Lease

What’s Going On – December 2013

Published by G

I know it’s been a while since I posted a new message. Some of you are probably wondering if I went MIA again. It is safe to say that I’m still checking my messages and watching for website activity. If you have questions, feel free to ask them and I will do my best to answer them.

Lately…

I have been in the mist of at least 10 concurrent projects at work, so it’s been tough to sit down and find time to write to you all. I haven’t had much time to car shop either which really sucks because I only have until month end to take care of things. The good news is that I made some progress today by sending off a few quote requests. With that in mind, let’s move into my next topic…

My Holiday Wishlist

So I went to the LA Auto Show last week with the family and spent a solid 3.5 hours there. My little girl tagged along and hung in there like a champ. Unlike past years, I didn’t take any pictures because having a stroller and family members tagging along really makes it tough to take photos. The good news is that there really wasn’t all that much new stuff. For those of you intrigued by the MBZ CLA, I’m sorry to say that I wasn’t all that impressed by it. The interior really disappointed me because it did not scream “Mercedes-Benz”. On the flip-side, I was really impressed by the Audi A3 sedan. Fit and finish was impressive. I can only imagine how the S3 variant drives…*drool*. Unfortunately for me, these cars are just WAY TOO SMALL. Very tight quarters. Maybe I’m just getting old (and large), but it’s not all that easy to get in and out of those cars now. Anyway, going back to the real point, this auto show was really an opportunity for me to check out vehicles on my “lease” list and hopefully get some feedback from the wife. Without any further delay, here’s what I’ve been working towards…

Top Choices (in order)

2014 Chevy Volt (quoted)
2014 Ford Fusion Titanium
2013 Infiniti G37 Journey Sedan (quoted)
2014 VW Passat TDI
2014 Honda Accord EXL V6
2014 Volvo S60 T5 Premium
2013 Lexus CT200h (quoted)
2013 VW GTI Wolfsburg
2014 VW Golf TDI

The hope here is to get a real low payment, most bang for the buck and lowest operating cost (in that order). Fuel efficiency would be nice since the Pilot isn’t exactly a gas-sipper, but not crucial since my commute is only about 10 miles each way.

VOLT Update

In any case, I got an initial offer for the Chevy Volt tonight that looks like this:

MSRP: $35, 156.00
Your Price: $31,156.00

US BANK LEASE
3-years/10,000-miles
Drive-Off: $774.06
Payment: 361.26 (includes sales tax of 9%)
Rate: 0.00091

$500 Costco Cash Card (This promotions is going on for many GM vehicles through early January 2014)

Dealer “forgot” to disclose the residual, but I’m not too worried about it. As I said, it’s an initial offer so I’m just going to bring down the hammer after I test drive the car. No sense getting into the nitty-gritty if I end up disliking the car, right?

Got my hands on it…58.245%, not too shabby. So the key now would be to obtain the full $9000 credits ($7500 FED + $1500 CA) and they can sell the car for MSRP for all I care.

Stay-tuned folks! It’s going to be a busy month of December 🙂

G37 Update

Got a quote for the G37 Journey $811 at signing, $375 a month tax included. 62% / .00084 at 36mo/12k. Looks like there’s a lot more wiggle room.

CT200h Update

Received the quote with no lease rate information, but I was able to estimate the possible numbers…$550 at signing, $395 per month tax included. Based on those payments and the assumption that the residual hasn’t changed much since Oct (61%), I calculated the MF being about .00033. I will get confirmation tomorrow.

S60 T5 Update

VOLVO December numbers are in so check them out! I didn’t get a quote yet, but they look good! I will ask for a quote next week. Check back for an updated.

 

g37main

Trading-In Your Lease

Published by G

Despite being a base model coupe, my ’08 G37 has been by far, the finest vehicle I have ever leased. As I detailed and prepared it for an appraisal last night, I found myself wanting to keep it just a little longer. However, the needs of the family supersede my desire for a “fun-car”, so what needed to be done, had to be done.

This afternoon, I took some time out during my lunch break to get my car appraised at Carmax and to my surprise, I am getting a sizable chunk of change in return. Before I break down the numbers, I would like to point out key reasons as to why I was able to do this.

  1. My car is in pristine condition. Not even a scratch (not since that little bumper incident anyway) and the paint is silky smooth.
  2. I am almost 5,000 miles under my mileage allowance (at 31,000 when I should be at around 36000).
  3. I detailed my car the night before. No, not just a car wash. I mean DETAIL! Every nook and cranny.
  4. I rotate my tires every 6000 miles to wear out the tires evenly.
  5. I still have over 3-months left on my lease.
  6. I suspect that the value of Infinitis has probably gone up a slightly due to disaster in Japan.

Bundle these six reasons together and here’s how the numbers look like:

IFS Payoff Quote: $23,370.20
CarMax Offer:  $24,500.00

Difference: $1129.80

Other than my need to get into a more “practical” car, I felt the urgency to do something because by May 17th I would have to pay my DMV registration again. I wanted to avoid paying a full year’s registration to drive my car another three months, so the most logical choice was to trade it in.

What I am getting into next is still up in the air, but it is nice to know that I can sell this car soon in order to get some nice equity out of it. Further proof that if you take care of your car and don’t put too many miles on it, you can get some money by selling a leased vehicle.

Chrysler Leaving Auto Leasing Business

Published by G

It’s official! Chrysler is no longer leasing cars to the general public. Am I surprised? Not really, their lease rates have been notoriously horrendous because they offer the worse  MF/RV combination you could possibly hope for. Chrysler has relied heavily on cash rebates to move their cars, which explains why they don’t finance leases too well.  I suspect the main reason for this move is due to Chrysler’s inability to resale their lease returns since they make such poor cars. For those who still want to lease Chryslers, you can lease them through private lenders such as Leasecompare.com. At times, they even have better rates than the manufacturer’s captive bank.

Here is a brief insert of the article from Yahoo News.

“DETROIT – Chrysler LLC said Friday its financial arm will get out of the auto leasing business by the end of the month because economic conditions have made leasing more expensive than buying, for both consumers and the company.

The move comes as Chrysler Financial is in the process of renewing a $30 billion credit line with banks amid a startling drop in values for leased trucks and sport utility vehicles that are coming back to automakers as leases end.”

Leasing isn’t supposed to be more expensive than buying. Unfortunately, that is the case with in Chrysler and their horrible rates. What really worries me about the entire thing is that due to the economy, automakers will probably make leasing more expensive, forcing us to buy their vehicles. I hope this is not a trend-setting move by Chrysler because it would spell bad news for those of us that enjoy leasing cars.

Can You Mod a Leased Vehicle?

Published by G

Can You Mod a Leased Vehicle?

The short answer to that question is “YES”. Leasing is like “Rent-To-Own”, so if you decide to make expensive modifications to your leased vehicle and would consider purchasing your car at lease-end (or before that), mod away.

If you decide to return the vehicle at lease-end, you must return the vehicle to “factory condition”. Not to say the dealer will penalize your putting a new intake and exhaust system into your leased vehicle (as long as its installed properly), but they certainly won’t pay you back for all the money you spent modifying it.. The lesson here is to modify with caution and make sure your modifications (if very expensive) can be easily removed without damaging the vehicle.

Does modifying your car automatically void your warranty?

The quick answer is “NO”. However, you need to understand that if your vehicle is damaged due to the modification you made, the manufacturer CAN and WILL (if they can prove the modification was the cause) void your warranty. Again, performance modifications should be down with caution regardless of whether you lease or own.

The safest modifications are typically the “visual” ones, like new rims and tint. Performance modifications can be risky, so only do so if you will consider keeping the car after the lease matures or have the money to make the necessary repairs if something catastrophic happens.

Use common sense when you modify a leased vehicle. I would recommend making sure nothing expensive is “permanent” if you plan on returning the car in the end. Also note that if you do make exterior modifications, do them “tastefully” or there could be some penalties/fees.

Personal Property Tax on Leased Vehicles

Published by G

If you didn’t already know, the following states apply a “Personal Property Tax” on all leased vehicles:

Arkansas, Connecticut, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Missouri, North Carolina, Rhode Island, Texas (haha I always found it funny how when you flip the A and the E in Texas, you get Taxes, LOL), Virginia, West Virginia and Orleans Parish (Louisiana).

Another state that have crummy tax laws is Illinois. I hear they make you pay taxes on the ENTIRE value of the car, not just the depreciation. Talk about unfair.

I always found it hard to find a comprehensive list of states that show how they tax leases. I think it would be a great idea to perhaps start a list. Feel free to chime in with how your states taxes you for your lease.

I know in California, we get taxed for only the depreciation+financing part of our payment on a monthly basis.

Anyone else?

Honda Nationwide Lease Deals. Expires 4/30/08

Published by G

I make it a morning ritual to visit all the car websites I have bookmarked to see what’s going on in the out automotive world. In this case, Autonation is reminding us about the Honda Spring Sales Event, you know, those commercials with the guy that pulls up his truck at a wedding, or while two people are camping, etc…So I quickly browse through the list of “incentives” for the whole entire Honda line up. Some look promising, others not so much. I’ll briefly mention the ones I think are worth “looking” into. Keep a couple of things in mind though, read the fine print. You CAN get better rates, so you CAN get a better deal than advertised. I don’t have the “connections” with Honda dealers, so I won’t be able to provide you with MFs. However, the residuals are fairly easy to figure out when you read the fine print.

2008 Accord Sedan LX Featured Special Lease
$219.00 per month for 36 months. $2,599.00 total due at signing.

2008 Accord Sedan EX Featured Special Lease
$239.00 per month for 36 months. $2,899.00 total due at signing.

2008 Civic Coupe LX Featured Special Lease
$199.00 per month for 36 months. $1,999.00 total due at signing.

2008 Civic Sedan LX Featured Special Lease
$199.00 per month for 36 months. $1,999.00 total due at signing.

2008 Element 2WD LX Featured Special Lease
$189.00 per month for 48 months. $2,399.00 total due at signing.

2008 Odyssey LX Featured Special Lease
$259.00 per month for 36 months. $2,499.00 total due at signing.

2008 Pilot 4WD VP Featured Standard Lease
$279.00 per month for 36 months. $2,999.00 total due at signing.

2008 Ridgeline RT Featured Special Lease
$269.00 per month for 36 months. $1,999.00 total due at signing.

2008 Ridgeline RTX Featured Special Lease
$279.00 per month for 36 months. $1,999.00 total due at signing.

Based on these “general” incentives, I would say that if you can keep the monthly payment the same and keep the drive-off at or below $999, you got yourself a fairly decent deal. Go below that then maybe you should be writing my blog. Haahaa.