boltsfan

First off... never walk into a dealer and tell them what you want to pay per month. ALWAYS negotiate the cap cost first and get the dealer as low as you can and then go from there on monthly payment.

I leased the same car (MSRP 39080) but for 48\15k so my MF and residual might be slightly different than your terms.

I put ZERO down and dealer made my 1st payment and paid DMV for me (not rolled into cap cost) and my payment was $611. This was before I needed to roll in negative money ($1700) from my trade in that increased my payment to $630.

On average putting down $1k towards cap cost reduction only reduces monthly payment approx $20-25 and IMHO is a big mistake.

And yes... I do own a calculator :0)

myriadshalaks

1000 dollars cap cost is closer to $30 than $20 in terms of monthly for the standard 36 mos lease. and if you're only making 1 percent on your investments, you're better off putting it down up front in terms of total money paid, earned or saved over term. just math, not dealer voodoo. you'd need to be making closer to 3 percent to offset the tax benefit.

for the person who said down payment is out the window if you drive off into an accident, you're wrong. gap insurance is included on every lease. so you get it all back regardless of NADA. I don't believe horror stories -- just urban myths.

myriadshalaks

here's a pretty good way to get within 30 dollars of the good deal on a lease.

1. msrp*residual percent=residual value

2. negotiated price - residual value = amount of car you'll use

3. amount of car you'll use/36 = base monthly payment

4. (negotiated price + residual)* money factor = add to base payment

5. (Line 3 plus line 4)* tax rate = monthly payment (less up front fees)

6. security deposit, acq fee and dealer fee can be rolled into the lease payment (and taxed accordingly) or you pay it up front.

So, take a car with a 38000 MSRP, a .55 residual and a .001 money factor.

38000*.55 =20900
36000-20900=15100
15100/36=419.44
(36000+20900)*.001= 56.90
419.44+56.90= 476.34
476.34*1.06=504.92

Now you've got your upfronts. tag, title, dealer, acquisition, security, first month's payment.