where to find a leasing car deal?

gld2

New member
We are thinking about leasing a car to replace our old over 10 years car.  Maybe lease Audi, Benz or BMW, but not luxury.  It looks like the initial sign-in amount approximately $4,000.  Is it high? 
 
On a lease you should try to avoid putting any money down.

Most dealers have really good lease offers (check the brand website online). Look for the highest residual and lowest money factor (interest rate).

You say Audi, Benz or BMW but "not luxury"... what do you mean?
 
Long post warning, PM me if you have additional questions or need a broker
As irvinehomeowner said, put as little down on a lease

Leasing vs owning...you pay essentially the depreciation on a car instead of the whole car price.  The two factors they use is residual (the car manufacturer's set value of the car after a certain term most often 36 months) and the money factor (a clever auto term to get people to not know their true interest, but be smart the conversion is easy, multiply your money factor by 2400 and that's the interest)

You mention $4000, I assume that's what they call a down or cap reduction.  Avoid this.  If you drive off the lot and crash the car, your $4000 is gone.  So put as little down.  Dealers like to promote a low monthly payment but they require a high due at signing so that doesn't make sense.  To get as close to an apple to apple comparison, ask what the monthly payment is with nothing due at signing or just registration and taxes etc.

To negotiate a great lease, follow these simple few steps.  It's an artwork.

1. Price. Don't discuss lease/own/cash until you settle on a price.  You can use truecar or Edmunds to find a good price for your vehicle choice.  Don't get tricked by thinking lease cars get higher price.  And PLEASE don't just take the offer on a website thinking it's a great deal.  Most of those are set at MSRP which is terrible unless you getting a rare car
2. Find out the residual and base money factor.  I recommend Edmunds forum to find this, people are quite helpful.  Or just finding a good trusted contact at the dealer who can give you this info.  If your credit is good, you should  get the base money factor
3. Do comparisons, call multiple dealers to have them "bid" against each other.  Or find an auto broker to do all this for you.  Their fee is set within the price you pay and you don't have to pay out of pocket.  I like to call brokers and tell them the best deal you did after your research and force them to beat it to earn your business.  If you are really diligent on #1 or #2, your price should be quite close to a broker.  I recommend calling and get this quote over email for proof etc
4. Don't commit to signing unless you have everything you want.  Now comes the freebies.  Ask for everything you want like all weather mats, free oil changes, tint jobs, license plates etc for free throw ins to make you that 1% happier.
5. Drive to dealership with all the numbers all figured out and set and get the car within 30 mins.  No need to sit hours at the dealer doing the "let me stand up and walk away waiting for the ... wait a sec we can do it!"
 
When my lease is up in December, I'm probably going to reach out to Soclose to secure a broker. I negotiated my last deal on a Lexus and looking back, I spent a good 40 hours on that and at the end of the process was battling over nickels.

I would recommend in any lease deal that you do not put a cap cost reduction (aka down payment). If you want to lower your monthly, look into the manufacturer's multiple security deposit program. Essentially you can put down more security deposits to lower your money factor (interest rate). At the end of the lease term, you get the money back.
 
I tried a couple auto brokers on Yelp (with multiple 5 star reviews).  Their prices were much worse than the prices I got just emailing the sales guys directly.

Usually I scour the dealership Yelp reviews of the car type I'm looking for, and find the reviews that mention the name of the salesman that got them a good deal and was easy to work with, and I contact that person  twice.  This doesn't always work out, but it's a lot better than starting cold and if it doesn't work, then on to the next. 

I remember a year or so ago I was looking for a new Pilot and drove all the way to Cerritos Auto Center Honda because this guy (I think Kevin) had received a lot of good reviews and positive feedback.  He told me over the phone that he could beat the price of any dealer in SoCal but I had to come down and meet him to get the price (I know, typical but I'm not one to fall to pressure).  Anyhow went down there and his price was pretty awful ($2k higher than Irvine Center Honda), and he wouldn't budge.  What a waste of time.

Truecare does lease pricing as well so it's a good starting point if you need a point of reference.

Lastly, if you want to be green with envy, read this:https://forum.leasehackr.com/

These guys get a lot of great deals, no way to verify their statements are accurate but fun to go through them.
 
I'm pretty familiar with the BMW's lease program and usually deal directly with particular dealer's internet sales.

Car specific forum always has good lease deal posted for reference and good recommendation on the good internet sales agent to work with.

Like what Potsticker said, using the multiple security deposits is a very good method to lower the money factor but for BMW Financial, they  just discontinued it on May 1st.  Some other bank or brand are still offer it though.

If you decided on a BMW, I can recommend some good internet sale agents. 
 
I 2nd leasehackr.  I've found many a great deals on that forum, and that's how I found my stupid cheap chevy spark ev daily driver for chump change.

Many of my friends have also found deals through that site. 

Like some have said before, avoid paying anything up front.

aquabliss said:
I tried a couple auto brokers on Yelp (with multiple 5 star reviews).  Their prices were much worse than the prices I got just emailing the sales guys directly.

Usually I scour the dealership Yelp reviews of the car type I'm looking for, and find the reviews that mention the name of the salesman that got them a good deal and was easy to work with, and I contact that person  twice.  This doesn't always work out, but it's a lot better than starting cold and if it doesn't work, then on to the next. 

I remember a year or so ago I was looking for a new Pilot and drove all the way to Cerritos Auto Center Honda because this guy (I think Kevin) had received a lot of good reviews and positive feedback.  He told me over the phone that he could beat the price of any dealer in SoCal but I had to come down and meet him to get the price (I know, typical but I'm not one to fall to pressure).  Anyhow went down there and his price was pretty awful ($2k higher than Irvine Center Honda), and he wouldn't budge.  What a waste of time.

Truecare does lease pricing as well so it's a good starting point if you need a point of reference.

Lastly, if you want to be green with envy, read this:https://forum.leasehackr.com/

These guys get a lot of great deals, no way to verify their statements are accurate but fun to go through them.
 
How's the range on the spark? (Kind of low?)

Btw - That's not my first choice.
id_rather_be_racing said:
I 2nd leasehackr.  I've found many a great deals on that forum, and that's how I found my stupid cheap chevy spark ev daily driver for chump change.

Many of my friends have also found deals through that site. 

Like some have said before, avoid paying anything up front.

aquabliss said:
I tried a couple auto brokers on Yelp (with multiple 5 star reviews).  Their prices were much worse than the prices I got just emailing the sales guys directly.

Usually I scour the dealership Yelp reviews of the car type I'm looking for, and find the reviews that mention the name of the salesman that got them a good deal and was easy to work with, and I contact that person  twice.  This doesn't always work out, but it's a lot better than starting cold and if it doesn't work, then on to the next. 

I remember a year or so ago I was looking for a new Pilot and drove all the way to Cerritos Auto Center Honda because this guy (I think Kevin) had received a lot of good reviews and positive feedback.  He told me over the phone that he could beat the price of any dealer in SoCal but I had to come down and meet him to get the price (I know, typical but I'm not one to fall to pressure).  Anyhow went down there and his price was pretty awful ($2k higher than Irvine Center Honda), and he wouldn't budge.  What a waste of time.

Truecare does lease pricing as well so it's a good starting point if you need a point of reference.

Lastly, if you want to be green with envy, read this:https://forum.leasehackr.com/

These guys get a lot of great deals, no way to verify their statements are accurate but fun to go through them.
 
aquabliss said:
I tried a couple auto brokers on Yelp (with multiple 5 star reviews).  Their prices were much worse than the prices I got just emailing the sales guys directly.

Usually I scour the dealership Yelp reviews of the car type I'm looking for, and find the reviews that mention the name of the salesman that got them a good deal and was easy to work with, and I contact that person  twice.  This doesn't always work out, but it's a lot better than starting cold and if it doesn't work, then on to the next. 

I remember a year or so ago I was looking for a new Pilot and drove all the way to Cerritos Auto Center Honda because this guy (I think Kevin) had received a lot of good reviews and positive feedback.  He told me over the phone that he could beat the price of any dealer in SoCal but I had to come down and meet him to get the price (I know, typical but I'm not one to fall to pressure).  Anyhow went down there and his price was pretty awful ($2k higher than Irvine Center Honda), and he wouldn't budge.  What a waste of time.

Truecare does lease pricing as well so it's a good starting point if you need a point of reference.

Lastly, if you want to be green with envy, read this:https://forum.leasehackr.com/

These guys get a lot of great deals, no way to verify their statements are accurate but fun to go through them.

Ah, if that's the case then looks like I'll be negotiating on my own. That said, I remember SoClose saying that his broker does better on price...so I don't know.
 
best_potsticker_in_town said:
aquabliss said:
I tried a couple auto brokers on Yelp (with multiple 5 star reviews).  Their prices were much worse than the prices I got just emailing the sales guys directly.

Usually I scour the dealership Yelp reviews of the car type I'm looking for, and find the reviews that mention the name of the salesman that got them a good deal and was easy to work with, and I contact that person  twice.  This doesn't always work out, but it's a lot better than starting cold and if it doesn't work, then on to the next. 

I remember a year or so ago I was looking for a new Pilot and drove all the way to Cerritos Auto Center Honda because this guy (I think Kevin) had received a lot of good reviews and positive feedback.  He told me over the phone that he could beat the price of any dealer in SoCal but I had to come down and meet him to get the price (I know, typical but I'm not one to fall to pressure).  Anyhow went down there and his price was pretty awful ($2k higher than Irvine Center Honda), and he wouldn't budge.  What a waste of time.

Truecare does lease pricing as well so it's a good starting point if you need a point of reference.

Lastly, if you want to be green with envy, read this:https://forum.leasehackr.com/

These guys get a lot of great deals, no way to verify their statements are accurate but fun to go through them.

Ah, if that's the case then looks like I'll be negotiating on my own. That said, I remember SoClose saying that his broker does better on price...so I don't know.

It's all about doing your own homework.  I've called many of those yelp places before and I agree they usually suck.  They don't really have any special pricing and you can usually get the same deal from just going into a dealership.  Even though I usually use brokers, I do some of my own initial research by contacting internet sales managers and various salesman to get an idea of what a good quote is.  Then I have them try to beat other dealership's offer.  When a dealer says "I can't do that deal, that's too low! you should take it" Then I use that as a starting point for my broker.  This process takes maybe 2-4 hours of calling/emailing. 

Not all brokers are created equal.  Some of them have direct contacts with wholesale pricing or fleet prices that they have given them consistent referral business and can offer that pricing.  Others, like many on yelp, are no different than you and me.  They have a contact and just collect the kick back and don't really have any special pricing.  My personal experience was this one specific broker had legit pricing on Mercedes/BMW.  So I've used him twice and he beat all the quotes I got from other internet sales manager, so everyone's experience is different.

You lose nothing from having someone try to find a better deal potsticker.  They don't cost anything out of pocket for you.  Hit me up after you've done your research on leasehackr/Edmunds/forums and see if they can beat it.  If they can't and it's just too good to beat, then you win also.  Win win.  FYI I get nothing out of these deals, no referral fee etc just giving advice as this is a friendly forum for locals
 
Spark Range is ~75-85 depending on how you drive.  I've driven up the 5 to DTLA and back with 10 miles or so left.  We usually drive this around OC, so range isn't an issue.  It's a riot to drive, its got 300+ lb ft of torque, all available at 0 rpm. 

Mainly bought this is as a placeholder for my wife's Model 3, which we hope to receive delivery before EOY.  If your curious, we got this lease with 0 down (I mean literally 0 down, I left the dealer without paying a dime) and 35 payments of $140 (before state $2,500 rebate).  stupid cheap.


eyephone said:
How's the range on the spark? (Kind of low?)

Btw - That's not my first choice.
id_rather_be_racing said:
I 2nd leasehackr.  I've found many a great deals on that forum, and that's how I found my stupid cheap chevy spark ev daily driver for chump change.

Many of my friends have also found deals through that site. 

Like some have said before, avoid paying anything up front.
 
As others have mentioned here as well - every new car has a forum dedicated to it which serves as a watering hole for recent buyers and owners and many post / brag about the great deals they got .  Given we are in southern  California, invariably you will find someone who has gotten.a super great deal from a local dealer and is not shy about posting all about it .  Just PM that person to get details of which sales person he or she used and ask if you can use their referral - most people are ok w that.  The sales person, even if he cannot replicate the exact same deal, usually comes close enough in terms of % off msrp for a comparable model.

YMMV, but this is how I went about leasing my last couple of cars (different brands) and it worked out beautifully. 
 
forum.leasehackr.com

I also do 0 due at signing leases and I only lease vehicles if the monthly payment before tax is at or under 1% of MSRP. My last five leases:

2010 Luxury car $40k MSRP: $399/mo + tax, $0 due at signing
2013 SUV 37k MSRP $270/mo + tax, $0 due at signing
2015 SUV 36k MSRP $155/mo + tax, $0 due at signing
2016 SUV 40k MSRP $396/mo + tax, $0 due at signing
2017 Sedan $38k MSRP $170/mo + tax, $0 due at signing
 
I like this idea. What sedan is your 2017?

paperboyNC said:
forum.leasehackr.com

I also do 0 due at signing leases and I only lease vehicles if the monthly payment before tax is at or under 1% of MSRP. My last five leases:

2010 Luxury car $40k MSRP: $399/mo + tax, $0 due at signing
2013 SUV 37k MSRP $270/mo + tax, $0 due at signing
2015 SUV 36k MSRP $155/mo + tax, $0 due at signing
2016 SUV 40k MSRP $396/mo + tax, $0 due at signing
2017 Sedan $38k MSRP $170/mo + tax, $0 due at signing
 
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