March 2010 Prius Lease Special

That is very funny. You are 100% correct. There are way to many people that love to throw money in the trash can.

Most people that lease a car give it back at the end of the lease. This means they are buying a new car every 2-4 years. This is one of the worse things you can do with your money.

 

those are just hypothetical #'s.
My lease was $248 tax incl, $700 D/O, 15K/yr on a white PKG 3 with just floormats. My residual is $16380. I wish I had got those #’s!!! J

 

I agree with you in principle, Judge, but with an attractive enough deal I think re-leasing can be just as wise as owning. I know this goes against conventional wisdom, but look at it like this:

Buy a car for 22,000. Drive it off the lot. Your car is now worth 20% less. You just lost 2-3k on which you probably owe interest. After 5-6 years, you'll end up paying about 25000 (with interest added), not to mention that cost of ownership is another 1500 or so, after your main 3-year warranty expires. Monthly payments around 350 a month.

Now look at an attractive lease...

Lease a 22k car for about 220-250 a month. That's total, tax everything. If you have good credit, tell them to shove their "money down" fees.

Say you do this every 3 years, for 9 years. That's 3 new warranties, 3 new cars with all the trimmings. 0 cost for repair. 108,000 miles later, 24-27k cost of use.

Granted after 9 years, you don't have the asset you've paid for, but those lower payments allowed you to put money in a savings account.
Even 20 bucks a month over 9 years, bearing 0 interest is $2160.

In 9 years, how much do you think you can get for that Prius you bought.
(I say 9 because even though you may pay off your car in 5, the cost of leasing for 6 years is so far below the cost of owning that 9 is the closest year of equivalence.)

There's a good chance it could be worthless compared to a fully electric model - Who knows what the future will hold, man.

So, these are my points. The main caveat is the car and the deal. This only works with Prii for now. The residual on every other car in the market is not good enough to warrant a lease. But as long as these puppies hold 70% of their value at the signing, it's worth it.

Oh, and I've got a background in research, with only a minor in business and finances, so I could be completely wrong. Just my take, and would love to have someone tear my logic apart.

 

I've been sitting on the side line for this one. I do see 2 side of the coins and I like to share them both in different point of views.

There are a lot people out there just want to use or have fun with different car. With that in mind, those people probably want to just pay as little as monthly payment as possible, walk away with the car and return the car at the end of the lease. A lot of people these days want to have something fresh/new toys every few years and not to worry maintenance after warranty. I simply respect their ideas and decisions.

There are a lot of people out there want to pay a bit more than the lease payment and own the car outright at the end of the term. I also respect their idea and decision.

I don't think there is anything wrong either sides and I hope you all agreed with me and let's move on.

Any more Prius can't stop today

 

If my posts came off as aggressive, I apologize. I was just trying to contribute to the discussion. That being said, I don't want to "move on," it's an internet forum, which, by definition, is a place for lively debate.

So bring it on!

 

I am a new Prius owner and new to this forum. Looking forward to learning more about the car from all of you.

I don't want to debate money factors or get in an argument, I just thought I'd provide my deal that I finalized today as a real world data point for everyone. Compared to the alternative of keeping my wife's 8 year old van and ending up with who knows what failures and repair bills over the next 3 years, I feel like I got a pretty good deal.

Illinois is one of the wacky states where for whatever illogical reason, they collect sales tax on the full cost of the car, not just the difference between capitalized cost and residual. That said, I got a Prius II (I just wanted the economy, didn't need all the bells and whistles, wanted to keep it as affordable as possible) for $199 even per month, 36 months, 12K miles/year, with $1397 down. No other costs.

 

I am a new Prius owner and new to this forum. Looking forward to learning more about the car from all of you.

I don't want to debate money factors or get in an argument, I just thought I'd provide my deal that I finalized today as a real world data point for everyone. Compared to the alternative of keeping my wife's 8 year old van and ending up with who knows what failures and repair bills over the next 3 years, I feel like I got a pretty good deal.

Illinois is one of the wacky states where for whatever illogical reason, they collect sales tax on the full cost of the car, not just the difference between capitalized cost and residual. That said, I got a Prius II (I just wanted the economy, didn't need all the bells and whistles, wanted to keep it as affordable as possible) for $199 even per month, 36 months, 12K miles/year, with $1397 down. No other costs.

 

is that $199 before or after tax? if before, what's after tax? what's your residual?

 

No tax. $199.00 each month. Illinois figures the tax up front on the entire cost of the car, so that was somehow factored into the down payment.

Residual was $16K-something. Don't recall the last three digits; I don't have the paper in front of me. I'm not planning to buy the car, anyway, but glad to be getting 50 MPG while I have it.

 

Hi all, so I've read through the posts, but in my recently started search for a new 2010 Prius II, I have a couple of questions:

1) Can someone tell me whether the $879 D/O and $229/mth payments stated in the March lease special include tax and fees?

2) I just visited a dealership today and the lowest they could go on a Prius II (no accessories) was $251/mth, with $1,100 D/O, including taxes and fees (36 mths, 12k mi/year). This was with a .00075 money factor and 72% resid. If I recall correctly, the cap cost was about 23,500 (which is right at MSRP, incl dest.). The salesman said he couldn't go any lower and that he was essentially giving me exactly what the March lease special was, so I walked. Do you think this is truly the lowest they could go or was this guy bs-ing me?

3) Also, how much room for negotiation is there with these factory lease specials?

Thanks for the help in advance!

 

I bought a Prius V on Friday at $500 under invoice (agreed upon $29,129.00 for my model w/o the AT package). If I can do it, you can too. Make sure you walk into the dealer with your excel spreadsheet showing the breakdown of every-single-thing. I created my own using their current MF of .00075 and residual value of $20835 (low - per Toyota Corp.)

Why is the D/O so high for a Prius II? My D/O was $805 and change...this includes the additional cost added by their maintenance package...which I was duped into getting...

 

How 'Stripped Down' is the car ?
What Options are left on it ?
How many miles has it already been driven ?
Any 'Capital Cost' reduction required ?
What Interest are you gonna pay ?
And how much is the actual money you'll have to expend throughout the 36 months to lease the car. What 'residual' is left on it ?
How much in reg. fees, delivery fees, 'dealer prep', etc.

Remember the lease payment does not determine the best lease, the actual money you have to outlay for the car beginning to end does.

 

I just got a brand new prius 3 for $500 out of pocket(including 1st months payment),$229 per month including tax.i searched statewide and this was best deal i could get.

 

Prius 3 + floormats leased yesterday:

List 24,750.00
Discount 1,432.00
Selling Price 23,318.00
Prep 119.00
License 89.00
Fee 650.00
Tax 10.94
Total Cap 24,186.94
Reduction -214.49
Net Cap 23,972.45

Base Payment 233.60
Tax 11.91
Monthly Payment 245.51

Rate .000750
Annual Miles 15,000
Residual [24,750] 67.3131313
Residual Amount 16,660.00

Tax 5.10%

Thoughts?

 

All their dealer fees that are beyond tax and license (like "Prep" and "Fee") took back a lot of their discount. Doesn't sound like a great deal to me especially in the midst of all the Toyota problems in the news right now.

 

What is the lease term?

Have you run the numbers through a lease payment calculator (like the excel spreadsheet I've posted a few times), to ensure there are no games being played? Also ask for the vehicle inquiry report, which will include the official TFS residuals.

The $650 fee I assume is the lease inception fee, which is standard. I question the prep fee, since Toyota already includes a destination charge. Other than that, the discount seems reasonable. Could you get more? Perhaps, so perhaps try another run (offer $2,000 discount, see what they come back with).

 

Buying a new car every 3 years is such a waste of money. Most people that lease a car give it back after 3 years. Same result.

I am not trying to tell people how to spend their money. If your house is paid off, you have zero debt and are investing the max into your 401K and investing the max in a Roth IRA you should treat yourself to a new car ever 3 years. It is a luxury you can afford.

If you still have a mortgage. Any credit card debt (average American has $10,000). Or not contributing to retirement you should not be buying or leasing a new car every 3 years.

For most people buying / leasing a car is the second largest purchase in your life. Why make that purchase every 3 year instead of 8-10 years? You can save over $100,000 over the years by not leasing or buying a new car every 3 years.

 

Prius II.

$1397 down at delivery.
$199 per month.
No other fees/taxes.
36 months, 36K miles

Very happy with the car over the first 2 weeks.

 

Yes the $650 is the bank fee, the prep fee is what they call a document fee and the lease term is 3 years.

 

It is expensive, but some people want this. I would prefer to buy and resell myself because i can't predict how many miles I will drive in the next 36 months, so I can't commit to any specific mileage on a lease.
The main advantage I can see in a lease is having a guaranteed value at the end of the lease if you don't go over the mileage and don't have excess wear/damage. If there is some massive Toyota scandal or 99 cent gas at the time you turn your lease in, you still get the contracted value on the Prius. If you lease a 15mpg SUV and gas has gone to $5 per gallon at the end of the lease, you still get the contracted value.