Lexus RX 350 / RX 400h Lease Questions

Replying to: jamie52 (Jan 02, 2009 10:13 pm)

Replies to this message:
• jamie52 (Jan 07, 2009 9:53 am)

Replying to: jkenley (Jan 02, 2009 3:40 pm)

Just wanted to follow up on my previous post...
 
After not getting anywhere with the dealer closest to home, I put in a request through the Costco auto buying program to see if I could do better with someone else. They referred me to a different dealer in town (about 45 miles away). I contacted them via email, and had very quick responses. Unfortunately, no AWD vehicles are normally found in this area, so had to settle for a FWD. Here's what we ended up getting:
 
2009 RX350 FWD, Pebble Beach Edition, Navigation, Heated Seats w/rain sensing wipers, Tow Prep, Wheel Locks and cargo mats. We're also having them swap the Goodyear tires for Michelins, and they are giving us a set of clear mats.
 
MSRP $46,056, selling price $38,756 ($7300 off MSRP)
MF .00089 (2.13%)
36months/12K year
Residual 54%
Only 1st pmnt due at signing (plus refundable deposits, see below)
 
$453.87/month
 
We did pay multiple refundable security deposits (totalling $2850) to buy down the rate (original rate was .00095 as has been posted here). The way we figued it, we would save ~$31 per month (x36 months=$1120) over the term of the lease, and then also get the $2850 back at the end. That's over a 15% rate of return - not too shabby in the market today. We could have paid more deposits to save more, but settled on a happy medium. They couldn't understand why we wanted to do that (I guess it's not that common), but we did it anyway. The Pebble Beach edition was only $5 more per month than the non PB identically equipped car, so we went with that one. Color selection was getting slim. As for Nav vehicles, they only had the PB editions left, and non PB in Smokey Granite, Obsidian (black), and Silver. We ended up with the silver PB car, and will pick it up later this week after the tires are exchanged for the Michelins.
 
The original dealer had good follow up, and asked that I contact him when I got a price from my Costco contact. When I told him what they could do, he naturally tried to get his manager to meet/beat it. They couldn't. He even told me that if we could get the car for that to go ahead and do it, So we did.
 
For those of you who are in areas of the country that aren't quite as competetive as the northeast or California, you may want to give the Costco program a shot if you're a member. It was absolutley hassle-free.

Replies to this message:
• briegel (Jan 05, 2009 9:33 pm)
  • lmueller (Jan 06, 2009 6:24 am)

Replying to: lmueller (Jan 05, 2009 8:46 pm)

Replies to this message:
• lmueller (Jan 06, 2009 6:24 am)

Replying to: umbu (Jan 04, 2009 3:32 pm)

Replying to: lmueller (Jan 02, 2009 2:50 pm)

Replying to: briegel (Jan 05, 2009 9:33 pm)

Yes, we paid six. Each security deposit lowers it by .00001. You can pay up to nine total if one were originally required, or eight extra in this case, for a max discount of .00008. The way LFS calculates the deposit amount is based on your monthly payment (without the rate buy down) rounded to the nearest $25 or $50. Then it is just up to you to decide how many multiples of that number you feel comfortable giving LFS to hold on to for the duration of the lease based on the amount of savings you realize each month.
 
Originally I thought that there was just a single deposit amount that gave you the .00008 discount, but the way they explained it to us made much more sense, and was verified by another dealer as well. Otherwise we'd be better off investing in LFS than in the stock market!
 
While I know that it isn't the best deal anyone has gotten, I think it is an excellent deal for this area, especially considering Texas charges sales tax on the ENTIRE cap cost of the car (and if you purchase it at lease end, you pay it again!). I thought the numbers were reasonable, and when my "closer to home" dealer said that if we could get it for that then do it, I figured we'd might as well take the plunge. We'll most likely pick it up on Wednesday (it's cold and rainy today, and I'd rather have the car clean and dry when we take final delivery).

Replying to: umbu (Jan 04, 2009 3:32 pm)

Replies to this message:
• drjcool1 (Jan 06, 2009 6:29 pm)
  • vegasgrl13 (Jan 07, 2009 6:32 am)
    • NYR2009 (Jan 07, 2009 6:51 am) and 6 more...

Replying to: lmueller (Jan 05, 2009 9:12 am)

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• lmueller (Jan 06, 2009 10:32 am)

Replies to this message:
• NRI (Jan 06, 2009 9:43 am)
  • briegel (Jan 06, 2009 10:08 am)
    • NRI (Jan 06, 2009 10:19 am)
  • lmueller (Jan 06, 2009 10:27 am)

Replying to: NYR2009 (Jan 06, 2009 9:12 am)

I got 12k/36 msrp 43591 4450/mo + 1700 inception , MF = 00095 ( 2.28 apr)
residucal = .54
lexus of Edison, NJ
 
not sure if this can be rengotiated based on new MF = .00039

Replies to this message:
• briegel (Jan 06, 2009 10:08 am)
  • NRI (Jan 06, 2009 10:19 am)
• lmueller (Jan 06, 2009 10:27 am)