Leasing newbie

[AgentUnknown]

Hi, does your approach to leasing a car the same as financing it? IS it ok to tell the sales guy right off the bat that I want to lease? I know putting the least amount down gets the monthly up. How much of a monthly price difference can you get from advertised rates? Let's say the local newspaper has a car for $350/month lease, how much can you negotiate that?

I am looking at a BMW 335i 4dr to lease. Advertised at $450/month with $3k down. I also looked at a Honda CRV at $400/month w/ zero down which seems high.

Any leasing tips would be appreciated. And do people really lease Accords and civics? Or does it make more sense to buy those?

 

[Young Grasshopper]

i see you're in socal. socal is very competitive when it comes to leasing bmws. here are some tips:

1-build your BMW online and get the MSRP price for it.

2-talk to your sales guy and have him give you the invoice price(price dealer pays for the car) for the car you built

3-a good deal for a 335i would be considered anywhere between $300-$600 over invoice. so if the invoice is 33,500, the sales guy would sell it to you for 34,000. since its a lease he's not really selling it to you but the 'selling' price translates to what your monthly payment will be.

4-know the residual and money factor for the car you want. this changes monthly. you can get this information at ridewithg.com which posts residuals/money factor for most cars. my residual when i got my ride was 61% and my money factor was 0.00165.

5-never put money down on a lease. if you put 3k down on the lease and you total your car on the way out of the parking lot the insurance will cover it but your down payment will be lost. save the down payment and apply it towards the monthly rate OR BMW has a nice multiple security deposit program. for each security deposit you put down(max 7), your money factor/finance rate will drop .7 for example i put down 7 security desposits, which lowered my monthly payment by $50. multiply $50x36 months and thats how much i save. the deposits are fully refundable at the end of the lease and if you total your car you get all your deposits back.


i see you're in socal if you're intersted PM me i can give you a contact for a no bs sales guy who will walk you thru the process. he won't play any games and will give you the same deal he gives to everyone else.


oh and for the record i almost ALWAYS recommend browsing some auto related forums(like e90post) and checking out the board sponsers. alot of the sales guys are sponsers there and will give you a great deal right off the bat, where as if you do a walk in they will assume you haven't done your homework and take advantage of it.

 

[angry hampster]

Consider avoiding the down payment:
http://www.leasetrade.com/

http://www.swapalease.com/

 

[radioouman]

Consider not leasing?

 

[AgentUnknown]

Wow, thanks for the info.

 

[GuitarDaddy]

Leasing is not for everyone, and it is almost never the most economical option. Leasing is for those who dont put alot of miles on a car and want to always drive a newer model car under warranty and have resigned themselves to the fact they will ALWAYS have a car payment.

If you are willing to keep a new car 4yrs or longer, purchasing will always be cheaper in the long run.

 

[Arkaign]

^^ Said perfectly GD.

 

[SSSnail]

One more thing to add, you should look into creating a "consulting business" to write off your lease come tax time. The fees associated with the business are usually less than what the tax would have taken from you.

 

[A5]

One more thing to add, you should look into creating a "consulting business" to write off your lease come tax time. The fees associated with the business are usually less than what the tax would have taken from you.

Also, this is tax fraud if you aren't actually using the vehicle for business. So you know, don't do this.

 

[SSSnail]

Right...there's nothing wrong with having a home base business.

 

[ShawnD1]

Right...there's nothing wrong with having a home base business.

If your business doesn't actually do anything and is only used for tax fraud then yes it's tax fraud.

Similarly you can buy the vehicle through your fraud company and write it off as a business expense. You can also write off the gasoline, insurance, and maintenance. It's important to finance because then you're always deducting from the highest tax bracket. If you bought it with cash then you only get to deduct that year and it will probably spill over into lower tax brackets.
When you sell the business car, the money from the sale must be reported on your taxes.

 

[SSSnail]

I said a consulting business, as in you may actually have to drive around and consult people.

Since it's a lease, you don't report sale.

 

[A5]

I said a consulting business, as in you may actually have to drive around and consult people.

Since it's a lease, you don't report sale.

You also put "consulting business" in quotes and your intent was fairly obvious.

 

[SSSnail]

Yeah, I forgot everyone here is a saint. I pay enough taxes to not feel guilty.

 

[A5]

Yeah, I forgot everyone here is a saint. I pay enough taxes to not feel guilty.

Whatever dude. Hope you never get audited.

 

[Doppel]

Yeah, I forgot everyone here is a saint. I pay enough taxes to not feel guilty.

This cannot be a great way to evade taxes. You get audited you get reamed.

 

[ShawnD1]

This cannot be a great way to evade taxes. You get audited you get reamed.

What's funny is that this is literally true. They send you to federal prison where the other prisoners rape you.

 

[AgentUnknown]

I work as 1099 independent contractor and I will using my lease as a write off.