c5low13

Went to a local Mazda for leasing a rx8. They have a 06 GT rx8 with every option but navigation...msrp was 32.9k

I originally went in looking for the sport model for the special lease price of $299 a month for 24 months with $2500 down + tax/tags/title.

All they had were GT models and I fell in love with the extra options...heated seats and the leather color combo.

Anyways...they offered this...06 rx8 GT all options but nav for 36 month lease, 12k miles a year. Put down just tax, tags, title...and its $459 a month.

I've been comparing that too the special lease mazda has on their website: 299/month, $2500 down plus tax/tags/title for 2 years. t/t/t comes to about $2k.
So they want $4.5k down and 299 a month for a sport model.

I'm getting the GT model, putting down $2500 less, 3 yrs, $459 a month....so an extra $160 a month but putting down $2500 less and getting a GT model vs a Sport model.

I dont want to keep the car more than 3 yrs...plan on getting a new car every 3 yrs or so...and price to own the car...for a 4 yr loan is prob around $700 or so with nothing down.

Let me know what you guys think
thanks

icyur2

DON'T do it!! When you go in a dealership, forget the lease part. Concentrate on what you are willing to shell out for the car. AFTER that is done, then you bring up the lease. I learned my mistake the hard way. I shelled out 33K on a GT (without appearance package & nav)..so..after reading what everyone here is getting for their 8's..well..I could of talked my way down to 30K!!

Anyways, tell them what you are willing to pay for the GT. If they don't agree, walk out and tell them to call you if they change their minds. Don't waste your time sitting there, because they do this on purpose to make you tired enough to just sign the paper and get it over with (case in point). Do yourself a favor, tell them you'll buy it for 30K. If they don't like it, walk out the door and contact another dealer. You can use the 3K for other stuff and likely lower your monthly payment: $2500 down is quite a bit...

fredw1

I agree with icyur2 on negotiating the price first. Quoted lease rates are often based upon MSRP. You need to know the capitalized cost (aka, the price of the car for a lease). You should start with invoice and work up.

IMO, puting money down on a lease is a bad idea. It's money that could be invested or otherwise used. In order to be able to tell whether this is a good deal or not, you need to know the residual (value of the car at lease termination) and the money factor.

A couple of other things may help:
1) Check leasecompare.com to see what going rates are for your zip code.

2) Compare the "cost" of the car with buying by adding the total of your lease payments (36 x $459 = $16,524) plus the residual (maybe $15K?) to the price if you bought the car ($700 x 48 = $33,600). I make the latter suggestion because, when I leased, it gave me a good feel for how leasing and buying at the end compared to buying the car over 4 or 5 years. In my case, the two options were within $1K-$2K of each other. The numbers seem to compare well, but make sure you compare money factors (which depend upon how much additional profit the dealer wants and your credit rating) and residuals (which come from a book most dealers use, so there won't be much variation unless they monkey with the numbers).

On the surface, it sounds like a fairly good deal. I'm almost two years into a 4-year lease on a 2005 GT, paying $399/month with nothing down.

rglbegl

CALL YOUR OWN BANK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
ANY bank will do a lease. You dont have to use the dealership for the loan/lease.
Cap cost reduction is discount off of MSRP. The base at $299/mo is at FULL STICKER PRICE!!!! Take a look in the local papers. If you find a $4500 discount on a GT, make sure you get that on a lease OR a purchase. If they want to charge full sticker . . walk away.
Cap cost reduction should be at least $4000. Money factor to equal 6% or less.(.0018 i think) And the residual is pretty much set by mazda.
PM me with any specifics. This is what I do for a living. (along with a couple other guys here, one even works for mazda in sales. I am in finance for toyota)

Tigster

Also ask them for the interest rate of the lease, many dealers will say "well we use a money factor, and they are different than an interest rate" But there are money factor calculators on the net. Also Mazda is not always the best for lease rates, I currently have mine through Huntington at a 1.9% interest rate.

Oh and 4500 down is WAYYYYYYYY too much. But like everyone else has said find out the purchase price first, then find out what the residual of the lease is at the end of the term, the interest rate, the last thing you want to know is the payment. Dealers will screw with the numbers to get you your payment but it is not always best for you.

Also remember most rebates apply to a lease as well for when you negoiate the purchase price.

ken-x8

Ummm...you went in looking for a Sport model...which I take it was advertised because you cited a special lease deal. But they didn't have the advertised special - all they had was GTs.

And by the time the smoke cleared they had you going for the GT, at a much higher price.

That's bait and switch. Illegal. You might consider giving your state's Attorney General a call. But definitely find another dealer to buy your car from. You'll never get a square deal from criminals.

Ken

Eddie13

You know how to avoid the bait and switch? Call the dealer(s) before hand and have them fax you a copy of the VIN # of the advertised vehicle(s). If they object, tell them to cover the costs of the vehicle, and insist that you're only interested in it for verification purposes.

Let them know you're serious and are planning on purchasing the vehicle within the next couple of days. If they still balk, tell them you're taking you're business elsewhere.

c5low13

no...this is not a bait and switch....the lease deal on the sport model for $299 is from mazda.com not a particular dealer.
It's just that every dealer I checked locallly....there werent any sport models left.

ken-x8

So it's Mazda itself that's running the bait and switch.

Advertising something that they don't have, then trying to sell you something more expensive, is bait and switch. It does not matter if the local store or the parent company is doing it - it's still illegal. Did the dealer offer to get you a sport model? Or sell you what they had at the advertised price?

Ken