Happy Thanksgiving Everyone! I wanted to extend a BIG “THANK YOU” for your continued support. It hasn’t been the smoothest of years, but I am very thankful to have a good community I can talk cars with. I hope all of you have a wonderful Thanksgiving and cherish your time with your family. As a last minute reminder, shop early and make sure to give yourself plenty of time before your existing lease expires. Happy Turkey Day Everyone!
This month’s participants include: Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen, Kia, Nissan, Acura, Hyundai, Infiniti, Honda, Lexus, Volvo, Audi and BMW.
For Dealer Quotes, go to: TrueCar.com. or Yahoo Autos
To check your credit, go to CreditReport.com.
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 Credit Score of 700
may be required to secure Top Tier credit in most cases.
- Sales taxes are not included since different states handle taxes differently.
- The rating system used is based on RIDE with G’s Lease Calculator. Only cars with a 90 rating or higher will be included on this list.
SEDAN
2012 INFINITI G37 SEDAN JOURNEY (109.5) *$1000 loyalty and $1000 holiday cash
36 Month – Residual 58% of MSRP – .00074 Base Rate
2012 INFINITI G25 SEDAN X AWD (105.6) *$500 dealer cash
36 Month – Residual 59% of MSRP – .00061 Base Rate
2012 NISSAN SENTRA 2.0SR CVT (105.0)
36 Month – Residual 61% of MSRP – .00082 Base Rate
2012 NISSAN ALTIMA SEDAN S CVT (103.1)
36 Month – Residual 55% of MSRP – .00021 Base Rate
2012 HONDA ACCORD SEDAN EX-L V6 (101.3) *$500 dealer cash
36 Month – Residual 54% of MSRP – .00050 Base Rate
2011 BMW 328i Sedan (99.6) *$1000 loyalty cash
36 Month – Residual 60% of MSRP – .00180 Base Rate
2012 ACURA TL BASE (99.5) *$1250 dealer cash
36 Month – Residual 58% of MSRP – .00114 Base Rate
2012 HONDA CIVIC SEDAN EX AT (99.5)
36 Month – Residual 61% of MSRP – .00098 Base Rate
2012 Mercedes C300 4matic Sport 4dr Sedan (97.4) $2000 loyalty cash
36 Month – Residual 60% of MSRP – .00142 Base Rate
2012 Hyundai Sonata 2.0T SE (96.7) *$500 loyalty cash
36-month | 15k miles | residual 62% | .00142 base money factor
2012 Volvo S60 T-5 (96.3) *$1000 loyalty cash
36-month | 15k miles | residual 59% | .00122 base money factor
2012 NISSAN MAXIMA S (94.5)
36 Month – Residual 59% of MSRP – .00128 Base Rate
2012 VOLKSWAGEN CC SPORT AT (94.1) *$1250 lease cash
36 Month – Residual 51% of MSRP – .00028 Base Rate
2012 Mercedes C250 Sport 4dr Sedan (93.7) *$2000 loyalty cash
36 Month – Residual 61% of MSRP – .00154 Base Rate
2012 INFINITI M37 SEDAN X AWD (93.6) $1000 loyalty cash
36 Month – Residual 52% of MSRP – .00029 Base Rate
2012 Kia Optima EX (91.2) *$1000 customer cash
36-month | 15k miles | residual 57% | .00130 base money factor
2012 LEXUS IS250 AT SDN (91.1)
36 Month – Residual 60% of MSRP – .00150 Base Rate
CONVERTIBLE
2012 INFINITI G37 CONVERTIBLE SPORT 6MT (90.5)
36 Month – Residual 59% of MSRP – .00153 Base Rate
COUPE
2012 INFINITI G37 COUPE JOURNEY (102.1) *$1000 loyalty cash
36 Month – Residual 59% of MSRP – .00100 Base Rate
2012 HONDA ACCORD COUPE EX-L V6 (95.8) *$500 dealer cash
36 Month – Residual 52% of MSRP – .00050 Base Rate
2012 HONDA CIVIC COUPE EX AT (95.2)
36 Month – Residual 59% of MSRP – .00098 Base Rate
2012 Mercedes C250 2dr Coupe (94.6) *$2000 loyalty cash
36 Month – Residual 66% of MSRP – .00225 Base Rate
2012 BMW 328xi Coupe (90.2) *$1000 loyalty cash ($1000 lease/apr cash available)
36 Month – Residual 62% of MSRP – .00185 Base Rate
2012 NISSAN ALTIMA COUPE S CVT (93.8)
36 Month – Residual 55% of MSRP – .00090 Base Rate
HATCHBACK/WAGON/SUV/CROSSOVER/VANS
2011 HONDA CR-V 4WD EX AT (106.3) *$500 dealer cash
36 Month – Residual 59% of MSRP – .00077 Base Rate
2012 ACURA ZDX BASE (106.2) *$2000 dealer cash
36 Month – Residual 55% of MSRP – .00054 Base Rate
2012 HONDA PILOT 4WD EX-L (93.1)
36 Month – Residual 55% of MSRP – .00056 Base Rate
2012 HONDA ODYSSEY EX AT (91.3)
36 Month – Residual 61% of MSRP – .00155 Base Rate
2011 NISSAN ROGUE AWD S (92.8)
36 Month – Residual 57% of MSRP – .00123 Base Rate
ALTERNATIVE FUEL/HYBRID
2012 NISSAN LEAF 5DR HATCHBACK SV (92.4) *$7500 lease incentive
36 Month – Residual 44% of MSRP – .00174 Base Rate
2011 HONDA CR-Z EX NAV AT (91.1)
36 Month – Residual 62% of MSRP – .00185 Base Rate
Bright Spots
VW. The only model to make it into the lease was the CC Sport, thanks in part to the generous $1250 lease cash that’s available. The rest of the models make better purchases than leases due to special financing. Eos also gets the $1000 lease cash, but the lease is only so-so, rated at 85.5 on my calculator.
Mercedes-Benz. Being an existing MB customer is really paying off this Holiday season. The $2000 loyalty cash is huge! Another model to keep your eyes on is the GLK350 4matic. The RWG is not high (87.5), but this SUV has never leased in with a RWG higher than 90 to begin with, so 87.5 is not too shabby. Remember that MBs payments are usually a bit more budget friendly on the 48-month terms. However, wear-n-tear issues should be considering before going that route.
Volvo. The C30 and C70 cut it pretty darn close (both hitting a RWG of 89). This is made possible by a generous $1000 loyalty cash that’s available to existing Volvo customers. Overall, I’m very satisfied with Volvo’s leases on their cars. Their SUVs, on the other hand, need a little work.
BMW. BMWFS seems to be throwing a lot of loyalty cash at their customers. On select 1-series models for example, they also have this $500 lease/apr bonus cash which I think could be applied to lower the MF plus $1000 in loyalty cash.
Weak Spots
Audi. They have not offer any worthwhile leases lately. No shock there, it’s been a while since Audi made it into the Round-Up.
In Summary
It’s Loyalty month here in the auto leasing world. Many manufacturers are rewarding loyal customers with loads of cash. Folks looking to get into something under $400 should consider the Sonata, Optima, Maxima or any non-luxury car. Honda almost seems to be giving away their cars right now so it isn’t hard to find a good deal there.
The Leaf is also great if you don’t ever want to visit a gas station again.
In the end, if I had to put my money where my mouth is, I would be rolling in a loaded 2012 Infiniti G37 sedan. Hands down, the best lease I’ve seen all month long.
