I am in the process of looking for a new car for my wife which we would like to lease.
Its the first car we would have purchased in the US as we moved to SF from Australia around 2 years ago.
We are currently looking at the VW Tiguan R-Line from VW Marin (link below)
Prior to engaging the dealer I wanted to throw up a post here with a few questions given we haven’t leased in the US before.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
How do I know what a good price is per month for this vehicle?
Do I negotiate the purchase price of the vehicle first then the lease specifics?
What should I look for when returning a leased vehicle after the term to ensure there are no additional out of pocket expenses?
Can you negotiate to have services included throughout lease term?
Is insurance on top of the leased price and if so who do you recommend going with for insurance?
Do you recommend putting money down when purchasing the vehicle and if so does this reduce payments?
Is there anyone on LH that can help with the negotiation of this vehicle?
I’d recommend forgetting about a specific vehicle for now. Spend your time understanding the fundamentals of leasing, negotiation, etc and then, after you have the tools to be successful, start worrying about specific vehicles.
The best place to start here is with the leasing 101 section on the site. There are numerous articles that cover what goes into a lease, how to calculate one, how to start working out a good deal, etc.
At the most basic level, it comes down to being educated on what the deal you’re trying to get is and confident enough I’m the numbers to stick to them.
Remember, talking to dealers is for finding someone to do your deal, not for finding out what a car should lease for. You should know exactly what deal you’re trying to get before you ever even think of reaching out to a dealer. After all, how can you negotiate something if you don’t even know where you’re trying to get.
At the most basic level, that means determining the current lease programs (rv/mf/incentives) and sorting out a target pre-incentive discount based on comparable deals you have researched. With that information, you can utilize the calculator here to work out your expected cost.
To rehash, because it deserves being overstated, if you ever find yourself with a dealer offer in hand and you’re wondering if it’s a good deal, you have gotten way ahead of yourself and set yourself up for failure. Don’t do that.
@mllcb42 I see you provide guidance people all the time. Really appreciate it. I was wondering if you’re aware of any email template available on this forum for newbies to use when reaching out to dealerships. Something along the lines of what I listed below. However as I am a newbie myself I’m not too sure if that’s the best approach either. But from my reading on this forum what I have learned is, don’t go into a dealership seeing what they’re looking to offer. But tell them what you’re willing to pay. But it should be a reasonable request based on similar deals, know the current incentives, rv and mf etc. I think they may help newbies send email to several dealerships and see who may bite and be willing to at least entertain the idea.
Good Morning,
I am interested in leasing XYZ car. Based on my understanding I am looking to structure my deal as follows:
I think having a template for that is really at odds with what you’re trying to achieve.
I’m a big fan of sending an offer with the details broken out. The “problem” is that if you’re going to send an offer with the numbers broken out, you better be damn sure you have the numbers right, otherwise your offer is going straight in the trash.
If you’re sufficiently confident in the numbers, there should be no need for a template. What a template will do, however, is make it really easy for people to try to fill it out before they’re really in a position to and shoot themselves in the foot.
What I personally think is most important is that you identify a specific stock number a dealer has available, tailor your offer to that vehicle, and let them know that if they accept your offer, you will be there immediately to sign. That last part is at odds with the idea of shotgunning offers out to multiple dealers at once.
Yes. You’ll have to shop around for your insurance. Keep calling around… and hope for the best but expect the worst. It’s going to be expensive, especially if you haven’t had a US driving license before. Most insurance companies do not take into account your driving history overseas. So, just keep calling… and get your licenses ASAP if you haven’t already lol good luck!
^^ This. If new to the US, with a first US drivers license at age >> 16, take time finding the best insurance and best bundling, if eligible. Otherwise the difference will be more than what you are thinking of hacking on the lease. PS. Don’t under-insure. Insurance is protection against the unpredictable.
