Sounds like you are reading about the deals and expecting to get them yourself with no work. Read around this site especially in the Ask the Hackers section to learn how to actually get your best deal.
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You really need to go beyond your zip code and out of state sometimes to find a dealer that will work with you on a deal.
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Right. It’s basically that they won’t talk MF and downplay residual. Talk more monthly payment and then when mgr comes out they say it’s the best they can do. When I say the numbers don’t add up they don’t care. They don’t call and I believe it’s my zip code but Rochester did the same and they’re 100 miles away.
It appears they don’t like leasehacker or Edmonds to be mentioned, etc. it’s tough.
go far south 
There is no good reason to ever mention lh while talking to a dealer.
You don’t need to discuss MF or residual with anybody. These should be known ahead of time and you should know what deal you are after. Why are you visiting dealers and asking them what they want you to pay?
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!!
- 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.
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Customer : (Sauntering into the dealership like they are hot stuff) Hi! I would like a good deal on a car
Dealer : Here’s our deal (MSRP+$1000)
C : No way, LeaseHacker says you can get this car for MSRP -$10000!
— Start Imaginary Thoughts
D: Oh No, Leasehacker! They caught us Slim! We now have to give the customer MSRP -$10000 + an extra discount so they won’t give us a bad review on Yelp!
C: I’m so happy, and I drove off with my new E-Tron in under an hour!
— Ending Imaginary Thoughts
— Reality
D: Oh no, sites like Edmunds and LeaseHacker are FAKE, No one gets deals like that in reality! But here’s a better deal MSRP -$100
C: Oh thank you kind sir for showing me the error of my ways, here’s my $5000 down on a Honda Civic
This is why you negotiate over Email or with a Good Broker (One who doesn’t take a fee upfront, until the ‘deal is made’)
Never walk into a dealer without the deal, otherwise, you are in a spiderweb and you aren’t the spider.
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It’s all about location location location. The lack of competition leading to poor deals happens across the entire country, not just your region.
You need to head south towards the northern part of the greater NYC area (NNJ, rockland county etc).
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Right. All this I relate to and understand. I don’t mention monthly payments they do. I get exhausted with the techniques of circling numbers and them not listening. So then I just email and try to a deal and they still go back to monthly payment and say MF change or this location isn’t getting incentives. Basically it’s their deal or no deal. I then sign because I really don’t want to drive to another state. Taxes different, etc.
I literally tell them that paying $500 a month for financing $12,000 for 36 months with a high end car and high residual makes no sense and that’s when Mgt tells me why I’m wrong.
So…anyone know a dealership in NYS that will talk deals please let me know.
There no difference in taxes if you go to another state. Taxes are based on your registration address.
I’m unsure what you’re trying to get at withcthe $12k for 36 months thing.
If you’re comparing lease prices against deals elsewhere in the country, changes in cost, mf, and incentives are very much likely.
Sounds like you are in the dealership…aka Spiderweb.
All they have to do is wear you down until you accept a slightly bad deal instead of a colossally bad deal.
Stop physically talking with them, they are not interested in giving you a ‘good deal’ face to face.
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How many same brand dealerships are in the 100mi radius? If there are a few and there is lack of competition, they have zero incentives to deal with your BS. They make bank either ways as there are enough paying customers for them. Looking in larger areas where is there is more competition and you might get someone to play.
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Then send out offers based on monthly. Who cares how the dealer arrives there.
Arguing about variables that the dealer can’t control is pointless and self defeating.
What is the mystery car and what is your target deal?
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That was fun! So funny thanks.
IKR, mystery…
Audi Q5 with AWD mid trim at 47k was a $750 payment per month.
Mazda SUV AWD Mid trim $30k was like $570 a month.
VW Tiguan AWD mid trim at $34k was about $550 per month. All were 36 months with 12k miles.
Problem…no competition really in this area.
It’s tiring.
I super appreciate everyone’s comments. Telling it straight and I agree. I’ll try email again.
You really need to figure out what pre-incentive discount you can get on the vehicle, goto Edmunds and get base MF and RV as well as incentives and play around with the calculator to come up with lease numbers. Don’t shop payments!
Once you have the numbers, then email the dealers asking them to do X% off pre-incentives and come to agreement on the final numbers.
And shop outside your area.
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So of all those deals, what was your target deal going into them?
It was just for numbers to work. I don’t shop payment I shop numbers. If MF and resid and incentives with excellent credit bring me to a real number then that’s what I want. I’m tired of unrealistic deals. These comments very helpful. I’ll do what what said as I did do that in the past. Send out emails with my numbers and I was just amazed as to how the salespeople didn’t listen and appeared new and didn’t return emails. I’ll be nicer perhaps 
And I see I do need to be targeted and specific. So thanks!!