Question about negotiating with dealers… with a specific VIN in mind, is it worse to negotiate “out the door” lease pricing by negotiating monthly payment/months/milage/DAS like “$575/mo, 36mo, 12K mile, $575 due at signing” versus negotiating all the inputs to the calculator like discount under MSRP, MF, and fees?
I know you shouldn’t typically shop by payment, but figure if you capture all the ways one will pay on a lease, it may be easier than trying to haggle over all the inputs to what one pays
The cleanest way is to negotiate dealer discount before rebates assuming base MF. If they have to mark up the MF they need to make up with better discount. Dealers will try to steer the conversation towards payment per month because it’s much easier to get you.
If you know how you reached to the payment, it’s not wrong to make an offer based on monthly payment. Your sales person will probably prefer this approach.
Dealers will absolutely love you if you approach them with monthly payment target. You will give them a chance to pitch you lower MSRP cars or higher DAS. You will go back and forth 6 times before both parties establish that you are trying to get X% discount before rebates with base MF. If you want to have full control over the negotiation process with minimal back and forth, figure out your target discount and approach them with your deal based on your target discount. List your vehicle, discount, rebates, lease terms, MF, ,MSDs, DAS, monthly payment.
OP has a specific car/vin in mind, that is different than “What can I get for $500 month” which I see every time I’m at the dealership. It’s usually like “Can you do $550 a month?” from the sales person.
You should know your target and make offers to a wide radius of dealers.
For most cars, stating your target as $X monthly and $Y DAS is probably the best. Make sure to mention any conditional rebates that you qualify for and MSD, if applicable.
