As I inch closer and closer to my 1st hack I have a stupid question regarding any money given at signing.
I fully understand zero down, zero drive off. I’ve had more then 1 dealer (both GM dealers to be specific) say they can’t do zero drive off and must collect 1st months payment.
That being said: If I confirm it’s the 1st payment due at signing plus 35 additional and identical payments (on a 36 month lease) then that essentially counts as a zero down, zero drive off despite actually paying money to the dealer correct??
The most transparent GM dealer I have dealt with which was today was actually the 1st one (of maybe 20 dealers I’ve worked with in my quest) that spelled it out in that ^ fashion.
Thanks.
Mark
No, that wouldn’t be a $0 drive off deal. It’ll be a 1st month DAS deal.
4 Likes
That’s fine. Just do that.
There’s no need to do 0 DAS.
2 Likes
This isn’t true. They can do $0 drive off and $0 first payment but for some reason, a lot of dealers get stuck on picking up that first payment for some reason - probably because it is usually an easy bump because it makes sense and customers will say yes.
One thing to note, though, is that zero drive off is not actually technically zero drive off. The drive offs get rolled into your payment. That is, the cost of drive offs come out of the price and any price you get with zero drive off could theoretically be lower by the amount of the drive offs. That is money that is actually due and it needs to be paid from somewhere. But, if you pay the drive off and get a lower payment it is the same as if you pay no drive off and make a slightly higher payment. Just know that you are not saving that money. You are paying it - not the dealer. It is not a gift and you are not pulling one over on anybody (i.e. not a hack).
Theoretically, technically, yes - you are not paying the money to the dealer. But what is zero drive off? It means you drive off with zero payment. So in that regard, no, it is not zero drive off - no matter how the dealer explains it. But to @max_g point, there is no rule book that says you have to have $0 DAS. Like I said above, $0 DAS does not mean free. You are paying for the drive offs, they are just in your payment. Even in your scenario where you make the first payment, the registration and other fees that are due are being rolled into your payment. If your drive offs are $500 (let’s just say) and you do a $0 DAS lease, then your payment goes up by ~$14 per month ($500/35) plus some interest. The inverse of that is if a dealer says your payment for this car is $314 per month with $0 DAS, you could tell the dude, hey how about I pay the $500 drive off and you make my payment $300. Boom - same same.
So, there you go.
1 Like
I wouldn’t get too hung up on whether (or not) the first payment is due at signing.
If the deal is a great one that issue doesn’t matter much.
Where are you located and what vehicle are you shopping for? GM is a nightmare for me.
Thanks for all the feedback everyone, I appreciate it.
I’m located in Colorado. I have officially expanded to around 500 miles away and am getting GM dealers that will actually get a little aggressive with discounts.