He had a beat up 10 yr old A4 before as far as I know.
I’ll have to now!!
Don’t listen to your friends, lol… most people are full of shit.
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This guy is a great friend, not one to brag at all.
In the past 5 years had been in a Range Rover, etron, and now q8 leases- and swears they were all good deals.
I’m thinking he is easily down 80k for those over 5 years in the Miami market just walking in a dealership and taking what they give him.
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What’s the point of this thread? To prove how gullible you are?
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Maybe!
No point so it’s in off ramp- just curious!!
My best stab, is he got f’d in the a on the trade and a downpayment.
and that’s fine but objective.
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Many people lie about their finances.
Just listen to people talk about their stock market picks. The never discuss the losers.
Before the internet, these brags were what I would consider trolling.
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So, he traded it in for $15k and dumped all these money on RR. Feels like a real win.
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People lie. To themselves, and to you as well.
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I got the sense it was a lie but out of ignorance not just for deception.
In that he paid or pays more than he thought he did because he doesn’t understand the trade equity is money towards the price/cost.
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The vast majority of people don’t know what they’re doing and don’t understand things like “drive offs”, “due at signing”, “down payment”, etc.
I’ve had plenty of people tell me they think they got a great deal on a car for $x/mo. Most assume that if they beat the nationally advertised offer, they’re ahead of the pack.
I remember a few years ago, a coworker of mine told me he was one year into his A4 lease at $500/mo when the same dealership said they could get him into an A3 to lower his payment to $400/mo. He took it. They convinced him that they’d cover his remaining A4 payments. You all know how this story ends.
He put another $4,000 at signing, and reset the clock to 36 months on the A3. Those two Audis cost him $8,000 in down payments and sizable monthly payments for <$40k vehicles. And both times, he thought he had a good deal, just like your friends think they got good deals.
This story at least has a good ending, since I later put him in a cheap 3-series so he’s a much happier camper these days.
Remember: people who don’t understand the ins and outs of leasing do not know how these things work, and I wouldn’t take claims at face value – even if they mean well. Often times, ignorance is more to blame than deception or bragging.
To answer the original question - I’m sure it’s possible to get unicorns without putting in much work. I’ve honestly never had to put that much work into mine. But it’s relative, I guess. Some might think it’s a PITA but it’s all fun and games for me.
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If it’s offered to anyone as a walk-in deal, it’s not a unicorn. Some of my best deals (unicorn-ish) cost me tons of email and many months being patient and gambling the program turning better. There are easy “good” deals (at right time with a dealer who wants to play and being straight forward) but you still need to at least have the knowledge of lease and the current market.
I tends to be optimistic in human being. Here is the plot twist: your friend probably hacks and may be even lurking here reading your post right now. He knows every bit of leasing but just told you the story of taking delivery part: “I was in the dealership for 30mins signing papers then I drove the car home @$xxx/mo, was a breeze!”
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There was on year on LH where most unicorns came from the Florida’s panhandle, mostly BMW 7 series. So one could say unicorns come from the panhandle with no work.
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I will throw an exception here: I have heard a few “last day of the month / last car to hit our number / let them rob us” deals from the old days. Industry folks might know better.
I’ve definitely seen them here that required no skill other than being first: @Bostoncarconcierge V60 T8 for $499, @ethanrs and @chevysalesgirl gave away a lot of free Bolts (confluence of state and manufacturer rebates).
But the “I walked into a lux dealer to test drive and left with a unicorn” - show me the paperwork. Unless it’s purple with polka dots (friend did get a unicorn buy on a 4 series convertible in that purple color, car was approaching a second birthday and had every option)
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Definitely understand this and was my thought exactly! Carrying equity or cash from lease to lease and think money down is absolutely necessary just as in typical mortgage and don’t count that up front money as part of their costs
But part of me wants to believe @jeisensc and the scenario of perfect time and perfect car (needs to be moved) and lucking out.
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Those days are long gone. Almost no manufacturers had reinstated volume stairstep bonuses between covid shutdown and inventory shortages. Maybe someday, not soon.
When it did happen: it was Jettas and Accords, not Rovers and Escalades.
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I was playing with the definition of the word Unicorn I guess lol. If everyone gets one, is it still unicorn tho? Although from the payment point of view, it’s definitely “unicorn” tier based on LH’s deal ratings system if there’s any.
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Absolutely we definitely see those time to time, just to add some I believe there were quite a few effortless $200ish S90 in '17, and a few <$100 tacos too.
But I mean dealers and top brokers selling on this forum isn’t exactly “walk-in” type of deal for the general public already… With all due respect and just out of curiosity I wonder what ethanrs and chevysalesgirl offer to average joe walking into the dealership haha…
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