Subaru Forester Premier

Ask the Hackrs
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1

I am new to leasing and was not comfortable negotiating at a dealer so wrote an email to 20 dealers letting them know that I would take the best offer for a Forester Premier with the Blind spot/power rear gate package. Since I wanted the Bronze color, that limited my choice (I received lower offers for other colors) but a dealer gave me the following deal for a Bronze which I am thinking of signing. To all you veteran leasehackrs here, can you let me know if you think this is a fair/good deal:

MSRP: 30,671
Dealer price: 28,596 (6.8% off)

36 months/ 12k miles
374 a month with zero down

Tax $1,194.00 (dealer is in CT, I live in NY so not sure what tax this is based on)
Reg $239.00
Disposition Fee $300.00
Acquisition Fee $595.00
Residual of the Car $19,936.00
Cap Cost $31,103.00
Money Factor 0.00125

Anything else I should be aware of? Any pitfalls? What should I look out for in the contract?

Thanks in advance!

2

It is practically impossible for us to tell you what a “good” monthly payment is for your specific lease as lease programs are highly dependent on region, personal qualifications, tax rates, etc.

We always recommend the following method before you ever contact a dealership. If you do all of the work up front, you’ll have a stress free dealer experience and set yourself for success.

  1. Read Leasing 101 (Blog | LEASEHACKR) to understand how to calculate a lease payment and the variables. Monthly payment is an output, not an input!!
  2. Pick a specific vehicle that you want to target
  3. Gather the current MF, RV and incentives from Edmunds forums for your zip code
  4. Research the LH marketplace and other deals that have been made recently on your vehicle - what was their pre-incentive discount? How did their lease terms differ?
  5. Plug your numbers into the LH calculator (CALCULATOR | LEASEHACKR), and use a pre-incentive discount similar to what you have seen
  6. Create a target deal, this is what you’re trying to negotiate to. You can try different terms, selling price discount, etc. and see how your monthly payment is affected. It is also possible that different trims of your vehicle may have different MF and RV (i.e. this is very common with GM), so make sure that you look into that. Come up with a set of inputs that give you the output that you want - your desired monthly payment.

With a target price determined, you now have a deal to pursue and compare dealer offers against. More importantly, you have a solid foundation to work from.

Remember, it’s up to you to determine what your target price is. You can’t effectively negotiate without knowing where you’re trying to get to.

1 Like
3

Got it thanks. I’m getting a sign and drive deal and still waiting on my contract to be written up so I can see the actual numbers.

4

While you’re waiting, go through the steps above so you have a baseline to compare to. Looking at a dealer offer in a vacuum doesn’t do you any good. You need to know where you’re trying to get to.

1 Like
5

I think @AutoNinjas works with Subaru in the Northeast and can get you one for cheaper. Check out his post in the marketplace or just search subaru

6

Doing my best but hard to assess all the numbers correctly when I don’t have some numbers on hand (dealer fees etc)

7

Dealer fees in NY are locked at $75

8

Great thank you! Would you know govt fees off hand too??

9

Government fees, mainly DMV fees, vary by lease term and model. The dealer can’t overcharge for them typically so whatever they say they are is accurate. If they overestimate you’ll get a refund for the difference.

1 Like
10

So I got the Closed-end lease agreement. Monthly payment of 374 (36/12) all rolled into monthly payment for zero down sign and drive.

Reg fee 239
Doc fee 499
Cap Cos 31103
Residual value 19936
Depreciation and any amortized amounts 11167
Rent charge: 2296
Purchase option fee 50
Agreed upon value of the Vehicle 29318
Sales tax 1190
Acquisition fee 595
Gross cap cost: 31103
Official feels and taxes 1910

PHEW!! How in the world is a novice leaser supposed to read through all these numbers???

11

I misread above that you were in CT and the dealer was in NY. The dealer fee is only limited to $75 if the dealer is in NY.

12

No you were correct. I am in NY and the dealer is in CT

13

Earlier when I said the dealer fee was $75, I was thinking the dealer was in NY, not you.

14

Getting a headache trying to figure these numbers out. On the LH calculator, it seems about right

15

When you say about right, do you mean that when you put in the figures they gave, you get about the same output or when you independently put together a target deal based on the rv/mf/incentives from edmunds and researched pre-incentive discount targets, you got about the same output?

1 Like
16

That MF (in skimming Edmunds looks like buy rate) would be “no” for me.

If this ends up being 6-7% off pre-incentive with buy-rate, it’s not a good lease, but it’s decent for a Subaru.

17

I mean that since dealer fee makes a difference for my target budget. I started looking at 8% off MSRP with MF, RV for my zipcode (10016) No incentives. I found cheaper deals on Market place but I’m willing to pay a small premium to get the color I want.

18

I understand you mean here, I am not just putting in the figure they gave me.My independent target rate was a little lower but so I may try to negotiate with them a little more. I haven’t placed any hold or signed anything yet

19

Rent Charge (The amount charged in addition to the depreciation and any amortized amounts)

20

The rent charge is the output. The MF is one of the inputs. That input is a no for me, but you do you.