Pull the trigger on Mazda 2018 CX5 today?

Ask the Hackrs
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Hi all! New to this forum and green to leasing…

I got the following quote on a 2018 Mazda CX5 touring preferred…Discount from MSRP is very small, but money factor is amazing and expires today.

MSRP: 29910
Sales Price: 29106.29
MF: .00001
36month
12K miles/year
Sale price includes acquisition fee of $595, other fees of $579.25, and rebate of $350.

Monthly payment of $387 includes 7.1% tax

I can’t decide whether to pull the trigger or keep looking for better deals. I believe the CX5 AWD will hold its value well in Utah, but I had hoped to find a good small AWD SUV in the $200s/month range with just up-fronts due at signing. Since I’ve only looked at this one and the VW Tiguan, I have no idea what I’d find if I took time off work today to look at Honda, Acura, Toyota, etc…

Thanks for any thoughts!

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I wouldn’t pay that for a CX-5 but I know they don’t discount them much. If you want to get into the $200s maybe look at Nissan Rogue.

Edit: Tell them $300/month

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On a 2018 you need a much bigger discount, I would shoot for another 2k off at least if it was me.

4

Thank you so much! Right, I don’t think Mazda marks their cars up as much as others do, so they have less room to discount. You wouldn’t pay that for a CX5 because you feel there are much better models out there for that price?

I’m looking at other makes/models as well, but wondering how much value retention should factor in. I think CX5s hold value better than a Nissan would, but maybe that doesn’t matter as much if the residual value is set and similar?

By the way, I get to northern CA a lot on business, so if you happen to see any fantastic deals there, I’m all ears!

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CX-5s are out-selling every other Mazda vehicle I think even combined.

I would be surprised if the dealer took a significant amount of discount out. Best of luck OP, shoot for at least 10 percent discount off MSRP.

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Thank you! I don’t think Mazda has much room to discount these, but if the 2018 CX-5 is being discounted in the new year, may be worth waiting!

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Thank you!!!

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Yeah, when I say I wouldn’t pay that it’s because I would look for something else at that price point.

I wouldn’t worry about the residual value except for how it effects the lease payment unless you’re planning to buy out your lease.

I recommend using www.cargurus.com to do a dealer search near you. There are lots of 2018s and 2019s around me that have a bigger discount than you’re being offered.

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Thanks much! You’re seeing deals on the Mazda CX-5? Or just on small crossover SUVs in general? I’ll definitely check out cargurus!

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I think the MF for these leases has consistently been this low, just an FYI. You can search through the specific Edmunds forum for the CX-5, but I vaguely remember getting that low MF offer in April when I shopped this segment.

You also don’t necessarily have to take time off work to find these deals…if you’re going in person to the dealerships, you’re wasting your time. On my lease, I didn’t step foot into the dealership I leased from until I was signing the papers. Yes, you’ll need to spend time emailing, but it’s much more efficient than trekking from dealership to dealership.

You are correct that Mazada doesn’t have a lot of room between invoice and MSRP, but on a 2018, I would expect a much better discount.

I also agree with others that have chimed in that at $387 a month, you could probably get more bang for your buck elsewhere. I was between the CX-5 and the Forester, but ultimately ended up with the Forester as it checked all the boxes and then some for a much lower monthly than a similarly equipped CX-5.

Feel free to PM if you have further questions - I know lease programs have changed since April, but I did do an extensive amount of research in this segment and I’m happy to share my (limited) knowledge in hopes that it’ll help you land a great deal!

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Thank you so much! Really appreciate your perspective on this and will definitely PM you to hear about your experience with this segment.

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I was seeing GT’s with premium package for $353 0 DAS back in Oct. Wish I had made a move on it. This isn’t bad but I would recommend asking for a steeper discount like @jamiemose mentioned. 10-12% is what I would ask.

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I believe 2018 cx5 had $500 factory money on sport and touring, and $1000 on grand touring, expiring today…but not on leases.

I have never heard that Mazda gives their dealers less markup than other brands and it sounds like something a salesperson would say. Why would anyone want to sell Mazdas if they can’t make the same money as another brand? It’s just an incredibly popular car and they probably don’t need to discount much to move them. Other brands may get more mfg support because they’re hard to sell or have a redesigned model coming.

I just looked at the cx5 and Hyundai Santa Fe sport yesterday. By comparison, the Hyundai had $3500 in factory money on a purchase. Plus the dealer was offering another $2300 discount online…prior to any negotiation. That’s $6k off a $28k car. Obviously not as popular as a cx5, factory doesn’t offer nearly as much . On a lease they were offering $5500 factory money, at least in CA.

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Is there something specific in the CX5 you’re looking for that isn’t available in something else? I ask because when I did my lease on a Subaru I knew they didn’t discount much either because they were already selling like hotcakes, especially the Outbacks and Crosstrek segment. Yet, I wanted something with 5* safety, Eyesight, and also AWD. Even that car I was getting 15% discounts on the MSRP (2018) though.

If you’re not dead set to a specific car, then I’ve seen leases for Buick Encores with lower monthly payments. You’re mentioning that the CX5 holds better value than other cars, but that shouldn’t matter unless you’re in a position to purchase the car or buy it at the end of lease.

I’m pretty new to leases too, but I think you should shop around a bit more, you could be getting a better deal for it.

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Thanks for this…Yes, it’s odd that they’re simply unable to discount cars that they want to move. I think it’s likely that they just don’t need to, as you mentioned. The salesperson told me that Cx-5s and Subarus are great leases because they hold their value so well…making it easier to sell for greater than residual value at the end of the lease…or at any point in the lease if you want to do something different. Also making mileage overage not “a big deal” because on a sale or trade-in, you would still get at least the residual value, if not more. It made sense to me, but I’m sure the Nissan and Hyundai dealers I visited today would have said the same thing, right? Is a lease just about getting what you want for the lowest total cost over the term of the lease? Or is there something to leasing the car that will hold its value longer?

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Thank you :slight_smile: I really like how the CX-5 handles and popularity/resale value is important in my mind if I want to sell or trade it in at the end of the lease since I theoretically could get a better deal for it. One salesperson I spoke with said that he always leases stays well under the mileage, then sells it as the lease is coming to an end and pockets $2000 that he uses as a down payment on his next lease. Is this kind of value typical at the end of a lease?
I feel like I did the right thing waiting to see what January brings. I may end up with a different car altogether, but hopefully worth the wait in savings.

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I’m a newbie, so forgive me if this sounds arrogant, but it’s not clear from your posts if you understand fundamental concepts about leasing.

Residual value is set by the manufacturer and is something you can look up on Edmunds forums, rather than having to guess at it. The dealers set the MF (but can’t go below a certain rate) and have nothing to do w/ the residual value.

You get charged a specific amount for every mile over the allowance. It’s in your contract. Dealers may “forgive” that if it’s a small overage AND you get sign lease from them. But if you go, say, 50% over your mileage, that’s going to possibly be a big, big deal.

Only you can decide what’s the most important to you, but I think that many people here would say that lowest cost for the car that you want and relative to other cars that have the same MSRP are important.

Certain cars from, say, BMW and MB have presumably inflated RV (compared to what you might be able to get in the real world if you finances the car and tried to sel it yourself) and low MF. MB also allows you to residualize prepaid mainenance (BMW includes that for free for 3 yrs/36000 mi), so you, in essence, pay for maintenance costs ever, if you keep on leasing (which saves $ because luxury cars tend to be horrifically expensive to maintain well once the warranty expires). So you save $ leasing a BMW or MB vs. owning.

And, if the car’s in good condition, the manufacturer accepts the car back and it’s on them to get rid of it.

It’s not clear why you keep talking about how easy a car will be to sell when that has nothing to do w/ you getting a lease.

If you work a lease deal and get a little lucky (depending on what car you want and the time of year you’re in the market), you can get substantially more car for your money than if you were to finance/purchase one outright.

In general, Mazdas don’t lease well compared to other manufacturers. And part of that is b/c they don’t discount their cars much (as you have discovered).

You also can’t just lease a car from a different state w/o possibly paying some heft fees (and some dealers won’t do a deal w/ you at all).

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Thanks…You don’t sound arrogant. Thanks for breaking this down and providing the info on luxury cars. I do understand those basics of leasing…just repeating what the salespeople are telling me so I can vet that info on this forum. There does seem to be a way to sell a lease at the end and get at least the residual value if not more if you’re not too much over mileage. I read this article that somewhat verified what the dealer told me. https://www.edmunds.com/car-leasing/3-ways-to-turn-your-lease-into-cash.html

So my biggest question at this point is whether it’s best to just choose the car you want (regardless of perceived demand and resale value) based on price and not worry about how the car might do as a trade (to a different manufacturer) or sale (to a private party) at lease end.

I hear you on mileage…The dealer was trying to tell me to go for fewer miles because even if I’m over, Mazda CX5s are in high enough demand here that the value at the end will be higher than residual. If that’s bogus information, I’ll just throw it out and buy the extra miles up front!

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Ah, I see. Thanks for clarifying. :slight_smile:

In that case, it would be very helpful if one of the dealers (or super experienced posters) on the Board can verify. I’ve only interacted w/ one, so I’ll ask him. @Cody_Carter, do you know if the info posted in the Edmunds article (link above) is accurate?

For me personally, the answer would be yes b/c you never what the heck is going to happen 2-3 yrs from now, so you might as well get the car that you like for the time before that…

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It is important to realize that market demands can change especially over 3 year’s time.

Do not believe a dealer who tells you that in 3 years time the CX-5s will be worth a lot just because they’re selling well now. We have no idea what the market will look like in 3 years, but I can tell you right now that the CX-5’s market segment is about to get even more saturated than it already is.

The only way you’ll really be able to have any equity in a lease is if the market value of the vehicle is higher than what you owe on it. There are a lot of factors to this, but one of the biggest things that work against luxury makers like BMW and MB is that they artificially inflate their RVs in order to make their leases more attractive. Those are leased cars, not owned cars.

Manufacturers such as Honda actually do the opposite; they’re are conservative with their RV estimates and under-inflate them to make sure that the cost of market deviation is passed on to the consumer and not their financial institution. This helps their cars have a perceived value that may not necessarily be there. You definitely paid for the depreciation, but also more. In BMW and MB, you paid for less than what the depreciation actually was, so the bank took the bath just to get you in the car.

CX-5s are selling very well right now, but that still doesn’t mean they’re worth a lot on the used car market. If the majority of new car sales and leases in the past 8 years have been crossovers and SUVs, what do you think will saturate the used car market in 3 years? Cross overs and SUVs and the economics of supply and demand apply here, very much. High demand AND high supply usually means prices are stable and could be low, this is why Crossovers can still have low residuals, besides being the only thing that the market wants.

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