Evaluate offer

[akri]

Folks,

I have never leased a car before (always bought them out-right). So wanted help in evaluating this offer from a dealer in the SF Bay Area.

2016 Volkswagen eGolf SE W/ Quick Charger - MSRP $31,625

Down payment: $500
Plus $500 College Grad bonus (Must Qualify. Click here for more details)
Drive off Due

Term:
30 Months
Mileage per year:
7,500

Monthly payment plus tax (OAC):
$89 Offer expires 10/2/16

I am looking for a 10K or a 12K lease. But reading other posts, drive-off amount would be much higher than the $500 downpayment mentioned in this offer.
Am I looking at a good offer? What are the things I should ask before stepping into the dealership.

Thanks,
akri

 

[johnnylingo]

This should give you an idea what to expect for drive-off fees:

http://www.myvwegolf.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=893&start=11

Bumping the miles from 7500 to 10k should be around $15/month and then another $10/month to go up to 12k. Drive-off fee should stay the same.

It's a great deal. Basically same as mine except lower down payment and state $2500 rebate to boot.

 

[akri]

Thank you for the reply. I am trying to simplify the numbers in my head before walking into a dealership:
Can I break the numbers to

• Down-payment - This can vary

• Standard Fees - ~$1900

• Monthly payment

Do I really need to care about MSRP, residual, money factor etc? As long as I keep the above 3 numbers (one is infact a static number), shouldn't it be fairly straight forward to talk to the dealer (saying this as someone who has never been to a car dealer before)

Thanks,
Akri

 

[judah8750]

Don't forget to negotiate your wear and tear policy price before you finally agree. They try and get you for that one after you shake on the deal and are in with financing. Not everyone wants one, but it's a nice piece of mind especially with how easily the cloth seats seem to stain. I was able to get them down to $500, but I think even $750 would probably be worth it. Remember everything is negotiable and on the right day the dealer may be willing to lose some money, especially if it's the last day or two of the month and they are trying to meet their quota.

 

[johnnylingo]

Do I really need to care about MSRP, residual, money factor etc?

Leasing isn't that different from buying. It boils down to three things:

• 
  *Sale price, in other words how much the dealer is discounting off MSRP. You want at least 20% and it sounds like they're closer to 25% now
  *Money factor, which is really the interest rate you're paying to VW finance. Take the money factory times 2400 to get interest rate.
  *Freebies, such as accessories or protection plans. If the dealer price seems high, sometimes they'd rather throw these in or discount them than drop the cost.

Residuals, acquisition fees, taxes, and dealer fees do factor in to the cost, but they're non-negotiable and for that reason they're not worth fretting over in my opinion. In my case I actually paid more in fees than for the car itself. Some would call that a bad deal, but it's actually quite the opposite.

Don't forget to negotiate your wear and tear policy price before you finally agree.

Good point. Hayward wanted $1000 which seemed really high, so I just passed. Could have tried to negotiate that down. Even though I haven't spilled anything, there's already a dark spot on a seat and also a nick in the bumper.