I came back after using the Leasehackr calculator (my lifesaver) and told him I’d sign if he could get the MSRP to $33,396 all in, $442 for 39 months 12K miles with first payment due.
However, this says 15k miles. So he did what I wanted but with more mileage? Should I ask him what it would be with 12k or is the 15k a good deal? I tried to re-create what it would be with 12k miles so he doesn’t try to pull a fast one but I can’t get it to input correctly.
First thing - are you set on a Ford Escape? Personally, this looks better to buy than lease given the price and payment for the lease. Have you checked the marketplace to see if brokers have any comparable deals? I think you’re leaving a lot on the table leasing this vehicle for the amount when you could find a similar vehicle that’s a better vehicle, costs more, for this or less, especially if you’re open to EVs.
Ford’s offering 0.00085 MF red carpet leases on Escapes (ICE) in the Midwest. If he can structure a reasonable deal, it’d be ok if he leases the Escape and simply saves the extra $ he otherwise would need to pay to get into a financed loan. The differential to be saved is the loan down payment less lease origination costs + any lease cap-cost-reduction. Then later on each month the differential of monthly principal and interest payments on a loan vs the lease payment).
I’m not SET on an Escape, I would prefer a Toyota or Honda - but I know that I won’t ever buy a Ford. We had a friend that worked at Ford and that’s how we ended up in a Ford lease in the first place. They would be terming our lease and it seems like it makes sense for us to just go into another Ford lease at this time. However, this Escape model has a pano sunroof, heated steering wheel and seats, upgraded tech, etc. and I can’t find anything in the $400’s with those features.
And I know EVs are cheaper but we live in an area where there’s not too many charge stations and not ready to invest in installing one.
This may be true but in OPs calculator his MF is 0.00169. Based on his lease deal above, I wouldn’t lease it. If they can find one that’s a red carpet lease, maybe, depending on the structure.
I’ve backed into a crummy pre-tax version of this (in the best way I could on the LH calculator during a Zoom call). The MSRP of this offer is $31,835 and the down payment is $3,183.
You can start from here and tweak it to structure a deal that makes sense to counter with on your car that has a higher MSRP. As others noted the monthly payments on this Escape aren’t going to be very low unless you can get way more dealer contribution and you get the buy rate MF.
But, leasing it isn’t the worst idea in the world if you get a good deal and value having a basic vehicle under manufacturer warranty for 3 years. Just compare what your lease cost is vs what you would have spent financing/loan on an alternative, and save that cash differential. That savings + interest represents the equity you would have otherwise had in your car if you made a down payment + loan payments over the next 3 years.
You told them you’d sign if they met your numbers which seems like they did. Why would you say this if you werent committed to actually taking the deal and not committed the the specific car?
This raises an interesting question about the unwritten rules of LH.
I think @amb3 made a verbal or written statement that he would accept a deal if a certain monthly and DAS were met.
And the dealer seems to have matched the payments (I’m ignoring the mileage issue for a second).
But, I think the general LH population would agree his original request for $442 over 39 months with DAS of only the first payment is not a good deal on a Escape Active AWD.
Since @amb3 hasn’t actually signed anything… would LH want him to go ahead and sign this anyway since technically the dealer honored the buyer’s requested deal payment?
Or is LH ok with @amb3 dodging a close bullet, going against their previous statements, and continue to haggle?
Basically, at what point is @amb3 able to keep working the deal; and at what point would LH want @amb3 to honor their stated commitments?
I don’t think there’s an unwritten rule; I don’t think the OP is under any obligation to take either deal, and I also think the OP is asking a valid question: is there something weird about a better deal being offered at 39mo/15K miles than it was 39mo/12K?
To the OP, there is a much bigger discount and a factory rebate that was added to the second deal. Not sure why the same discount and rebate wouldn’t apply at 12K and 36 mos.
Might be worth first trying to create your own target deal (either through becoming a Super Supporter here to access Ratefindr or by going to the pertinent Edmunds lease forum) to get info for RV, MF (or I guess APR for a Ford lease?), and any applicable rebates. You can see if there’s any info here (or on a Ford forum) to see what a solid % off MSRP is (I don’t see a lot of Fords mentioned here, in general, so you might not be able to find much data about there here).
If you first create a target deal, then you’ll have a better sense from the outset whether it’s worth your time continuing to communicate w/ this dealership. All JMHO.
TBH if a customer said, “hey if you do X we have a deal” and the dealer did “x-y” (where “y” is a positive value) and customer didn’t take the deal, throw that customer’s contact info in the trash and mark as a do not sell.
I always preach CSI over everything, this is PROBABLY the customer who says “yeah if you do X I will make sure to give you all 10’s” and then gives you a 2.
If the dealership was smart, they would either write this deal, THAT THE OP WANTED or mark as a DNS
It’s really important to distinguish between what’s better for your financial health vs what has a lower monthly payment.
Owning a Honda or Toyota for six years (mainly due to their strong resale value) would save you a shit ton of money over doing two consecutive Ford leases.
Even if the monthly payments are higher you’re looking at a huge bag of equity with the former and nothing with the latter.
I get what you’re saying. At the same time, I also think it’s kind of gross that the dealership doubled the discount and somehow magically found a rebate at 15K. I think it’s fair for OP to take that info, plug into the calculator (to adjust for 12K and possibly 36 mos) and say, “Thanks for the bigger discount and the rebate. Here’s my proposed deal w/ that discount and rebate for 36mo/12K. If you agree, I’ll be in today to sign.”
If the OP gets what they ask for this time around and still doesn’t sign, then, yes, I think tossing the customer’s contact info is fine. But I’m not getting “can’t ever be pleased” vibes from OP… yet TBH, I’d be a little confused by this dealer’s second offer, too.
Seriously thank you for understanding. I thought it was a good deal. I’m definitely not a car or lease expert and I’ve been doing as much research as I can to make sure I get a good deal. Apparently I was extremely wrong?
The original post was just because I was confused on the second deal and the 15k miles. I was genuinely excited about the deal at the time.
Now I’m not sure what to do. I went to a different Ford dealership today and he got nowhere close to this offer (he got me at $550/mo with $500 down, I don’t even remember anything else) even though I showed the original deal to him and asked to see if he could beat it. I also had to explain what a money factor was to him after inquiring about the red carpet MF that was explained above because he said he’s never heard of a MF before.
Lol you went into a showroom, spoke with a sales person live, and they told you they didn’t know what a money factor was? I guess that’s what people should expect when shopping Ford in the Midwest.
One thing you should remember about LH is the general way this site views car buying (or leasing) is much different than the way you are probably looking at things.
For example, most of LH shop for a deal/price and are much less concerned about the actual vehicle. That is why so many LH users will gladly take a “fart car” former loaner that is an odd spec or color. But for a low price, they’ll drive that car.
Another example, some new users to this site will post about how they want to get a GMC Yukon. And some seasoned LH users will start suggesting minivans and alternatives to drive the cost down. Carnival is cheaper… and cheaper wins on LH haha.
But you’re shopping for a car you actually may want to drive in a color/option-load that you want. Plus you’re shopping a car brand that historically has not leased well. It’s possible some Ford dealership is wanting to unload an Escape with a massive dealer contribution to blow it out. But you’ll have a hard time finding that dealership on your own in Ohio. So you’re destined to have LH users judge your deal negatively on this Ford Escape.
The LH group-think would have you abandon your quest for a Ford Escape, and instead turn your attention to EVs/brands/vehicles/farts that will get you a lower payment overall. @thevolvoguy keeps talking about how the Infiniti Q’s lease really well, maybe there’s line of sight for you getting a lease on one of those instead?
TBH, I’d be a little confused by this dealer’s second offer, too.
