Monthly Cars to Hack Thread *JUNE*

Signed Deals & Tips
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Where else on the internet can you search and find (for instance): which brands allow you to residualize PIOs, dealer installed options, or wheel upgrades?

Where else are they discussing non-captive leasing (eg US bank and Ally)?

Where are they discussing credit bureaus and scoring models, and how you get A Tier financing?

AND if it’s been detailed in the past three months, why is it such a chore to search for it here like you would any search engine? By the way, most of the time I check the entire Internet for more answers to questions like that, they come back here.

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There are robust forums out there that discuss this; but not it’s soul purpose such as this site. It’s easier …ish… here on this site.

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Just look at current active threads with a lot of comments, you will find what’s currently hot without needing to be spoon fed

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Just out of curiosity, is there anyone opposed to this idea that is NOT a broker or affiliated with a dealer?

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I’m not affiliated with a broker or dealer

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Great discussion here. I used to do front page articles similar to what folks here are describing. Here are some examples:

Ultimately I’ve stopped writing them because: 1) they were very time consuming, 2) they assumed a certain discount (i.e., “dealer contribution”) that was not precise and highly variable and dependent on numerous factors like region, inventory, time, etc., and 3) lease programs alone (i.e., RV, MF, incentives) are arguably no longer the primary determinant for how good a deal is.

Back in 2015 and 2016, this was a plausible exercise because GM had crazy conquest incentives, VW was fresh off Dieselgate and discounting across the board, and some captives had unrealistic residuals (~70%+ for 24 months), and this resulted in huge variation between brands and models. I don’t see this anymore.

Whether it’s a Genesis or a Mercedes or a Lexus or even an Audi (of “Audis don’t lease well” fame), the programs for high-volume cars are all about the same IMO with few exceptions. It’s less vehicle dependent and more about the dealer discount (i.e., how much money they are willing to lose on a unit) and conditional incentives that you may qualify for (e.g., loyalty, conquest, healthcare hero).

So when I’m searching for deals, I now go on the Marketplace and browse offers from dealers and brokers. These are actual deals, not hypothetical calculations that generate unrealistic expectations for someone halfway across the country (as my old articles would do). The benefit of this platform is that these deals are all pretty good – otherwise the commentariat will point it out – and they do still indicate which models can lease well (assuming your individual circumstances match those in the offer).

From a ten minute browse of the Marketplace, I’ve found…

  • $106K BMW M4 CS for $662/mo in CA
  • Volvo S60 from $209/mo in the Northeast
  • BMW 330i for $297/mo in OH
  • Porsche Macan for $539/mo in the Northeast
  • Honda Pilot for $280/mo in FL
  • $30K Subaru Outback for $225/mo in Northeast
  • $77K Audi e-Tron for $549/mo in CA
  • Nissan Murano for $212/mo
  • Grand Cherokee Overland for $318/mo in Northeast
  • Audi A6 for $399/mo in CA
  • $90K Lexus LX 570 for $672/mo in Northeast

Just from that, I got a pretty good understanding of “what cars lease good” based on location and other criteria. (I would love a S60 for $209/mo but that’s simply not gonna happen in CA.)

All in all, I’m not opposed to a “monthly cars to hack” thread – it would be helpful indeed. But I think the fact there are 59 replies to this thread, and no one has taken it on, is telling.

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First - no one is opposed to this idea, just making their point why this is not a great idea.
Second - why would brokers oppose to this when they already doing this in their Marketplace threads? They post their best deals for the current month and make it clear which models currently lease better than others. The competition between them is pretty high in some areas also.
Use this to your advantage if you want to do better on your own and save a few bucks.

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We all live for his highness’ applause

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For what it’s worth, this is probably the best way to go. Focusing on the specific numbers in this proposed thread unrealistic but for somebody on the hunt for a deal, updated industry data helps and doesn’t take the work out of searching.

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The above is what I would envision the suggested thread should be. Michael, only 10 minutes to summarize this? Awesome. The above in fact could replace those time-consuming posts on the main page.

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These are most likely post-factum deals. You may not see them until last few days of a month when someone signs and /or finds time to share, i.e. you may not see anything until last week of June, for example. Best deals rarely get completed in the first week of the month.

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Agree. Entertainment factor though…

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Where did u find a lx570 for 672? I keep looking and searching and can’t find that

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Here we go with the “PM me dealer info” posts.

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“Is it still available?”
LOL

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I think people here are missing the point by focusing on ‘it needs to be a specific deal and then everyone on the forum will whine and complain because they didn’t get that same deal and are obviously too lazy to put in the work themselves’

Instead of: ‘We can provide better value to people on the forum by posting what might be within the realm of possibility for a good hack, and not actually need to give exact numbers that can be replicated.’

Yes the founder of the forum who might depend on knowing the ins-and-outs of this business and the monthly highlights might be able to use the forum to the utmost potential. That’s not surprising at all. But can EVERY user do that easily? Also, there’s a pertinent argument to be made that not all cars that CAN be hacked, are actively being hacked. Numbers change. Things slip through the cracks. Spam from brokers gets posted that bumps other posts down all the time. Shit, even the default sorting option in the search functionality is by ‘Relevance’ and not ‘Latest Post’. I’m sure that trips up a good amount of users regularly. (source and spoiler alert, I’ve worked in UX design in research for over 10 years now).

The real crux of the issue is, knowledge is power. That’s the basis for the request. Car dealers, and now the brokers are thriving on the idea that they have more information (whether that be which dealerships are more reasonable with their profitability on certain popular models, what RV/MF is working best, which discounts can be stacked, how inter-state leasing for taxes and shipping works, and how to skirt around all the salesmanship nonsense) than the average person on this forum. This isn’t exactly a pull yourself up by your bootstraps situation for every single user, and if that was the case… we really wouldn’t need the brokers to provide a service. And in turn, so many people wouldn’t be recommending them to help someone else out, instead of a unanimous agreement that ‘everyone can do this very easily and we will show you how and have answers easily accessible for you to see’.

And at the end of the day you have to ask yourself how much time will it take the average user to really find all of the answers they are looking for, instead of just paying someone for the convenience of already having those answers. Does this site provide both? Possibly. Are both as easily accessible? Definitely not.

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For perspective, I’m 17, the youngest idiot on the forum. I knew nothing when I joined, used the marketplace and got a really good deal, and learned what went into it.

I’ve learned a lot in forum discussion with brokers, trusteds, and industry folk, to name a few bmw Dave, who informed me of OL changes and other bmw policies, Danny Audi who corrected my misconception of Audi loaners, Electric who helped me understand BMW deals more thoroughly, Boston who has been awesome providing his insight, Ethan for his insight into the high end market, Freddy for the same reason, and RV guy who has helped us understand what goes into a Residual Value.

If my dumbass without a high school degree can do it, anyone who puts half assed effort can too. The resources are here, it takes time to use them, but they’re here. This is a hobby forum, nobody here except industry folks and brokers do this as a business. Many brokers are PT and have day jobs, are students, or something along that line, but many do this full time. They offer a value added service, have inside information on RV/MFs (can run #s on 24, 36, etc), dealer bulletins, and more.

Look, my point is, if you take time to do something, how to work and ‘hack’ the financial product of leasing, and do it right, who cares how long it takes. Most of the info is here or on edmunds, and the other stuff is proprietary, obtained by brokers by contacts and relationships. If something was straight forward and easy, everyone would do it. This forum provides the info to simplify it, and brokers provide the path to bypass it, Micheal and Violette do a spectacular job (I miss the stickers though :stuck_out_tongue:) on a volunteer (goes for trusteds too, thank you) basis. I agree one way is easier than the other, but that’s the whole damn point of the value added service brokers provide convenience.

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74

Second this.

When I first browsed this site it was easy to see what deal possibilities are out there. Now it is a nightmare of digging through threads. A weekly or Monthly summary just like this would be amazing.

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Does this forum platform allow wikis?

Flyertalk allows members to edit wikis once they reach 90 posts.

I think that’s the only way this could work. Stuff gets lost in threads too easily.

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I do edit the wikis, they are under the FAQ section. I’ve kept the bmw wiki up to date with everything I know and info I’ve gleamed from aforementioned bmw David, anyone with a certain trust rating can edit (ie regular member).

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