WHen Leasing a car be sure to read the fine print! Leases tend to have many variables mainly credit worthyness, but getting as much as possible under msrp is the main goal...
When buying a vehicle. Don't focus so much on payment. Worry about actual purchase price. Car dealers are so focused on what payment are you looking for, so they can sneak in all the extra crap you really don't need.
You should seriously go to your credit union or bank and figure out what rate you qualify for. There you can get a baseline of what your payment can be.
Dealerships focus solely on your payment desire so they can manipulate numbers in their favor.
Example:
You want a 2013 Leaf with an msrp of $29,900
**Never ever pay full retail for a new car. Typically you can get them at invoice which is about $1000 less than msrp.**
28,900 minus 8k for your gas guzzling Sentra trade in.
$21,900 @ 1.9% for 60 months come out to about $382 a month.
Now you told the trustworthy car salesman you want to be under $450 a month.
He's thinking "sweet! thats over $65 a month I have to play with."
So you go back n fourth. He's running into that glass booth with all the dry erase marks on the window. Talking to the sales manager trying to get you a payment you like. What you don't know is he's really trying to figure out all the add-ons he can squeeze out of your desired payment.
So your sales man comes back and tells you "great news! we got you under your payment!" What he doesn't tell you is that you not only bought a new leaf, but you bought Gap insurance, the top of the line extended warranty, maintenance agreement, and a luster sealer.
28900 + 500 gap + 2500 ext warr +1200 maint contract + 500 sealer over $4700 in extras
33,600 minus 8k trade
25,600 @1.9% 60 months = $447.69 Just a hair under what you were comfortable with.
Now some of you are saying "I need those extras" while i somewhat agree you definately dont need them all. for starters.
Gap insurance. Now if you owe more than what the car is worth. Like no down or negative trade equity then I'd say yes Gap is needed.
$500 is alot of money to add on to a depreciating purchase. Also most insurance providers offer gap at a fraction of the cost from the dealer.
Ext warranty. If you are scared of uncertainty then maybe you should consider it. I highly reccomend you study the existing factory warranty before even thinking of adding one of these. The cost is so high and 95% of purchasers never get to use it for a major repair. Secondly, I'm not buying a yugo. Im buying a nissan. Just because it's an ev. Don't let them scare you into a warranty. Also, there are other avenues for obtaining a warranty than the dealership at a fraction of the cost.
Also maintenance plan is a huge waste. Most new cars especially the leaf require little maintenace. Pay for it as it comes up. Don't finance it and pay even more interest than you should.
Luster sealant. Come on folks. How hard is it to spend a few hours every other month with a can of turtle wax?
The only thing these extras do are add to your payoff and get people in trouble when they are upsidedown in the event of a wreck or needing to flush the car due to job loss or they simply don't like the car.
Another whammy is doc fee. $199 or less i can live with. some stealerships charge as much as $499 pay really close attention and most dealerships won't disclose that until you are signing papers.
They say that fee is non negotiable which is fine, but find ways to trim that cost during negotiations..
I realize a lease a little different, but bottom line read, read, read every cost involved.
These guys are trained (math magicians) they know what numbers work in their favor.
In closing, many dealerships add on a bunch of crap like pin striping, tint, clear bumper guards etc.
While many of these items are great they tend to have over a 100% markup. Tell them you don't want that stuff and 90% of the time they will remove the charge.
At the end of the day they need to make money, but try not to let them make it all from you.
