No change for April. 2012 RDX is on it’s way out. It will be replaced by a 6-cylinder version that’s more fuel efficient. Overall, I think Acura is struggling with sales, so it’s a good opportunity for you to get a good deal one. TL dealer cash is still the same as last month. RDX gets $1000. TSX has about $500 and ZDX has around $2000.

The RDX looks promising as it hovers just below the 90 RWG rating I normally recommend for leases. It wouldn’t really take much effort on your part to get this lease into the 90+ territory (an additional $100 off the sale price easily gets you into the 90+ RWG territory).

In addition to the RDX, I crunched numbers for the ZDX out of curiosity…this truck is getting $2000 in dealer cash right now. TrueCar is indicating about 10.5% off MSRP in SoCal region. The dealer cost is somewhere around 14.7% (includes the $2000 dealer cash plus holdback). If I were in the market for this truck, I’d shoot for somewhere in between 10.5% and 14.7%. The ZDX has a lot of potential this month.

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.

2012 ACURA RDX AWD BASE
MSRP – $33,780
Sale Price – $30,412 ($1000 dealer cash applied)
Monthly – $374+ tax
RWG Rating – 89.9

2012 ACURA ZDX BASE
MSRP – $46,905
Sale Price – $41,000 ($2000 dealer cash applied + some holdback; about 12.6% off MSRP)
Monthly – $472+ tax
RWG Rating – 96.3

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2012 Acura MDX
36 Month – Residual 54% of MSRP – .00090 Base Rate

2012 Acura MDX TECH
36 Month – Residual 52% of MSRP – .00090 Base Rate

2012 ACURA RDX AWD BASE
36 Month – Residual 55% of MSRP – .00092 Base Rate

2012 Acura RDX AWD TECH
36 Month – Residual 53% of MSRP – .00092 Base Rate

2012 ACURA TSX 4DR SEDAN AT BASE
36 Month – Residual 57% of MSRP – .00064 Base Rate

2012 ACURA TSX 4DR SEDAN AT SPECIAL EDITION
36 Month – Residual 57% of MSRP – .00064 Base Rate

2012 ACURA ZDX BASE
36 Month – Residual 52% of MSRP – .00016 Base Rate

2012 ACURA TL BASE
36 Month – Residual 56% of MSRP – .00114 Base Rate

2012 ACURA TL SH-AWD BASE
36 Month – Residual 54% of MSRP – .00114 Base Rate

Acura residuals dropped through the entire lineup. What’s weird is that Acura didn’t lower the MF on all the models to compensate for the lower residual values. TSX and TL have notable increases in MF. Weird tactic if you ask me. So what gives? Well, the TL base has $1750 in dealer cash and $2000 on the TL with Tech. Sorry, no cash for those looking for the SHAWD models. The TSX gets $500 in dealer cash across all trims and nothing more.

Wondering how these changes make the TL lease look like? Payments are higher because of the loss in residual and higher MF. The good news is that the car is still a very good deal and low-interest special financing is available should you choose to buy the car.

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.

2012 ACURA TL BASE
MSRP – $36,490
Sale Price – $31,667 ($1750 dealer marketing cash applied)
Monthly – $371+ tax
RWG Rating – 95.4

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2012 Acura MDX
36 Month – Residual 54% of MSRP – .00090 Base Rate

2012 Acura MDX TECH
36 Month – Residual 52% of MSRP – .00090 Base Rate

2012 ACURA RDX AWD BASE
36 Month – Residual 55% of MSRP – .00092 Base Rate

2012 Acura RDX AWD TECH
36 Month – Residual 53% of MSRP – .00092 Base Rate

2012 ACURA TSX 4DR SEDAN AT BASE
36 Month – Residual 57% of MSRP – .00064 Base Rate

2012 ACURA TSX 4DR SEDAN AT SPECIAL EDITION
36 Month – Residual 57% of MSRP – .00064 Base Rate

2012 ACURA ZDX BASE
36 Month – Residual 52% of MSRP – .00016 Base Rate

2012 ACURA TL BASE
36 Month – Residual 56% of MSRP – .00114 Base Rate

2012 ACURA TL SH-AWD BASE
36 Month – Residual 54% of MSRP – .00114 Base Rate

Can’t wait to see the NSX and the ILX lease rates. If you haven’t seen the Acura NSX during the Super Bowl, here’s the link to the YouTube video. That was quite amusing. LOL. Anyway, no change on the numbers this month, but sale price on the TL seems to be a bit lower with the $1500 dealer marketing cash that’s available on this car. For those 0.9% financing for up to 36 month or 1.9% for 60 month also available. Looks like Acura is really trying to move the TL. Hopefully the next TL is a lot better looking. I really like Acura lease programs due to the damage-waiver credit and no disposition fees. That’s a whole lot of anxiety and cash saved at lease-end.

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.

2012 ACURA TL BASE
MSRP – $36,490
Sale Price – $31,917 ($1500 dealer marketing cash applied)
Monthly – $360+ tax
RWG Rating – 97.5

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2012 Acura MDX
36 Month – Residual 55% of MSRP – .00126 Base Rate

2012 Acura MDX TECH
36 Month – Residual 53% of MSRP – .00126 Base Rate

2012 ACURA RDX AWD BASE
36 Month – Residual 56% of MSRP – .00093 Base Rate

2012 Acura RDX AWD TECH
36 Month – Residual 54% of MSRP – .00093 Base Rate

2012 ACURA TSX 4DR SEDAN AT BASE
36 Month – Residual 59% of MSRP – .00061 Base Rate

2012 ACURA TSX 4DR SEDAN AT SPECIAL EDITION
36 Month – Residual 59% of MSRP – .00061 Base Rate

2012 ACURA ZDX BASE
36 Month – Residual 54% of MSRP – .00035 Base Rate

2012 ACURA TL BASE
36 Month – Residual 57% of MSRP – .00098 Base Rate

2012 ACURA TL SH-AWD BASE
36 Month – Residual 55% of MSRP – .00098 Base Rate

The usual drop in residual/money factor here. Acura still has lease cash of $1500 available on the TL. $2000 on the RL. I didn’t see anything on the TSX, so I don’t think I would lease one of those right now. Going back to the TL, the lease still looks very good. TrueCar indicates a 11% off MSRP discount without incentives. But they also have a disclaimer saying that Acura dealers may not honor their “best price” quote. What I think will happen is this: Dealers will honor a sale price around that ballpark, but they will not give you the $1500 cash that’s available on that car. In order words, 11%-12% off MSRP with the incentive sounds about right.

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.

2012 ACURA TL BASE
MSRP – $36490
Sale Price – $32517
Monthly – $377+ tax
RWG Rating – 94.3

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2012 Acura MDX
36 Month – Residual 55% of MSRP – .00126 Base Rate

2012 Acura MDX TECH
36 Month – Residual 53% of MSRP – .00126 Base Rate

2012 ACURA RDX AWD BASE
36 Month – Residual 56% of MSRP – .00093 Base Rate

2012 Acura RDX AWD TECH
36 Month – Residual 54% of MSRP – .00093 Base Rate

2012 ACURA TSX 4DR SEDAN AT BASE
36 Month – Residual 59% of MSRP – .00061 Base Rate

2012 ACURA TSX 4DR SEDAN AT SPECIAL EDITION
36 Month – Residual 59% of MSRP – .00061 Base Rate

2012 ACURA ZDX BASE
36 Month – Residual 54% of MSRP – .00035 Base Rate

2012 ACURA TL BASE
36 Month – Residual 57% of MSRP – .00098 Base Rate

2012 ACURA TL SH-AWD BASE
36 Month – Residual 55% of MSRP – .00098 Base Rate

TSX Special Edition is finally here and Acura seems to believe you would pay extra for cosmetic changes (notice the higher MF on the SE vs the Base). The isn’t much of a discount on them so I would wait it out if you have been wanting one. Things stay relatively the same for the TL base. There is a slight bump in the sale price, but the $1250 dealer cash is still there. The ZDX gets $2000 in dealer cash, making it an even more fantastic lease. I didn’t add this cash into my calculations because the ZDX’s sale price seem to be really low without any incentives, leading me to believe that perhaps dealers are using some or most of that $2000 dealer cash. In any case, this doesn’t mean you shouldn’t ask for TrueCar’s lowest price + the $2000 dealer cash.

On a different note: Honda has made dealers pull “Guaranteed Upfront Pricing” from the TrueCar.com website. Here’s a plug from TrueCar’s website about this issue:

American Honda Motor Co., Inc. has directed all Acura Certified Dealers to remove upfront price guarantees for consumers from the TrueCar website. As a result, an upfront price guarantee may not be available for your requested Acura vehicle. TrueCar strongly believes every consumer has the right to transparent, no-haggle pricing, and we will continue to work with American Honda to resolve this issue for the benefit of both you the consumer and our TrueCar Certified Acura Dealers. In the meantime, you can still enjoy low prices by contacting the Certified Dealers on your Price Protection Certificate.

So be aware that some haggling may be necessary in order to secure a low price.

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.

2012 ACURA TL BASE
MSRP – $36,490
Sale Price – $31,867 ($1250 dealer cash applied)
Monthly – $358+ tax
RWG Rating – 98.1

2012 ACURA ZDX Base
MSRP – $46905
Sale Price – $41398
Monthly – $469+ tax
RWG Rating – 96.6

2012 ACURA TSX Base
MSRP – $30,695
Sale Price – $29,403
Monthly – $342+ tax
RWG Rating – 89.4

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2012 Acura MDX
36 Month – Residual 56% of MSRP – .00143 Base Rate

2012 Acura MDX TECH
36 Month – Residual 54% of MSRP – .00143 Base Rate

2012 ACURA RDX AWD BASE
36 Month – Residual 57% of MSRP – .00098 Base Rate

2012 Acura RDX AWD TECH
36 Month – Residual 55% of MSRP – .00098 Base Rate

2012 ACURA TSX 4DR SEDAN AT BASE
36 Month – Residual 60% of MSRP – .00078 Base Rate

2012 ACURA TSX 4DR SEDAN AT SPECIAL EDITION
36 Month – Residual 60% of MSRP – .00102 Base Rate

2012 ACURA ZDX BASE
36 Month – Residual 55% of MSRP – .00054 Base Rate

2012 ACURA TL BASE
36 Month – Residual 58% of MSRP – .00114 Base Rate

2012 ACURA TL SH-AWD BASE
36 Month – Residual 56% of MSRP – .00114 Base Rate

I’m not seeing the extra $500 dealer cash (seen last month) on the TL this month, but the $1250 incentive is still there. Despite the missing $500 incentive, the overall sale price seems to have dropped on the TL according to Truecar.com’s So Cal pricing data. Factor that into the newer (better) residuals/mf combo and you get a lower monthly payment than last month! By about $6. Happy Holidays to you too!

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.

2012 ACURA TL BASE
MSRP – $36,490
Sale Price – $31,617 ($1250 dealer cash applied)
Monthly – $351+ tax
RWG Rating – 99.5

2012 ACURA TSX Base
MSRP – $30,695
Sale Price – $29,403
Monthly – $342+ tax
RWG Rating – 89.4

I think I’d take the TL over the TSX for a measly $9 more a month.

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2012 Acura MDX
36 Month – Residual 56% of MSRP – .00143 Base Rate

2012 ACURA RDX AWD BASE
36 Month – Residual 57% of MSRP – .00098 Base Rate

2012 ACURA TSX 4DR SEDAN AT BASE
36 Month – Residual 60% of MSRP – .00078 Base Rate

2012 ACURA ZDX BASE
36 Month – Residual 55% of MSRP – .00054 Base Rate

2012 ACURA TL BASE
36 Month – Residual 58% of MSRP – .00114 Base Rate

2012 ACURA TL SH-AWD BASE
36 Month – Residual 56% of MSRP – .00114 Base Rate

No changes on the lease rates this month. Couple of things to note, however. The 2012 TL’s $1250 dealer cash for leasing and purchasing expires 10/06/11!!! The $500 bonus dealer cash (leasing-only) expires month end. Get on this and quick! The TL is a good very good deal as long as the $1250 dealer cash is available. Once that’s gone, we won’t know if it will come back. ACT NOW!

$1250 and $500 dealer cash is good til month end! Thanks for the tip Shappy!

For 2012, the TSX will come in one extra flavor. The TSX Limited Edition. It is mostly a cosmetic update. I wouldn’t call it an “upgrade” because it looks the same. However, the LE will only come in Manual AND in limited “race” colors and the Tech Package will not be available.  A product specialist at the OC Auto Show also told me that Acura will be making three important announcements between now and the end of the year/early next year. She would not devolve any details though, I guess I wasn’t “charming” enough. LOL.

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.

2012 ACURA TL BASE
MSRP – $36,490
Sale Price – $31,567 ($1250 + $500 dealer cash applied)
Monthly – $357+ tax
RWG Rating – 98.1

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2011 ACURA MDX BASE
36 Month – Residual 55% of MSRP – .00068 Base Rate

2011 ACURA RL BASE
36 Month – Residual 49% of MSRP – .00190 Base Rate

2011 ACURA TSX 4DR SEDAN AT BASE
36 Month – Residual 57% of MSRP – .00057 Base Rate

2011 ACURA ZDX BASE
36 Month – Residual 54% of MSRP – .00085 Base Rate

2011 ACURA RDX AWD BASE
36 Month – Residual 53% of MSRP – .00033 Base Rate

2012 ACURA TL BASE
36 Month – Residual 60% of MSRP – .00166 Base Rate

2012 ACURA TL SH-AWD BASE
36 Month – Residual 58% of MSRP – .00166 Base Rate

Acura lease rates look good this month, but the discounts aren’t nearly as good as in the “pre-tsunami” months (the only exception would be the TL). Dealer cash is available on many models, but the only significant rebate to be had is only available on the TL (no surprise there).

I will go out on a limb to say that the TL is probably the best deal you can get on an Acura right now. The car isn’t the most attractive $30k+ luxury car, but it’s well-built and backed by one of the best lease programs in the industry. If you are getting a RWG rating anywhere near my estimate below, don’t bother asking me if it’s a good deal, just get the car!!!

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.

2012 ACURA TL BASE
MSRP – $36,490
Sale Price – $31,567 ($1250 + $500 dealer cash applied)
Monthly – $357+ tax
RWG Rating – 98.1

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2011 ACURA MDX BASE
36 Month – Residual 55% of MSRP – .00068 Base Rate

2011 ACURA RL BASE
36 Month – Residual 49% of MSRP – .00190 Base Rate

2011 ACURA TSX 4DR SEDAN AT BASE
36 Month – Residual 57% of MSRP – .00057 Base Rate

2011 ACURA ZDX BASE
36 Month – Residual 54% of MSRP – .00085 Base Rate

2011 ACURA RDX AWD BASE
36 Month – Residual 53% of MSRP – .00033 Base Rate

2012 ACURA TL BASE
36 Month – Residual 60% of MSRP – .00166 Base Rate

2012 ACURA TL SH-AWD BASE
36 Month – Residual 58% of MSRP – .00166 Base Rate