Guest 50man Posted March 17, 2004 Share Posted March 17, 2004 I am about to get my 2004 Pathfinder SE, just about to trade in my 2000. Question I have is: what is a good price for a lease on this vehicle (3yr). The dealer gave me $1799 down, $410/month. Now this is the SE with sunroof and cloth interior. Tell me about what you pay not sure if this is good or not. thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
squam1 Posted March 18, 2004 Share Posted March 18, 2004 what's the dealer using for a sale price to figure the lease? What people often forget is that in addition to the miles per year, the money down and the term of the lease - THE BIGGEST FACTOR for determining a monthly payment is what the dealer uses as a sale price of the vehicle. Yes, you can negotiate that part as well... in fact, when going for a lease: 1) have a set $$ amount you will put down and stick to it, 2) as accurately as possible, estimate your miles per year and add a little to it - you don't want to be a slave to the mileage allowance, nor do you want to pay mileage penalties at the end cause they are always more expensive than buliding into the lease, 3) don't go for a really long term lease - 48 months is pushing it - 4 years? on a 5 yr note, with the same cash down as on a 48 month lease, you will have some equity to apply to a new vehicle - on a 4yr lease - no equity and in fact, for most vehicles, you'd be hard pressed to get out of it early, even if it's after 42 months..., 4) finally, NEGOTIATE the sale price of the vehicle, not just the payment!! The lower the sale price, the less depreciation you have to pay for over the course of the lease!! Figure it this way - if your leased vehicle is to be valued at a 50% residual after 36 months, take the MSRP and cut it in half. A 30k vehicle is worth 15k on paper at the end of the lease (or at least the leasing company hopes so...). If the dealer figures the lease on a sale price of 27k - you would only pay for 12k spread out over the 3 yr lease - with a little interest thrown in there... (27k sale price less 50% residual equalling $15k = 12k) If the dealer uses the MSRP of 30k to figure the lease, that's an extra 3,000 bones worth of depreciation you have to pay for over the course of the lease. And don't get me started about trading in a vehicle on a lease... whole nother can of worms there... Does this make sense? or help in any way? -chris (5 yrs worth of automotive sales and finance office experience... sly ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Runnerman Posted March 18, 2004 Share Posted March 18, 2004 When I made the deal for my wifes 03 SE Pathfinder, I put around $7000 down and payments are $400 monthly. Buyout is $16000 which is why I put so much down. This is in Canada so Purchase price for this Pathfinder was around the 43-44000 mark, without taxes or additional costs. Hope this helps somewhat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
97SE Posted April 9, 2004 Share Posted April 9, 2004 Leasing is the worst possible option ever!!! Unless you like wasting your money, stay far away!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Pickles Posted April 9, 2004 Share Posted April 9, 2004 You get nothing in return, and get the shaft if you decide in the end you want to keep the vehicle. All you're doing is making someone's payments for them and borrowing their car for a while. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Runnerman Posted April 9, 2004 Share Posted April 9, 2004 I agree if you just want to give it back at the end of lease not worth it. Ok explain how you get the shaft if you decide to keep the vehicle, I think not, it's just up to the purchaser to get the best deal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Pickles Posted April 9, 2004 Share Posted April 9, 2004 Doesn't matter what deal you can cut, you'll still pay WAY more $$$ if you try and keep it in the end. The option to buy is never structured close to the cost of just purchasing it in the first place. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
squam1 Posted April 10, 2004 Share Posted April 10, 2004 that's why you have to negotiate the selling $$ in the first place... that way, you don't pay more in the end... when someone tells me that leasing is a waste of money, it makes me think that either they really don't understand leasing, or they tend to keep their vehicles for 6yrs or more... leasing all depends on the situation! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Runnerman Posted April 10, 2004 Share Posted April 10, 2004 I agree squam I didn't know to much about leasing until I looked into it and the more I thought about it and crunched the numbers the more appealing it is. Like I said I pay 400 monthly tax incl. with 16000 plus tax at end of lease 4 year term with 7000 down works out to $44,440.00 everything included now with listed price buying it with taxes comes to 47,880.00. Now we all know you can get a way better deal than $44,880.00 without paying listed price when you are buying,but again you have to make a deal. This is Canadian pricing. All I'm saying depends on the person, if they want lower pmts and a buyout option. Well good luck either way you go, just make sure to hagle the best price. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
97SE Posted April 12, 2004 Share Posted April 12, 2004 buying a new car is the worst mistake ever considering an average 15% per year depreciation value...now factor in a lease where I'm limited to 10Kmiles/year, and at the end of 36 months, I've spent over $16000 and have absolutely nothing to show for it except a payment history. Buy used, let someone else eat the depreciation. There's a reason why the "typcical millionaire" drives cars 2-3 years old...they didn't get rich by throwing their money away. But, if a new a car is what you want, then that's what you want. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
squam1 Posted May 4, 2004 Share Posted May 4, 2004 :type: 97SE - if you drive over 10k miles per year, then you should have built that into the lease... All a lease does is pay for the depreciation of the vehicle while you have it. You shouldn't be paying more than 350 or so per month for a brand new SE with an MSRP of 29k or so... and that is with no more than 1500 or so out of pocket... now, figure a loan for 5 years for the same vehicle with the same 1500 down, you would be paying 550+ per month... and that's not even figuring the sale price at sicker... if you figure the truck sells for 27k - that's still going to be about 540/mo... now - where would you be after 3years with a lease? you could walk away from the vehicle and get something else or you can buy the vehicle for the residual price... either way - you've had a vehicle with a FULL warranty for the entire time you've had the car... where would you be after 3yrs of a 5 year note? You'd be upside down - you'd owe more than the vehicle is worth... you'd have to pay for at least another 8 months or so before you'd even break even and now that there is a new bodystyle for the Pathfinder... good luck getting a good trade in value or fair market value on a private sale... I've leased and bought... Ideally, what I recommend to folks that ask is - go find a dealer demo with less than 10k miles on it, make sure it was never registered (truly a dealer demo!) and have them extend the factory warranty with a Nissan extended warranty... at their expense... that's the way to do it. With any car really, buy a 1yr old used or dealer demo vehicle for the best value (good warranty left and good sale price...) I bought my 2002 $35000 LE Pathfinder with 7400 miles on it for less than $27k... and that's before trade and cash down... There was a $2500 rebate and I also got 2.9% financing. I suppose that is the other thing to consider - what sort of financing can you get... low % is like free money and in that case, why lease? The argument can be made both ways. I have about 10 years of professional experience in the automotive industry, both on the sales and marketing side (Mitsubishi and Nissan) as well as the consumer side (autosite.com), so I can honestly say: it is totally dependent upon the situation.... And in the end - "it's not the deal you got - it's the deal you THINK you got..." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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