I have not only because I don’t want to buy. The car will likely be redesigned in 2 years and I would want to see what the 3 will look like by then, not to mention electric is really the rage now and I would like to see where the MX-30 (or other electric makes) is at by that time. I’m very hard to please with cars and it seems that this top-trim Mazda does a decent job. I just don’t want to be stuck with something for a long time but want something that can tie me over for the meantime.
Also, looks like OP leased. I assuming based off his update and his initial Lease Worksheet posted.
For a Mazda at this particular time and circumstances, 5.5% is a pretty decent discount. Toyota Motor Finance doesn’t really do leasing well for either Mazda or Toyota, Lexus is a bit better. Lots of Toyota dealers use US Bank or one of the others because they’re MF/RV are better than TMF.
The 3 was only introduced last year as a new model, so it will definitely not be redesigned in 2 years, or 3, or 4, maybe 5. There will be a mid-cycle in 3, maybe, Mazda’s cycle is longer than most other companies since their budget is so tiny.
The current gen came out 2019, but wow ok, I was not thinking of Japanese LCI. 2021 was a refresh. I am used to the Germans changing every 4 years.
Is it ridiculous to try for $0 down and a $300-range monthly on a Turbo Premium Plus?@Evolved looked at a Turbo which is like $2-3k less than what mine would come out to. I’m in Southern California though, not NJ. And I know I just have to ask but I’m new to this crap and want to make sure I’m not being ridiculous.
There is up to $3,180 in incentives but I don’t quality for any of them (existing Mazda customers, military discount, DSAA graduate, etc). I’m not sure if the $1,000 Customer Cash Incentive from the Mazda website or $930 Customer Lease Support from this dealers site were accounted for. I just emailed back asking. And I’m just throwing out numbers – I have no idea how this crap works. It seems people are either trying to lower the selling price or go in with a monthly payment number and money-down in mind and play one of either way.
Well you came to the right place to learn how this stuff works and not just throw out numbers.
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.
Appreciate it. I have read the blog and have played with the calculator before but realized now that I have all the info (I didn’t know the damn MF thing was in there). A dealer gave me their RV already.
Looks like to get $362/mo, I’d have to put $3,000 down. I wonder how the heck OP got to 0 down and with everything rolled in (yeah, he’s in a different state and all). Zero drive-off would make my monthly $481, which is not where I wanna be. I’m just confused because everyone keeps saying 0 down is best; aren’t you gonna pay that money eventually during your lease? It’s just what you put down initially vs. what your monthly is.
Does it make sense to find a market value and try negotiating off that? Edmunds and TrueCar both gave me mid-$31k numbers for this trim’s current value (current dealers I am speaking with are both giving me $32,860 which accounts for the $930 customer lease support incentive). I get there is a chip shortage and dealers are marking up the hole, but is this even a viable approach?
Are you really that set on a Mazda3? The lease market isn’t great right now, but you can get a nicely equipped Volvo S60 for about the same, maybe less. I just leased a $50k Volvo for an effective $462/month, less than where you currently are on a Mazda3. And that was a wagon - the sedan leases are cheaper.
Also literally any deal can be zero drive off. Just tell the dealer, they’ll make it zero drive off. There is no rule you need to put money down. The reason you want zero drive off is that you lose the money if the car is totaled out. Insurance does not reimburse you. If you total your lease Mazda after one month and put $3k down, you lost that $3k. You’ll never get it back. Hold onto your money. Would you give your landlord a $3k check every three years to apply as a rent credit for 36 months? Of course you wouldn’t. So why would you do that with your car lease?
Thank you for the drive-off explanation. And yeah people have asked if I’m 100% on this car, and I just like it overall. I was always a BMW/Benz snob but I’m not loving the current designs, not to mention I’ve wanted a coupe but the 2-Series doesn’t come out till next year. And BMW’s current design language is atrocious. I used to put my hopes on the Lexus IS but they disappointed me with the redesign.
I put a TrueCar value in to a dealer and she came back saying it was impossible and that she wasn’t even sure where that number came from (I literally put a screenshot into the email). Yada yada same spiel about “beware of other dealer mark-ups and remember we have a chip shortage right now.” No other dealer is budging on anything either, so I guess I’m gonna have to sit it out. Sucks. Yeah for leases the only cut anyone can get is that $930 Customer Lease Support, otherwise, nothing else (unless you qualify for that SDAA graduate/military/Mazda loyalty stuff).
My current car has increased in value but who knows how long that high will last. CarMax told me this year is a good year to sell a used car but who know what 2022 will look like. I’m just tired of putting money into it with repairs and crap.
I know I’m repeating myself but have you looked at the Volvo S60? It’s cheaper to lease than a Mazda3, and cheap to insure. I think the Mazda3 is great for it’s segment but between spending less on an S60 or more on a Mazda3, it feels like a no brainer. It’s going to be hard to get a good deal on a top trim Mazda.
Thanks, I have not. I’ve never really considered a Volvo although the XC40 is nice though. The S60 is probably too long for my liking. The luxury brands have kinda tired me out. Infiniti has been stuck in 2003 for forever, Lexus is just falling short in its compact segment, Mercedes eh (my family has all Mercedes so I’m kinda worn by it. Although they have had a fraction of issues compared to my 328), current BMW design language is vomit-inducing. I have liked Audi for a while and I have heard reliability has improved but I mean, IDK. I have wanted the A3 but the top Prestige trim is nowhere to be found on lots. And I don’t really go American. So…eh.
Lots of examples in the Marketplace forums, you can get them well equipped probably around the $400 mark with minimal to no drive-offs, and possibly less.
I just did a $50k V60 for no drive off and the equivalent of $462/month, and the V60 deals aren’t as good as S60.
Inventory is dwindling and in this market the Volvo S60 seems to be one of few that will still lease aggressively.
Might be hard to get in the $300’s for a Premium Plus currently. I got $399 for the normal AWD Turbo Sedan. I also didn’t know a ton about leasing, but what others said was also what I heard which is the reason for putting $0 down. Incase anything happens to the car, you’re out that money.
Keep trying some other dealers. If the car you’re looking at is like $2k more than mine, then maybe take my $399 with zero down and tack on the extra mount? Maybe shoot for $440-$460/month zero down, everything rolled in, as a target goal? Not sure if i’m doing the math right lol
Some other things to keep in mind, you’re in Cali, i’m in NJ. Tax here is 6.625% and looks like for you it’s 7.25%. But on the flip side, doc fees are not capped as low as you here. My doc fee was $699, and Google is saying in Cali it’s capped at $80 which that alone will save you a good chunk compared to my deal. Just a few variables to consider. When I bought a car for myself in the past I bought if from Maryland because not only did I get a better price on the car itself but I saved a hefty amount on doc fees since it’s capped there as well.
Thanks. Yeah, I understand we’re in different states and your trim is different. And I appreciate the clarification again with $0 down – you basically want to just pay the lease out during its duration fully as opposed to putting anything down upfront.
I am actually getting numbers in the $440-$460/month range but this is not with $0 down. My concern is no dealer (I have spoken with 4 or so) is budging on their selling price. They can play with monthly or talk about “working out the markups” (for those that have imposed one) all they want but that’s not giving me any deal. That’s my issue right now.
I don’t know how lease deals work out though…are people usually able to negotiate a lower selling price? I’ve only seen my mom negotiate her leases in the past and it was really just a telephone game of “Is this your best price?” between a sales guy and his manager for 3 hours. Can someone with experience chime in?
I already shut down the dealers I was speaking with. No one is budging a dime.
