March 2010 Prius Lease Special

People purchase a Prius for two reasons.

- Save the earth or
- Save money

If your goal is to save money, buying or leasing a new car every 3 years is not going to save you money.

 

Saving is a relative term. It’s not what’s saving for you, it’s what’s saving for the person who’s spending. Using your logic, I can also argue that if you rode a bus everyday or bike to work, you’ll save more and be even more green… It’s pointless to tell what other people should do to save. I agree, it you bought the Prius and drive it for 10 years given no major car problems, you’ll end up saving more then leasing a car every 3. but, to some, that’s not an option. They don’t want to worry about the car breaking down or selling the car in the end… just my .02.

 

I would not compare owning a car to taking a bus to work.

If you buy/lease 3 cars in a 10 year period you are paying substantially more money then buying 1 car in that period. The savings of keeping a car starts after 3 years not 10.

That’s why you buy a Toyota.

 

we're talking about savings, but to what extent you're willing to go is totally up to you. I'm just using your analogy to give you an example it's not what's reasonable for you, it's what's reasonable for that person. you might think owning a Prius for however many years is reasonable, but to others it's not... If you want me to give you a better analogy, i can, too... why not just buy a 6 yr old Civic and drive that thing to the ground. you'll end up saving more than buying a Prius. but you won't do that would you even though you'd save more???

we buy Honda's and Toyota's for their reliability. but it's not guaranteed is it??? other wise they would give us 10 yr warranty and not 3. thus, some people lease it for 3 and get a new lease after that. why is that logic so hard to understand???

 

Like I said before, you're normally right about this, Judge. But with these residual offers, a Toyota Prius is the best lease on the market and frankly more worthwhile than a purchase, given the tech outlook.

Quick Breakdown.
Buy a Package 3, $23195 agreed upon price. 25,456.51 after taxes.
Say you get 0% interest at 60 months = $424/ month

Lease a Package 3, $23195 agreed upon price. Tax added monthly.
(This is my deal, hence my numbers)
$236 a month w/tax
(0 down, drive off 680 includes First month and DMV fees)

After three years, you've paid 6,768 more than me. Yes, you own 60% of the vehicle cost, but you still owe $10,000 :ballchain: on a car that has passed its first warranty milestone.

Flash Forward, 2013 - I've got 6768 saved for a downpayment on a fully electric, flying Prius with Photon torpedos.

 

There will always be people that justify

Leasing over buying.
Leasing a car every 3 years.
Buying a new car every 3 years.
Buying extended warranties.
Buying pre paid maintenance programs.
Buying insurance in case you lose your job.
Buying GAP insurance.
Getting a life insurance if your die before your policy is up.
Play the lottery, ect.....

These people always think they are going to make out on the deal. These people remind me of people that come back from Vegas always winning more then they spent.

All the items listed above were created to make the money for the manufacture, dealer and finical service. Not to benefit you.

The house always wins.

 

It is my understanding that the lease inception\acquisition fee is being wavied at this time by Toyota - can anyone confirm this?

Also, do you or anyone else happen to have the official TFS residuals for both the base II, III & IV models or for those with any options? Is there anywhere that these are published?

 

For residuals try leasecompare.com, or you can ask the dealer to give you a copy of the vehicle inquiry report, which lists the residuals for various lease terms & mileage amounts at the bottom.

 

Not on the lease quote I got on Saturday. It was in there - over $600 as I recall (don't recall the exact amount). However, that doesn't make it right. They also applied the residual % to the base price of the car - not with options. I don't think that's right either. I need to sit down with the finance person and get an explanation of how this promo lease works. Some of the numbers on there just don't make sense.

 

Oh, yeah, I meant to address this earlier:

There is no acquisition fee at signing, they just tack it on to your payments.

I've seen other forums where people are saying it's waived, it's not. It's just spread out. Look at Toyota's Advertised deal. 229 month, 879 drive off.

879-229 first month = 650.

Again, it's not due at signing. But due.

The residuals are all 71-72 on the base models. I believe.

 

The dealer gets the residuals from the TFS system, and you can see them at the bottom of the vehicle inquiry report--ask for a copy. They aren't percentages applied to anything--they are actual dollars. As I indicated in another post, for Toyotas the residual value is only impacted by factory installed options (nav, etc.) and not by port installed accessories (mats, alarm, etc.).

 

Your explanation of the acquisition fee treatment contradicts itself. In one breath you say it's "spread out" and "tacked on" to your payments, and in another you say it's part of the drive off. That's clear as mud.

When I leased my Prius, the TFS system default is to add it to the cap cost.

 

The deal that I stated was actually from Longo Toyota, but I didn't deal with internet sales, just a regular sales guy (Ken Wong - he was actually really friendly and not pushy, but something told me that he wasn't being completely honest...and I was right!!). I'll definitely be giving Adam a call. Thanks!

 

Yes stream,
As in you don't have to pay the acquisition fee at signing. It's tacked on to your payments means it's added on to your payments. I was only saying it's spread out, because it is spread out over the term.

 

I think I'm winning in SoCal. I've seen better deals across the country, but our higher cost of living is certainly factoring in on these.

Package III 215/month before. 236 after taxes, 36k 36m.

I had an offer from Manhattan Beach for 246 after tax. Took it to Marina Del Rey and told them to beat it by 10 bucks a month, or I'd go to Manhattan. They said they could only match it. I stood up to walk out and they changed their tune.

I'm not sure I understand your $0 drive off. My drive off was 680, which included first month + DMV fees (which were legit, I used the Cal dmv calculator) + like a $92 cap reduction.

Do you mean zero additional? Or did they roll your DMV fees into the payments?

 

You said this:

And I responded:

Then you responded:

As I said, you first said it's "tacked on" and "spread out" but then said the following:

$650 is the lease acquisition fee, so you're saying the drive off includes it, which contradicts your other 2 statements. If not, why did you bring up the $650?

I raise the issue because leasing is complicated enough for some, without others providing contradictory (and incorrect) "information."

 

I was dispelling the rumor that there was no acquisition fee.

Toyota calls it part of the Drive Off in their ad, however you don't actually have to pay it at signing.

That's correct information. It's certainly contradictory in language (Acquisition Fee and Drive Off sound like you have to pay them at the dealership, but you don't.). I didn't come up with it.