2024 Hyundai Ioniq 5 Limited RWD
MSRP: $56,170
Selling Price: $52,736.77 (Pre-Incentive)
Monthly Payment: $350.47
Drive-Off Amount: $3,000
Months: 24
Annual Mileage: 12,000
MF: 0.00192
Residual: 64%
Incentive: $12,500 Hyundai Lease Incentive
Region: FL resident, Hillsborough County dealer (Tampa Bay)
Signed 2024-07-05
SIGNED! Link: SIGNED! DEAL | LEASEHACKR
This is my first time leasing a vehicle, and I owe it to all of you in this community.
After playing with different numbers in the Leasehackr calculator in June, before Ratefindr updated for July I used Edmunds to get the latest MF and RV at the start of the month. I went back to the Leasehackr calculator to figure out a range of quotes at different dealer discounts and different MF markups, so I knew going in that Iâd be very unlikely to get below an effective monthly of around $490, which would be bank rate money factor and around $2k off MSRP beyond the $12.5k lease incentive.
Then I went to a dealer with transparent dealer discount prices visible on Hyundaiâs inventory tracker and asked for an out the door quote. They gave me a quote after incentives of just above $43k before tax and a 24/12 lease quote of $470/mo, $3000 DAS. I lowballed them with a $240/mo, $4700 DAS 24/12 offer. They balked, and asked how I arrived at those terms. I explained how I was calculating a lease payment from their off their door quote and the known RV and MF for the vehicle, sharing my arithmetic, and asked how they were arriving at their (much higher) numbers. They then showed me a screenshot of their system with all the hidden charges and negative cap adjustments they use to inflate above their âout the doorâ quote, and claimed they couldnât go lower. It also showed their sales guy had lied to me about them having no margin on the money factor.
I took their quote to another dealer that doesnât show discounts without âunlockingâ them by sharing contact info. I told them the other dealer had given me just over $43k out the door, and asked if there was any way they could get me below $43k. After I shared a copy of the first dealerâs quote, they came back with an offer of $375/mo with $3k DAS. I confirmed their numbers were after tax. I built a spreadsheet to reverse-engineer their numbers and validated that they were giving me the MF they claimed they were, a rather high 0.00222, and a capitalized cost of 40,262. Since I could see there was room to negotiate on the MF and they might be willing to dip lower on their dealer discount, I said I would sign today if they could give me 24/12 for $350/mo, $3k DAS. They agreed.
Once they got me into the finance guyâs office, he tried to claim that the quote I received did not contain tax or fees or first monthâs payment. I was very insistent that I had been assured $3k due today and that Iâd been told the quotes Iâd been given were all after tax. Thankfully, I had that in writing, because I conducted almost all of these negotiations by email. He grumbled, went off for a few minutes, and came back saying we were good and the extra money would come out of the Sales department.
All in all I spent around 2.5 hours in the dealership, and most of that was just waiting until people were available. Other than the finance guyâs one attempt, there was zero haggling after I arrived. He didnât even try to sell me on protection packages. And I even got a compliment from the salesperson, who told me she really liked the way Iâd communicated with them.
My advice for anyone other n00bs:
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Seriously, do not talk about monthly payments until you have an out the door price.
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Run the numbers well enough that you know exactly how much margin the dealer has on the vehicleâthe invoice price, the dealer holdback, the money factorâso you know when theyâre already in the red. Not necessarily so you can stop there, though. What worked for me was getting within striking distance while staying at margin, and then only making them consider âIs this loss still more than Iâd make if I have to auction this car to get it off the lot?â when youâre just looking at shaving $25 off a month. I was careful to make sure my final quote wouldnât force them below the bank rate.
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Tell them what payments you want, donât ask.
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Tone matters. Be up front, casual, direct, firm, clear, and to the point. Be cheerful and polite, and show appreciation when they are flexible. Show empathy and validate themâthe CDK attack is great for this right now. Make it clear you want to help them move this vehicle thatâs selling so poorly it needs massive incentives.
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Always dangle the prize. Reiterate how ready you are to pick up the vehicle. Give them a phone number so they know youâre real, but tell them youâre busy and in and out of meetings so you donât have time to negotiate over the phone. Reiterate your firm intention to lease the car. Make sure they know you are serious and engaged.
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Know your numbers backwards and forwards. If you donât know how the lease calculator works well enough to build your own spreadsheet that gives the same values, or know the basic lease math well enough to solve for the MF if given the MSRP, RV, monthly payment after tax, and capitalized cost, you are going to lose your bearings. You have to be confident in your math so you donât get snowed under.
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Have everything in writing before you go into the finance guyâs office to sign the lease, especially when it comes to taxes, fees, and what is due at signing, or pray he doesnât alter the deal further.
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Play dealers off of one another. The second one had no idea the first one did a bait and switch on the cap cost vs the out the door quote I shared with them to price-match.
I have to go now, but will post the contract on SIGNED! when I have a chance.
