So how do you compare lease deals?

[Reel]

I can google search for purchase prices on cars and quickly pull up forums where people will just post after post spew out the trim, options, and price. How do you compare a lease? My buddy and I went in and negotiated a lease on a new car for me and it went way too easy. I had no need to get the car so we set numbers that were unrealistic and they accepted. We never negotiated an actual price for the car. I just pointed to the national leasing offer for the lower model trim and said I want exactly that and I want this much for my trade. Since they hit both my numbers which I thought were both unrealistic, I was pretty satisfied.

Is there a way to take the numbers and work backwards to come up with an equivalent purchase price? I am just looking for a way to somewhat objectively compare our results. (Either way I am still paying it for 3 years.) Thanks.

For clarity's sake, I put 2700 down (all inclusive, tax, tag, title, doc, etc) and 250 + tax /mo on a 36 month lease. The car I took was the EX trim of the 2008 Accord Coupe and the lease offer was for the LX-S trim. Also the leasing offer on honda.com was not all inclusive and had the standard fees on top.

 

[Horsepower]

They should be able to tell you the "capitalized cost" of the vehicle. That would include the bank fee which is standard on a lease. That figure will tell you what you are "paying" for the vehicle. Be careful about the allowed miles per year. The average driver cannot do less than 15000. 250 sounds good but what is the actual amount you write the check monthly for? Leases have 2 components, the depreciation is MSRP times a percentage, and the "rental" component which has a money factor that relates to an interest rate. Honda has by far the best lease program.

Check out this site for good information.

 

[Reel]

Wow thanks. Good web site. I averaged about 10k/yr in my previous car so I am not concerned about the mileage limits. The monthly is actually 263.80 (250 + tax).