This deal was a nightmare from start to finish. Poor communication throughout, a failed 1-pay lease, and 7.5 hours at the dealership going back and forth with the sales and finance team to come to a resolution. I definitely won’t be sharing the dealership info but more details are below.
Year, Make, Model, and Trim: Toyota Tacoma Double Cab SR V6 4WD
MSRP: $33838
Selling Price: $29631
Monthly Payment: $142
Drive-Off Amount: $0
Months: 24
Annual Mileage: 12,000
MF: .00196ish
Residual: 88%
Incentives: $1000 Rebate
Region: Mid-Atlantic/Maryland - NC Titled
Leasehackr Score: 21.3
Leasehackr Calculator Link:
On Black Friday I started reaching out to dealerships across the mid-atlantic and mid west for pricing on a Tacoma with the goal of taking delivery by Monday. I spoke with 15-20 and got to about 8.4% off MSRP(pre-incentive) from a dealership in MD. I felt like I had hit my best price and asked for a lease quote. The sales manager had trouble producing an out of state lease quote and told me they would follow up in the morning.
When I didn’t hear from the sales manager the next morning (Saturday) I called and they told me the truck had been sold and it was the last they had. Inventory was limited on SRs at the end of November and no other dealer with the truck(specific color) in stock would match the price. I was bummed to lose out on the truck and the November incentives.
Later that day a dealership in the same network reached out and offered 9.5% off MSRP on the same VIN that was sold earlier and even though I knew it had sold, they promised it was still available. They also had trouble quoting an out of state lease and needed to follow up on Monday with the quote. At this point I had written November off as a loss and hoped December incentives didn’t dip much. 9.5% off seemed solid and I would use that as a starting point.
On Sunday I got a (likely autogenerated) email from the general sales manager following up on my experience and I took the opportunity to mention losing out on the truck and asked if they would be willing to locate one and match 9.5% off MSRP. As you can see, I can be long-winded and this email followed suit.
The gsm called me on Monday and agreed to locate one and match 9.5% off MSRP so I shared the parameters for a 1-pay lease (mf/rv from edmunds) and they confirmed so we agreed on delivery on Friday morning. He mentioned he wouldn’t be there but would have the paperwork ready. Should have been a red flag but anxiousness clouded my judgement.
I flew to MD on Thursday night and called the dealership on Friday morning to confirm everything was ready. They had no clue what I was talking about and said they would call me back. Hours later I hadn’t heard anything so I went to the dealership at 1pm.
The next 4 hours I waited with very little transparency other than the people behind the glass walls “can’t get the numbers to work”. Eventually they had a sales manager explain to me that the selling price was less than the residual and TFS wouldn’t accept the 1-pay lease. The 1-pay TFS lease lowers the mf by .001 yielding a significant savings over the lease term.
They offered for me to pay monthly at the full money factor which lead to a miserable 3 hour back and forth ending in the dealership discounting the car 12.4% off MSRP, lowering the money factor (without MSDs) from .00231 to .00196, and structuring payments as monthly with the 1st payment covered. This was done only to mitigate the failed 1-pay lease and was at a significant loss to the dealer. You should not expect any broker or dealer to match this deal. Please don’t ask them to do so.
For the last 30 minutes, we did the paperwork and I might have shed a few tears reflecting on the trauma of the day. Depending on how you do your math these monthly payments are basically a wash when compared to the 1-pay at the original discount at the end of the lease term, but not having to put the money up front felt like a win.
I wish you all much smoother experiences chasing your unicorn deals. Huge thanks to the community. No way this works out without the information and guidance I picked up here. Specific shout out to @joeblogs for mentioning the 1-pay and what discount to shoot for in a separate thread.
This was my 5th car transaction(3 leases for myself/parents and sold both parents cars) in 30 days and I’m so happy I have a two year break but looking forward to keeping up with everyone’s deals.
deal, sounded a little painful but how many people are leasing a 4x4 truck for under $150/mo, that’s legit. Cheaper than mine! And shorter term.
