Lease Shopping - AA-NJ's way

[GOAT]

moral of the story is that if you know to get to the payment and is within your target payment, it doesnt matter what tricks the dealer pulls to get to that payment. example-

I wanted to lease a Hyundai for 200/mo sign and drive so I sent them a lease offer with every single thing spelled out and how I got to that payment. they agreed. when I went to sign the lease, the way they calculated it wasn’t the same as I spelled out in my email, instead of discount the car 5% off msrp, they listed the agreed value above msrp and instead applied aloot of some dealer cash rebates that were $500 each that I had to sign for. I didn’t care because at the end of the day, I got to the same payment just a different way.

[njc]

@mllcb42

We obviously aren’t participating in the same discussion as each other.

So at the end of all of this, am I getting my McFlurry or not?!?

[mattevan]

@AA-NJ

That being said, I’m also seeing some interest in these posts so I’ll keep it up.

You are? Is it all happening offline?

It’s never too late to stop.

[Bostoncarconcierge]

Just lol’d on my couch. My wife thinks I’m an idiot.

[jeisensc]

@AA-NJ

How do you know you’re getting a good deal? You just compare the Monthly Payment and total down payment from multiple sellers in your region. Get quotes from multiple sellers. Compare the total payments.

I’m curious if @AA-NJ (who I don’t believe handles Ford) wants to do a post mortem on this deal:

Help with Explorer contract

I was honestly going based off payment and das which i thought were good numbers. Since the numbers i got before were 610 with 1600 out of pocket

TL;DR they did it your way, how do you think they did?

[cpq]

I think this is what happens when you have too much modafinil and time. Still wondering why this thread is here 49 posts in.

[AA-NJ]

Sorry for the delay in response, I was busy working with Hyundais!

@jeisensc

I’m curious if @AA-NJ (who I don’t believe handles Ford) wants to do a post mortem on this deal:

I was honestly going based off payment and das which i thought were good numbers. Since the numbers i got before were 610 with 1600 out of pocket

TL;DR they did it your way, how do you think they did?

1st, to directly answer the question on the linked deal, $539/mo with $1600 out of pocket for a $51k Ford Explorer sounds amazing, even if there was $2300 in equity from returning a Ford lease and $4500 in incentives.
If that guy had waited any longer, prices would have only gone up. Try and get a lease quote on a $51k Explorer and see if you can do any better.

–
Second comment:

I’m reading over this thread, looking at the timetables, and reading Leasehackr’s 2021 Year in Review.

In July 2021, when this thread started, we were already in the midst of a global new car inventory shortage. Was suggesting more dealer discount really the move when finding a car was already the deal itself?

@michael

Q3

• By Q3, finding a car became the deal itself. Dealers and brokers with vehicle allocations found customers lining up to pay deposits. Leasehackrs deployed all sorts of tips and tricks to adapt to the situation, from extending leases to pre-ordering vehicles. Some of you swore to ride it through, even if it meant taking the bus or Uber-ing everywhere. Some threw in the towel and ordered a Tesla or two.

What I know, is that the advice I gave here held true in both a buyer’s market and a seller’s market. It worked for me to get a free car in a buyer’s market, and it worked for me to negotiate the lowest prices on new Hyundais in a seller’s market.

You can shop car leases like you shop short-term rental cars (Avis, Budget, etc). It is a defensible strategy. And in the absence of dealer discounts or manufacturer incentives, and in the presence of an inventory shortage, it more or less gets you the same result as information overload.

“Good enough” can be “good enough”, the deal can still be Leasehackr-worthy. Being informed of the absolute minimum might just create internal anguish for a buyer that can’t get there. That is definitely a thing.