Although this is the 2nd lease I’ve done, I’m still a rookie apparently… Marked up MF, non-Zero down, MSD doesn’t add up, etc. I thought dealers would just dodge and tell “selective truth”, never imagined they would lie to my face, which is what they did in this deal. Unfortunately I only found out after signing
---------- Lessons learned ----------
Don’t go visit in person unless you’ve got the full break-down through email/text.
Don’t negotiate with dealers on their customized forms, ask for the leasehackr-calculator-like forms or the lease-contract form.
Pay attention to the VIN, the one they gave you through email might not be the same as the one they sell you in the end.
---------- What went well ----------
I had pre-set a price line so the overall lease cost didn’t go crazy.
I didn’t purchase any of the extra protection packages from the dealer (asked for $ 1,5xx for the maintenance pkg). Financial mgr got angry in the end, so I guess I made the right choice.
---------- What went bad ----------
Marked up MF (from .00142 to .00172). Dealer gave me their customized forms which I was not familiar with, I asked for the leasehackr-form she said yes, but only came back with the written MF/RV on her customized form. I thought that was enough cuz I assume dealers won’t lie to my face, apparently I was wrong.
non-Zero down (turns out I paid $ 767). On her form there’s an item listed as “cap reduction” for $ 7xx, I asked her what that was she said those were fees, “like DMV fees and stuff”, again that was a lie, but I didn’t know at that time cuz I thought the number is roughly right. The final contract shows the total amt of fees is only $ 53, guess that’s because it’s a loaner. People who’s looking to lease a loaner should pay attention to this.
MSD doesn’t add up (should be $ 2,450, turns out I put down $ 2800). During the negotiation w/ the sales mgr we didn’t use the actual number, we go like “max MSDs”. And at the end when checking the contract, I paid most attention on the monthly payment (where I did catch a “mistake” ) and missed the MSD amt. max MSDs should only be $2,450, the extra $ 350 is useless.
Hi hackrs, I recently signed a lease (link) and have some questions.
During negotiation, dealers used their customized forms, which listed a ton of I-don’t-know-what fees (pic below). Did they just lie and make up those fees?
Before signing the contract, the financial mgr tried to sell us the maintenance pkg. He started w/ $ 15xx, I didn’t take it, then he tried to give me the “employee price” $ 940. I didn’t take it neither, but would like to know if that could be a good deal?
I find it hard to ask for the leasehackr-calculator-like form or the lease-contract form from dealer during negotiation. They always use their customized form, I guess that helps them to make up stuff. Any tips on how to deal with that? Should I threat to walk away?
I was just referring to one that’s compatible w/ leasehackr calculator, i.e. having all the info for the calculator and the result matches.
And your contract will likely get rejected because of the incorrect MSD amount.
Ah interesting! I’d love to have it voided tbh, bit regretted about signing… Do you happen to know how long I would get noticed if the contract actually gets rejected? Thx!
I absolutely guarantee you that in California, you’re not paying only $53 in .gov fees in a new to you vehicle. That’s only the part you’re paying up front.
thx for sharing the info! However I’m a bit confused, I thought fees must be posted in sec#9 or sec#13 right? I’ve followed up w/ a pic of sec#13, and seems only $53 can be counted into “other fees”… Or was I wrong about “fees must be posted in sec#9 or sec#13”?
Sorry to report that the MSD’s are in fact correct. I’ll try and explain this - it looks like you did 7 MSD’s? The amount for each MSD is calculated on the payment rounded up to the nearest $50 PRE MSD. In other words, if the payment was $351 before the MSD’s, you would have paid $400 times 7 or $2800. The payment would have had to be under $350 before the MSD’s for it to be $350 times 7 or $2350. Hope that makes sense.
Take a deep breath and think: you leased a $45K BMW for low $300s with about $1,500 upfront. You will do better next time, but this deal is not a total rip off at 0.81% all in (for those who love 1% “rule”)