[bfdhightower]

Hi everyone. I spent some time today trying to get a dealership here down to there best lease offer. I know there have been better leases made and I'm thinking about looking abroad to try and get into one of these but this what what I was able to get offered after a couple negotiations, which made big strides, I'm just not sure if they were big enough. Here is the numbers.

I have a 730 FICO. This plays into the final numbers from what I have read on here.

Sticker price of $43,180
Purchase Option of $27,281
$2,303.68 down includes first months payment
$2,500 rebate as a cap reduction
Tax, title, license, and insurance total $390.70
Disposition fee $395
10,000 miles per year
36 Month lease

Total monthly payment $472.98
That's pretty much all of the information I know right now, if you need more to make an opinion or give me advise I can try to get it. I am dropping the car off tonight 4/6 around 7pm and I would like to give them some sort of answer. I have a feeling I will continue looking for a better deal somewhere else but I want to make sure I'm not passing up on a decent deal. Either way I look at it, I'm going to save money considering I am paying about $750 a month for my truck and gas($350 for the truck about $400 for gas) but I obviously want to try and get the best deal I can.

Thanks ahead of time for your advice!!!

 

[Sharkonwheels]

I would say that's not a good deal.

Points: 10K mi/yr (12K is standard on the Ally / US Bank deals)

$349/mo + tax, $2500 down gets a base $40,000 Volt for 36mos and 12k mi/yr, and $130/mo more does NOT only buy $3,180.

Example: I put down $1400 more than you ($3700), on a 45,908 MSRP (negotiated price was $43,196) 3yr lease, 12K mi/yr, and ended up at a $351.66/mo pmt + $21.10 sales tax = $372.76/mo.

Did you negotiate the price first? Or just walked in and ask for a lease price?
If that's the best they'll do, walk away. Go to another dealer, maybe with some references from here (if you tell us where you're from) and walk in negotiating a price first. If you want a car on the lot, pick a car, hammer down a price they can put on paper, THEN tell them you might be interested in leasing. if they ask while choosing a car, or negotiating, just say you're not sure, but leaning towards financing.

Once you've got a price you're content with, THEN ask about the current GM/Chevrolet lease special, and ask them for the numbers on a lease. Make sure to ask about the money factor, and be aware that .00055 is the standard for US Bank. You can calculate a percentage by multiplying the money factor by 2400, ie .00055 x 2400 = 1.32%. If it's higher (even 1.32 -> 1.52 can mean a few dollars per month!) hammer on that.

Also, make sure on the deal papers, they are correctly factoring in the $7,500 rebate on the US Bank side of things. This gets added to the residual, which closes the gap, and makes a $40K car leasable in the mid $300s. Lease-end buyout, however, will end up atrocious.

Oh - and a 730 is fine for US Bank's top tier rate, which is what they were using, as Ally doesn't charge a disposition fee, and you listed a $395 disposition (lease-end) fee. However, with Ally, if you want to buy/sell/trade the car at the end, there's a whopper fee like $2000 or $2500, forgot which...

cheers!

 

[OhioEE]

I haven't leased a Volt yet, but that is a lousy deal. Do a search on here for Neil of Atlantic Chevrolet. People on here buy and lease Volts from as far away as California from him. That is the about the exact same lease I was quoted at my local dealership after I took a test drive but I had a pretty good idea that they didn't know what they were talking about when they said there were no 0% interest deals either.

 

[bfdhightower]

@shark -I'm located in Green Bay. Thanks for the insight, might just print that off and bring it to them.

@ohioee - I'll do a quick little search for Neil right now, thanks.

 

[Sharkonwheels]

They give you any crap, or don't believe it, I'll be more than happy to get a copy of my buyer's order, and US Bank contract to you.

I'm thinking they think they saw a sucker coming, but you were smart enough to walk away for the time being, and check us out.

Between all the folks on here,we can get you referred to a dealer that will not BS you.

 

[bfdhightower]

You're already confirming my beliefs. I have a trade in too, it is not listed on the lease offer sheet but I just saw on the purchase offer which I am not considering because it is way off from where I am will ing to go it does have it figured in. They are offering me $14000 for a 2007 dodge ram. I know it is worth more selling outright, but I also know it is worth more in trade but they don't seem like they are going to budge. The NADA for it is $17,500 for a "good" trade in estimate, $18,700 in excellent condition. I owe $17000 on it(rolled in other debt after a divorce). I am not happy with their reasoning for the lowball offer and am not considering the trade in offer. I think a call to Neil might be a good idea, and trying to sell the truck on my own. I will try a couple other dealerships around here to see what their numbers end up being.

 

[Jedi2155]

I want to get rid of my lease now. 2800 miles in 2 months and I signed up for the 12k/year deal . At my current rate, I'm hitting 18,000 miles/year compared to my old Civic which was around 7-10k/miles a year. I'm just loving this car so much right now, that I am usually the one driving the carpool rather than being a passenger.

My sticker price was $46,415 (negotiated it down to $38,048)

If anyone in Cali is interested in my Volt, $345 (pay now)/$365 month (Financed) fully loaded + $595 switchover fee and it also includes the Smart Lease Warranty.

I will buy a new Volt....

 

[DonC]

You should be able to get a better deal. Keep shopping.

 

[Henry_FL]

A thought on your RAM

A 2007 is 5 year old truck and with Gas prices, this places a large discount on the value as compared to NADA or Edmunds the 14K is a strong offer. I seriously doubt after negotiations you could do any better selling yourself, no one is looking for a 5 year old truck for 18K

I checked Edmunds and dealer trader in for a 60K Laramie, with every single option selected was 16K

Your FICO and upside down on the Truck will have big impact on your lease payments, so it is likely not a bad deal, I suspect, they are hiding your negative equity in the price paid for the car.

Nothing wrong with looking for the best deal, but make sure you understand what the deal is before dismissing it out of hand.

 

[bfdhightower]

I do understand that but I still feel the trade in is low, I do know I have emotion on my end but even if I thought it was a little low I can handle that. even at $15,000 I wouldn't feel too bad. I did some quick math too, I don't think 10,000 mile per year will cut it for me. It would be close though.

 

[DonC]

If you think you're getting a bad trade in offer take your truck to CarMax. They'll give you an offer good for a week, no strings. Keep in mind that the used vehicle market is filled with lousy cast off vehicles so all the vehicles are priced lower, which in turn means the market will be underpriced for good used vehicles. It may not be what you want but at least you'll know you're not being fleeced.

There isn't BTW anything wrong with your FICO score. You may be a few points below a cut off but not much more, and you can usually move your FICO more than that just by not having a balance on a credit card or two when they run the inquiry.

On the lease, I would not go for 10K miles. I'd give myself some room. The difference should not be that great.

 

[bonaire]

bfd - I think you may want to talk to a financial counselor before doing anything. I'm just looking out for you. It sounds like you will trade in an owned Dodge Ram for a leased car? In 3 years, you then have a decision to buy it or turn it in and then shop again for something. How's your income and issues with the divorce payments and such? Solid job with growth of income potential? Is this a stretch or are you doing a comfortable deal? I just hate seeing people stretch to buy a Volt - it may save you a bit in cash for the fuel but perhaps might not be a 100% perfect financial decision right now. I guess it comes down to income earning potential in the next 3 years as far as what really should be done. Talking it over "objectively" with a financial advisor (try for a no-fee one, if possible) would be key to making sure you're not digging a deeper hole. I've been in debt and know what it's like to dig out of it - and always want to help people stay away from any worsening debt if possible.

 

[Sharkonwheels]

Good, sound advice - excellent bonaire, excellent.

Now, if that $472 payment lease deal factored in the trade, then it's probably not at all bad. 2 $3K difference like that, would account for roughly $60-100/mo on the pmt, dependant on money factor, etc..
I'm just wondering why they made it 10k mi/yr, vs the standard of 12k/yr on the national program.

 

[Sharkonwheels]

I want to get rid of my lease now. 2800 miles in 2 months and I signed up for the 12k/year deal . At my current rate, I'm hitting 18,000 miles/year compared to my old Civic which was around 7-10k/miles a year. I'm just loving this car so much right now, that I am usually the one driving the carpool rather than being a passenger.

My sticker price was $46,415 (negotiated it down to $38,048)



If anyone in Cali is interested in my Volt, $345 (pay now)/$365 month (Financed) fully loaded + $595 switchover fee and it also includes the Smart Lease Warranty.

I will buy a new Volt....

Ally or US Bank? For laughs and giggles, call and find out the payoff, and see if it's comething that you can finance, since you already know the car, have been the only driver, etc... If Ally, they have a whopper buyout fee like in the $2000 range, so it's not practical at ALL!

Otherwise, make sure, if you do unload the lease, that there are absolutely NO strings attached back to you. Some leasing companies actually still keep the original lessee responsible for damage, etc.. so I'd be REALLY careful!

 

[Jedi2155]

Ally. The cost to buy the vehicle at the end of the lease is $28,000 which means I basically do not get anything from the tax credit if I was to buy the vehicle. It would be better just to return the vehicle and buy a new one at the end. I already called the leasing company asking for the cost to transfer the lease, and it was $595. I'm right now mostly asking if any family members are interested in it.....haha, I have some convincing to do.

On the other hand, my other option is to just drive the vehicle until the miles remaining then, return the vehicle and maybe find a Tesla :-o by then. I have a lot of options but my primary issue right now, is saving up a decent sized down payment for a home (which was the reason I leased to begin with).

 

[Sharkonwheels]

If it's Ally, that MIGHT not even be factoring in the $2000-2500 lease-end buyout option, which is why I went with US Bank and not Ally, although if turning in, USBank has a fee, Ally does not.

 

[bfdhightower]

My financial situation is good, I did just start a new job but it has advancement opportunities down the road unlike where I was at. The monthly payment and purchase option at the end I can handle. That is good advice though and I might just do it to double check myself.
I stopped in there today to drop off the overnight test drive I had. I think it is best for me to try to sell the truck, hopefully recoup what I owe at the least. I was informed today that it is the demo car and they are in need of selling a couple more of these by the end of April in order to get 2013 Volts in. Apparently they have to sell a certain amount or they don't get any stock of the new Volts. He made them seem pretty desperate to get it out the door, I am going to think about it a bit, head back there next Wed. or Thursday to see where they are at and put an offer that isn't too far off what they offered me. It's more getting the trade in to be closer to the payoff. I think I'd jump at an offer of the monthly payment dropping to sub $450 and upping the mileage to 12,000 a year with all the other numbers staying the same. The basically puts the trade in value close to a wash and ups the mileage to what I need. I still think I'm going to try and get a couple other offers from other dealerships before then. Thanks for the good advice all of you, it is really helpful when my thoughts on things get reaffirmed or rejected from the people that have gone through this process already.

 

[John_Maine]

I went back to my Chevy dealer today to look at the Volt again. They still have the one I'm interested in - blue with black leather, premium package, back-up camera, no nav. I drove it another 15 miles, took it up the steepest hill in town and then out on the highway so I could set the cruise. After my first couple of test drives and learning more about the car since on this site and others, I tried out the different driving modes and driving in low vs. drive. I'm still very impressed with the performance and handling. Anyway, without doing any formal numbers, I did talk with the finance person about leasing. There's a $3K rebate on leased vehicles and they took a little bit off sticker. Finance manager did some quick numbers for me and it appears with my trade, I can lease for $210-$250 a month for 36 months, 12K per year. That's $100-$140 per month less than I'm paying for my Mustang. The problem is I don't want to give up my convertible!

 

[DonC]

Since people don't miss their Audis or BMWs I'm thinking it's likely you won't miss your Mustang. (Just kidding).

 

[John_Maine]

Really, as a car, I wouldn't miss the Mustang but I do love having a convertible. The dealership I'm going to has sold 1 Volt and currently have 3 in stock. The one they sold was to a doctor and he did trade in his BMW 735i.