First time lease: good deal on 2022 MINI?

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Hi all! First time poster and leasee.

Currently my local MINI dealer in Nashville is advertising “2022 MINI Cooper hardtop 2 door, starting at $249/mo” which is the type of car we want. We aren’t considering any other type of car.

I’ve read a ton of info on leasing in the past week, and this forum has helped a lot. I may ask some obvious questions though. I’ve done my best to do my research. I’d like some help understanding the fine print on their website (I have not been to the dealer yet). I tried to plug in the info into the calculator, but I couldn’t quite understand the fine print. Here it is from the MINI site:

Monthly lease payments of $249 per month for 36 months is based on an adjusted capitalized cost of $21,250 (MSRP of $23,750, including Classic Trim and destination & handling fee of $850, less $1,825 capitalized cost reduction, $0 security deposit and suggested dealer contribution of $425 and $250 Customer Cash). Actual MSRP and dealer contribution may vary and could affect your monthly lease payments. Cash due at signing includes $2,999 capitalized cost reduction, $249 first month’s payment, $925 acquisition fee and $0 security deposit. Lessee responsible for insurance during the lease term, excess wear and tear as defined in the lease contract, $0.25/mile over 30,000 miles (10,000 miles/year) and a disposition fee of $350 at lease end. Not all customers will qualify for security deposit waiver. Tax, title, license, registration and dealer fees are additional fees due at signing. Purchase option at lease end, excluding tax, title and government fees, is $13,538. Offer valid through September 30, 2021 and may be combined with other offers unless otherwise stated. Models pictured may be shown with metallic paint and/or additional accessories. Visit your authorized MINI Dealer for important details. This offer excludes Oxford Edition and Cooper SE models.

Some specific questions:

  • Is the $925 acquisition cost normal? It’s a lot.
  • Can MINIs use MSDs? I heard those are good.
  • Can MINIs use a one-pay lease? I’d rather do that I think.
  • $2,999 is a lot for a down payment! Am I reading that right?
  • Is the “purchase option” the same as the residual factor($13,538)?
  • Not sure where to put the the dealer contribution, and Customer Cash?
  • What if anything here could be negotiated? What would be good for me to negotiate?

Here’s my attempt at using the calculator: CALCULATOR | LEASEHACKR

I want to lease it 3 years, 10,000/year. I do not plan to buy it.

Any help would be greatly appreciated for this first timer!

It is practically impossible for us to tell you what a “good” monthly payment is for your specific lease as lease programs are highly dependent on region, personal qualifications, tax rates, etc.

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.

  1. Read Leasing 101 (EDITORIAL | LEASEHACKR) to understand how to calculate a lease payment and the variables. Monthly payment is an output, not an input!! While you’re at it, be sure to watch the LH video (How to Use Leasehackr - YouTube) to brush up on how to must efficiently use the resources here.
  2. Pick a specific vehicle that you want to target
  3. Gather the current MF, RV and incentives from Edmunds forums for your zip code
  4. 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?
  5. Plug your numbers into the LH calculator (CALCULATOR | LEASEHACKR), and use a pre-incentive discount similar to what you have seen
  6. 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.

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in addition to the very thorough guide shared above, one other tip:

Don’t bother with dealer/brand advertised deals - they contain far too much in the fine print to be useful as a negotiating tool and are often limited to very basically-equipped vehicles that are unicorns on lots (especially these days). As outlined above, stick with the published numbers on MF, RV and incentives and base your approach on actual deals other people have gotten.

Good luck!

Ad is junk… and did you check the dealer’s inventory? They only have 2 new 2-door Cooper S’ with MSRP’s of $30k and $34k. You may want to check on the suggestions above and expand your search. GLWT

$249/ month in today’s mkt is too good to be True. I would be running to the dealer to grab this one. I leased a mini 7 yrs backat $319 per month when lots were full with them.
I think it’s just an advertising gimmick , expect 500+ once you talk to Dealer.

The advertised deal isn’t $249/mo…

local MINI dealer in Nashville is advertising “2022 MINI Cooper hardtop 2 door, starting at $249/mo ”. False Advertising?

Did you read the details posted?

Technically, it is accurate - you certainly could end up paying $249/mo…but that’s in addition to thousands and thousands of dollars paid upfront, which is where the fine print comes in. That’s how this game works.

It’s not 249/mo. It’s 249/mo with $3240 das plus tax, title, fees, etc

So the advertised special is about $500/mo.

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For every $1000 you pay upfront, consider an additional $30 added to your monthly payment to find your actual monthly lease payment.

Incomplete reading. These always list the price, people just don’t usually read it.

OP posted this like he got these numbers from a particular Dealer in Nashville including DAS $2998 + $995 . The details looks like from MINI advertising. If it’s a dealer then it should show a stock # since this will tied to a particular model sitting on there lot.
Even you add 5k on it it’s like $30×5k=$150
$249+150= $399 per month on a 23k msrp mini which is non S and some stripped model.

Thanks for all of the comment everyone. So if there is a limited supply at my dealer in Nashville, does that mean I don’t have any other options? I know everywhere in generally in short supply, but it’s disappointing there are only 2 base Mini Coopers in all of Nashville :frowning:

You can always go to a different dealer.

You can try to find dealer out of Nasville, or may be even out-of-state?

Even before the supply chain crisis they didn’t build too many base models. Base models don’t generate as much profit as optioned models.

But base models are great for clickbait Ads which generate foot traffic of people who don’t know that (their favorite type of customer).

:point_up_2: what he said.

OP - have you test driven both the regular/base Cooper and the Cooper S? What do you think?

I like to know also whats the difference in driving between a base model single exhaust and S model dual exhaust in the middle. I had a base model and still love the way it drove more like a VW GTI. I should have got the S it was only $50 per month more.

Not yet! We are hoping to soon, along with an SE just for fun.