I’m new to leasehackr forum, and this is my first time to lease a car. I live in Philadelphia suburb area in PA.
I tried to study reading the posts here but I’m still not sure how I could determine all the parameters needed in the calculator…
And I received a quote from a BMW dealer about 2021 X5. Although I believe the vehicle contains the premium package (while not stated in the quote), the monthly payments close to $1000 with $5000 cash down seems quite high based on the quotes I saw in this forum… (I was in fact thinking of either no down or something much smaller than $5000, and was surprised to see these monthly payments even with >= $5000 down.)
Unfortunately the quote does not show the parameters like money factor or residual value, so I couldn’t see how the estimates were calculated.
I attached the estimates I got.
(I am not sure why there are two separate columns in the table and how they are different.)
Could you please advise if these estimates are reasonable or overpriced, and what value I should aim for while negotiating?
If you know the typical ranges of parameters such as money factors or residual values for the Philadelphia region, could you please share the info with me?
It is practically impossible for us to tell you what a “good” monthly payment is for your specific lease as lease programs are highly dependent on region, personal qualifications, tax rates, etc.
We always recommend the following method before you ever contact a dealership. If you do all of the work up front, you’ll have a stress free dealer experience and set yourself for success.
Read Leasing 101 (EDITORIAL | LEASEHACKR) to understand how to calculate a lease payment and the variables. Monthly payment is an output, not an input!!
Pick a specific vehicle that you want to target
Gather the current MF, RV and incentives from Edmunds forums for your zip code
Research the LH marketplace and other deals that have been made recently on your vehicle - what was their pre-incentive discount? How did their lease terms differ?
Plug your numbers into the LH calculator (CALCULATOR | LEASEHACKR), and use a pre-incentive discount similar to what you have seen
Create a target deal, this is what you’re trying to negotiate to. You can try different terms, selling price discount, etc. and see how your monthly payment is affected. It is also possible that different trims of your vehicle may have different MF and RV (i.e. this is very common with GM), so make sure that you look into that. Come up with a set of inputs that give you the output that you want - your desired monthly payment.
With a target price determined, you now have a deal to pursue and compare dealer offers against. More importantly, you have a solid foundation to work from.
The lease market indeed looks much harder than it used to be… I will explore if I can still get a better deal now but if it doesn’t work out well, I may wait for a better timing as you suggested. Thank you!
Thank you so much for the advice! I will follow the steps as you suggested and try to identify all the input parameters specific to my case. I had probably done some of those steps, but not very thoroughly. I had learned about the calculator before, and tried to identify the input values but as a first timer I got lost in the middle…
For example, I had tried to obtain MF and RV from Edmunds. However, after entering my info to see the actual pricing for a BMW X5 in Edmunds, I started to receive a lot of calls from local dealers (and I wasn’t ready to reach out to them yet as I was just starting) instead of seeing MF or RV. Maybe my approach wasn’t right… Could you tell me how I can get MF and RV for my area from Edmunds?
Having current, accurate information for residual value, money factor, and incentives is important in understanding your deal. As such, going directly to a source that has access to that data from the captive banks is your best option. The forums at Edmunds are where we go to get that information, as they have direct access to it from the captive banks. You’ll want to post in the model specific thread for the vehicle you’re interested in and request the most current numbers for your zip code. It is often easiest to find that thread by searching Google for “Edmunds lease” followed by the model of vehicle you’re interested in.
Thank you again! I really appreciate your help. I will look for the information in Edmunds as you suggested, and will hopefully be able to return here soon with all the numbers to enter into the calculator!
I wish the general public would just laugh at the salespeople, resist these terrible deals, and force them to actually make leasing reasonable again.
Unfortunately people need cars, and there are a lot of people throwing money at sh*t deals which makes it difficult for everyone else.
Since this account is just registered and cant make a post, I want to share my experience in your thread.
I’m a newbie too. Recently move to GA due to work. I email all BMW official dealership for quote X3 and Audi for Q5. Initially they give me 2-3% off discount. After multiple negotiating and I tell them I’m Graduate and has cooperation employer discount, they can provide the “best” deal with 5-6% discount around 2000 - 2500 off and they wont give in anymore.
Really hard to chat with sales… Anyone can guide me how to negotiate with them? OR the timing is terrible for lease and maybe I’ll come back to market at the end of this year?
You have to be willing to pick the car up at that very moment or else they will never think your serious, tell them you have multiple offers on builds for the same vehicle and that you rather not wait for a build to come, if they match the deals you find on the forum then take it and don’t look back.
I can’t take it