Residual

May 2008 Lease Rates for Audi A4 Quattro

Published by G

36mo/12k – residual 54% (55% with Audicare) – money factor .00027

My Take: The residual stinks, but the finance charge is approximately $10 a month, so it offsets the low residual value of the vehicle. The 2.0T is great in the FWD models. Its fast, responsive and 100 times better than the 1.8T. It gets fairly decent fuel economy for a Turbo. However, the AWD adds significant weight to the vehicle, so the question is, can the 200hp 2.0 liter Turbo handle it? I know from personal experience that the 1.8T didn’t. The last thing you want to have for 36 months is “the little engine that COULDN’T”.

May 2008 Lease Rate for 08 Cadillac Escalade

Published by G

36mo/12k – residual 58% – money factor 0.00256
36mo/15k – residual 56% – money factor 0.00256

* $850 lease cash.
** $1,000 if you are current GM customer.
*** Rebates are stackable.

My Take: 6.15% lease rate is good enough to deter me from anything that comes out of GM, even with the cash incentives. The Escalade is the ultimate pimp mobile of the 21st century.  If you dig that, then this is the ride for you. I, on the other hand, don’t want or need a full-size SUV of this magnitude. Plus, I don’t have the income to keep up with this ride’s thirst for gasoline.

May 2008 Lease Rate for 08 BMW X3

Published by G

2008 BMW X3 3.0si 4WD
24 Month – Residual 72% of MSRP – .00250 Base Rate*
36 Month – Residual 62% of MSRP – .00250 Base Rate*
48 Month – Residual 36% of MSRP – .00258 Base Rate
60 Month – Residual 30% of MSRP – .00258 Base Rate

* Current BMW owners and lesses received a .00185 money factor.
** Residuals posted are for 15K miles/year. Add 2% to Residual for 12k mi/yr and 3% for 10k mi/yr on all terms.
*** Rates provided by Tarry Shebesta from Leasecompare.com

My Take: Never liked this SUV from the moment it was introduced. It looks like they just chopped the 3-series in half, added cargo space and raised it a few inches. Whatever floats your boat I guess. The rate is rather lame if you are not a current BMW customer. I guess loyalty really goes a long way in terms of saving money.

And by the way, to all mother’s in the world:

HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY

Now go get your husband (maybe even your kids) and have him lease you a new car, because gosh darn it, you deserve it!!!!

May 2008 Lease Rate for 08 Pontiac G8 GT: My Last Quote

Published by G

Indulge me with a quick rant for a minute. I have given up on GM in terms of leasing. Sure, if you want to BUY one, I think the price is amazingly low for such a well-built, equipped and powerful vehicle. It’s probably the best price I’ve seen for a sedan packing 330+ horses. It seems that G8 GT’s are released in very limited quantities, which somewhat explains the hefty finance charge. Bottom line is if GM believes in the quality of their cars, they should try harder with their lease programs. If they don’t even want their cars back in 36 months, why would I even want to buy one to begin with? The thing about lessing is that automakers will always get a steady group of people every month. When people’s leases terminate, they will be looking to get into a new ride. Make good cars (which they are trying to), promote good lease programs and they’ll have customers month in and month out. Then MAYBE they won’t lose 3.3 BILLION dollars every quarter.

Without further delay, here are the May 2008 numbers for the Pontiac G8 GT:

Options include:
– Premium Package
– All-Season Blackwall Tires

MSRP $31,395
Invoice $29,693
Selling Price $29,955 (this includes a $500 rebate for non-GM owners. You can get another $500 if you are a current GM owner)

Essentially, we’re looking at a $262 over invoice price if you are a non-GM owner and $238 under invoice for GM owners.

36mo/10k – residual 56% – lease rate 5.5% (MF .00229)
36mo/12k – residual 54% – lease rate 5.5% (MF .00229)

Whatever the drive-off is, the deal killer right now is the money factor more so than the crummy residual value. Quick payment calculation here for the 36mo/12k lease.

Depreciation charge is about $361
Finance charge is about $107
Subtotal $468
Total with sales tax (8.25%) $507

And you would still have to pay the drive-off of 1st month payment, bank fee, doc fee, tags, etc…which is easily over $1000 dollars.

My Take: Love the car, even before driving it. Just looking at the specs makes you say “wow”. Problem is, when you look at the lease rates and residuals and your reaction is “DOH!”. Despite that, this is still a fine car. As stated by Jim Hall from Road and Track, “…the new Pontiac G8 GT shines in many areas — outright speed, good fuel economy for its big V-8, easy-on-the-eyes inside and out, nice cabin materials and comfort, and that huge back seat. Factor in price and it is, essentially, in a class by itself. Nice.” Couldn’t have said it better myself.

May 2008 Lease Rate for 08 Audi A4 Cabriolet

Published by G

Audi A4 2.0T Cabriolet Quattro (Geez, long enough name you think?)

36mo/12k miles/yr – residual 55% – money factor .00048

My Take: It took me some time to “warm up” to the redesigned A4 in general. I preferred the 2002 model style, but really hated the 1.8T engine because the coil packs were prone to “blow” and the engine was far too underpowered for an AWD sedan of that size. In any case, the current model has slowly grown on me. The front grill still looks like my goldfish’s mouth during feeding time, but the peppy 2.0T engine makes up for it by providing you with very little turbo lag and getting better gas mileage than the 1.8T. The residual and money factor is looking pretty darn good right now, so if you want to lease a convertible to get ready for the summer, this is not a bad choice.

May 2008 Lease Rates for BMW 5-Series

Published by G

2008 BMW 528i Sedan
24 Month – Residual 67% of MSRP – .00230 Base Rate
36 Month – Residual 55% of MSRP – .00230 Base Rate
48 Month – Residual 37% of MSRP – .00258 Base Rate
60 Month – Residual 30% of MSRP – .00258 Base Rate

2008 BMW 528xi Sedan
24 Month – Residual 66% of MSRP – .00230 Base Rate
36 Month – Residual 55% of MSRP – .00230 Base Rate
48 Month – Residual 36% of MSRP – .00258 Base Rate
60 Month – Residual 29% of MSRP – .00258 Base Rate

2008 BMW 535i Sedan
24 Month – Residual 66% of MSRP – .00210 Base Rate
36 Month – Residual 55% of MSRP – .00210 Base Rate
48 Month – Residual 37% of MSRP – .00258 Base Rate
60 Month – Residual 30% of MSRP – .00258 Base Rate

2008 BMW 535xi Sedan
24 Month – Residual 65% of MSRP – .00210 Base Rate
36 Month – Residual 55% of MSRP – .00210 Base Rate
48 Month – Residual 36% of MSRP – .00258 Base Rate
60 Month – Residual 29% of MSRP – .00258 Base Rate

2008 BMW 535xi Wagon
24 Month – Residual 65% of MSRP – .00210 Base Rate
36 Month – Residual 55% of MSRP – .00210 Base Rate
48 Month – Residual 31% of MSRP – .00258 Base Rate
60 Month – Residual 25% of MSRP – .00258 Base Rate

2008 BMW 550i Sedan
24 Month – Residual 65% of MSRP – .00230 Base Rate
36 Month – Residual 55% of MSRP – .00230 Base Rate
48 Month – Residual 31% of MSRP – .00258 Base Rate
60 Month – Residual 24% of MSRP – .00258 Base Rate

2008 BMW M5 Sedan
24 Month – Residual 68% of MSRP – .00258 Base Rate
36 Month – Residual 55% of MSRP – .00258 Base Rate
48 Month – Residual 37% of MSRP – .00258 Base Rate
60 Month – Residual 28% of MSRP – .00258 Base Rate

* Residuals posted are for 15K miles/year. Add 2% to Residual for 12k mi/yr and 3% for 10k mi/yr on all terms.
** Rates provided by Tarry Shebesta from Leasecompare.com

My Take: This is actually my favorite BMW sedan (no I don’t really like the new 3-series or even the 7-series). In terms of styling, its perfectly balanced, looks good enough for Honda to clone it on its Accord sedan, so it’s definitely got something people like. The rates are a bit high while the residual value is rather low. There definitely isn’t any lease assistance going on this month.

May 2008 Lease Rate for 08 Audi A5

Published by G

36mo/12k miles/yr – residual 55% – money factor .00236
39mo/12k miles/yr – residual 52% – money factor .00236
48mo/12k miles/yr – residual 44% – money factor .00256

My Thoughts: This car looks way better than the 3-series coupes in my opinion. Aggressive styling yet elegant. I wouldn’t mind getting my hands on that ride, but the rates, goodness…At this point even the residual is all speculation, so if I were a lessee, I would wait a few years for this model to “settle-down” at bit. Early adopters usually get shafted because Audi knows you will pay the price for this new toy.

May 2008 Lease Rate for 08 Infiniti G35/G37

Published by G

2008 Infiniti G35 Journey Sedan
24 Month/12k miles/yr – Residual 70% of MSRP – .00126 Base Rate
36 Month/12k miles/yr – Residual 60% of MSRP – .00150 Base Rate

2008 Infiniti G35 Sport Sedan
24 Month/12k miles/yr – Residual 69% of MSRP – .00126 Base Rate
36 Month/12k miles/yr – Residual 59% of MSRP – .00150 Base Rate

2008 Infiniti G35 X Sedan
24 Month/12k miles/yr – Residual 71% of MSRP – .00131 Base Rate
36 Month/12k miles/yr – Residual 61% of MSRP – .00150 Base Rate

2008 Infiniti G37 Coupe
24 Month/12k miles/yr – Residual 74% of MSRP – .00184 Base Rate
36 Month/12k miles/yr – Residual 63% of MSRP – .00192 Base Rate

2008 Infiniti G37 Journey Coupe
24 Month/12k miles/yr – Residual 72% of MSRP – .00184 Base Rate
36 Month/12k miles/yr – Residual 62% of MSRP – .00192 Base Rate

2008 Infiniti G37 Sport Coupe
24 Month/12k miles/yr – Residual 74% of MSRP – .00184 Base Rate
36 Month/12k miles/yr – Residual 63% of MSRP – .00192 Base Rate

Here are more rates (added 5/12/08):

G37 Base
39mo/15k – money factor 0.00190 – residual 61% .Base Rate

You should be able to estimate the residuals for the G35/G37 journey and sport (+/- 1% or 2%) by looking at the other numbers posted.

My Thoughts: The rates have dropped a tiny bit compared to last month. The problem is that the residuals have dropped some as well. Overall, payments should be around $10 less than last month. So things are definitely getting cheaper, the question is, is it going to get cheaper next month?