I started my search in mid-September, having never leased a vehicle before. I quickly found this website and started reading as much as I could. I even created my own detailed spreadsheet when I was not satisfied with the level of visibility I got into the LeaseHackr Calculator. I tailored my spreadsheet to GM leases and my home state of NC.
My initial plan was to lease a 2025 OPTIC demo vehicle, spurred by @nooneknows on this forum who managed to obtain a Leasehackr Score of 19 years on one this past July. But there were hardly any 2025’s left in late September (only 5 total at 2 dealers, each 300 miles from my home) and GM discontinued lease support for 2025’s on October 1st. So I switched my search to 2026 models and raised my goal for an effective monthly payment from $300 to $400.
My first attempt at a 2026 model in October was with a dealer in Northern VA. This car had no options and no dealer accessories, with an MSRP of $52,095. I spoke to a salesperson via email and was able to negotiate $5000 (9.6%) off of MSRP, and qualified for $2500 in rebates, but the dealer marked up the MF (I estimate an extra 1.5%) and would not budge. The RV was lowered by 1% to 71% due to it being a demo with 2900 miles. The one-pay amount was $13,591 (effective $566) which was way over my budget.
My next attempt was with a dealer in NC. I made the mistake of not presenting my offer right off the bat and the salesperson just kept dragging the negotiation into the weeds. Sending me useless dealer quote sheets that had no insight into important numbers. In one of the first quotes, she calculated the tax incorrectly, specifying a sale rather than a lease, and failed to correct it even after me telling her 3 times. This car had $1340 in options and an MSRP of $53,735. On top of that were $1491 in dealer accessories, I was able to negotiate $5000 off (9.3%) and again had $2500 in rebates, but the dealer refused to remove the $1491 in accessories. The good news was that they gave me a RV of 72% even though the car was a demo with 2200 miles, and they did not mark up the MF. The one-pay was $15,267 with about $1200 of excess/incorrect taxes included. I gave up with them out of frustration.
And finally, my third attempt was successful. Sort of. Another dealer in NC. The car had $6320 in options, so I wasn’t really considering it seriously because it was too expensive. No dealer accessories added though. MSRP was $58,715. But, somehow I was able to negotiate $7,718 (13%) off the price. $2500 in rebates. RV was 71% due to the 1% hit for it being a loaner with 3000 miles. They marked the MF up by a quarter of a percent, but because AWD versions had a lower MF by 0.5%, it was still lower than the 2WD’s MF. One-pay amount of $11,374 for an effective monthly payment of $475. I went over budget by $1800, but I realized that unless I lived in California in the land of EV rebates, or in Michigan where everyone knows someone that works at GM, I wasn’t going to do much better.
The car was for my wife, and she is very happy with it, so that’s all that matters. And I’m not going to tell her that I went over budget.
