Here's everything you need to know about how to lease a car, and how to avoid overpaying: caredge.com/guides/leasing-a-car-in-2023

Great info! I find leasing very confusing, this information helps. Having you guys do a demo between customer and sales person for a lease would be helpful, too.

3 years ago your tips helped me with my lease. But went back this past week and was not successful making a deal. Going back through your videos to hopefully make a deal on Atlas SE w/technology 24. Thanks for making this videos!

Living in Metro Detroit here , leasing appears to be a simple process since so many qualify either for an employee discount from one of the Big 3 or another type of discount (example - Friends or supplier discount). I leased three Ram trucks between 2016-2020. The invoice showed the employee price (which I got from my dad). I always did absolutely nothing out of pocket. My most recent lease was on a 2023 Jeep Wrangler 4xe. Thanks for the great content !! 👍🏻

Fantastic deep dive, guys, THANK YOU so much!

Man, you guys are my new personal hero’s! Super helpful info. Thank you!

best video on leasing i've ever seen! thank you!

Good points, a lot of what was discussed was "oh that is true, I just never rationalized it". Here Hyundai only comes with a 5 year warranty - and 3 of that is "more deluxe" - the bonus is that it lowers the prices of cars here - likely by $2000 thereabouts from what I can perceive. It was confusing but I started to look at the hybrid version of my car and it made sense with ONE "bonus" being a lot of the warranty was extended to 8 years (on high cost items) so that got in my head. When they only had petroleum only models "with new order hybrids being not nearly at the same market pricing availability" I kind of listened to the warranty presentation more. It was around $4000 from Hyundai to make it 8 years "deluxe everything package" and they offered me employee pricing which was $2000 with taxes and fees included. It includes "refund at the end" if it is never used and cancellation refund or transfer pro-rated. All I know is that a flat tire cost me $100 to repair and it was not under "any warranty" the first year according to the service (I asked twice - when I came in and then on the paying). It was another reason to swap out the "not great" factory tires (in my opinion - but they looked fantastic at least).

Just found your videos and these are so helpful, thank you so much!

I have a new business idea. “Professional car lease or purchase negotiators.” For those of you who know the in’s and out’s of car lease/purchase negotiations, you could offer your services to people looking to buy/lease a vehicle but who also may not feel confident in the negotiations. You go in with the customer, sit at the desk with the customer and salesman and you negotiate the best deal for the customer. Charge a reasonable fee of $300 per negotiation for your services, which the customer would feel is money well spent in order to save yourself from getting ripped off. Do you know how many people would sign up for that??? Your welcome!😅

Thanks to this video and your clear explanations of these factors, I was just able to confidently negotiate with a sales manager who tried very hard to not discuss the total price of the vehicle the bank would pay or the money factor. I was able to get a $1650 discount off of msrp and a significant reduction in the money factor when he came back to me with the new numbers after my initial “not going to work for me response.” Thank you very much for advocating for the buyer and providing such valuable information when the dealers continue to not only squeeze the customer for more money, but attempt to crush them in these transactions.

This is such a golden video. Thank you so much for all the help on this!

I just found this video as I’m doing research for my third lease and it was very helpful thank you. Also the curly haired guy is super cute 😊 thank you for this video

A video on residual values would be fantastic. To me, it seems like the residual value is an arbitrary number. I suspect that certain makes and even models would likely have a higher residual at the end of the lease. It would seem that the higher residual value of a vehicle at the end of the lease would mean that the vehicle has depreciated less than a vehicle with a lower residual value. A Toyota Highlander would have a higher RV vs. say a Ford Edge. One would also think that if the vehicle retains a higher RV at the end of the lease, the lease payments would be less since the car would be worth more at the end of the lease????

First of all, you guys and your team rock 🎸 , awsome job, if its not to much trouble in another video go over what a vehicle lease agreement form is its almost has as many line entries as a federal income tax form , that would be awsome. Ooo and not all lease agreement forms are the same they different in the way all the crazy math is done. Keep rocking, im learning alot thanks to you guys and your awsome team 😊😊😊

Thank you. I learned so much just watching this one video. Thank you again

I'm looking to lease next year for the first time ever, and all of this information is invaluable.

Great vid guys . Yes but of course leasing cars all these years that has always been principal to get the selling price first from the sales MGR . I skip the salesman altogether and talk straight with the sales MGR.

This is great info. I /am/was looking at trading in my lease and whatever equity I had was going towards the next one. I was told I'm essentially stuck until the end of my lease because leasing companies are giving crazy buyout prices. My leasing bank is Ally and the dealer said we don't deal with them because their lease buy out numbers to dealers are about 20% more than the truck is worth.

Thanks a lot, great help for my upcoming lease.

When I had my landscape company I always leased my work trucks (Chevies) got better deals extended miles per year and when I turned them in, only one got a charge for a dented rear quarter panel. I could write off the lease payments and all expenses associated with the trucks. I did buy one of the trucks out at the end of the lease as the buyout was almost 3K less than the current prices of the same truck used with more miles and poorer condition. Personally now being retired I have a Buick encore gx, got it for 23K, less 9K for my 2016 Cruze it was a purchase not a lease so I have a $258 payment for 5 years which I'm ok with...i really couldn't find a $0 down lease deal where I could have sold the Cruze for cash to a dealer, deduct the first payment, and drive out with a new car and a check. I would lease again on those terms but right now no good lease deals are out there and I do like my Buick.

Such a super good authentic video

Great info. Most people wouldn’t realize you shouldn’t put any money down on a lease

This is great info. It’s just exhausting to think that you even have to apply it to get into a car. Unbelievable.

Great learning tool, your channel is

Excellent & helpful video! ✨

Very helpful!! Thanks guys!!

It's a bit different in the UK. Most leases allow you to put 1 month down minimum (+fees). That said, depending on the deal, putting more down CAN reduce the total amount payable. Agreed, if the car is written off or stolen within that "down payment period" you lose out. The finance company will be paid out by your insurance but YOU will not get that money back or be able to carry it over into another lease. That's the risk you take by putting more down in an attempt to get a better deal over the total term of the lease.

I didn't know about the money down and the value lost...great info!

Excellent review, Leasing cars since 2004, have gone over 20 leased vehicle (all luxury cars), never put down ,money ZERO DRIVE OFF. now here is the thing, you have to find the good lease offered by companies, thats the key, most companies at least once a year bring crazy deals on their cars, example I am leasing a 58K Acura MDX Advance for last 2 years and I got that car lease for 396.77, ZERO DRIVE OFF lol go out 80-100 miles to remote town which has a dealer, instead going to yout city dealer, who might be selling tons of cars. remote dealer who doesnt sell much would love to earn your business. tomorrow, I am picking up Subaru Solterra EV MSRP 54K ( Touring model) for zero money down for 329 a month. I made 2 dealer compete each other lol

Exactly. That has being my strategy with leasing

This is great advice for the Toyota Crown since they're not selling well. I might even get the Crown Max.

Thanks about to negotitate mine on friday

Another amazingly educational video, you guys are the best... i have a lease question.. I’ve heard mixed reviews on matte paint, am I crazy to go with a factory matte paint? My concern is that when the lease is up I’m gonna be destroyed because of minor defects to the paint. Do you think it will fall under “wear and tear” or am I crazy for leasing a specialty factory paint option? Just figured I’d kick your brain. Thanks guys!!

I was at a Ford dealership today. New trucks with missing stickers, about 1/2 of them, just the “dealer add-on” dealers and total pricing. There were trucks with the MSRP and a difference, up charge, from MSRP to the start of the dealer add on sticker averaging 1500-2000 higher to start.

Great advice!

I've been leasing for 15 years, and I usually negotiate by monthly payment in order to get the total cost down vs. the cost up from. I do this because I have a monthly budget that I want to be within. Also, I never turn in the car at the end of the lease primarily because I typically have equity in the vehicle and use that money for the next lease. Also, I never had a dealer ask me to purchase an extended warranty because it's a 36-month lease and already under warranty as is. But maybe there are some dealers which are scum bags and try this tactic... Thanks for your videos!

Thank you!

As far as warrenty, the only thing you may consider is a dents, scratches and dings package. They cover dings scrtches and dents (obviously) and wheel damage (curb rash) so that you are not charged for those things at the end, because they can add up. But i would also say, never "return" the lease always trade it in (check and make sure your lease allows this, most do) or put it to another lease. Our last lease was over miles, had a couple dings and scratches, chip in the windsheild etc but the car still had positive equity that went to the new lease - so we didnt pay the dings/dents or return fee or over miles and got $ toward the new lease.

this got you a sub! thanks

Awesome info. I was sitting around thinking about why am I going to put money down on this car.

Hi new subscriber here. I love all of your videos. I wish I found you guys last year when I bought my first car lol. 😢❤️😂 speaking on this, and I just realized tonight that my car did not come with any factory mats. I bought it right from the Hyundai dealership too. What do I say to them to get my car mats? I know that they’re going to try and make me buy some but I’m not going to pay for some thing that is supposed to come with my car.

Appreciate this video is a few months old but hopefully someone can help! If we shouldn't give away our monthly price, what should you say when a lease sales rep asks "what is your budget for your new lease?" Do I say something along the lines of, "monthly budget doesn't concern me I would like to get X% off the MSRP"? If so, what is a reasonable discount to ask for without getting laughed at or screwed over.

Thanks!!

Very informative.

Hey guys, I love u guys very informative. I've always heard that when u lease and u go to lease another car that what's ever money that is left over is tacked on to the next car (r even if u go to buy another car) so now not only do u have the new car to lease r to buy, but u still also have what's left of the other lease, right?

Great advice. I would have also discussed the residual value as well. People don't understand that some cars don't lease well and that comes down to the residual set my the manufacturer.

2:44 so I have leased both ways. Paying fees up front and in monthly payments. It changes the contract structure, like the layout is different because you don’t have anything in “amount due at lease signing” basically 4, 5 and 6 sections of contract. I didn’t really see any difference it’s just how it appears. Also, one time thru deferred my first month payment so it wasn’t at due at lease signing

Thank you guys”

Love the father and son relationship ❤

My key points, most of which in the video: 1) do the homework on lease specific incentives and the lease money factor from the mfg leasing company before going to the dealership 2) If considering an EV lease, confirm if any available tax credit $s are being fully passed through to the lessee as a cap cost reduction versus being fully or partially held back as profit 3) confirm who the leasing company (lessor) actually is, i.e. make sure there is not a 3rd party leasing company being inserted into the deal, only deal with the mfg's finance company 4) and as illustrated in the video confirm your lease includes GAP as a default item...

Could you please do a pro/con of doing a lease to purchase process? I would love to hear Ray’s perspective on it.

Thanks for this info, how does one shop for a good lease within their budget without having to go through the full sales cycle as described? Or is it not possible without getting trapped into a lesser deal?

Another bonus rule is to never have your lease payment exceed 1.5% of your MSRP based on a lease with NO MONEY DOWN due at signing otherwise you’re not getting a good lease. Best leases are when your payment is 1% of the price of MSRP and you get there with no money out of pocket at signing or only doing your first payment upfront and rolling the rest of the fees into the lease Another tip is try to stay away from long term leases that exceed 39 months and choose lease term 33 months 36 months or 39 months at most and all the other terms should be avoided as options to lease and if you want to keep the car for longer then 39 months than you really shouldn’t be leasing but financing.

Another lease tip if you stay with the same brand try and turn it in a month or 2 before your lease ends to avoid the lease aquisition fee when you turn it in.

i paid only my gap insurance and first payment upfront while negotiating the selling price.

One thing not mentioned are MSDs, or security deposits. Could be wrong but not all manufacturers accept it and the policies will vary. Example, do you get the MSDs back once the lease ends, but don’t of lease was ended early. Also what happens if the car is totaled etc. MSDs can help bring monthly down, but again gotta know what the contract says about them.

Thank You so much. I had a lease where I traded in my car that i owned. i had no idea the best way is no money down?

Interesting. I've done the prenegotiated specials idk in the past. No frills.

Hey what do you think of paying a lease all up front in order to save $$ on interest for someone who has a lot of cash and is mostly concerned with paying the least amount over course of the lease?

Would you recommend the no money down for buying a vehicle and keeping that extra money to help pay the car payment?

This is important to know, but these factors work with one another and change the only thing that actually matters - the all in effective monthly price. That's it and that's what everyone should focus on.

5:00 the benefit would reduce your down-payment on the wrong end. You wanna haggle all other fees and wave high msrps FIRST this in order sets the stage for your true monthly payment. You don't wanna give the dealer wiggle room (your down payment is there wiggle room)

@2:56 gap insurance can be much MUCH cheaper through your regular auto policy than whatever the lease people are charging.

I got screwed with a lease… supposedly they had vehicles for $300 per month, they up the MSRP, I put $5k down, put the extended warranty, and still got an awful payment of $924… they said it was 0% and I see there’s a 7% sales tax… planning to call the bank to see if able to renegotiate the interest or something hopefully but would never do this again

You two should offer either buying or leasing services for potential customers ❤

How about a video on whether to buy the vehicle when the lease is up, pros and cons.

“Fair Deal.” What a loaded phrase. What makes any price fair? For decades now, my attitude has been that if the dealership loses money on one deal during the year, I want it to be mine. Fairness doesn’t apply here. It is a competition. I want to do better than the the dealer. But, the dealer has many advantages. Most significantly, they have a much better understanding of Supply and Demand in this market for this week than any customer can have. Still, the best defense is to focus on the OTD price. And don’t be emotional.

Sadly, this video came 6 days too late for me. I leased a 2023 Mazda CX-5 Turbo. My lease did NOT come with GAP insurance included, so I had to purchase that. In Ohio, GAP insurance is required. I was offered the drive-off option (no money down, blah, blah, blah) and turned it down (stupid in retrospect), put down $2500 (stupid 2.0) and focused on the monthly payment, per another YT video. Luckily, I did not get the extended warranty. After watching this video, I realized how foolish I had been (despite researching the hell out of which car to get and how to negotiate a lease). I've been leasing Hondas for 11 years and wanted a change, so I wasn't a total newbie to the process - and I STILL got screwed. The only good thing is that I love my new vehicle and enjoy driving it a lot. My sales rep kept me there from 1:30-6:00 p.m. during negotiations - it was hot outside, I hadn't eaten in hours, and I was tired - so my defenses were down. I feel like an idiot now. I don't believe they behaved "above board," but I unfortunately signed the contract. I should have walked out of the dealership, like my gut was telling me to, but I didn't. I did receive a Mazda satisfaction survey email - can I complain there? Is there anything I can do to make this less financially painful?

Outstanding info, you guys are great

I desperately need to do this and wish to God one of you would guide me through this ... Lol. Great info ... Help

We want an EV and are considering a lease so we always have the best tech and batteries within 2-3 years. What the thoughts on this approach? I know typically it’s better to buy but to always have maximum mileage on a EV seems like a winner to me too.

Leasing Vs long term rentals. Which one is a better option for someone that likes to keep changing cars?

Good advice... It's not the dealers job to have your best interest at stake That is your job! If you sign a bad one, it's your fault..... You can be a victim and complain about it or you can be a good negotiator, get good deal, and have some pride knowing you did well and help others do the same!

In Atlanta they just aren't doing that right now. I do the same, 0 down on my leases. Used to anway. I have great credit too. But the dealers seem to greed want that down payment. Or, ive caught them playing w the money factor. Had financial guy say he couldn't share the money factor in negotiating. Really nuts, i think most of these sale guys and financial guys dont really know how to put a fair lease together. They've figured out the wrong way bc customers go along w it.

What happens if the dealer takes the first payment, registration, and fees out of a lease cash incentive to make it zero drive off? Is that something that pads their profit? What should a customer be asking for instead?

Another key to leasing: go the message boards at Edmunds and find out the posted program rate (money factor) for the lease you want (length/miles/zip code). Then you will know how much the dealer is marking up the finance charge and be able to use that to negotiate either a lower money factor than what the dealer quoted you, or as leverage to reduce the MSRP to offset that markup.

I understand what you are saying about the payment ,but iff you’ve done the research on everything the monthly payment is all you need to know with the money factor and don’t go over 42 months max

What about asking whats the exact amount of the lease i will pay over 36 months ?does that help you negotiate a better lease?

Hi guys! Would you say that leasing a car would be the best option when: 1. You are moving to a new state and can't bring your own car (overseas) 2. You are in need of a car ASAP for more mobility at work 3. You may not have much money for a decent down payment in case of financing (since will be investing in moving), 4 And, you are not sure if you'll stay too long in the state?

Can you please clarify. I thought that the advertised GM Lease, Mazda Lease etc. terms were set by corporate, not the dealer. They can be negotiated with the dealer?

Rule of thumb a $40,000 should equal a $400 a month payment with minimal to no money down. Lately though it seems to not be the case anymore due to the state of the economy so expect higher payments but with a little negotiating you may be able to get that $40,000 for less than $400 a month. Check dealer inventory before you head down to the dealer. The more they have in stock of the car you want the better chance you have to negotiate a lower lease payment.

Great info, thanks!

This is obviously for people who have a slight grounding in the subject, not for complete newbies. They could clarify a few things.

Thanks for the video. I’m looking at a Jeep Wrangler EV. They are supposedly giving me 14k in credits. I was hoping that number or part of it would come off the MSRP …. If it did come offf the msrp would that help lower the residual value? I feel like I got a decent lease deal but the buyout seems high. Basically my lease payment plus the buyout Equals the MSRP. I feel like that 14 K got lost in the equation

Hi. I have watched several of your videos. They're very helpful. Thanks for doing this for us who don't know. I went to a Lexus dealership and did exactly how suggested. Please let me know if I did everything correctly. All numbers are rounded for easy calculations. At first, I established the final selling price of $64,000. Then the residual amount of $31,000, and $1,000 for my trade in. That's $32,000, which would go as the lease amount for 48 months. Am I correct so far? After that, we added the sales tax, which is for the amount of the lease amount, right? It all came out at $35,000. To calculate my monthly lease amount, do I divide the $35,000 amount? I calculated $730/month for 48 month. Was that correct? Thank!

What happens for cars that are let’s say over $150,000 that you want to leave because it’s the most advantageous wait purchase it. Often times no matter who you are or what your credit score is you cannot lease it without 10% down what do you saved about this?? Likewise single pay leases with gap insurance.

I am turning in my lease in 4months, but plan on leasing again. I bought gap insurance last time, is it recommended to get gap insurance again. I have the best coverage with Triple A, so is gap insurance worth it.

Hi, I've signed a deal yesterday Toyota Highlander Limited Edition Purchase price: $64, 469 (MSRP $67500) Residual value: $31, 312.96 (after 4 years) Down payment: $0 My first proposal: Lease term: 36 months Down payment: $0 Monthly payment: $1200 But signed papers with below deal: Lease term: 48 months Monthly payment: $1120 Could you please confirm if this is a good deal ?

Thanks for these tips! But do you think in these times we can still have leverage not to put money down? Dealers here in South Florida are being too comfortable and not wanting to negotiate. In fact, they say, you can go if you want, we have other people in line.... its crazy.

For zero drive off, doesn’t that mean you don’t have a trade in or incentives? I’m pretty sure those are part of the “due at lease signing” in section 6, right? Because it’s a CCR because you trade in to lower payments. Or am I wrong?

Interesting. Ihave had 2 very good affordable lease situation with no money down, refused additional cost add ons and questioned all the line items. Honda and Subaru were very cooperative. I leased for under $250/mo.

0:25 what if I already talked about monthly payment lol because I went way lower than advertised but I also talked about out the door price

AM SHOWING THIS SKILLS ON MY NEXT LEASE

When they say selling price is they mean the msrp or otd? Or is it something different?

Good stuff

I think you mentioned it, but now I can't find it... if I'm negotiating off of the out the door price, what can I expect a. monthly lease payment to be on average for every $10,000 of the full price?

After agreed on contract, you have to talk to finaancer. He will try to get you to pay for GAP insurance. Should you? How much?

I don’t know if many of these great suggestions work when you want a car that is very sought-after. Like a Hyundai Kona, for instance. They sell out the first day they’re on the lot, so they don’t really cared to negotiate and if you do want to, they’ll tell you to get lost because the next guy won’t negotiate.

Unless you like a new vehicle/car every three years or can't afford the monthly purchase payment for a 36 month loan, it seems like purchasing is a better option, especially if one gets a very low interest rate. Maybe a lease makes sense for low reliability vehicles, but since even the poor quality vehicles seem to go 100,000 miles without repair, I'm not sure....