I’m looking to lease a ‘24 Subaru Legacy Limited in CA. The dealer sent some numbers through which include an “Upfront Fee” of $117.75. The lease mgr said it’s a partial down payment/drive off fee added into the cost of the vehicle and that it’s coming from Chase Bank & he cannot do anything about it. We are not doing a down payment, only paying Drive-offs (dealer doc, DMV, 1st month, and may or may not add the acquisition fee here - I’ve been advised to put it in drive offs, but also been advised not to). What he’s describing doesn’t sound right. Is this a real thing?
It sounds like a BS fee to me but maybe it’s a way for Chase to make a quick buck. Could be a “funding fee” or some other nonsense. If it is legit, I would roll this into the monthly payment, it’s about $3 a month on a 36 month lease. Call Chase yourself and see if this is a real fee.
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What did the dealer say this was for when you asked them?
Where on the lease worksheet does this show up?
Dealer described it as a partial down payment/drive off fee. He was talking fast and kind of stumbling over his words when I asked him what it was, and then again when I tried to clarify, which these dealer often do when they don’t want to tell you what it really is. I told him we aren’t doing a down payment and are already paying drive-offs, so it sounds like we’re paying twice. That’s when he said it’s a fee coming from Chase Bank and he cannot do anything about it. It all sounds sketchy to me.
In the cost of the car, he has it listed as follows (sorry, but somehow I cannot get my computer to get the picture here):
MSRP $33,035
Residual % 60%
Residual amount $19,821
Cap cost $33,035
Add to Cap Cost $595
Upfront Fees $117.75
Disposition Fee $300
Adjusted Cap Cost $33,715
Then he has the monthly rental amount, tax, DMV fees, then goes into drive-offs.
When I asked what went into the $680 ($33,715-$33,035), since after subtracting the $595 acquisition fee, that leaves $85, he said he didn’t actually know & I’d have to ask the Finance guy. It would seem to be the Dealer Doc fee, but here’s the Drive Offs:
Doc Processing Fee of $80
First monthly payment 575.50
License fee 462
CA tire fee 8.75
Electronic filing fee 29
So I’m confused about the 2 Doc fees as well.
I don’t follow Subaru deals, but is this even a particularly competitive deal? You’re not getting any discount and then they might be adding some BS fees?
I’m asking b/c I’m wondering if it might be better for you to start over w/ another dealership.
Is there any reason why you’re using Chase Bank? The Edmunds folks haven’t yet responded to a question about this month’s RV for a Limited, but your RV is quite a bit lower than what’s been listed for other trims.
This was his first offer. My husband had ordered this car (all the rest available at the time had the moon roof package that we’re not interested in paying for) w/ nothing added on to it & was told if we decided against it, we weren’t obligated to get the car as they could sell it. The sales mgr at first said he couldn’t reduce the price at all since it was ordered & wouldn’t reduce the MF when I said that wasn’t the correct #. So he sent this 1st proposal through. I said he’d have to help out when not discounting the car & increasing the MF by .00050, he said he could do 5% discount w/ the MF as it should be @ .00131. Edmunds gave the RV as 60%. He just sent through the new proposal, which I will be countering again, but the $117.75 is still there. I tried calling Chase & the department that I need to speak to was closed by the time I got home from work, so of course I probably won’t be able to get an answer until Monday as to the legitimacy of this charge. I suppose we could look into another bank, but I think Chase is just who this dealership goes through. We have recently found other cars available now (though in 2 colors my husband doesn’t want), so will start calling around cuz I could care less. The sales people at this one are just not enjoyable to deal with ever, though I have yet to find one I like anywhere either, so ……
Sorry, when I did an internet search for the Edmunds forum for the Legacy, one of the search results was for the Outback (so I gave the wrong RV). 60% is correct.
At any rate… It looks like the Edmunds mod is as confused about the weird fees as are you.
I know you don’t want to pay for something extra, but might you end up effectively paying for it w/ all the time you’re wasting w/ this dealership? The dealership seems to be giving clear signs (and multiple signs) that something is off.
And, no offense, but if your husband is going to be picky about option packages and color, I hope he is doing some of this work and it’s not just all falling on you…
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Woof 
They should be able to at least discount to invoice (if not deeper), otherwise just get VIP. You can do better than $0 off
Also this is probably a better purchase candidate than lease. This particular one is a pass.
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The upfront fees are just the doc fee, electronic filing fee and tire fees paid upfront. Not a big deal.
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You’re right about all of that!! My husband did do the initial correspondence which went on for days going nowhere. He was quite busy at work, so asked them to email all the info. They initially said they could get that done and deliver the car, then kept coming back w/ answers like, they couldn’t give all the numbers so when could he come in to talk about it? He ended up corresponding w/ 3 people, only at one point to get only some of the info he asked for. Then had to go on a work trip. If it was up to him, he’d pay gobs more just to end it & have a car, but I will go to battle when they start jacking around w/ us. So I took it on.
You are totally correct too in the amount of time it’s taking out of my life, so thank you for that reminder as I won’t worry about the little bits! I am about to move on though if they don’t come down in price more than 5% though.
And BTW, I freaking LOVE paranoidgarliclover!!
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Thank you so much!! I’ll investigate about the VIP and Loyalty coupon. So far we were told the loyalty coupon was only given if you turn in a previous lease and sign the next lease agreement. We sold our last leased Subaru to the dealer for $4K profit @ the end of July (just before the lease was up), so they said it didn’t count.
And I’m having trouble finding what the invoice is on this vehicle, though I’m certain I just don’t know where to look.
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There are CA Subaru brokers that are active here, have you contacted them?
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That deal is horrible.
I have a few Limited’s in stock in Socal if you want a quote
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Just email SOA this weekend with the prior information and VIN and request a loyalty coupon. It they issue it any dealer should accept it.
Roughly $2k in markup with $625 in holdback. VIP will cost you a $500 donation to an eligible charity
Definitely reach out to @Jeff_BeachCitiesAuto and @rubbergash and check the marketplace. Worst cast with VIP you can order exactly what you want and wait for it.
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Paying 575/mo plus fees to rent a $33k car makes no sense. Finance it.
In California (zip 93933 - on central coast near Monterey) tax 9.25%
This Legacy Limited has nothing added to it (no moon roof, etc):
MSRP 31,945 + dest fee 1,090 = $33,035
MF 0.00131
RV 60%
Excellent credit rating
36/10K
Our offer:
$29,070.80 (12% off)
Drive-offs only (including acquisition fee), no down payment
=$350/mo (tax incl). (Leasackr score 8)
We leased our last Subaru through them & are waiting to hear back from SOA if we can get a $500 Loyalty Discount (we had ordered this car 4 months prior to our lease-end but car was delayed in arriving so there was a gap in leases). If so, it looks like the monthly would be ~$340
Sales Mgr yesterday didn’t sound sad about our offer & asked if we’d sign last night. I said yes if he could do that deal, and we could pick the car up. He said he’d check w/ his boss and call back. Still haven’t heard from him (I seem to have to always call him back so far).
Reasonable offer or are we cutting too deep?
We’ll go to -11% if -12% is really asking too much, but that’s it. We’re not in a big hurry, but we’re coming on 2 wks since car arrived & dealership sucks to deal with. We’ll be cutting bait & movin’ on if we don’t sign by tomorrow. Just need to find out about Loylalty $ (I don’t trust this dealer to be honest about our eligibility).
Thanks all!
You can call Subaru yourself and request the loyalty certificate no need to wonder if the dealer being honest about it
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What is this dollar amount?