Very new to the site and thankful I found this. Long story short after thinking leasing would be a good idea in order to get away from a bad loan on a 17 impala and avoid negative equatity going against financing again I decided to venture out and see if I could get a deal. I had no idea of how leasing works and still don’t exactly but now I understand a bit better.
1st dealer turned me away, didn’t want to even try after running my fico auto, 2nd dealer was able to use my transunion score of 675 and get me approved for tier 2 of a lease through Chrysler capitol. I was happy but it ended after a couple hours since we couldn’t reach a deal. 956 a month for an RT model or 775 for GT so I had to walk away.
One thing that the sales person told me is that no matter what I do, do not go to another dealer and allow them to run my credit bc he would lose the leasing opportunity he was able to figure out for me and at that point I would have no other option. Is this true? I mean I don’t want more negative hits on my credit since I been rebuilding anyways but just wanted to confirm.
Unfortunately I do not have any breakdowns of those deals since I was not educated enough on how to bargain and separate it all when it comes to discounts incentives and etc but any advise is appreciated. The most I reached that I can remember was 7000 in combined discounts on top of the reg msrp price. But also negative equitity of 5500 from my impala being added to it.
No idea how any of this can be true. How would his shop know unless another dealer called them to tell them you shopped his quotes and at that point he would just decide not to work with you?
Anyways, you’re kind of approaching this a little wrong. First? What are your needs?
Going from a full size impala to a three row SUV is quite a leap. Are you just looking for driver leg room? Do you need a third row? Do you have 5 kids you intend to transport at the same time?
Do you HAVE to have the GT or R/T trims?
You have a few things going wrong for you, the 5,500 negative equity (get quotes from Carvana/Vroom/Carmax if you can), the fact that Chrysler RV’s and MF’s are usually terrible and uncompetitive, the fact that Chrysler dealers tend to not negotiate or discount their vehicles to be all that competitive, the fact that your credit isn’t high enough for tier 1, and the fact that you’re not too well versed in leasing.
We can help you with the last bit, but you need to help yourself as well. Take a look around this site and read the Leasing 101 FAQ to answer basic questions.
Once you have that, stop talking to dealers and start doing research.
You need to answer basic questions for yourself:
What are my very basic needs?
What are my financial priorities? To own a very nice dream car or to get financially better/solvent/build better credit?
3)What are the features I would like to see in a car?
Notice how the features option is number 3. I organized it like this because realistically for folks who are concerned about negative equity or getting the best financial deal possible on limited credit; they just sometimes have to make a few compromises to get what they want in the long term.
If the Impala has worked for you since 2017, why won’t another vehicle similar in size and capability work for you?
Now that you’ve answered those basic questions, you can start narrowing the field and determining what a good lease deal here is.
Are you trying to shop the deal or shop the car? If you shop the deal, then be ready to jump at the best opportunity that pops up regardless of the car, trim, and features as sometimes the best deals aren’t on the most desireable of cars. If you’re shopping the car then be ready to pay more and simply accept you won’t get the best deal possible. Some people can combine the two, but that takes knowledge, patience, and effort to do.
If you’re at 5500 negative equity, are you able to close the gap with cash and simply sell to Carmax/Vroom/Carvana? This may be the best way out for you and the most convenient. We highly advise against doing trades with lease deals as the trade often times can obscure what type of deal you’re actually getting.
If you insist on trading the car in then you’ll have to find an acceptable vehicle that has high manufacturer rebates and incentives (target cars with 5k or more) and target a very steep dealer discount, like 11% or higher. It’s quite possible to do this with the luxury brands like Volvo and BMW.
Target a lease program with higher RV (like something with 58% or higher) and a lower money factor (like lower than .00100 if possible). I know some people here balk at buying at .00100, but that’s already below average and reasonable to do.
My final thought; if all else fails and you don’t want to do the work, then just go find one of the many fine brokers on LeaseHackr and simply check their spreadsheets out. If you see a car at a deal you find reasonable then talk to them about your situation.
I know it’s a lot to digest, hope you take the time to read.
TL;DR: Stop talking to dealers. Do your research. Find the sell value of your car. Pay the negative equity yourself. If all else fails, seek out a broker.
Truly appreciate the feedback, here is a couple pointers.
Used to own a 2013 Durango SXT, had it financed and loved the vehicle. Due to a promotion on 2017 i ended up buying the impala at that time unfortunately my credit took a hit because of a few personal matters related to divorce and etc and i was not able to control my finances which i regret a lot.
The impala reached 86,000 miles this month specifically and my intend was to lease a vehicle since i am in a company program that i get reimbursed for using my vehicle for work and average about 700 miles a month. I always wanted to go back to a Durango and felt i had a shot at it since i have been rebuilding my credit and wanted a to explore leasing so i do not end up every 4 years changing cars that i finance with negative equity going into loans.
My mistakes: 1 shared with the dealer how i get compensated car reimbursement and shared that the RT is my dream vehicle. As a result they got me approved for what i wanted with the understanding hey you can afford paying 400 dollars more a month since your company pays majority of your note anyways then i was talked to settle on a GT on lower payments still get on a Lease and 3 years later with the continuous efforts i been making with my credit qualify for tier 1 and purchase an RT.
2 I did no research and went in as not prepared at all, so the dealer dictated the deal based on my needs and payments that i would be comfortable as well. Luckily my woman talked me out of the insanity so i could sleep over and determine the next move and that’s when i ended up at this page.
What i plan now: Go through the scenario of getting quotes from Carmax and Carvana, i can pay the difference on the negative equity and sell the car to them. Perhaps if i get a decent offer and pay 4,000 out of pocket i believe that would be a win. By then i would hope to be a little more knowledgeable on negotiating the MSRP’s, then factor in incentives and other details. I think this may be the best avenue to tackle this.
This is the right path forward, get the strongest offer possible and just pay it off. Continue to do research. Go to Edmunds forums and ask for lease program information for your Zip code on the car you’ve decided to work the lease on.
Don’t ever go back to that dealer you worked with. They do not have your best interest at heart and they were doing you 0 favors.
Plenty of other dealers, spread your search far and wide, lots of Dodge/Chrysler dealerships in the DC/MD/VA area.
Unfortunately, this is a critical mistake that a lot of people make. You’ve burned the bridge with this dealer by establishing yourself as an uninformed consumer. Just write them off and don’t bother going back.
The key thing to remember here is that conversations with a dealer are for finding someone to do your deal, not for finding out what something should cost. You have to know what deal you’re trying to get to before ever starting the conversation. It sounds like you’re working on that, but it’s a point that always deserves extra attention.
You established a way for them to maximize their profit potential.
For now, do what the others have said and do the research on your own. Edmunds forums have the MF, RV, and incentives (usually). Build a deal with a discount based on other previous deals and email that to dealers.
I am also in NoVa. This post assumes you are registering the car in Virginia.
Anyhow, I ask because when reading this website it helps to remember every NoVa County’s annual local car tax. Most people here pay a tax rate of 3%-9%. The total tax rate on my last MDX lease was about 30%. If you prioritize driving fun cars or upscale models that is totally reasonable. But its not like in California where you can drive a BMW for the price of a Toyota if you get a really good lease deal. Even worse, the annual taxes aren’t included in your lease so you don’t know until you get the bill exactly how much you owe - but on a 40K Durango the first year bill would be over 1K.
agree thanks for the info. I can certainly take a couple inquiries but now that i was approved at one dealer i just need to have a much better game plan on approaching the deal fully knowledgeable and also fixing my negative equity smart instead of rolling anything into a lease. When i am done with my research and do the calculator i will send it out for some feedback if you guys could
