Need advice on new SUV Lease - Trading in 2020 Honda Accord Sport 2.0 towards Tonale, GV70. etc

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Hello, long time lurker and first time poster. I am in Long Island, NY, currently driving a 2020 Honda Accord Sport 2.0 with ~24k miles with 2 payments left, my buyout is ~20k.

I am in the market for a luxury SUV to lease and so far have test driven the Genesis GV70 2.5T Advanced and Alfa Romeo Tonale Ti trim. I am also looking into BMW X3 as well. Some notes:

  1. Genesis GV70: Was really set on this until the price shock. I love the interior and exterior design but put off by the lackluster mpg and driving feel/handling. I first started looking 2 months ago and was offered a 711/month but the dealer didn’t have enough personnel to afford me the test drive I scheduled and wouldn’t let me at least put a deposit down. This was for 2.5T Advanced. So I decided to test drive somewhere closer to me and look around before going back here. When I went back, they no longer had the 2023 Advanced and offered me 2024 Advanced for 800/month which includes a $1000 equity from my car. I also went to two other dealerships, quoting me even more around $850/month with equity for 2023 advanced model. MSRP is around $56k.

  2. Alfa Romeo Tonale: I wasn’t initially interested in this car but the plug in hybrid really intrigued me since my office has chargers. I really like the exterior, planning on getting the green, and driving mechanics/handling compared to the GV70 but the interior is pretty bad compared to GV70 for around the same MSRP. The car also felt less insulated but could be due to lack of exhaust sound which only the Veloce has better of. I was quoted $639/month, (~$3k drive off, 0 down) for the Veloce Trim with Alcanterra seats (MSRP ~$57k) and $672/month (~$4k drive off) with the leather package (MSRP ~$59k). This pricing includes $2000k equity from trading in my accord.

Any thoughts on these pricings, specially the tonale which is pretty controversial from what I’ve read online? Any thoughts on Alcenterra vs Leather? Leather Package also comes with upgraded Harmon Kardon speakers which is 2k extra.

Anything else I should be looking at? My main considerations are great interior, good mileage, decent pickup, comfortable drive. I am hoping to get a monthly payment under $700 if possible.

Any thoughts are greatly appreciated!

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Using the LH calc what are your target payments for these based on best anticipated discount off MSRP, base MF, any rebates, etc?

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1.3L engine is illegal in the U.S.

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Did you test drive a Dodge Hornet? I haven’t seen/read anything to indicate that they are substantially different. I imagine the Hornet isn’t leasing well, either, but hopefully it isn’t as bad as the Tonale. I would have difficulty spending that kind of $ on a car that’s based on an aging platform (that wasn’t well-regarded even when new).

I don’t have strong feelings about an X3 vs. a GV70 as a car. As something to lease, my vague memory is that X3 can go for less than that (so that would be my preference).

Do you like your Accord? If so, I’d honestly buy out that, personally.

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Do you know what your accord is actually worth? Also you’re usually better off separating it into two separate transactions.

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Autos don’t lease well unless they have lease support from the bank underwriting the lease. Without that, it doesn’t really matter how much effort you put into negotiating.

That’s because it’s a rebadged Dodge.

You also mentioned chargers at work so would you consider an BEV?

If you don’t want to go BEV then among PHEVs there are a few nice vehicles that meet all your criteria except the badge.

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Why not Acura RDX? It’s also a Honda, with little nicer look. And very reliable and cheap to maintain, just as a Honda. You could get certain loyalty incentives and best rates from Honda Finance by 'keeping it in the house". It’s better car than Hyundai, IMHO. As to Alfa Romeos, they are pretty (I think the same maker as Maserati), but many people complain about their reliability and longevity (which won’t be a problem with Acura).

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What are market value leases on these cars?

Kohl’s tags sweaters at $80, but no one pays that.

How much equity is actually in your car?

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Thank you for all your responses. Sorry for not being able to respond back earlier.

@paranoidgarliclover I haven’t test driven the Hornet yet. Honestly not a fan of its looks so not interested in it. I have been moving further away from tonale after researching more into it. I also realized plug in hybrid is not as feasible for me as I thought it was after talking to people I know with phev and evs.

@max_g I have chargers at work but they are really hard to get access to since there are not enough to meet the demand of the amount of EVs at work. I learned this after talking to my coworkers.

@LeaserOC @trism I have gotten separate quotes for different car sales websites, highest quote was $25k. My buyout with taxes is around $22k. Honestly if I can get 1-3k towards a new lease without having to deal with the hassle of it all, I’d prefer that.

@Eric51 Considering these but don’t like the looks and interior as much as the GV70.

Now to some updates:

I also test drove a 2023 Audi Q5 TFSI 40 in premium plus in the meantime and really like it. I am planning to get the 45 with premium plus which has a higher horsepower. The 40 felt sluggish in terms of acceleration. I saw a pre selected deal here for $605/month 10k/36 months for a 55k msrp (q5 tfsi 45 premium plus). Fingers crossed to see what comes up. The tech, features, and driving felt somewhat better than GV70 but the interior and looks are definitely not there. Weird ass hidden cup holder design.

Honestly I am smitten by the 2023 GV70 Advanced and have been going to multiple dealers to get quotes. Today I got a pretty good offer, relatively speaking, $729/month for 0 down and $4275 driveoff (taxes, doc, dmv etc.) I am waiting for them to get back to me with how much my trade in would be, expecting at least $1000 which would bring down the price to arounf $700/month. Only caviat is it’s a matte gray coating which from what I read would be a pain in the ass to maintain.

However, as luck would have it, another dealership I recently visited has the same model without matte paint available now and I am hoping to go to them with the offer letter from the above dealer and try to negotiate a better deal.

So now I am considering between the pre-negotiated Q5 deal for $605 a month and GV70 deal for $700 a month. I do lean more towards the GV70 if price wasn’t a matter and from what I’ve read, they retain value much better.

Any thoughts on any of this?

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Why would you pay taxes if you’re selling directly to a third party dealer?

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I meant if I am to buy it out from Honda Financial. My actual buyout is around 19k.

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can assist on any of these cars, especially the gv70. send us a text at 732-779-2587

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My advice would be to stop going to dealers to get offers. You should be going to them with what your offer is. If they don’t like it, they can make a counteroffer.

Start by going to Edmunds to get the RV, MF, and incentives, and then use the lease calculator to put together your deal. From there, go to cargurus.com to see which dealerships have the car you want and how long it’s been sitting on their lot. Look for cars that have been sitting for a long time as they are more likely to make deals on those.

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Even the 45 is slow. And what tech/features were better on the Q5?

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After going from Genesis dealer to dealer, found the last 2023 GV70 Advanced near me for $695, $0 down, taxes up from with my accord traded in. Only got $1050 for trade in but honestly I’d rather not deal with the hassle of buying it out from Honda and selling it. It is matte gray color so planning on doing full stealth xpel ppf and xpel fusion ceramic coating, lowest quote i got is $6000 total for both.

I am planning on buying out the car at the end of the lease, residual is $29765. MF 0.00138. I got numbers for financing which even with $1000 off MSRP was coming out more in the long run with 3.49% APR.

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You ran the numbers accounting for tax on the RV and financing it at a used car loan APR?

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So using the Finance calculation with MSRP of $55,120 - $1000 rebate for 3.49% interest over 60 months, I get a total cost of $64, 373.
With $695/month for 36months and $4500 for all fees (taxes, deposition etc.), total lease cost is $29,500 with residual of $29765 (with 9% sales tax= $32,444). If I buy out after lease, I am paying $61, 944. I would buyout with cash at the end.

Difference is $2,328.

Let me know if that makes sense or if I am missing something.

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Doesn’t sound like you’ve accounted for the cost of financing the RV/buyout.

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That’s because I wouldn’t finance it like I mentioned, I would buy it out with cash which with sales tax comes to $32, 444. This plus what I am paying for the lease over 36 months, $ 29,500, comes out to $61, 944.

If I do consider financing it, let’s say with the same rate and assuming loan to $32,444 (with taxes) over 60 months, it comes out to $35,404.06. Then total would be $64, 904 which is only $500 more.

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As long as you’re comparing apples to apples. For example, the cash for the RV buyout is applied as a down payment for financing when new.

Your best bets to save money are:

Sell the trade to a Honda or Acura dealer for more than what Genesis offers

Don’t waste money on PPF. Do the ceramic yourself.