I’m looking for some advice on what my options are for trade-in in my 2019 GMC Terrain gmc and getting into a new 2022 GMC Terrain lease, or somehow getting out of this brand and into another brand with better lease deals. I went to the GMC dealer (Patriot in Boyertown PA) thinking I would get a quote somewhere near my current payment (324 a month), which I got at the end of 2018 with no money down, just to have them come out with a lease quote on a new 2021 model that came in around 690 a month with a bit of equity in my trade. I got another quote from another dealer near me that is coming in somewhere around 565-585 a month.
Star GMC is usually pretty aggressive with pricing, I’ve worked with them before. This seems like a pretty loaded Terrain to have a $40K MSRP… But no way I would lease this right now, even with this loaner you found, it would come out better to trade and purchase/finance. You should be at this payment (mid 500’s) without them keeping your positive equity.
I would suggest you look at the leasing the Acadia instead, the lease program is much better with $5500 in incentives and with a $40K MSRP unit, it should work out cheaper then this Terrain and you can get your positive equity back as cash, versus applying as a cap cost reduction.
You can also possible get into a Cadillac XT5 for around the same price (MSRP $48K)
What should I be looking for in terms of payment with my equity on the terrain? I’m not looking to be in the 500s for a lease payment. Ideally I want to keep my payment the same. 324.
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.
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 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jjgvLxqcLfA) to brush up on how to must efficiently use the resources here.
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.
Even if you carried the $2325 of equity into the lease, on a $40K MSRP Terrain SLT, your best case is still going to be in high 400’s. If you want to be in a lease at the mid 300’s you should be looking at $32K MSRP Terrain SLE or a $34K MSRP Buick Envision Preferred
Honestly you may want to spend some time reading the threads on here…no one has been able to keep the payment the same in 2021 as they were on 2018. The good news is you have +/- $3,000 in equity to throw into the new lease if you so choose which on 36 months comes out to about $83 per month. It’s pretty rare we have seen any “deals” lately due to low inventory, supply chain issues, less discount off MSRP than in the past and very limited incentives, rebates, etc…in comparison to 2018. All of those items are working against the consumer for now and the foreseeable future.
Any advise on me buying the car and paying the tax so I have more freedom on brand without having to worry about disposition fees / excess wear and the fact that gmc is blocking trades outside of their brand?
