As stated in the title, I just came back from car dealer today. They got the following number for me:

36 term lease;
New 08 GT with no add-on (i.e. spoilers, appearance pkg etc)
First payment: $750
Monthly payment: $490
Invoice price (they stated): around $29,xxx (they are not willing to tell me an exact number).
MSRP: $31,500

They did say that there is a 3,000 customer cash, but without them explaining the calculation of the lease, I really have no idea about how these numbers are there.

So is it a good deal or not? If not (I've done some searches in this forum and found some really attractive numbers), how should I negotiate with them?

Thanks for everyone's help, I'm not an expert on financing (this is my first car), so any comment is welcomed!

 

36 x 490 = $17,640 + $750 = $18,390

Does that sound like a good deal to borrow a car for only 3 years?

Hint: HELL NO!

How much to purchase at the end of end of the lease? Add that to $18,390 and you'll have your basic cost to compare with buying a car outright, provided you don't go over the mileage limit and the car is pristine after 3 years so you don't have to pay any additional remuneration.

It is never a good idea financially to lease a car. Sometimes some people think it's a necessity to lease. If that's really true, it would be much smarter from a financial point of view to have a much less expensive lease on a necessity kind of car, not a personality sports car. It's still a much better financial decision IMHO to buy a good used car that you've had a trusted mechanic look over, done a car fax, etc.

Sorry if that's not what you wanted to hear. As for negotiating, just say, "No thank you."

 

Hi Robrecht:
Thanks for your info! It DOES sound expensive, as some of the friends here posted prices ranging from 24k - 28k. All of them are so much more attractive than mine.

And I definitely agree with you that leasing is not an ideal solution in terms of finance, but my situation is kind of tricky: I'm only going to stay in the U.S. for about 3 more years, so leasing would provide me with a lower monthly payment for my stay.

So is there any chance to ask the dealer to lower the price for a little bit?

 

Unless you pay in cash, you can expect to have overhead (interest) for borrowing the money. You're also using the vehicle during the first 3 years when it has the highest depreciation.

 

Don't ask the dealer to do anything. Just say, "yes," or (my advice), "no thank you, I'll find a better deal." Your leverage is merely to say yes or no. Asking a dealer to pretty please consider the possibility of lowering the price just a little bit just makes you into a wimp, degrades all mankind, and gives RX8Club a very bad rep. Be a man, buy a used car and sell it for more when you leave.

BTW, where are you going in 3 years? Someplace cool I hope.

 

hi robrecht:
Okay, got it. I'll try somewhere else to get a better deal. ;-) Thanks!
I'm gonna stay in Indianapolis for about 3 years. Definitely not a cool place, but that's where my job is. Can't say no to that one.

Thanks again for the info!

 

Indianapolis is a great car place! I grew up in Illinois, but my Dad took me to the Indianapolis 500 like 8 years in a row, even got pit passes one year. You gotta go!!!

 

Hi
I was offered a lease on an '08 40th anniv which is quite similar price wise to a GT. It had appearance package, spoiler, strakes and accents to take the msrp to 33884. The price was dropped to 29k plus 450 in dealer fees and either a 36 month or 42 month lease came out similar to your price - can't remember exactly (I had little intention of leasing but they were willing to run numbers).

With lease I think they rolled all the costs into the leased amount. Beware that the lease was most likely through a bank - this dealer said Mazda was no longer leasing RX-8s. As such the residual value of the car was set at about 13.5 k after 42 months. So basically you're financing the difference in quoted price plus fees - residual. Find out what the money factor or interest rate is - mine worked out to 4.5% apr (money factor x 2400).
There was also a hefty acquisition fee of $795 and check whether your monthly payment included your State's sales tax.

I think you need to see all the numbers honestly laid out in front of you if you're leasing.

Good luck!

 

Hi Seven-to-eight:
Thanks VERY MUCH for the information!
I'll call them on monday to learn more about the details of the price, and also will try to find a better deal from another dealer.

The 490/mo price includes the state's sales tax. The first $750 they asked also includes the first month payment.

Thank you again!

 

if the msrp is $31,500 than the rx8 is not a gt..Gts go for $32,700 and up especially with appearance package etc... And yeah don't lease is not worth it.

 

Go to the indyrx8club.com website and register. Just like this it's free. Ask about good dealers in your area. Those guys and gals are super nice too. Not hating on this site, but they can give you good advise on dealers because of service, and tell you which ones to stay away from. Good luck.. They also have a HUGE car club up there, which you might be interested in. Lots of information from real people you can talk to face to face about your car when you meet them.

 

I put 7k down (trade in) on my brand new with everything (except navigation thing) which msrp'd for 34XXX and after tax my loan is only for 25k. This was the 40th anniversary edition so I got hosed a bit on "collectors item" crap. I liked the colors best though.

 

Don't completely rule out leasing the car, you just need to know what the dealership is doing. You have to agree upon a cap cost or selling price of the vehicle. Keep in mind there is a cash rebate on the 08. Where is that money going? To you or the dealership to help pay your drive off cost. There is no interest in a lease, but there is a money factor which can be converted to a interest rate (formula in a earler post). Call Mazda cust service on Monday and ask them if their financial arm in no longer doing a lease on RX8's. I don't agree with the dealership that Mazda is not supporting a lease on the RX8. Ask the dealership politely to see the invoice. They have to show it to you. Tell them you need to agree upon a price after seeing the invoice. You just have to negotiate. Good luck.

 

that's a terrible deal.

leasing is not always bad. it just depends heavily on the terms of the lease. leasing is totally different from buying. if you are looking to BUY - you just look at purchase price, interest rate, length of the loan - and you can quickly determine a payment and compare the deal on car A to car B. you buy the car as cheap as possible, get the lowest rate you can get and bingo - you have a payment.

with a lease - it's all different. you have a money factor, which is sort of like an interest rate, and you have residual values. you can negotiate for hte price of the car, but the residual and MF are set by the bank. the problem with leasing is that different cars have different residuals and MFs vary from bank to bank, not necessarily with any consistency. it depends on what deals are being offered. you can convert a MF into an interest rate by multiplying it by 2400. I recently looked into leasing figures on an RX8 and an S2000. no comparison, the lease terms on the s2k were WAY better. due to the MF and residual.

on a lease, remember, you are paying the depreciation. so if the car has a 50% residual after 3 years, but a different car has a 60% residual, the lease payment will be totally different.... some cars simply depreciate too much to be a smart candidate for a lease. othe cars hold their value better and are more worthy of a lease. the MF comes into play as well in then figuring how much interest / rent charge you will pay on teh depreciation you get charged on.

it is very possible to have a MORE EXPENSIVE car actually be cheape to lease than a "lesser" car simply due to having better terms. go look at the lease terms on a BMW compared to a Pontiac.... if you found a low end BMW...say a 328 or 325...and find a loaded up Pontiac and they had the SAME MSRP..... they will NOT have the same residual value. the pontiacs will be lower b/c it depreciates worse. then if they had the same MF,s you would pay MORE to lease the pontiac..even though it techincally "cost" the same.

you really need to go to www.edmunds.com and read their leasing tutorials and educate yourself on leaseing. if you do NOT know much about leasing, the dealer will rape you. it's much easier to rip people off if they lease.

you should ask UPFRONT for the MSRP, the residual %, the MF, and the "cap cost" they will sell for. cap cost is what they really sell it to you for. the residual value, or what it's worth at hte end of the lease is a % calculated off the MSRP. so the way you get a great deal on a lease is to find a car with a high MSRP, that they will heavily discount and sell to you for FAR LESS than MSRP, with a HIGH residaul value. that way the actual depreication you pay on is low. then get a super low MF and you can actually lease a car for cheaper than buying it. (provided you dont' go over milage).

it's tricky.

my recommendation is to NOT lease an RX8. they depreciate too much, and mazda's MF is not all that great. if you want a sporty car and have to lease, go get an S2k. you'll geta similar car for a much better deal.

if you want to BUY and want a GREAT deal, buy a used RX8. the RX8 depreciates more and i know you can find a 05 or 06 RX8 for a LOT less than the used S2ks will sell for... as the hondas hold value better. which is why tey are better to lease.

bottom line - buy a used RX8. in the end, it's probably the best bang for the buck.