Hello! New to LeaseHackr and leasing in general, I’ve always financed my cars. The short of it is I’m looking for an Acura ZDX, I understand I am in a state that doesn’t have all the best rebates (TN) that exist in places like Cali and NJ but I was still hoping to make a lease happen at 4-500/month with little to no money down. I’m attaching a quote I got on very early numbers with no credit checks, curious to know if these are deals worth exploring or if I’m not looking in the right places. I’d just love any advice on how to approach getting the best deal here.
Quick Clarification: I know I qualify for the conquest/loyalty discount for the ZDX, I know that’s a major part of the rebate.
Since you already have a quote we can start from there, but we generally don’t recommend shopping until you have all of this figured out and know exactly what you’re willing to pay.
From here, determine (via RateFindr or the appropriate Edmunds forum) which incentives apply and the dollar value of each, and from there you can figure out what the dealer discount is.
There aren’t many levers to negotiate on a lease. The main one is dealer discount.
Once you deconstruct this offer, you can compare the dealer discount to the dealer discounts others have gotten, or from current offers in Marketplace.
As a Super Supporter you have access to RateFindr, which I suggest using to build your target deal. Looking there tells me that not only are you not receiving any actual dealer discount, you are being shorted around $3,500 in dealer cash that’s available on this car in your area (used a Memphis zip code to calculate, as well as a Marietta zip code for redundancy in case that’s specific to the dealer zip code).
I guess I know what I’m willing to pay but seeing people walk away with $300 leases are what’s confusing when I can’t seem to build one for less than 500 without some kind of 10k down payment. I’m assuming it’s just due to being in states with larger rebates? I appreciate the insight!
Yeah I’m still learning to navigate it all, this is very helpful. This specific sheet is actually from GA, it’s closer than other TN dealers geographically but I would assume being across state lines is why that wasn’t offered. Thank you!
I searched a Tennessee and Marietta zip code, it shows up for both. Those are dealer side incentives at the bottom of the screenshot so your zip code should not be an issue either way. They are just trying to pocket that money, which they do have the right to do since it is dealer cash. You have the right to ask for additional discounts above and beyond that as well. Searching other advertised and signed ZDX deals here should yield what an aggressive offer should really look like, usually an aggressive offer would involve additional dealer discount beyond what Honda is offering. If they take another $3,500 off that would be an offer that you could theoretically get anywhere. Getting multiple quotes and making multiple offers to multiple dealers is the key. Competition drives down prices.
Rather than what you’re willing to pay, I should have said that you know what constitutes an aggressive but do-able market-based price and have established a cost ceiling.
This isn’t about fitting a payment into a monthly budget, it’s making sure you end up with a great deal.
Once you’ve established your target, you can / should / must stop asking for quotes and start making immediately actionable offers.
(I put a deal together for myself on Friday and picked up the car three hours later. It was clear from the first contact that I was serious, and it couldn’t have been easier.)
All you’re looking for at this point is a yes or a no. If you get a no, politely move on and take your offer to the next place.
This would be a rough estimate of a target deal based on what dealer discount seems to be aggressive but achievable on these. 8% off plus the Rebates, Conquest/Loyalty and the dealer cash. Either they will say yes, no or come back with a more aggressive offer than they originally provided if they want to move the car.
Throwing out $300 leases without additional information is not helpful. Were these deals on the same vehicle(s) you are looking at? Were they signed this month? (incentives change from month to month) Were these deals for 12k miles/year?
Some of these deals could have been one-off, or a on demo/loaner vehicle with a large discount and massive incentives.
@The_MAP - I would recommend checking out broker deals in the Marketplace to get an idea of what a decent deal looks like on this car.
You should take a look at the deal that I just posted in SIGNED! Not sure if you are willing to pickup in SoCal but they have plenty of inventory and super nice to deal with. I got a payment of $371 including sales tax with about $1300 DAS. Good luck.
