Best Manufacturers to Lease?

Hi there,

I live in LA (Glendale) and the CVT transmission on my 2005 Civic Hybrid just failed. The $3-5k transmission replacement wouldn’t be worth the car (KBB $2k-$3k). Overall I’m interested in leasing because I’m in the mood for a new car that I don’t have to worry about breaking down as long as I maintain it properly, and because my financials don’t allow for outright buying a car I really want at the moment.

I’m open to different manufacturers and haven’t selected a car yet. The only thing that’s truly important to me is that it has A/C and Bluetooth audio. Comfort trumps performance.

What’s the best manufacturer to get a lease from, why, and do you have any tips on how to get even better deals out of that particular manufacturer in SoCal?

Thanks!

Kia optima or hyundai genesis. There are a few threads on each in this mb. The key to getting the beat deal is to read the measage board.

Need more info…what is your target monthly payment? Just about all new cars these days have A/C and bluetooth, so that doesn’t really narrow down anything. Since you are in Cali, perhaps you want to look into EVs. They have the lowest overall payments, but are limited in range (like the Spark EV). Post your needs so we can make better suggestions.

I have no method of charging an EV unfortunately. I live in an apartment with a garage, and said garage doesn’t have power outlets. If you can think of a clever solution around this, I would love to lease an EV.

I’d prefer to make a higher up-front payment and keep the monthly low. I saw on the Leasehackr main website that it’s preferrable to place a security deposit instead, but not all manufacturers support this. Does that narrow down my choices at all?

The next narrow down factor would be the deals that are available right now in SoCal, but Leasehackr’s website seems to not be so up-to-date. Do you know where I can find information on dealers that might be for some reason willing to drop the selling price of the car (manufacturer is incentivizing, trying to replace last year’s model, inventory needs to be sold, etc.)?

Most mainstream brands are great for leasing. It’s easier to list the brands that aren’t great for leasing: Jaguar, Land Rover, Porsche, and Tesla. Most Mazdas and Subarus are comparatively expensive to lease. Honda leases will be reasonable, but they’ll rarely ever be amazing.

What’s your budget?

Volvo has huge rebates on sedans

I think I’d like to pay under $200/month. The main Leasehackr website says I shouldn’t be ever paying down, is that right?

Correct, you would want to avoid any down payment as you can lose it if you total the car, etc. I’m paying $201 a month for my 2016 Camry SE right now with 0 down to put something into perspective. 12k/36 month lease

1 Like

For $200/month, you shall have many cars to choose from. I got my Civic EX for $220/month including tax. The term is 15k/36month. $571 drive off, 1st month payment, document fee, and DMV fees

1 Like

I just leased a Jetta 1.4T 5MT in California for $170 per month for 23 months with 0 down. Love it so far. See my other posts for details on the Jetta deal. My deal is at 12k miles per year, the deal is $8 per month less for 10k miles per year.

1 Like

I leased a Jetta Sport at 36/10k for $210, with everything except the first payment and registration rolled into the monthly payments.

Chevy cruze also qualifies

I’m in a similar situation up in the Bay Area.
200 was my budget but raised it when I saw the S60 deal.
Never thought about an EV either but just checked and have plugs around me.
What’s the best deal on one of those?

Something as basic as a Toyota Corolla LE will have AC, streaming audio BT, rear view camera, etc.

The LE is effectively the base trim, since the “L” is a complete stripper and is rarely stocked

What location and what’s your tax rate? In other words what’s the payment before tax?

jus get an i3 its under 200 a month i just posted the numbers in teh i3 thread

For the Corolla LE, What do I lose by taking the LE over a better trim?

@WBL @jmac63 I saw Jetta deals starting at $79 per month - I’m guessing the monthly is super low because the down is like $2400. I’m wondering if I can get a Jetta at less than $150 per month?

Tangentially, is VW’s latest PR snafoo driving any great deals that can be taken advantage of?

Yes you can take advanatge from VW snafu. Buy a VW or Audi tdi and then they give you your money back when they are ready to recall it.

You can compare standard features and options on the different trims on car manufacturers websites.

$150 for a Jetta S should definitely be doable. I suspect dealers are getting a lot of behind the scenes incentives from VW corporate.

You can’t buy them from a dealer and if you buy one from a private seller, they will still get at least half of the settlement money.

I leased a Corolla S Plus back in March 2016 for $500 down (Tax, Tags & first month payment) and monthly 150$. I am from Southern California.