Just picked up an SV in Phoenix. I researched pricing quite a bit, and decided on the SV because the residual was 1% higher (or so I thought), and I don't need any of the SL features. Tracking down and SV was quite a challenge. There was only one in town, and the dealer didn't really want to sell it, because they used it as bait for their ads. Finally found one posted on ebay, from a local dealer. When I called, it was already sold, but he found me another one.
Anyway, here are the details:
24 month lease, 15k mi/year.
MSRP: 36,220
Purchase Price: 33,900
Rebate: 9,075
Fees: (Dealer fees, license, first month payment): 703.22
Residual: 20,283.20 (56%)
Money Factor: .00003 (~0.072%)
Adjusted cap (inc acquisition fee of 595): 26,123.22
Zero out of pocket, no trade in.
Payment $244.72/month + tax
It's REALLY easy to calculate these leases. Typically, it's a somewhat complicated formula:
http://www.ridewithg.com/index.php/the-lease-formula/. With the interest rate near zero, the formula can be greatly simplified to:
Code:
(Adjusted Cap Cost - Residual) / Number of months in the lease term
So for my example, (26,123 - 20,283) / 24 = 243.33 which is off by $1.39/month, which is the interest paid each month.
I've seen much better deals posted here, but the lease terms vary by region. I received a 9,075 rebate from NMAC in AZ, but I know CA gets 9,975 rebate, which would have been ~$30/month lower lease. To compare, we really need to look at MSRP, and purchase price before rebate. In my case, it's $2,320 under MSRP. Once that is negotiated, then just make sure you are getting the buy rate on the Money Factor (they can mark that up), and watch for dealer fees. Also, I highly recommend zero down on leases. If the vehicle is totaled, or possibly bought back under a lemon law, you will not see any of the down payment back. Plus, it's only costing you pennies in extra interest.