First time leasing and would love some input on whether this is a good deal! I know money factor is high (0.00389%) and is marked up from the VCFS MF (0.00319%) but I’m able to buy out the lease in a few months so I’m not too worried by that.
I’m mainly interested in whether the % off MSRP and the incentives look competitive, and anything else I’m missing. In our first conversation my dealer (DFW area) was friendly and helpful but did not indicate a willingness to negotiate, and I feel under pressure to make a decision since the $7,500 EV credit expires in a week. I’d greatly appreciate any advice/feedback. I also plan to sell my current XC90 on CarMax since their offer beat the Volvo trade-in by $5k.
The MSRP is $78,805 (listed on the second page), so the “vehicle price” of $75,319 is a 4.4% discount to that.
Should I just tell my dealer upfront that I’ve heard a 10% dealer discount is common, and ask for that directly? Any tips on the most effective way to negotiate a discount?
Super helpful feedback already, thank you. To clarify-
1/ If it’s a bad call to buy out this lease due to taxes or whatever reason then I can definitely keep the lease instead. I just mentioned the buyout scenario as another option to consider, because I’ve read about a lot of people doing that to secure the $7,500 EV credit and not get saddled with a ridiculously high MF.
2/ Part of the reason I feel under pressure to buy now is that I’ve had a slew of problems with my current XC90 recently, and now my service center is telling me I’ll likely need a brand new transmission. The car is behaving weirdly (e.g. sluggish start) but it hasn’t thrown a “check engine” light yet, so I want to get rid of it before I have to eat a $5k repair. I have a good CarMax offer to buy it now which expires in 6 days.
Huge thanks again for the advice and feedback, I just wanted to offer some more context on these pieces.
Once you go there and let them inspect the car, they can give you another 7 days to complete the trade. Kinda “I want to sleep on it”.
Good flag but I took it to CarMax yesterday for the inspection, that’s what started the 7 day clock I’m referring to.
I hear everyone loud and clear that my current offer is terrible. I’m reaching out to 3 other dealers in my area for competing offers. But what specifically should I be pushing on in regards to my current offer? Is it the 4.4% dealer discount that’s too low? Is it the MF markup of 0.0006%? Should I just negotiate on the headline monthly payment amount? It would help tremendously if I knew where to focus the conversation, and what would constitute a fair deal in the eyes of this community.
I see. I had online quote valid for X days and took the car there couple of days before that quote expiration. This is when they offered another 7 days to trade.
Don’t contact any dealers until you put together a target deal. Check the Marketplace and Signed Dealers here to see what’s possible. You can get the program information from Edmunds or by becoming a Super Supporter here.
One you have a target deal, move to a strategy of making offers. If you ask what they want you to pay, you’ll get more atrocious offers like the one you have.
OK I’ve spent a few hours reading through the Signed Deals section. There’s a number of leases for similar cars that got signed in the $600-$750/mo range, which is obviously way better than mine. However they’re all in different states and/or for fewer miles than mine (12k/yr), so it’s still a little tricky to make an apples to apples comparison.
I’m thinking of asking for $800/mo with zero down for a 36mo, 12k mile lease. Does that sound competitive or am I still way off the mark?
Separately just as something small to offer back to this community, I was able to snap a photo of this rate sheet from my dealer, which I thought some folks might find helpful:
My incentive stack ($14,500) is actually better than any other deal I’ve seen. My pre-incentive discount is much worse (4.4% versus 10-14%), but those are other markets so I’m not sure if I can expect the same in Texas. My money factor is also higher than other deals (I’m seeing as low as 0.00335% for those who specify it), but again I’m not sure if the market dynamics are the same here, and I know this trades off with the dealer discount. (In other words, can I really expect both a low MF and a large dealer discount)? Most of those deals are also 24mo vs 36mo for mine which again means the MF comparison is not apples-to-apples correct?
I got another offer from a second dealer for $849/mo with zero due at signing, 0.00389% MF, and $23k combined dealer discount + incentives (they didn’t offer a breakdown despite my request). That seems better on the surface but still nowhere near some of the deals I’m seeing on this forum.
My head is spinning a little and all these moving pieces are why I started trying to move towards monthly payment amount (with zero DAS) as the thing to solve for. If that’s not right, could anyone offer a view on what dealer discount and MF would be attractive in my situation (36mo lease, 12k miles/yr in Texas)?
Google leasing 101 and learn how to put a spreadsheet together to get your own payments/DAS. Or at least learn how to use the calc here…tutorial in the Wiki. Don’t let a dealer tell you what the payment is as you should already have a target in mind.
I read the tutorial and have spent all day playing with the calculator on this site while going back and forth with dealers in my area and reading through the signed deals section. My problem is basically 1/ dealers won’t provide quotes in a similar level of detail as the calculator, so I can’t do a true apples to apples comparison, and 2/ I don’t know what my ultimate target should be. If it’s not monthly payment, what is it? Dealer discount %, money factor, other? I don’t think I have any more room to negotiate on the incentives.
As an example, I submitted this target to a second dealer in my area today and was told it would result in an “absurd loss” for them, and they wouldn’t entertain it unless I could prove in writing that another dealer has already offered me these terms:
MSRP $78,805
Vehicle price (less dealer discounts): $70,900 (10% dealer discount)
Volvo incentives: $14,500 ($7,500 federal EV credit, $3000 summer safety promo, $2000 Volvo lease bonus, $1000 loyalty bonus, $1000 lease allowance)
Residual: 54%
Money factor: 0.00359%
$800/month with zero due at signing, all fees baked into monthly payment amount.
I assume the feedback from this forum would be that the above offer is still terrible. How can I reconcile that with the fact that when I propose it to a dealer, they basically laugh me out of the room and claim it would result in an absurd loss? Where do I go from here?
All you need to get a target lease payment is using your expected discount off MSRP, incentives you qualify for along with base MF and RV for your term/mileage (from Edmunds lease forums) and plug into calc. Post a calc link for review.
You need to research what a reasonable but aggressive discount on this car would be from searching other deals on here or what brokers are offering. If you are aggressive you will get a lot of no’s and then you need to expand your search to dealers in other cities, states, etc.
Make educated offers and don’t just accumulate quotes.
