Initially I was going to proceed with the zero down sign and drive 48 mo lease but decided I like the "24 month test drive" as Mazda is calling it better.

The car is a six speed MT with Sport Package and rear spoiler. 24 month lease, 12k mi/yr with $995 total due at inception (this covers first lease pmt, license fee, etc.). Payments are $299/mo plus state tax. Residual in 24 mos is $18,6xx in case I decide I'd like to hang onto the car.

We can debate the merits of leasing vs. buying all day long as others have already done but for me this "24 month test drive" is about perfect. I'm posting so that others in the market for a lease might benefit from my experience.

Oh yeah, I love this car! No comparison with my previous A4s ('00 and current '02 Avant) or my old '97 328ic. I do have to admit that I drove the Miata to work today though!

 

Oh, and one more thing. I just spoke with my State Farm insurance agent and my six month premium only increased by $23 from what I was paying for an '03 Protege5.

YMMV....

 

That deal sounds awesome.

 

Great deal!

Is the "Test Drive" a new deal? That happens to be one of the things holding me back, being tied for 3 or 4 years. This sounds great and it doesn't sound like you paid much of a penalty for only going 24 months. Nice.

Do you think you'll miss the sunroof or Bose? I've been going back and forth on that.

Btw, I too have an 03 Protege5. Great little car but no 8. Any thoughts on comparison? I know my p5 felt 100% crappier after my 8 test drive a few months ago. Now I like it fine again, just can't wait for an 8.

DaveG

 

DaveG, the "Two Year Test Drive" may be my local (Minneapolis) dealer's catch-phrase but the deal was just announced this past Saturday (July 24th). My understanding is that Mazda's total incentives on a two year year lease are $4,250 ($2,500 for any lease, $1,000 for any purchase/lease, and an additional $750 rebate on two year leases).

I'm not a big moonroof guy, in fact I'm a bit over 6'3" and had to tilt my head when test driving RX-8s equipped with the moonroof. I was given an RX-8 with the Grand Touring pkg for an overnight test drive last week and am very thankful not to have the moonroof. Also, the Bose system, to me, seems only very marginally better than stock. I plan on at least switching out the front door speakers which should make a noticeable difference in sound quality. But the stock system is not bad, certainly better than the stock system in my A4 at least in my opinion.

And yeah, the P5 is a great little car with nice utility and quick steering but there is absolutely zero comparison b/w the two. If you've never driven an 8 then you're right, the P5 is "fine" but I can't really ever remember looking forward to driving the P5. Now, with the 8, I can't wait to go for a spin!

Provided that you aren't upside down on your P5 I can't see how you could go wrong with this kind of deal...

 

What do you mean by "purchase/lease"?

 

By "purchase/lease" I *believe* that Mazda will provide the dealer with the rebate whether the customer buys the car or leases it. Check www.edmunds.com and visit the discussion forums under the topic "lease questions--ask here" and there is a recent thread on these incentives.

 

Thanks for the info TV88!

Last question: Did you trade in your P5, if so, how did you do?

I'm just on the edge of upside down, owe 12k on a loaded (leather etc) P5, yellow.

I can't believe how good the incentives are getting. Thanks TV88

 

DaveG, I did trade the P5 in at the dealer. Mine was pristine with 3M ClearBra and window tint. It was a late '03 with the built-in sub, 5spd, and only option was abs/side air bags with only 6100 miles.

The first dealer I went to only wanted to give me KBB "good" trade-in value, as opposed to "excellent". The second dealer came close to "excellent", giving me $11,750 for the P5. I owed $11,960 or so and also had a $250 RevItUp coupon to more than make up the trade difference.

One other thing, after visiting the first dealer I put an ad for my P5 on Autotrader.com and received grand total of one call in the span of about a week and a half. I had a photo and had it priced below market at $12,750 b.o. So I guess no one cares a whole lot about the P5 right now. The dealer is definitely your best bet.

Heck, call my dealer in MN and tell them you want the same deal as me!!!

 

Can you tell me where you got this information? I'm looking on Edmunds, and it only shows a $500 cash rebate.

 

What is the cap cost of the car? Is this an s-plan price. I just picked up my car Monday and I am pissed at my dealer for not mentioning the 24 month lease incentive. I did get the s-plan price and $3250 in rebates. My MSRP was $33,700 -brilliant silver, 6MT, GT, Appearance, Rotory Accent, 6-disc, more... my deal - 48 months $1000 total due, $350 per month (including tax). I am just wondering what my price could have been at 24 months.

 

Oh yeah gusy I was just quoted a 24 month lease price on a base 6 speed in nordic green.They have not checked my credit or anything,but came up with a figure of $315 a month with $726 due at signing.The salesman told me they figured the MF at .00305.That equals 7.32% intrest,on top of that I would guess they figure in 5% mass sales tax as well.I told the salesman that the MF figure has got to change.My credit score is in the 780ish range.The slaesman just called again and said the price was based on invoice of $25429,and they figured in the $4250 lease incentives.I told him I will have to come in and have them check my credit because the MF has got to come down.On damn one thing I forgot to get from him was the residual.I suppose that woudl be important.


What was the MF you got on your deal?If you don't mind me asking.

 

I'm looking at the exact same thing and was quoted identical prices except my total due was going to be $700(first payment and sec. deposit). I asked about the 24 month and it would be almost a hundred dollars more a month...if that makes you feel better. I think it's a great deal...I'm just working it to try and make it better. My dealer is telling me that the $2500 is for any lease and the other $1000 is for the 24mos. lease only. He doesn't know anything about the other $750 and I have no proof if there is. Also, there is a $500 rebate if you are graduating or have graduated within a two year span.

Are there any Mazda salesmen(or managers) here that can verify all the rebates? I would like to have firm proof before negotiating more with my dealer.

 

There are so many lease threads I don't know which to post in!
A local dealer (actually 80 miles away) said he would sell at invoice (and that was after arguing with him) on a GT, Nav, Appearance package, Spare tire, rear wing spoiler, rotary accent package. He wants to charge me $275 for their "admin" fee (that was on the purchase, I do not know if dealers add this on a lease, anyone know?) + $495 acquisition fee (is this reasonable/non negotiable?)
I told him I have 780 credit score, he is going to call me back tomorrow with figures (once his computer works again.. a lot of dealer I contact seem to have computer problems, is this a way to add pressure, hoping I will be desperate to buy or something?)
Oh residual value is 63% on 24 month lease... + $3500 lease incentives

Lastly he said that with a 780 score I should be able to get less than 2% interest.

Bearing in mind I live in Florida, can anyone fill in some of these blanks? (oh I know from Edmunds invoice is $31832 though I am still waiting for the dealer to state that...)

Also I saw in another post someone obtain a quote for $523 under invoice... hmm... worth it to argue him down I think?

Sorry I am rambling, it is the last car with the specification I want in Florida (I looked on Mazda inventory search) there are one or two with my second color choice and then a few more but their VIN is way too low, plus this dealer just transferred it from another dealership hundreds of miles away, but the sales manager said they still have it (he stated it has 111miles on it, how the heck would he know that???, prospective customers are allowed to drive them 'carefully'... should I be laughing now?)


Any information or help would be appreciated... thanks

 

I doubt you will get less than 2% on a lease regardless of your score.Mazda is offering $4250 in incentives on 2 year leases but the money factor(read interest rate)is high.I have a credit score at the same level as you and the best mazda was offering for money factor was .00305,or roughly 7.32%.I have read on edmunds recently that mazda has raised the MF across the board,and now the best you can get is .00315.Now this all hinges on if you are leasing through mazda(it's the only way to get the incentives),or through some other financier.I would say though if you can get the interest rate they say,and the incentives you would be a fool not to do it.But again I doubt those rates are correct.Oh and as far as the acquisition fee goes they are not negotiable,but the other fee is BS i think.Go to edmunds under the forums header,and ask the Car_Man about these figures he will be able to answer your questions.Good luck.Happy rotoring.

 

Wow! That was super quick answer, thanks!
I still don't get how people get from $3500 to $4250, where do you get the $750 from? Is that $500 for college grad. and $250 for umm... rev it up coupon? What if I don't have those, dealer isn't going to hand it over without my proof of eligibility are they?

Thanks again though on the info...

 

The additional $750 is a factory to dealer incentive that the dealership earns each month based on if they sell so many cars.It wasn't a deal breaker for me if I didn't get it but it sure is nice to get every bit off.

You just reminded me I had a Rev-it-up coupon,but forgot to bring it with me.Ahh well it may have run out at that point.

Like I said before check out the edmunds forum on leasing questions they are great.Good luck.

 

If you still have the rev it up coupon (and it is valid) I will happily pay $25 for it! (assuming I don't buy this weekend)

Thanks for that extra info, it is really great to be able to ask questions here and get such quick results....

EDIT: Thinking more... is that $750 rebate also for purchase? If that is the case then we should be looking at $750+Dealer holdback =~$1200 for a purchase which may be worth it (since I was only going to lease then immediately buy it out anyway, paying Lease acquisition fee + hassle)

Any thoughts on this?

Thanks again!

 

[QUOTE=gt1]There are so many lease threads I don't know which to post in!
A local dealer (actually 80 miles away) said he would sell at invoice (and that was after arguing with him) on a GT, Nav, Appearance package, Spare tire, rear wing spoiler, rotary accent package. ]

Update: I checked the dealer inventory on Mazda site and guess what? The car isn't there anymore. I am beginning to think he was quoting me on a car that was already sold... maybe even would have had me drive 70miles each way...
He also said he would call me this morning (9:30)... no call...
I am really beginning to get fed up (I am being nice) with dealer games....