Lease options on Charger SXT

[Glazeworld]

Does anyone know if it's possible to lease a well equipped Charger SXT (heated seats, Sirius, and sunroof) for under $400/month? Has anyone gotten a good deal on a Charger lease?

My fiancee's lease is up in a few months, and she'd like to keep her payment south of $400/month, and if she buys a car, I think she'll be stuck with a Cobalt or Kia at that price. She likes the looks and size of the Charger and loves driving my Magnum, so I thought I'd go fishing and see if this is a possibility, or if I'm just dreaming.....

Thanks in advance!

[wheelife]

In Canada Lease rates went from (0.8% in Oct Nov) to (5.8 in Jan Feb) this increase will make a signifigant impact to the lease rates.
I can only assume its related to year end inventory levels.
My guess is that after September lease rates will fall again.
Generally I think there will be an oversuppy of available inventory this year.

[idslamyou]

We leased our 06 Magnum R/T with a sticker of 31k for around $499 a month with $1000 at signing, so it may be possible. Depends on how much of a down you pay at signing and how well equipped the Charger is.

[Ice]

It's close. If you can get a base SXT at 24,300 (which should be $100 UNDER invoice), your payment through Chrysler Financial could be around $400. I leased an RT through Chrysler Jan 16th, so I used the money factor, residual percentage, etc. from my lease. You'll have to find out these specific numbers to know for sure.

I recommend you look http://www.carbuyingtips.com/lease.htm and spend the $65 for a copy of Expert Lease Pro. It lets you force a payment amount and will re-calculate purchase price or down payment (among other parameters) to make that payment work out. Expert Lease Pro helped me discover that I was paying a $99 documentation fee twice when I asked for the lease numbers from my dealer (so it paid for itself).

I wound up leasing through DCX because they pad the residual (it was 53% of MSRP) and they had (and still do) the $1000 bonus for financing through them.

Note that the padded residual will keep the lease payment down, but will increase the buyout cost if you choose to buy the car at the end of the lease.

[done]

It's close. If you can get a base SXT at 24,300 (which should be $100 UNDER invoice), your payment through Chrysler Financial could be around $400. I leased an RT through Chrysler Jan 16th, so I used the money factor, residual percentage, etc. from my lease. You'll have to find out these specific numbers to know for sure.

I recommend you look http://www.carbuyingtips.com/lease.htm and spend the $65 for a copy of Expert Lease Pro. It lets you force a payment amount and will re-calculate purchase price or down payment (among other parameters) to make that payment work out. Expert Lease Pro helped me discover that I was paying a $99 documentation fee twice when I asked for the lease numbers from my dealer (so it paid for itself).

I wound up leasing through DCX because they pad the residual (it was 53% of MSRP) and they had (and still do) the $1000 bonus for financing through them.

Note that the padded residual will keep the lease payment down, but will increase the buyout cost if you choose to buy the car at the end of the lease.

Good info. Welcome to the forum. Tell us more about yourself and your car.

[Inferno Charger]

The local dealership quoted me these numbers for the different models of Chargers:

SE - $350
SXT - $400
R/T - $450

All of them are round about numbers and don't include a down payment. I think he said something like for every thousand down you can knock something like $15 off the lease price. Gonna need 4Gs to get the Charger R/T down to where I can afford to pay. Sucks to have to wait almost another year to get one.

[boggart]

Just curious, but why would you lease a car for those prices when you can buy one for close to the same payment?

[Ice]

Glazeworld said his fiancee is leasing now - so no trade.

My local credit union is advertising 6.49% auto loans right now. For a 60 month lease matching my lease calculations from above, I get monthly payments of $482.

Even at 0% financing (which is NOT available on the Charger), the payment would be $411.

Of course, by paying $482 per month, you own a car at the end of 5 years that is worth between $8K and $10K, so in the end, buying is certainly a better money decision.

By the way, you can turn a lease money factor into an APR by multiplying the money factor by 2400. Chrysler Financial's money factor on my lease was .00263 which equates to 6.312%.

[Glazeworld]

Just curious, but why would you lease a car for those prices when you can buy one for close to the same payment?

Ice hit the nail on the head. Her current lease is up in August (VW Jetta that we do NOT want to keep) and we're getting married in July (spending a lot of money on the honeymoon and wedding) We won't have trade-in or much of a down payment, so I think she may need to lease the next car while we spend the next few years saving money so we can purchase the car after the next one.

Now, here's where she gets picky...she wants a larger back seat than the Jetta (not hard to beat) and she wants sunroof, heated seats, and possibly Sirius. We looked at a few cars this weekend, and if she were to purchase something in the $25K range, her payments would be around $520-$550. That's why we're looking at leasing. As of now, we're just exploring leasing....keeping all options open. I'd love to have a 2 LX family though!

[VanillaRT4me]

Just curious, but why would you lease a car for those prices when you can buy one for close to the same payment?

Leasing a car is always a bad deal, no matter what the payment might be and for the following major reasons:

1. You're paying roughly 80% or more of the book value of the asset, but DC takes the depreciation, which you're actually entitled to receive.

2. You never build equity in the asset in a lease. With a loan, even with rapid depreciation in book value of the car, you still eventually build equity.

3. You may have to carry full-replacement insurance payable to the lessor. The asset will be over-insured and you're the one paying it.

4. You're basically just renting a car unless you pay the inflated residual value at the end of the lease. You'll find that it would have been cheaper just to have gone with a secured loan.

5. You get nicked for normal wear and use. Lease agreements include mileage penalties and stiff requirements for overall condition of the vehicle at the end of the lease. A leasing company often makes a great deal of money here.

Bottom line: Steer clear of leasing. It's financially unwise.

[Ice]

Leasing a car is always a bad deal, no matter what the payment might be and for the following major reasons:

1. You're paying roughly 80% or more of the book value of the asset, but DC takes the depreciation, which you're actually entitled to receive.

Receive how? By deducting the depreciated value for tax purposes?

[VanillaRT4me]

Receive how? By deducting the depreciated value for tax purposes?

Yes, exactly, Ice.

[Ice]

Am I right that the deduction for depreciation really only applies if the vehicle is for business use?

Also, we've probably neglected the single biggest down-side to leasing. If you're financial situation changes (bun in the oven, perhaps) so that you can't afford the lease payments, you will take the biggest financial bath of all to get out of the lease. With a loan, you might be upside down (owing more than the equity), but with a lease, you will be upside down AND will be paying huge penalties.

The concerns that Vanilla noted can be minor compared to this one.

I don't have the financial volatility concern, and since I'm planning on buying the car at the end of the lease, I went with the lease anyway.

So Glazeworld, you said you're looking into leasing as an option. That's fine. Whatever you do, go in with your eyes open, know the risks, run the numbers. There are tools out there that will run the lease vs. buy numbers (Expert Lease does this also).

[Inferno Charger]

Just curious, but why would you lease a car for those prices when you can buy one for close to the same payment?

Ok here are the numbers that I am figuring I can afford $450/month and here is why I can't buy the car initally (price is with no downpayment).

Purchasing a New Charger R/T:
Price - $33800
Monthly Payment - $630/month

Leasing a New Charger R/T:
Price - $33800
Monthly Payment - $450/month

I really can't see what the big problem is if I am going to be buying it after the two years are up anyway. I wan't a Charger R/T and the only way to get one is to lease it for two years. Currently my wife and I are leasing our Grand Caravan and there have been no down sides to leasing it that I can see. Infact all of our oil changes and general maintenance are included in the lease. Which I am floored about since I don't want to do any maintinance on her car at all if I can avoid it.

[Ice]

I really can't see what the big problem is if I am going to be buying it after the two years are up anyway.

This is easier to analyze with a few more details.

What is the residual on the car after the 2 year lease?
Will you be paying cash to buy out the residual? Or getting a loan?
For how many years would this loan be?