What’s Going On – April 2011

Published 2011/04/052011/04/14 by G

Last Friday, I became a first-time homeowner! Woo Hoo! That’s been the biggest reason why I’ve been completely out-of-it in the past month. Unfortunately, I am in fixing-n-packing mode this month, so I have to continue keeping my comments short. I will continue to do what I can and drop a few lines here and there to help out. Lease rates should also be coming in the next couple days. I have already sent out request for some numbers and will focus in finding some numbers for you all in the coming weeks. Your patience is appreciated.

Working with the house this past weekend has opened my eyes to how inconvenient having a coupe really is. Hauling things from Home Depot or Lowe’s has been next to impossible (unless its just a few paint cans and brushes) so it has really been causing a lot of confusion as to what I want to be driving next. Clearly, the visits to home improvement stores won’t be stopping any time soon, therefore, I feel the need to get into something more practical this time around.

To recap, (Replacing the G – Party 2) I have been”casually” shopping for my next ride since November. I test drove a handful of cars/suvs and got a good feel for what I wanted next. However, this home ownership business has really thrown a curve ball at me recently. Not only do I have a strict budget to adhere to, but I also have to factor in operational costs ( gas has been creeping up into the $4+ territory. Yickes!). Just last night, I was at Costco and it cost me $67 to fill up 16 gallons on the G. CRAZY. Doing that 3-4 times a week has me feeling like my wallet has lost some of that plumpness!

In any case, due to these circumstances, I decided to trim down my list even further by narrowing it down to the following cars.

Hyundai Sonata Turbo SE
Hyundai Sonata Turbo Limited
Subaru Forester X
Subaru Forester XT
Acura TSX
Audi A3 Premium
VW GTI
VW Tiguan S
Honda Pilot LX 4WD

At the moment, I find myself leaning towards leasing the Sonata Turbo SE with the Nav/Sunroof package. It provides me with the best equipped vehicle and the lowest payment. It lacks the practicality of having that “5th door”, but it’s easy on the pocketbook. I’m also toying with the idea of getting a GTI or going all out and getting the Pilot. Tough decisions to be made in the coming months! I have about 4 months and three payments left on my G37, so the hunt for my next ride will be shifting into high gear really soon!

So which car did you think I will be driving in a few months? Care to guess?

2011 Audi Lease Rates – March 2011

Published 2011/03/082011/03/10 by G

Bummer, my likelihood of ending up with a A3 is slowly diminishing due to poor residual values. I feel for Audi because I can’t see how you can drop a 0.0009 anymore before offering rebates to offset the dropping residuals. Oh well, hope the GTI does better in the coming months. On another note, I think the TDI model shows promise. The discounts seems pretty good, but the MF is a bit high. I would probably recommend MSDs if you are interested in the A3 TDI.

For the most part, the lease rate changes for Audi’s is pretty much as expected. Residuals dropped by about 1% and the bank dropped the money factor to compensate. Nothing too surprising there.

Here is a sample calculation based on TrueCar’s Southern California sale price and do not include local taxes. Please note that your dealer calculations may vary due to local fees/taxes.

2011 Audi A3 S-tronic Frontrak Premium
MSRP – $29,625
Sale Price – $27,120
Monthly – $329+ tax
RWG Rating – 89.7

For Dealer Quotes, Click Here.

This month’s lease rates have been brought to you by LeaseCompare.

Current LeaseCompare promotions:

2011 Audi A3 Lease Fleet Incentive: $1,000
2011 Audi A4 Lease Fleet Incentive: $1,000
2011 Audi A5 Lease Fleet Incentive: $ 500
2011 Audi A6 Lease Fleet Incentive: $2,000
2011 Audi A8 Lease Fleet Incentive: $1,000
2011 Audi S4 Lease Fleet Incentive: $1,000
2011 Audi S6 Lease Fleet Incentive: $2,000
2011 Audi Q5 Lease Fleet Incentive: $ 500
2011 Audi Q7 Lease Fleet Incentive: $1,500
2011 Audi TT Lease Fleet Incentive: $1,000

Owner loyalty incentives may also apply.

Monthly Round-Up : February 2011

Published 2011/02/232011/02/23 by G

Lease rates didn’t change much from last month, but sale prices dropped for most vehicles, which makes February a slightly better month than January. The were a few exceptions, such as in Honda’s case. Honda sales prices in the Southern California region seems to have gone up a bit, making the leases slightly more costly than back in December and January. You will see in the chart that certain Honda’s RWG rating have dropped slightly, but overall, still a very good lease compared to other brands and models.

I have been suggested to perhaps breakdown the Round-Up by class, which I think is a good idea. I will try to spend some time next month reorganize the list and rank the leases by class. In the mean time, enjoy February’s Round-Up!

For Dealer Quotes, Click Here.

Ground Rules

Participating vehicles will be based on the lease rates gathered on this website during the corresponding month.
36-month/15k lease terms will used for all calculations unless a better term is available.
A $1500 drive-off fee is assumed for all cars. Since fees and taxes vary from region to region, your drive-off may vary.
Sale Price estimates will be based on Truecar.com sales data in the Southern California region, so your numbers may vary.
All estimates assume you qualify for the base rate. A minimum FICO® Score of 700 may be required.
Sales taxes are not included since different states handle taxes differently. Please refer to “Understanding Sales Tax” to learn how taxes affect your monthly payments.
The rating system used is based on RIDE with G’s Lease Calculator. The closer you are to the 100 rating, the better the deal. Anything exceeding a 100 rating is phenomenal.

Top Ten Finalists

click to view chart

First – 2011 Nissan Sentra SR (116.1)

Seems like the Civic and the Sentra have been trading places these last few months, so no surprise here. The Sentra is a better deal as a purchase right now since there are some rebates that aren’t available to leases.

Second – 2011 Mazda3s Hatchback (114.5)

Sometimes I wish I could get my hands on Mazda numbers more consistently. If I did, we would see a 3-way competition between Mazda, Nissan and Honda to see which dominates the Monthly Round-Up.

Third – 2011 Honda Civic LX Sedan (114.4)

Numbers took a dive this month because sale prices have gone up. Further proof that you can’t just rely on residual and money factors alone.

Fourth – 2011 Nissan Altima S Sedan (104.1)

Since the Accord isn’t looking as good this month due to a higher sale price, the Altima makes for a good substitute.

Fifth – 2011 Infiniti G37 Sport Coupe (103.2)

If you are shopping for luxury sport coupes and don’t want to spend much money, this is your ride.

Sixth – 2011 Infiniti G37 Sport Sedan (103.0)

Do you see a pattern? This is the most bang for the buck when it comes to luxury sport sedans.

Seventh – 2011 Honda Accord CrossTour EX (101.4)

Car is getting discounted quite a bit this month. Surprising for a 2011 model.

Eighth – 2011 Infiniti G25 Journey Sedan (100.7)

A sensible choice for those seeking reasonable fuel economy and performance.

Ninth – 2011 Infiniti M37 AWD (98.2)

If I am ever willing to pay upwards of $500+ a month, this would be the ride I’d get.

Tenth – 2011 Honda Accord LX Sedan (97.5)

Dropped quite a bit, but mainly due to a higher sale. Nothing extra haggling with your dealer can’t fix.

Missing the Cut (Honorable Mentions)

2011 Mercedes-Benz C300 Sport (97.3)
2011 Honda CRV LX AWD (97.2)
2011 Nissan Maxima S (96.4)
2011 Nissan Rogue S AWD (95.3)
2011 Nissan Versa S HB (95.2)
2011 Hyundai Sonata SE Turbo (94.7)
2011 VW CC Sport (92.7)
2011 Ford Edge SEL AWD (92.0)
2011 VW Tiguan S 4motion (91.9)
2011 Acura TSX (91.7)
2011 Acura TL (91.4)
2011 Volvo S60 T-6 (91.4)
2011 Lexus IS250 (91.3)
2011 Infiniti FX35 AWD (90.9)
2011 Mazda CX-9 Touring (90.7)
2011 Subaru Legacy 3.6R Premium (90.5)
2011 Audi A3 Premium (90.5)
2011 BMW 135i (90.0)

Parting Shots

If you didn’t notice, the bulk of the Top Ten List are Nissan made. This says a lot since the days of German cars being “great leases” is officially over. Nowadays, they are just good, not great. With BMW and Audi looking disinterested in providing any sort of “deal” to consumers.

On another note, I didn’t think I would see the day when a Volvo would “Miss the Cut”, but that day has arrived in the form of a S60 T6, which is on clearance due to the incoming 2012 model.

Lastly, many models received a price bump so payments may have gone up (or down) slightly. However, the overall feeling I am getting is that February is still a slightly better month than January. Expect bigger changes in March.

2011 Audi Lease Rates – February 2011

Published 2011/02/142011/02/23 by G

Happy Valentines Day everyone! Audi hasn’t changed their lease rates either, so if you were using last months numbers to calculate your payments, your estimates should still be the same.
Like I said last month, I’m still liking the A3. The money factor is just so low, it’s almost an interest-free loan. The sale prices have come down in my area (9% off MSRP), so even though the lease rates remain the same, the deal has improved compared to January. LeaseCompare is still providing a lost of fleet discounts, so if you can’t find a good deal on an Audi, you might want to give them a shot.

Here is a sample calculation based on TrueCar’s Southern California sale price and do not include local taxes. Please note that your dealer calculations may vary due to local fees/taxes.

2011 Audi A3 S-tronic Frontrak Premium
MSRP – $28,145
Sale Price – $25,721
Monthly – $307+ tax
RWG Rating – 90.8

For Dealer Quotes, Click Here.

This month’s lease rates have been brought to you by LeaseCompare.

Current LeaseCompare promotions:

Owner loyalty incentives may also apply.

2011 Audi Lease Rates – January 2011

Published 2011/01/282011/01/28 by G

I’m still digging the A3 this month, although the payments will probably run a bit higher now since the residual value has dropped by 1% and the MF has gone from 0.00016 to 0.00018. Another issue is that Audis do not enjoy very big discounts compared to MB, Infiniti or Acura. As a result, the payments here will probably run a bit higher than comparable models. Granted, there aren’t many cars out there that compare to Audi’s A3, there will be a lot more that will give the A4, A5 and even the Q5, a run for their money. Overall, I starting to feel like Audi’s lease programs stink. Let us hope they throw some cash out there in the coming months.

Here is a sample calculation based on TrueCar’s Southern California sale price and do not include local taxes. Please note that your dealer calculations may vary due to local fees/taxes.

2011 Audi A3 S-tronic Frontrak Premium
MSRP – $29,625
Sale Price – $27,220
Monthly – $327+ tax
RWG Rating – 89.95

For Dealer Quotes, Click Here.

This month’s lease rates have been brought to you by LeaseCompare.

Current LeaseCompare promotions:

Owner loyalty incentives may also apply.

Monthly Round-Up: January 2011

Published 2011/01/242011/01/24 by G

As you can see, the month of January is not as good as last December. Payments on cars in the Top Top list jumped anywhere from $20 to $50 per month, which translates to thousands of dollars over the life of the loan. The good news is that the Civic tops this month’s list for the third time in the last seven months. Impressive. Even more impressive is that fact that Honda and Nissan pretty much dominate this month’s Round-Up. As you all know, I highly recommend Hondas if you are a first time lessee. Their lease program is straight forward and economical compared to other brands. GAP coverage, damage waiver and no disposition fee simple blows the competition away.

For Dealer Quotes, Click Here.

Ground Rules

Participating vehicles will be based on the lease rates gathered on this website during the corresponding month.
36-month/15k lease terms will used for all calculations unless a better term is available.
A $1500 drive-off fee is assumed for all cars. Since fees and taxes vary from region to region, your drive-off may vary.
Sale Price estimates will be based on Truecar.com sales data in the Southern California region, so your numbers may vary.
All estimates assume you qualify for the base rate. A minimum FICO® Score of 700 may be required.
Sales taxes are not included since different states handle taxes differently. Please refer to “Understanding Sales Tax” to learn how taxes affect your monthly payments.
The rating system used is based on RIDE with G’s Lease Calculator. The closer you are to the 100 rating, the better the deal. Anything exceeding a 100 rating is phenomenal.

Top Ten Finalists

click to view chart

First – 2011 Honda Civic LX (116.9)

Not as good as last month, but still reasonable enough for what you are getting.

Second – 2011 Nissan Sentra S (111.0)

The customer cash is still there, but it’s not available for leasing. Therefore, not as good of a deal. If you buy cash or using third party bank to finance, you should be able to tap into that rebate.

Third – 2011 Honda Accord LX Sedan (102.9)

I’m actually warming up to the mid-cycle refresh of the Accord. It gives it a “classier” look in my opinion, although the back look a little too much like the Hyundai Azera.

Fourth – 2011 Infiniti G37 Sport Sedan (102.9)

Technically tied the Accord for Third, but since the G37 is a manual and a bit harder to find, it gets penalized a little bit.

Fifth – 2011 Honda Accord Crosstour EX (101.4)

Not a bad ride for the amount of cash you pay, but not the kind of car I’d like on my drive way. It’s like a failed case study on how to clone the BMW X6.

Sixth – 2011 Infiniti G25 Sedan (100.8)

Seems like a lot of folks are warming up to the entry-level G sedan. With lease numbers like this, I can’t say I blame them.

Seventh – 2011 Nissan Altima S (100.5)

For this price range, I would rather have the Accord. However, I cannot deny that this is still one heck of a deal.

Eighth – 2011 Honda CR-V LX AWD (100.3)

Good deal if you are looking for a crossover. I’m still waiting on Honda to introduce a V6 version of the CR-V. Until that happens, I probably won’t consider leasing one.

Ninth – 2011 Nissan Maxima S (100.2)

Most of you will probably opt for the SV, which will cost you more. But if you manage to find some S on the lot, you should be able to cut a pretty good deal on them.

Tenth – 2011 Infiniti M37 (98.8)

I got three words for you: One. Sweet. Ride.

Missing the Cut (90+ rating)

2011 Hyundai Sonata 2.0T SE (93.1)
2011 Honda Odyssey LX (95.4)
2011 Infiniti FX35 (97.4)
2011 Acura TL (98.3)
2011 Mazda3 i Sport (96.0)
2011 Mazda CX-9 GT (97.4)
2011 Mercedez-Benz C300 Sport (90.9)
2011 Lexus IS250 (90.3)
2011 Audi A3 (90.0)
2011 VW Tiguan S (91.0)
2011 VW CC R-Line (90.2)

Parting Shots

As stated before, not the best time to lease a car, but certainly not the worst. Probably better than the past few Januaries I’ve seen and comparable to last November in most cases. I’d would like to see more VWs, Hyundais and Acuras on the Top Ten though. Nissan and Honda have been dominating the list these past couple months, while BMW didn’t even get close to Missing the Cut. A little more variety would be great.

Monthly Round-Up: December 2010

Published 2010/12/182010/12/19 by G

As this year comes to a close, here is this year’s last Round-Up. There have been noticeable changes to the rankings, with the C300, ML350 and the CLS550 getting tossed out of the top-10 list and being substituted by cars such as the Mazda6 and the Acura ZDX, to name a few. This is mainly due to a higher sale price, so if you managed to get in on last month’s excellent MB leases, congratulations. Even though many of the lease rates carried over from November, some of the sale prices have changed, which resulted in a large number of cars jumping into the “Missing the Cut” group. There’s still plenty of time to cut deals right now, so make sure to take advantage of it. Most lease rates will stay the same through January 3rd, giving you a few extra days to get in on those last minute deals. January is notorious for being a bad leasing month, so I don’t recommend waiting.

Please enjoy my last post of the year. I am essentially done collecting lease rates for the rest of the month, so my apologies if I didn’t get the numbers you were looking for. Don’t forget to use my lease calculator during your negotiations. It’s rating system is a very good tool and there’s nothing else like it out there. Plus, It does a fairly accurate job at predicting how good a deal is, so take advantage of it.

With that said…HAPPY HOLIDAYS, MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR! And if you missed out on a new ride this year, there’s always next year!

For Dealer Quotes, Click Here.

Ground Rules

Participating vehicles will be based on the lease rates gathered on this website during the corresponding month.
36-month/15k lease terms will used for all calculations unless a better term is available.
A $1500 drive-off fee is assumed for all cars. Since fees and taxes vary from region to region, your drive-off may vary.
Sale Price estimates will be based on Truecar.com sales data in the Southern California region, so your numbers may vary.
All estimates assume you qualify for the base rate. A minimum FICO® Score of 700 may be required.
Sales taxes are not included since different states handle taxes differently. Please refer to “Understanding Sales Tax” to learn how taxes affect your monthly payments.
The rating system used is based on RIDE with G’s Lease Calculator. The closer you are to the 100 rating, the better the deal. Anything exceeding a 100 rating is phenomenal.

Top Ten Finalists

click to view chart

First – 2011 Nissan Sentra S (136.7)

There has been a big buzz surrounding the Sentra’s lease program this month. Regardless of whether the cash rebate is applicable to leases or not, you can’t deny how great the rates are on this econobox.

Second – 2011 Honda Civic LX Sedan (131.3)

Just like the Sentra, the Civic is a red-hot lease right now too. I think the design and styling is a bit aged, but certainly a step up from the Sentra. The car costs a bit more (than the Sentra), but it’s still a smoking good deal.

Third – 2011 Honda Accord LX Sedan (119.4)

The mid-cycle refresh of the Accord makes it slightly more bearable, but I think the low monthly payments should keep most lessees happy since it doesn’t really burn a hole in your wallet to drive one of these well-built rides.

Fourth – 2010 Honda Accord CrossTour EX (118.3)

Honda is still trying to move the CrossTour this month. Lowest price I’ve seen is several hundreds less than last month, this means lower monthly payments because the lease rates haven’t change since last month.

Fifth – 2011 Nissan Altima S Sedan (114.2)

The Altima, like the Accord, are pretty good deals this month. However, I would recommend going with the Accord since Honda has a better lease program and costs about $500 less to lease over a three-year period.

Sixth – 2011 Honda CR-V LX AWD (110.8)

I made the mistake of not including this ride on last month’s top-10 list. This is an excellent lease on one of the most popular crossovers around. The only issue I have with the CR-V is it’s engine. I can’t believe there isn’t a V6 option! Honda, wake up!

Seventh – 2010 Infiniti G37 Coupe Sport (107.6)

I’m am almost getting tired of listing the G37 Coupe Sport. Month in and month out, this ride is pretty much the sports coupe to get. If you are looking for a luxury coupe, look nowhere else.

Eighth – 2011 Mazda6 s Touring (105.0)

I think this is probably a better option than the Sonata if you are an enthusiast. In terms of driving dynamics, very few non-luxury brands can top Mazda. They don’t repetitively remind you of their “zoom-zoom” capabilities for nothing. This is a solid ride at a very good price.

Ninth – 2011 Nissan Maxima SV Premium (105.1)

Nissan seems to be back at it with the Maxima. Last summer and fall, we saw some insane deals on the Maxima, fully loaded! Right now, you are looking about the same thing. If you want a reasonable payment, four-doors, V6 power and lots of goodies, this is your car.

Tenth – 2010 Acura ZDX (99.5)

Acura didn’t do much in terms of lease rates, but it seems some dealers are becoming rather eager to unload remaining 2010 inventory. Once 2010 rolls around, this would technically be considered an “old-new” car. Which will probably be hard to lease. I think its a fine deal if you are into the whole “Crossover Coupe” thing.

Missing the Cut (90+ rating)

2011 Infiniti G37 Sedan (99.5)
2011 Infiniti G25 Sedan (98.4)
2011 Acura TL (97.3)
2011 Hyundai Sonata Limited (95.7)
2011 Mercedes-Benz ML350 (95.3)
2011 Infiniti FX35 (94.3)
2011 Honda Odyssey LX (93.7)
2011 Nissan Rogue SV AWD (93.7)
2011 Mercedes-Benz CLS550 (93.0)
2010 Acura TSX (92.7)
2011 Mercedes-Benz C300 Sport (92.0)
2011 Lexus RX350 (91.7)
2011 Audi A3 (91.7)
2011 Hyundai Genesis V6 (91.2)
2011 Infiniti M37 (90.8)
2011 Hyndai Genesis 2.0T (90.5)

Parting Shots

This month’s best brand to lease is Honda/Acura. Their holiday lease programs are top notch and deserve a look (if you can past the old-fashion styling). Honda does need to “rework” their style a bit, but they still build some solid cars that are practical and easy to live with. Nissan/Infiniti have excellent offerings as well, as does Hyundai and Mercedes-Benz. Audi didn’t bring much to the leasing world this year (with the exception of the A3) and neither did VW for some odd reason. Anyway, I hope next year we get some American cars with great lease programs, that would be refreshing to see.

2011 Audi Lease Rates – December 2010

Published 2010/12/072010/12/07 by G

My Take: Like BMW, Audi has carried over November’s lease rates into December. This bodes well for us since last month’s numbers were actually pretty good for most models. I think the A3s lease best right now since they enjoy very low money factors and one of the highest residuals in the entire Audi line up. Last month, LeaseCompare (the sponsor of all my Audi posts) was providing fleet discounts ranging from $1000 to $2000 on select models. I don’t see why they wouldn’t do this again this month, so be sure to inquire about that if you opt to lease through LeaseCompare instead of your local dealer.

For a Dealer Quotes, Click Here.

For a LeaseCompare Quote, Click Here.

Lease rates provided by LeaseCompare.com
Audi Incentives from Edmunds.com

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