[perryeyges]

Apparently Chase leasing is basing the residual value on the past history of the resale of the Turbo Esprit!
The Residual value is 50% for 24 months and 24% for 48 months!
1/2 the residuals on Audis... Youch!!!
Has anyone leased their Elise yet? If so what was the structure and which lender did you go with?
I can write off my car so I usually go with a lease, but I may go with a purchase this time...

 

[Allan Gibbs]

Perry, I'll let you know in a month. I'm planning on getting lease quotes both from the dealer and ACS Corp.

However, ACS Corp says the Elise is in the "custom lease category," which means they run a credit check before deciding on the figures.

http://www.leasecompare.com/

 

[perryeyges]

I ended up purchasing mine!!
The CO HRM Special!!

 

[Eddie Haskell]

With my lease, I have a residual value of ~$31,000 after 36 months. The total financed amount was ~$42,000 after my down payment and deposits.

That value is based on 7500 miles a year, which works out fine since she won't see Indiana snow...or salt...

EH

 

[del105]

With my lease, I have a residual value of ~$31,000 after 36 months. The total financed amount was ~$42,000 after my down payment and deposits.

That value is based on 7500 miles a year, which works out fine since she won't see Indiana snow...or salt...

EH

Who is your lease from?

 

[Eddie Haskell]

Who is your lease from?

Indiana Member's Credit Union.

FYI, they will only lease to residents of Indiana.

 

[del105]

I might just become a indiana resident for a $300 a month lotus.

 

[Allan Gibbs]

I spoke with Steve w/ ACS Corp* today regarding leases. As I mentioned, their lenders are doing custom leases.

Steve mention someone is applying for a $44K Elise lease today. If the application goes through, he will let me know what the lease rates are for that custom lease.

Please note, HE WILL NOT BE RELEASING ANY NAMES OR PERSONAL INFORMATION. He's just giving me a ball park for what an "Elease" will be. And of course, I'll post the figures.

I will be getting custom quote for my Elise in about 5 to 6 weeks (paying off some debt and need to wait 30 - 45 days), and I'll post my results as well.

http://www.acscorp.com/


*Steve Wilhite w/ ACS Corp (800) 223-4882

 

[tala269]

let's hope the lease is not a custom lease through Chase. They appear to be charging around 900/month with only 5000 miles per year and $1 for every mile over

 

[del105]

I applied for the lease just out of curiousity. I plan on buying the car outright unless I got a crazy Indiana deal. Don't know if my credit is good enough though only have a low 700 score.

 

[Allan Gibbs]

I applied for the lease just out of curiousity. I plan on buying the car outright unless I got a crazy Indiana deal. Don't know if my credit is good enough though only have a low 700 score.

I noticed they want a credit score of around 710 to 715, which is pretty much A credit...or is A credit 750 and above. My credit score is a low 700s which is one of my concerns.

As for leasing, I know it's a highly personalized choice. But, one of the reasons I've been thinking of is lease assignability. Some leasors will allow someone to take over the remainder of the lease and NOT hold the original leasee liable.

So, I'd be interested in doing a 36 or 48 month lease. About half or a third of the way through, I could sell the remainder of my lease to someone else. They would just take over the payments.

If you wanted to sell the car early for profit, I could see this as a way to get around the double taxation (if your State taxes the lease payments instead of the whole car). Basically, I'd lease the car and just be paying tax on my monthly payments and then let someone take over the lease. They can then buy it if they so choose.

But, I don't plan on selling the car for profit. However, it's an option for those who want to.


http://www.swapalease.com/

 

[smura]

In the auto industry, I believe subprime is below 640 and prime is above 640. Not sure where superprime starts, but probably at 720..

Most leasing companies do not let you assign the lease, so be careful. I've heard horror stories of people getting rid of their cars on swapalease and later finding out they're responsible when the car is totaled because they were contractually still responsible as the first lessee.

 

[Allan Gibbs]

Most leasing companies do not let you assign the lease, so be careful. I've heard horror stories of people getting rid of their cars on swapalease and later finding out they're responsible when the car is totaled because they were contractually still responsible as the first lessee.

Smura has a good point. Swaplease has a list of companies* that will allow you to assign a lease without any liability to the original owner, however, you shouldn't take anyone's word on assignablity unless it's the leasor's in writting (either in the contract or an addendum to the contract).

*http://www.swapalease.com/help_files/leaseco.asp
Also, I noticed something in the fine print on Chase's html:

Per Chase Auto Finance customer service, as of 10/1/03, the original lessee no longer retains any liability post transfer

I'm going to assume Swaplease called Chase's customer service line to get this answer. However, I'd want to make sure that this policy is accurate in the contract rather on Swaplease's "we called Chase and they said it was fine."

So, I think lease swaping has it's possibilitiies BUT if someone's going to try it, you need to do your homework and make sure you're covered. I don't think just leasing and putting your car on Swaplease without any assurances is a good idea.

 

[smura]

I used chase to lease my 2000 boxster. Specifically didn't use swapalease because I'd still be liable. However, it appears that chase may have changed their practice.

Moral of the story is to read the fine print!

 

[Allan Gibbs]

Bad new from ACS Corp. Their lender will stop doing "exotic" vehilces. They will continue doing a few other exotic cars (Ferraris and some Porsche) but that's about it. The will be trying to find other lenders and asked I call them a few days before pickup.

I'm wondering if that specific lender is Chase. If they have such poor residuals (as stated above), it may mean they aren't interested in leasing the Elise.

 

[Allan Gibbs]

Okay. I spoke to my dealer about Elise leases. They said they do have a lender that will do leases on the Elise.

The 5 year residual for an Elise is around $13,000. With that information, I tried to do some lease numbers for a 5 year lease (which I think is too long but that's the only residual info I could get).

So, making the assumption that the lease's money factor would be the same as the average finance rate (around 6.0%) and the $13,000 residual was for a base car. Here's what I came up with:

1) Base car.
$40,000 (base Elise) - 13,000 (residual) = $27,000 BUT this does not include the money factor. So, I tried to use a loan calculator for $27,000 at 6% interest for 60 months which equaled $560 per month + tax. So my guessimate is a 60 month lease on a $40,000 Elise would run in the $560 range.

2) $48,000 Elise.
I did the same scenario using a $48,000 Elise but didn't try to residualize any of the options. So, a 60 month lease of a $48,000 Elise - $13,000 (residual) = $35,000. To get the price with the money factor included, I took $35,000 and financed it at 6% interest for 60 months which equals $676 a month + tax.

Base on what I've seen playing around with $40 and $50K Boxsters and Z4s, I think the $560 to $676 numbers are ball park figures for a $40 to $50K car.

I don't proclaim to be a lease expert, so if anyone sees something I missed, please let me know.

 

[JWA]

Hi Allan,

A quick google brought up this page that seems to have the perfect calculator for what you're looking for: http://www.autosite.com/new/loanlse/calc.asp

The problem with your calculation is that it doesn't include the carrying costs of the residual value. I'm no expert on it either, but as I understand it you not only pay interest on the depreciation amount, but the residual as well. You only pay off the depreciation, but you have to pay interest on the entire loaned amount as the financial institution has put that amount out there on your behalf.

Putting in 0 tax and 0 down payment they come up at $582.50 and $735.83 using your scenarios. For comparison, a 72 month loan not counting tax or a down payment with 6% interest comes out to $795.50.

Using your numbers after 60 months on the loan you have paid $47,730 and you will still owe $8,493.56. If the car is worth $13,000, you could sell it and end up with $4,506 in your pocket, for a total outlay of $43,224. After the lease is up you'd have spent $44,149, $925 more than the loan. Hmm, if those numbers are correct that is a lot closer than I would have expected with that low of a residual.

--Josh

 

[Cisitalia]

Leases are very easy to calculate by hand. Here goes:

Purchase price (in this case say MSRP)= $40,000
Residual ($40k * 32.5%) = $13,000
Lease factor (based on 6% interest for 5 yrs.)=6.0/2400=0.0025


(The 2400 number is always a constant, just change the interest rate)

5 year lease and no down payment on the capitalized cost, or the purchase price to most. Don't forget you will have to pay a lease fee of about $500 to $750 and they require first months payment at delivery, also you will pay all tax upfront or percentage each month, make sure they include gap insurance

We will calculate monthly payment by calculating principal and interest:

Principal: ($40,000-13,000)/60= $450

Interest: ($40,000+13,000)(0.0025)= $132.50

Monthly Payment = $450 + $132.50 = $582.50

Say 6% state tax for monthly payment:

$582.50 * 6%= $617.45 per month for 60 months

 

[Cisitalia]

For the optioned out car, the correct way:

Residual: $48,000* 32.5% = $15,600

Principal: ($48,000-15,600)/60= $540

Interest: ($48,000+15,600)(0.0025)= $159

Monthly Payment = $540 + $159= $699


I expect the residual on these leases to be higher than quoted for the 5 year lease. I would only look at a three year lease and expect that residual to be closer to 60% or more and a lower interest rate to be around 4.5%.

 

[Allan Gibbs]

Josh & Cisitalia, thanks for your relies. I couldn't remember how to convert interest to money factor. It's 2400!

I'm really look at a 36 or 48 month lease (max) but will compare the finance side as well. I'm also thinking that in about 3-4 years, the Elise will take a steper depreciation hit when the new model comes out.