[Bay Area Leasing] Is this a good deal?

[egolf2016]

Hi All - I'm in the market to trade in my 2011 corolla (has 47k miles, some dings, recently valued at $5,050 at a bay area VW dealership) for a 36k mile/3 yr lease of SEL Premium trim eGolf.

What are your thoughts on these numbers?

MSRP: $36,415
Invoice: $32,630
less rebate -$9,187
less trade in of corolla -$5,050

Residual: $14,930

Monthly Payment including taxes: $187 @ 35 months.

I feel like I could bring down the monthly payment significantly. I was very recently quoted about $105 per month by another dealer, do you think this is possible or is $105 too good to be true considering my profile?

 

[bizzle]

You should be getting another $1500 dollars off that due to conquest cash.

 

[egolf2016]

I assume the $1,500 conquest cash is baked into the rebate ($1,500+$7,500) = ~$9,000 which is close to the $9,187 below.

 

[JoulesThief]

I assume the $1,500 conquest cash is baked into the rebate ($1,500+$7,500) = ~$9,000 which is close to the $9,187 below.

Don't assume... ask the dealership. No one cares about Invoice, unless they are taking the $9000 off of invoice, instead of off of MSRP.

 

[miimura]

I assume the $1,500 conquest cash is baked into the rebate ($1,500+$7,500) = ~$9,000 which is close to the $9,187 below.

This means that the dealer is only marking down the car by $187. You should be able to do much better. I don't know actual figures, but VW had sizable factory to dealer incentives on the 2015 cars during the Summer. I assume they are keeping that for themselves in this deal. Also, the figures given don't say what the actual dealer selling price is. Typical dealer pricing games...

 

[DucRider]

As a general rule of thumb, you want a zero down lease.

1) With a lease, your "down payment" is simply prepaying the monthly lease payments - there is no interest or other savings
2) You have no "equity" in the car. If it is stolen or totaled, you lose your $5K. (If you read your lease, your payments are "Rent")

If they are truly giving you $5K for your trade, have them write you a check. If they are unwilling to do so, you are leaving money on the table. They only buy cars "wholesale", you can ALWAYS sell your car privately for more money. If you can't sell it in a day on Craigslist for the $5K, they are really giving you something less (~$3-4K) and you should be able to negotiate the e-Golf price (and your lease payments) down. Put the $5K in the bank and use it to help with the monthly payments - your 3 year cost will be lower.

Zero down leases generally do require some money up front - first months payment, DMV fees, sometimes an "acquisition" fee (negotiable), and (depending on where you live) taxes. You want to avoid any payment that becomes part of the cap reduction (leave that for the $7500 Fed rebate and any VW incentives).

It's easier to turn over your keys and title, but not the best deal.

Also, once you get to F&I, you are about to deal with the most highly skilled salesperson in the dealership. They make more money on extras after you relax because the deal is done (the negotiations are over, right?). Extended warranties, excess wear and tear, GAP insurance (to protect the down payment you just made), service contracts, extended warranties, Scotch guarding, undercoating, clear coating, etc. F&I is second only to the service department as a profit center for the dealership - they make many times more money than in the actual sale of the car.

 

[bizzle]

GAP insurance is included in every VW lease. You can't negotiate that out.

One thing you should be aware, if you aren't, is that leases require higher insurance coverage than state law (bodily injury at 15K per person and 30K per accident, property at 5K). The lease will require 100k per person and 300k per accident, property at 100k. They may not tell you this and the leasing company will send you a bill for the increased coverage at a rate you probably won't be happy paying. Of course, in California, and especially many of the areas we are living in, your coverage should realistically already be at 100/300/100 but it's worth mentioning if you're carrying the state minimum.

 

[johnnylingo]

less trade in of corolla -$5,050

That's very low. I understand it's a Corolla and a generation behind, but still...Edmonds puts the value at almost twice that.

Heck, that's basically the street value of my 2004 Forester XS with 180,000 miles and imminent head gasket failure.

 

[jmonkfish]

GAP insurance is included in every VW lease. You can't negotiate that out.

One thing you should be aware, if you aren't, is that leases require higher insurance coverage than state law (bodily injury at 15K per person and 30K per accident, property at 5K). The lease will require 100k per person and 300k per accident, property at 100k. They may not tell you this and the leasing company will send you a bill for the increased coverage at a rate you probably won't be happy paying. Of course, in California, and especially many of the areas we are living in, your coverage should realistically already be at 100/300/100 but it's worth mentioning if you're carrying the state minimum.

Thanks! This is helpful information. Somehow my current lease from 2013 was still at 15/30/25. Insurance company quoted me at $9 more per month for increasing the liability to 100/300/100 (that's on two cars, btw). Switching from my 2013 Ford Focus Electric to a 2016 e-Golf SE and increasing my liability ended up decreasing my premium by about $90 somehow. Saves me about $14 per month.