Whoa. This forum has loads of info. Especially for those who mastered the use of their mouse by clicking the Search button.

Anyways. I'm just about to go ahead and get a nice blue 6MT with GT, MP3, Appearance, r-w spoiler, and rotary accents. My friendly neighbor mazda dealer quoted me 30,500$ (minus 500$ recent grad) (plus tax and license). When I asked him about the 1,500$ lease "rebate", he threw it in. That means I need to choose between 30,000$ buy or 28,500$ lease.

This is my first new car (currently driving an old protege that's falling appart). Right now I am researching auto loans, auto insurance, and my own credit history. I'm waiting to hear from my dealer to get the residual (36 and 48 mo).

I'm really curious to know what rate I would get if I leased. What did you guys get? I know this vary greatly, but it would give me a ballpark. I'll ask my salesguy to provide me preapproval papers so I can know what my rate will be before I sign a deal. Assuming I can do that?

Anything I am overlooking?

Thanks!

 

The lease rate depends a lot on your credit score and credit history, Mat. Lease rates are usually called a "Money Factor" and they're a confusing looking decimal number like 0.00172. To convert a lease money factor to a real interest rate, just multiply by 2400. So a money factor of 0.00172 is equivalent to a 4.128% interest rate (this I would consider is a VERY good rate).

I just went through this whole process with three mazda dealers in Atlanta, and was quoted rates anywhere between 0.00172 - 0.00300. You need VERY good credit to get the best rates (a credit score of 730+ and a history of at least 5 years).

I'm only 23, but have very good credit and income level for someone my age, but I still did not qualify for the very best rate. The rate I got was around 0.00185.

The banks pretty much set the rates and residuals and the dealerships have very little control over that. Your best chance of getting a better price is to negotiate the price of the car. Go to www.edmunds.com and find the "True market value" of the options you're looking for, this will give you an idea if their quote is good.

Also check out www.leasecompare.com for some lease rate comparisons.

Hope this helps, good luck.

 

your best bet is to do what this person did . Take the lease which which at 28K is a great price and pay it off after a few months and purchase the car.


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