Truth about infamous "1% rule"

Didn’t realize this 2+ yr old poll is was still open lol… FICTION!!

Yes, I keep it open for all to participate.

The fact that only 6% of us thinks it’s a joke is the reason the urban myth won’t die.

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Right. Though Michael disagrees, but even he still is in the 10% minority :grin:

I can’t even keep count how many people have texted me overtime saying they won’t buy a car unless it fits within the “1% rule” :man_facepalming:

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Immediate block.

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My reply is always shocking to people “You know the 1% rule is just made up and not really a thing; right?”

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1% is more of a guideline than anything, and tax, inceptions inclusive (as in capitalized) at least in Texas it’s not a bad place to start on most cars.

If tax credits are available though all bets are off.

I also think the 1% rule is perhaps not all that useful in absolute terms. But…One would also have to ask themselves, “Do I want to pay more than 1% when there are so many awesome choices out there that will fit this metric no matter how you calculate it? For me personally, I would need a very compelling reason to pursue a car that did not meet this (albeit imperfect) guideline for a mainstream car.

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And what does this “metric” mean if you cannot afford a certain car at even 1%? You go by what you can afford, so if you want a Porsche and can afford it then over 1% will do also.

I’ve been trying to determine a better way of scoring these types of things than the 1% rule or the Leasehackr score. The best I could come up with is dividing the MSRP of the car by the total cost per mile to lease, and the higher the number, the better the deal.

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There are way better “rules” - go by % off MSRP. Searching here will tell one what discount to shoot for on any brand and any trim, loaner or new. That is the real target. Not affected by taxes, dealer fees, etc. Just by local demand.

1% fully capped to me on a 36/12 at least guarantees an 8yr LH score which generally puts you ahead of the curve over purchase unless those incentives are better somehow.

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Well, to me it would mean it was probably at least a decent deal, but that I still couldn’t afford it :grin:

Yes, I agree that is a nice metric as well. But different cars will still have different possibilities here (so we may be back to the same point when trying to use it as a universal metric).

And, in alignment with what was just written above, if I can get 50% off MSRP on a Veyron, it would be the best deal ever recorded here, but I still couldnt afford it😩

Thats what does stink…local tax variances. Our friends in VA, TX, etc will generally have a harder time obtaining what might be a “deal” in other states.

Dealer fees though I think need to be considered as part of the overall “deal” regardless of locale. If a state (like FL) has generally high doc fees ($799 is not uncommon here), all else equal, the room for MSRP discount should be greater.

Yeah…I like this. With 99.999% of cars when leasing, we are basically talking about minimizing our losses since we are dealing with something that depreciates.

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$799 is on the low end… I think $899-$999 is more common.

The mileage variance is always what gets me with the 1% rule (regardless of taxes or FL dealer fees).

Assuming apples to apples, a 15k miles per year lease will always look worse than someone getting the identical car/deal than someone only getting 7.5k miles per year.

(This made sense in my head, re-reading it I’m not 100% sure it is coherent)

Doc fees that high should be criminal. Can you just imagine paying a doc fee of 1K on your average 25K car? Insane.

Sadly yes😩. This means we need to work a tad harder on the MSRP discount.

I think $999 is the cap in FL. I felt like I was getting a bargain when I just got my new car and was pleasantly surprised with the dealer fee “only” being $899.