I was about to post this in the lease / finance section but it looks fairly dormant and the history appears to be only dealer posts.

I'm prepared for the flaming on this post and "use search" references. However, I would appreciate some candid relevant feedback if you would all be so kind.

I have leased three vehicles (08 GTI, 10 GTI & 11 Tiguan) since leaving university (purchased used vehicles prior) and every time I have left feeling slightly taken advantage of... I'm not looking to get a steal on the next one but simply come out of it feeling like I received an honest deal!

Through some research, the lease calculator on cars.com seems to be the most legit I have come across online - any others you can refer me to? What would you recommend as the first step going into a lease negotiation? Establishing the bottom line, out the door price of the vehicle rather than the monthly payment you would prefer? Where to go from there?

I'm considering European delivery for my next lease - Audi or BMW. (quite seriously - already have a trip planned next summer to visit family) anyone have experience w/ an ED lease? Are the pre-set ED prices just that - zero negotiation, discounted x amount for ED and that's it?

Last question. I am continually obsessing about a new and different car every 6-12 months. Of those three leases I've had, the first two were 24 month (maybe why I felt taken advantage of) and I'm struggling through this third just a year in to it. What advice do you have for someone like myself that is always lusting after a new vehicle. I feel 24 month leases are the best route - wish there were 12 month leases!

I appreciate any feedback you can offer. I know my vehicle history is quite modest in this forum. While I could technically afford more, I have opted to be somewhat conservative in my vehicle choices thus far. I am a great admirer of fine automobiles and have enjoyed my short time as a member of this forum - mostly contributing to the off topic subjects thus far. Looking forward to contributing more vehicle related content over the years to come!

 

I don't have answers to your questions, but you are doing it "right". Plenty of folks here will have useful input, but I wanted to comment on your approach. Some of the n00bs should take note. Repped.

 

I won't speak to all of that...however, you are paying an insane premium to continually lease new cars for such short time frames. Very few leases, short of special promotions, make financial sense vs buying under 36 mo. The money factors and residuals usually suck the big one. That being said, BMW usually leases best and does do decent sub 36mo leases fairly frequently. If 2 years is too long for you, maybe you should look into cheap financing of like new CPO cars which won't hit as hard on the bottom line.

 

Just to clarify, I didn't mean I approved of his financial decisions, but I approved of his approach to asking for info... I'm no "intelligent car buyer" myself.

 

Haha I think it is difficult to be a truly prudent car enthusiast...But some ways are more cost effective than others

 

About keeping cars longer, buy something that's more fun and that you make your own. I mean a tiguan for fvck's sake?

If you like euro instead of leasing new why not buy a used m3, s4, p car and mod it?

Ps-just breaking your balls about the tiguan, there is one in my garage.

 

Leasecompare.com has a great calculator

Euro Delivery is preset. It's an option like ordering navigation.

I'm sure one of the more experience guys may come along and set me straight... Here's my 2cents

Leasing is a matter of monthly payment really - the residual is set by the mfg/banks, you can't control that or the lease rate. So the sale price is really the only thing you can negotiate, but honestly a lease is a monthly payment so you need to settle on what you're willing to spend per month and work from there. As a seat of the pants rule it costs about $25/mo for every $1k discount on the sale price. So in cars with very little mark up (Audi) you're not going to have a ton of wiggle room on that price. BMW whores out their product like GM, especially when the new models start coming out. You could probably get the best "deal" on one of those sometime in the summer.

You probably got your ass handed to you on 24mos lease because residuals seem to be set to discourage that. There are 12 month leases but you may need/want to go through a leasing company or bank. Other than that if you want new cars a lot the smartest thing you can is focus on making more money to support your habit. I don't mean that in a bad way but having worked in the industry that's the way it goes... Pay to play and cars are a freaking horrible way to blow your hard earned money especially if you're just getting out of school.

One last thing - unless you are expensing the lease to a company, financing may be wiser considering a lease is a liability with zero asset, if you finance you're building equity. But if it's the cheaper monthly you're after, leasing may be your best option.

 

Thanks much for the replies thus far. I'm interested to learn more and really crunch the numbers re rotating through pre owned cars. I'm not looking to drop $50-60k outright on a used S4 or M3 (love those two options btw) but if the payment on financing made sense and it made sense when considering swapping every 12-24 months that would be great!

big_slacker, don't you remember me recommending you check out the Tig when you posted about looking for a small SUV! We went to it from the last GTI due to baby on the way!

 

I'm terrible remembering real names let alone screen names. But it was good advice, it's a baby hauler that I don't actually mind driving.

Back to car swapping, it's a disease but I've been slowing it down by buying progressively nicer cars, I think the logical conclusion is just to get a veyron and be done with it.

 

When you're swapping cars like that, you're gonna pay. It's just a matter of how much. If you go used and don't wanna pay cash, finance. You could lease through a leasing co but I wouldn't. The only benefit to swapping so frequently is that in some states if you do not keep a car more than a year you get your sales tax back.