Recently, I started noticing a few Dodge Challengers popping out on the street. I must admit, they do look good from the outside, but I don’t care for the fact that Chrysler decided to scrap the interior of the prototype and went with a cheesy clone of other Chrysler cars. I’m sure the decision has a lot to do with cost cutting, nevertheless, the car itself is an icon and a very nostalgia-inspiring one at that. I won’t lie to you, I was waiting for it this year but the stars didn’t align properly and I ended up with the G37 instead. Which in retrospect, was probably the better deal for me. Anyway, I don’t have the lease rates for the Challenge if that’s what you are looking for. If you are new to the leasing world, you probably should know that Chrysler Corp no longer leases cars. Therefore, the only way you can lease a Chrysler is to go with an independent bank. That’s where Leasecompare.com comes in. I do have a bone to pick with them though. A few months ago, their quotes would display the residual value and money factor used on their payment estimates, not so much now. If you check out their quotes, you’ll notice that the residual values have been removed and they only provide the money factor, terms and monthly payments. Not a big deal since most of us know how to do a little Algebra to figure out what the residual value is. Here is what I found through Leasecompare.com:

2009 Dodge Challenger R/T
MSRP $29,995
Invoice $27,843
36 Month – Residual 46% of MSRP – .00286 Base Rate

Actually, the residual is more like 46.5%, but close enough. So what kind of monthly payments are we looking at here?
At MSRP, you are looking at around $573 a month + tax and fees. At invoice, you are looking at somewhere in the $507 + tax and fees. The .00286 money factor effectively comes out to be about 6.864% which is not exactly the best thing out there. What’s the verdict? Well I obviously wouldn’t lease a car that has such a poor residual value and high money factor. However, I think it may be possible to get enough discounts on the sale price to offset most of the interest and the poor residual value. After all, I don’t think these cars are exactly flying off the lots right now. Remember though, you don’t want to lease anything that goes beyond the car’s standard warranty.

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