I have a 2013 VW Passat Wolfsburg that I’ve been leasing ($254/month with nothing down, all taxes in NYS rolled in). My lease will end in about 4 months. So I have a few questions, and this site has been helpful, thanks.
Should I just wait out the lease? I have about 24k miles on the car, (it was a 39 month lease) with 4 payments to go. It will be out of warranty for those last 3 months. I won’t roll the remaining payments into a new lease, that’s just a big mistake. But is there a loyalty plan from VW that will “waive” those payments if I lease another VW? Their residual don’t look that great. If I got another VW it would be maybe the Golf S 4 door with sunroof, a GTI S 4 door automatic, a Golf wagon limited (hard to find) or maybe another Passat, but it would be the SE model only.
VW seems to be under duress with everything they’ve done, so you think they would be looking to make deals, but I’m not sure of that. What are my options, and what would you recommend?
They don’t seem to be offering any especially lucrative deals right now. If you’re set on staying with VW, I would wait it out to see if they start throwing more incentives out there.
I was looking at leasing a GTI (among other options), before jumping on the recent '15 Ford Focus Electric deal. GTIs aren’t fantastic lease values, but sizeable discounts from MSRP seem common. I wouldn’t expect too much as far as incentives on them since they are one bright spot in the company now (vs models like Passats with flagging sales).
Thanks jables04. I think I’ll wait it out then, at least for now. How do I find out what are the various incentives from the manufacturer for both the leasee and for the dealer? Obviously I want to find as many ways as possible to reduce the price and get the cap cost down.
I didn’t know what MSD (multiple security deposits) were before this site. I still don’t think I understand them either, so here goes. Although probably moot point as they are not allowed in NYS where I am (upstate at that, not near NYC/NJ). The more deposits you put down, the lower the money factor. When you return the car, you get the deposits back fully, although with no interest accrued (guess who keeps the interest?). In return your money factor is low, thereby reducing your monthly payment. A little bit. I can see this a little more with a high end car. With an average mid size or something, I see no point in doing this. You’re out $2k-4k (which I don’t have anyways, lol), all for saving a little bit each month. But there must be more to it than this.
Another question for you or anyone. On the Hackr site here, when you go to a car to find out the residual and money factor, why do not get to choose the vehicle within the manufacturer? I would assume that not all vehicles would have the same % residual amount. A Toyota pickup truck as really good resale, to a high residual. Not sure if a Corolla or Camry has as high. Maybe they do, maybe a bad example, but just curious is all. A Chevy Silverado has always had a high residual I think, but an Impala (especially the older style) not so much.
Anyways, I’m going to spend more time looking and learning here. I have 2 vehicles to lease in the next 4-6 months. A family cruiser of some sort (currently leasing a Honda Pilot LX 4x4, at $380/month which is probably high, and really an awfully ordinary vehicle, maybe the new ones are better, have to be I guess). Might look at another minivan, maybe the new Pacifica. Or another 7 passenger SUV. $350 or less would be ideal, I’ll try even lower than that, but I know not to get hung up on monthly payments.
How many miles do you have left on the car? I assuming it is a 10K yearly deal. You have a few options:
Ride the deal out as long as you are under the mileage limit. Then shop for your new car, that way you aren’t obligated to buy a VW.
Payoff the car and sell it to carmax or private party.
Got to dealer and ask him to do a roll over payments.
Just make sure to go towards the end of month. The can make insane deals at that time. Also check advertised special cars if you are into leasing, they offer one of the best bang for buck.
You could try and turn your car in early to VW dealer for a new one. Or you can try “trading” it in to a different dealer for a new car. You may even get some equity in your current car (trade-in minus payoff), but this will probably won’t happen now, considering VW’s values are low now. A few years back I was able to turn my leased VW CC about 3 month early to a Volvo dealer and get an extra $500 over the lease payoff. Not sure if VW allows other dealers to buy their leased cars now, though.
I believe the limit is 39,000 miles (12k/year x 39 months). I have about 24k miles on it now, with 4 months to go. I’ll definitely be under (my commute to work is 10 miles, round trip, lol) Sometimes I’ll use it for a business trip because I make .56 cents/mile, but haven’t done much of this lately.
I have not, I don’t think I live anywhere near a Carmax, but I’ll check out this option. I don’t think the Passat’s hold their value all that well, judging by used car prices, plus mine has the 2.5l versus the 1.8T. And I decided I’m not in a rush to get rid of it, it’s been a great car. I just get antsy every so often for something new.
They key for you is if the car has more value than your payoff. VW is known for having two payoff quotes, a lower one for owner and a higher one for dealer/third party. Since you are way under the mileage you can workout a deal with the dealer, in this case VW or Audi both can work a deal for you. Just make sure to call VW leasing department to see what they can do for you. Another thing though is that once the car is out of warranty you are better off returning it back.
Lost my last reply. Anyways, yes, I’ve been meaning to go to my local dealer, they do VW, Audi, Volvo, Kia and Toyota. More in different locations. I think at the end of May may be my best time to negotiate moving forward, with either something else from VW if they can offer me a really good deal, look at Audi (is there an A3 lease that is affordable?) or see about getting out altogether for a different brand (Toyota, Kia, or maybe Ford or Subaru). Soon after my Honda lease comes up, not sure I’d do another one or not. Local dealer is not a willing negotiator, but I’m sure I can find some outside my area that will.
“Spring ForwardVW will pay to get you out of your VW lease early – lease must end by Sept 30, 2016. Restrictions apply, call for details, offer expries 4/30/2016”
Volvo had huge lease allowances last month (up to $6,650 including Conquest cash on S60 Inscription/$5,650 on S60). They took out $1k this month, but it’s still a good deal.
So if I’m doing this right, you would start with the MSRP, then the agreed selling price of the car, then use the lease allowance of $5,650 on an S60 to further reduce the price, then calculate the money factor, number of miles and months. This might be a pretty reasonable lease then, and a very nice car. Volvos are big in my town, more the old ones than the new ones, but still.
Correct. I believe there is still $1K conquest cash available on leases, which is included in $5,650. Just check Volvo offers in your area on their website - the allowances can differ. The dealer will likely tell you that all these incentives are already included in their “advertised” price. But common sense is that you shoot for something under invoice (Volvo includes $500 advertisement fee in it, so it would be $500 more then on Edmunds, but even at invoice, it still can be a good deal) and then deduct $5,650. That would be your Cap Cost. Then calculate you tax and fees and add them to Cap Cost (if you want to roll them in your monthly payments). Then plug it in a calculator and play with different numbers.
