommend going that route. Bergeys Lincoln in PA usually have some in that range.
The problem is that you picked a vehicle with like $6k in options, every $1k in options is going to increase the monthly by ~$15 on a vehicle with 60% RV. For leasing you need to target a vehicle with the bare minimum options you require. And make a sheet like this:
Why would he rule out a CPO purchase based on this? On cars like the MKZ (very high initial depreciation and low leasing RV) - if you purchase a used vehicle that has already suffered the major initial depreciation, you can sell or trade in at any time with far less negative equity than trying to get out of a lease on a brand new one. I’d say a lease is far more restrictive in this regard. On a car like the MKZ with massive initial depreciation and no lease rebates, you’re essentially 100% locked in to the 36mo term.
