New to the Seattle area (moved from FL) and am looking to sign a compact SUV AWD. Wanted to score a great deal on a BMW X1 but realized that I was both late to the party (for the last 2018’s that were being leased for steals) and there is a stop-sale on X1’s due to a BMW recall.
Therefore, I turned my attention to the Mazda CX-5. Starting to talk to four different area dealers and went into one this past weekend. Attached is their initial lease offer sheet and here is the calculator:
The model doesn’t work quite correctly as the dealer said Mazda would make first payment. So the drive off is less, which one could theoretically amortize over the remaining 35 payments for an effective monthly after-tax payment of $397.
Any comments or advice is welcome. Obviously this is not a great deal nor probably the worst deal ever written. It’s a starting point and my goal is to drive this down to $375 a month with min drive off if possible in this PnW environment.
Edit on my goal - some initial numbers from other dealers just came in via email. One is quoting $31,650 for selling price. Putting that into calculator shows potentially already at ~$360/month with a score of 8.5.
Also, please note this is a 36/10 lease (I’m good with the mileage).
Glad to see you posting for advice. The only thing I will say is that there are very small margins on Mazda between MSRP and Invoice. Combined with the fact they don’t really have big incentives, it just doesn’t make for a great lease deal. I think if you can get a sale price of 8% with buy rate on the MF you’re in good shape.
A word of caution - be careful with Doug’s Lynnwood Mazda and Walker’s Renton Mazda - they’re known (at least historically) for being a bit underhanded.
Latest number back from University Mazda is $30,950 (10.3% off MSRP). That would make for a monthly payment with tax at $340, a drive-off of $1,033 and a score of 9.
For what it’s worth, this is already the best LH score for me personally. I recently signed a Honda lease for my wife (will make a separate post about it) and didn’t achieve this.
Forgot to ask on first reply but regarding underhanded play from Lynnwood and Renton, do they try to force lots of extra’s like nitrogen tires and 7 years of oil changes for $1,000 and such?
I will also do my research in Google Maps shortly on these places for reviews.
Looks like your hunch was right on the number for University Mazda. I doubled checked with salesman to confirm that was a lease selling price. He stated it was a purchase price with $1,000 cash back in it. His lease price is $31,950.
I certainly echo those sentiments, although I can only speak for Renton in terms of firsthand experience. I also had issues when it came time to return the lease to Walker’s - had to wait over 2 hours for a manager to return from some meeting because no one else in the entire dealership knew how to handle a lease return (???). Of course, I had called a week earlier to see if I needed to make an appointment and was told that I could drop by at any time and be out the door in less than 20 minutes.
@Mfizzy, in late March/early April 2018 I got pretty decent initial quotes from Milam Mazda in Puyallup and South Tacoma Mazda, if you haven’t reached out to them already. I only had a few email exchanges with both dealerships before switching directions completely to a Subaru, but the internet sales managers seemed pretty transparent and informed (a year ago though, so YMMV).
New info today from University Mazda - an in-stock vehicle with my 2nd color choice for $527 DAS (WA state reg, 10.4% state tax on $110 incentive) and $377 a month after tax.
Got the breakdown! See attached. Is there a way to model this in the Calculator? It’s not a Zero Drive Off but it’s not just a Min drive off either. It’s only WA state registration plus the $20 tax on the $110 incentive with Mazda making the first payment.
Yeah I see what’s happening - kind of annoying because I guess it is technically calculated as non-tax rebate?
Removing the link, that isn’t right. Let’s try this:
Basically they’re giving you a taxed $110 rebate and an untaxed $377, but simply removing it from your upfront cost rather than from your cap. So I put in each and then subtracted the combined amount as a negative down payment. The numbers don’t match exactly because using the down payment field messes with taxes.
That looks pretty close, good job figuring a way to trick it out a bit. I feel like I may be approaching the edge of how far I can push U Mazda.
The sales person at Lee Johnson Mazda Kirkland now pretty much just keeps saying I need to go in to see him in order to work the best deal. He doesn’t seem to want to sent these lease calculation sheets via email and keep negotiating that way.
Not a ton with Mazda - but @jamiemose posted some potential dealers she worked with that seemed competent. I’d consider shopping them before calling it quits.
Lease sheet is in from Milan Mazda. This monthly of $385 is a Zero Drive Off and Mazda makes the first month’s payment. If I’m doing it right, this should be a LH score of 8.6.
@jamiemose Are these two dealerships (Milan and South Tacoma) owned and run by the same place? Their websites are identical except for the name at the top of the page and they show the same inventory.
Also, strangely, I am corresponding via text with a salesperson from Milan and email with South Tacoma but I have this odd feeling that I am talking to the exact same person. lol
