Hi there, new to the forums and this whole leasing thing. Watched several videos and read through numerous posts, quite overwhelming to say the least. I had a few questions which I would love some feedback on and suggestions.
I currently live in WA, will be working in Portland OR, car will be primarily for driving back and forth to work. So I was thinking of a 36/12k lease agreement.
I’ve heard that a good starting off point is not to lease more than 10% of your monthly salary. I am looking well below that though, around the $350 range.
It also seems, although the dealerships advertise 3-5k down, it’s better to negotiate to nothing down so you don’t lose that investment in case something happens.
Examples of leases and vehicles I’ve come across are say the Lexus IS350F for $369, 3999 due at signing.
Those are the types of cars I would be interested in,
Lexus IS 350
BMW : In my price range I’m assuming only the lowest tier, 2 Series I believe
Volvo: S60 looks amazing, but I believe lowest is above $400+
Toyota: suggestions
Hyundai: Suggestions
Genesis: Don’t know how easily they are to get in the US, but the G70 or G80.
Audi: Suggestions, have no clue in terms of models.
Tesla: I would love to lease one of these, it seems the cheapest is the Model 3 SR for around $354 but like 5.5K due at signing. And I don’t know how easy it is to negotiate with Tesla.
Any and all feedback and suggestions for cars that fit into the luxury/sporty sedan around the $350 mark are greatly appreciate and all other relevant help!
First off, ignore any and every manufacturer advertised lease special. They all have tons of missing taxes and fees left out, so are never actually show what they cost.
Second, just say no to tesla leases. If you want a tesla, buy it.
Finally, 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.
Read Leasing 101 (Blog | LEASEHACKR) to understand how to calculate a lease payment and the variables. Monthly payment is an output, not an input!!
Pick a specific vehicle that you want to target
Gather the current MF, RV and incentives from Edmunds forums for your zip code
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?
Plug your numbers into the LH calculator (CALCULATOR | LEASEHACKR), and use a pre-incentive discount similar to what you have seen
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.
That is including a stack of incentives, some of the which the OP is likely not qualified to receive; that doesn’t fit the stipulation of being <$350/mo. I love when people throw “well, look at this deal”, and its not relevant for the average person lol. Infinitis do typically lease out well, though.
I think you may find yourself pleasantly surprised by, say, an Accord Sport 2.0t. I had a 2018 and it was delightfully peppy (5.4s 0-60) and reasonably luxurious (heated seats, sunroof, smart key with walk-away lock, full suite of safety tech, Apple CarPlay/Android Auto, wireless charging, remote start, etc). It may be more in the $400-450 range in the current market, but in my opinion it’s prob the best-equipped sport/luxury sedan you’ll find around that price range.
You’re also making assumptions. I’m simply sharing a deal that meets his criteria. Sports sedan for $350 on the nose. Whether or not he qualifies is up to him to research. It also provides a realistic sense of what it take to secure a deal like that. If he doesn’t qualify for those incentives, it’s simply going to be more difficult. Go eat a snickers
You as well, no? In this case here, it is safer to assume that OP does not qualify for an Infiniti loyalty incentive. We’re just standing on opposite sides of the fence. Great for thought provoking I suppose, but not so great in the sense of merely glancing at the payments without recognizing what it takes to achieve it.
I will certainly have a snickers, if you’re willing to share!
I mean you are kind of making some pretty heavy assumptions off of OPs post. He doesn’t state anywhere in his post that someone in his household has an infiniti lease or not. He doesn’t stateif he would qualify for supplier, penfed, for anything really(incentives for other manufacturers). Rather than saying you wouldn’t qualify how about pointing him to the edmunds site so op can conduct their proper research.
@egothrasher let me give you this one tip. Ignore everyone on this forum that says it’s not a good time to buy. Yeah the market is weird right now, supply constraints have made it harder to find the ideal deal but what i’ve learned from this site is if you do your homework and invest some time in finding a car you will score a deal. It takes having an open mind especially with the make and model. Ever since i’ve started using this site people have complained that unicorn deals no longer exist (that’s all bull). There are a lot of smart people on here but also a lot of pessimists and cynics (i guess that’s a symptom of being smart) and know it all’s. Take their advice and knowledge on how to score a deal but do your best to ignore their negativity. To summarize if you do your homework, keep an opened mind, expand your market horizons (you can lease out of state), stay positive, keep asking for help, and get rid of your fear of rejection you will get rewarded.
“unicorn deals no longer exist (that’s all bull). There are a lot of smart people on here but also a lot of pessimists and cynics (i guess that’s a symptom of being smart) and know it all’s. Take their advice and knowledge on how to score a deal but do your best”
I was saying that sharing a previous deal that includes >>> $8,700 <<< partly of contingent incentives gives someone, who is looking for guidance, little assistance. Your post is quite beneficial for this thread, however.
I should clarify, I have no objections or problems paying several grand upfront. It just seems the general consensus is that it’s better if you don’t. Because if something were to happen to the car, you aren’t getting that money back. Most of the car’s I’ve looked at are wanting 3-5k deposit.
I have looked into Infiniti, was interested in the Q50 models.
. Chip/inventory shortage or not !
In this case here, it is safer to assume that OP does not qualify for an Infiniti loyalty incentive. We’re just standing on opposite sides of the fence. Great for thought provoking I suppose, but not so great in the sense of merely glancing at the payments without recognizing what it takes to achieve it.
