To the regulars on this site it is not misleading however to the target audience it certainly can be. I am not in any way saying that is the intent. All I am saying is we should apply the same standard across the board that we apply to brokers. Have whatever drive offs you want just list them upfront in the title so people can compare deals like for like.
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Thank you! To be clear I love this site and you all have done some amazing things! The new RV and MF feature is killer! This is precisely why I feel so passionate about this, because I love this site!
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Thanks for the feedback all!
There seems to be two separate issues being discussed here: 1) disclosure of the amount due at signing, and 2) how the deal is structured and the resulting drive-off amount.
For the first issue, we are trying to be as transparent as possible, which is why we provide a Leasehackr Calculator breakdown for each model and trim, with and without MSD (if applicable), along with a sample deal showing the breakdown of the drive-off amount assuming a particular registration location.
To make things even more clear, we’ve updated all banners to specify the bank fee and doc fee amounts, in addition to the existing list of drive-off items that vary based on the state and county in which the vehicle is registered. We also moved the sample deal sheets that provide one example of the drive-off amount to the top so consumers understand what is due at signing.
We also added new language to encourage readers to customize their quote using the Calculator links. While we would love to further dig into the nitty-gritty about the implications of each Calculator input in the post, please keep in mind that a lot of our front page readers are not as savvy as the forum users here. The more we write, the less people read unfortunately, and the more confusion it seems to create (a TL;DR paradox).
As for how the deal is structured, paying drive-offs upfront with no CCR seems to be the prevailing method here on LH. To my California eyes, the Northeast drive-offs do seem high because sales taxes are paid upfront (ends up being nearly $1,700 on the most expensive vehicle), rather than being paid monthly, but that reflects how states levy taxes there.
As to the separate issue of standardizing how deals are structured on the Marketplace, everyone has their own preference and the common practice definitely varies by region. As long as the ads are transparent, all costs are disclosed, and the information is easy to find, I believe we do not need to mandate one way of structuring a deal over another.
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Taxes can always be rolled into monthly, i.e. any deal can be presented as only first month DAS.
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Would a simple solution be to add “total lease cost”? Though I realize this can vary if you’re rolling in the taxes and fees and thus paying interest on them.
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Total lease cost is already on the Calculator …
As OP is about ads on the forum, as is my comment.
This is just the 1% rule of the Internet at work, doing its usual thing. I wouldn’t so much split it up as FrontPage vs Forum, but as Lurker vs Contributor.
What has happened, is now the Leasehackr Staff is trying to be the broker, which gives them direct exposure to doing business with the people that have been reading their content all along. This is a much wider audience than “just the people that have accounts”, which was previously the limit of the LH Staff’s reach.
You see a completely different side of people, when money and their ride is involved, versus people posting under a screenname as a hobby.
It’s exciting to see the LH staff branch out beyond administering the forum and moderating car deal discussions. This discussion is a great example of how those two things can be at odds with each other: running a car leasing forum, and brokering car lease deals yourself.
Spoiler alert: The data shows that Lower Numbers in Car Ads translates to more clicks and more units moved.
An “armchair warrior” will always tell you to put $0 down on a lease. The Internet loves to parrot advice in absolutes like that. In theory, it’s easy to get behind the idea that everything should be advertised with just first payment due at signing.
But, as a seller, you’ll notice that everone else’s ads (radio/tv/newspaper/online/etc) aren’t so transparent. So every seller is pulled into this paradox. You have to take a hit on leads and conversions if you want to have the most transaprent price, in a market where everyone else’s price is less transparent, albeit showing lower.
Now, LeaseHackr itself is in the business of brokering car deals, and earning on volume of car deals fulfilled. With a financial incentive to move metal, Leasehackr will have to make tough decisions regarding ads.
As a broker, Leasehackr.com itself, and the many others that list on it have to choose:
- Maximize transparency (most respect from existing community members)
-VS- - Minimize Advertised Payment (most clicks, leads, sales, discovery, & growth).
Seriously, all the information is literally spelled out.
Most people just look at the monthly payment and in order to show lowest payment and to stay competitive advertising here is done with max MSD applied, all inception fees upfront, all rebates & minimum miles/yr.
So $19/mo and only $19,999 down. Got it.
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@Ursus is right. At the very least the deals should be posted with the DAS amount in the title. This is really a no-brainer. Burying any information in the fine print just doesn’t seem to fit what LH stands for.
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Exactly. All I see is ads for these low monthly payments but then you click on the brokers spreadsheet or LH calculator and it includes full MSDS with like $4k in drive offs. It makes searching for a good deal on here so hard to do.