1994-2002 [Subscribe to Daily Digest] |
Here's my leasing story (Skip to the bottom if you just want the details).
My situation: 35 years old with a two and half year old and I'm driving a Mustang Cobra. Not real practical. I decided to trade the Cobra in and get a (gulp) family car. My goal was to get a car that had four doors, lots of room in the back seat (those carseats are a bitch), reduce my monthly payment by $200 (babysitters aren't cheap), and get something that could get me to work when it snowed (PA resident) yet not cause me to be to depressed about not driving the Cobra on warm, dry, sunny days. I don't ask for much. I started with 16 cars/trucks/suvs on my list. After doing research on Edmunds and Intellichoice, I eliminated the ones that didn't fit the above criteria. The three runners up were: 2001 Saab 9-3 Base, 2000 Volkswagon Passat 1.8T, and 2001 Nissan Maxima. I priced them all out with roughly equivilant options: heated seats, leather, etc. They MSRPed at about $30K (the Passat was slightly cheaper). Took a day off work to go around and wheel and deal with the local dealers. To be honest the Passat drove the best. It had more of an SE or Viggen feel to it. Almost no body roll and execellent brakes. But...the dealer had absolutely no interest in cutting me a deal. Wanted to screw me on my trade and charge me nearly MSRP on a 2000! Passat. On to the Nissan dealer. The Maxima drove like a big car (which it is). Good excelleration, but a dead feel. Once again the dealer tried to screw me on my trade. And just for the record, when I say screw I mean offer me sub Good Kelly Blue Book on a 1997 Cobra with low miles that doesn't even have so much as a crease in the passengers seat. I got the whole "Why don't you come talk to my manager" bit when I saw that their monthly payment was beyond even trying to negotiate. My favorite line was when I told the manager that "the Maxima is an excellent Japanese car". The Saab dealer was by far the most professional and low pressure. During the test drive, on the highway on ramp, he told me to "let it get halfway through the turn, and then mash the pedal to the floor - this things got traction control." I liked this guy. They offered me a reasonable trade-in value and cut me a great deal on the first run through. I've never taken a dealers first offer before, but I told them exactly what I thought I should pay and they said OK!? Made me worry I was missing something. It wasn't even on their lot, which usually means they lose half of the dealer holdback. So after all that, (thanks for listening, if you did) here is the summary:
The deals I was offered:
2000 Passet monthly payment $345, out of pocket = trade
2001 Maxima monthly payment $390!! out of pocket = trade
2001 Lazer Red Saab 9-3 Base w/heated seats and leather
monthly payment $299 out of pocket = they gave me $1200 back!!!
Why anyone buys anything else I don't know?
The specifics:
36 mo lease
MSRP=$30500
Cap=$27147 (before trade-in)
Residual=$16786
My theory:
Saab's are too inexpensive (not cheap) for the market they want to be in. They jack up the MSRP to play with the other Euro-trash, with no intention of ever getting anything remotely above invoice. Why? Some snobs want to pay a lot for their cars and don't give a damn about value. If the Saab were priced at what they really could afford to be, they would get a cheap euro-car rep. The Honda to the Acura, the Nissan to the Infinity, etc.
Go get one!
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