(New to Leasehackr) Looking to lease a car for college, could use any help!

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Hey y’all

I am new to leasehackr so I apologize in advance if I am going about this the wrong way. I am struggling to find what cars are best to lease in the current market. I am looking for a sedan that is fuel efficient for college. I want to pay no more than $260 a month. Zip code 75081.

Any ideas for what cars I should be researching/ any pointers?

Best!

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Post this there, Good resource to start to get into contact with a broker. However, how is your credit score? Do you have a co-signer is need be?

I do not know the Texas market so I can not speak on that but I am sure there are brokers/dealers here willing to help out but, keep the expectations very low due to the car market the way it is today.

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The shared deals section and market place listings are the best place to get an idea of what things are leasing for right now.

Beyond that, we always recommend the following method before you ever contact a dealership. If you do all of the work up front, you’ll have a stress free dealer experience and set yourself for success.

  1. Read Leasing 101 (Blog | LEASEHACKR) to understand how to calculate a lease payment and the variables. Monthly payment is an output, not an input!!
  2. Pick a specific vehicle that you want to target
  3. Gather the current MF, RV and incentives from Edmunds forums for your zip code
  4. Research the LH marketplace and other deals that have been made recently on your vehicle - what was their pre-incentive discount? How did their lease terms differ?
  5. Plug your numbers into the LH calculator (CALCULATOR | LEASEHACKR), and use a pre-incentive discount similar to what you have seen
  6. Create a target deal, this is what you’re trying to negotiate to. You can try different terms, selling price discount, etc. and see how your monthly payment is affected. It is also possible that different trims of your vehicle may have different MF and RV (i.e. this is very common with GM), so make sure that you look into that. Come up with a set of inputs that give you the output that you want - your desired monthly payment.

With a target price determined, you now have a deal to pursue and compare dealer offers against. More importantly, you have a solid foundation to work from.

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Moving forward, please don’t ask the same question in multiple threads. You’ll do far better if you take the time to read and digest the answers given to you.

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I was taking advice given to me in this thread lol…

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Take advices from Trusteds only lol

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What @mllcb42 is saying that essentially to take into consideration what he said as well as to what I said. It’d be easier if you took the time to go on Edmunds forums, get the correct incentives of the vehicles you would consider in that price range.

While $260 is a great starting point as a consideration for a monthly budget, you gave no clue as to what vehicle would you consider. Even a price range in the sub 300’s could have multiple vehicles. Have you test-driven any? Price should not be the only factor. You are driving this car for X amount of years, which is a commitment. Every vehicle drives different.

Texas also has tax credits and such which you’d have to research on to see what manufactures are giving on what vehicles.

After you get the information necessary, then post a wanted post to get a better grasp on what you can afford and if it is doable in this market.

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You posted 2 or 3 threads asking for rv/mf/incentives information after being told in each subsequent thread, including this one, to go to edmunds to gather that info from the source. Please read the help you’re being given .

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Currently, both Toyotas and Hondas don’t have they tax credits on the any of the vehicles.

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@arrgad, great point to note. This can help you in factoring out Toyotas and Hondas in your search as it’ll likely price you out but, it might change month to month. These are types of research you’d have to do when finding out what car can fit in your budget and within those which car could you see yourself driving.

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Are you just starting college?
One key factor to leasing is knowing the number of miles you’ll drive. College students and, subsequently, those just entering the workforce, typically don’t have that luxury.

I do understand looking for the cheapest thing as a college student. Hyundai Venue SE is still one of the cheapest right now, AFAIK. No idea what it looks like with TX taxes, but its about $250/mo all-in in NJ, I believe.

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What’s your total budget including insurance, fuel, etc?

Those two things could actually leave you with more or less money for a car payment than you think

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Hyundai ioniq (hybrid) might be worth a look. Really great gas mileage. Not much of a looker, but Hyundai has a good warranty, and you’ll get 60ish MPG

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You said ‘sedan’ for fuel efficiency, but the new upcoming Ford Maverick seats 5 in it’s crew cab, and can get near 40mpg city. Will haul kegs for your typical frat house lifestyle, including those Costco runs for all your roomies. Sedan is just a sedan.

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Let him know when you find one for $260/mo

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With a base of 20K, about 65%RV and that shouldn’t be a problem?

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It will be quite a problem. 1. Gotta wait for the release of a base model. 2. Gotta wait for hype to die down. 3. Gotta wait for a dealer who is actually willing to order a base model for you.

OP may have graduated college by then. :laughing:

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You need to lease a 2020 or 2021 Chevy Bolt EV. Well under $200/month $0 down $0 upfront fees, TTL rolled in. Bolt gets almost 300 miles per charge, is a blast to drive, super easy to park. Best deal in all of leasing ATM. I have 3 , and own a Tesla model 3 performance. The bolt is quick

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Stay away from auto leasing until 2025, I say get a nice 10 speed Schwinn.

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Also probably a problem for a college student, if living in a dorm. Then again, liberal arts colleges should have solar powered charging stations in every spot, right? ;b