Leasing in San Francisco Bay Area

[mattm]

Hi guys,

(I have done some homework, but I am still a complete newbie to leasing...)

Could you help me estimate a reasonably good lease deal please?

Here is my estimate so far:

- MSRP = $29,170 (base configuration with no options)
- Residual = $13,418 (46% MSRP)
- Cap cost = $24,170 (It's my understanding that ~24K is a reasonable purchase price for FFE these days - based on this forum and misc online resources such as TrueCar.)
- Money factor = 0.00125 (3% - is this too conservative?)
- Term = 36 months
- Payment (base) = (24,170 - 13,418) / 36 = $298
- Payment (interest) = (24,170 + 13,418) * 0.00125 = $47

So the total payment comes down to $345 + tax. I can't believe it's that bad. I must be missing something.

Please help.

I would also appreciate if you could share the details of your leases. I will make sure to post mine back to this community as soon as I pick mine up.

 

[v_traveller]

I suggest using the payment estimator in Ford's 2015 Focus Build and Price web page:

http://bp3.ford.com/2015-Ford-Focus#/Technology/

You have to go through at least the first few steps of the build process to get to a button that takes you to the payment estimator.

Using that, I come up with $244/mo+tax, $889 due at signing for a 36 month, 12K mi/yr lease. Note that there is an $8000 incentive applied when leased from Ford.

I suspect that one should be able to negotiate a better deal than this once there are more units in stock at the dealerships.

 

[NightHawk]

What you are missing is Ford's frequent big lease cash offers.
When I leased my 2014 FFE a few months back in Sep 2014, they had a $11,000 lease cash deal that brought my zero down 3 year lease to only ~$250/month + local sales tax.
The huge lease cash paid for all the fees and even the first month's payment that normally would be paid with the down payment, and then the balance reduced the total price for the lower monthly payments.
I had them run the numbers to compare if I payed various down payments and the total I would pay over the lease (all monthly payments + down payment) was very close in all cases, so I went with the true zero down. I literally didn't pay a penny until a month after the car was delivered to my house by the dealer, when I paid the second month's payment.

Also if you bargain a lower total purchase price of the car with the dealer for a hefty discount off MSRP first that will lower the lease price further. I used the TrueCar free service website to get a low price offer from several local dealers via their internet sales reps first.
I also made my deal at the end of the quarter with several of the cars in stock at several local dealers, thats the best time to get discounts, especially end of June, Sep, Dec.

 

[NightHawk]

I suggest using the payment estimator in Ford's 2015 Focus Build and Price web page:
http://bp3.ford.com/2015-Ford-Focus#/Technology/

Here are a couple screenshots I got from Ford's website for the 2015 FFE with my southern california zipcode for a zero down 36month 10,500mile/year lease deal:

2015 FFE with no-extra-cost exterior color and cloth seats:

2015 FFE with no-extra-cost exterior color and leather seats:

This is all with Ford's current MSRP and $8000 lease cash incentive deal, but should be able to get it even lower with a dealer that will give a discount off of MSRP, like by using TrueCar to get lower price deals from local dealers.
The Ford website lease calculator also assumes you pay the first month's payment and the ~$645 acquisition fee with the down payment for the amount they list as due at signing. But my local Ford dealer had the lease cash pay for all that, so I had true zero-down.

 

[mattm]

Thank you so very much for taking the time to reply! You guys are awesome.

Based on the payment estimator and NightHawk's $250/mo true zero down, that's what I will be aiming for. (So far, got some initial quotes which aren't even in the ballpark... for example: dealer #1 "$340 + tax", dealer #2 "$323 w/ tax included".)

Some dealers refuse providing detailed breakdowns, and insist on an appointment to go over the numbers. Why does it have to be so ridiculous and time consuming, I wish we could configure and order cars online directly from manufacturer.

Thanks again. Great community.

 

[WattsUp]

Some dealers refuse providing detailed breakdowns, and insist on an appointment to go over the numbers. Why does it have to be so ridiculous and time consuming

Oh... they're just looking out for the customer, of course. It's all for your protection, silly customer.

 

[dhje83]

I am looking to lease a 2015 FFE, but one thing that confuses me is why isn't the federal tax credit of $7500 is not factored into the equation like Nissan does to Leaf or other EVs?

 

[hybridbear]

I am looking to lease a 2015 FFE, but one thing that confuses me is why isn't the federal tax credit of $7500 is not factored into the equation like Nissan does to Leaf or other EVs?

It should be factored in as part of the Ford lease cash promotion.

 

[NightHawk]

I am looking to lease a 2015 FFE, but one thing that confuses me is why isn't the federal tax credit of $7500 is not factored into the equation like Nissan does to Leaf or other EVs?

It should be factored in as part of the Ford lease cash promotion.

Yep the current Ford FFE Lease has a $8000 red carpet lease cash that is mostly the $7500 fed tax credit.
Last year back when I leased my FFE (Sep 2014) the FFE lease cash was $11,000 though Ford reduced the price of the car by several thousand for 2015.
But the best deals are usually From July-Sep anyway.

In California, you can also separately apply for the current CA state $2500 rebate for a 36mo+ lease which I did last year.
You get a check in the mail for that, since it isn't a tax credit - paid for about 9 months of lease payments for me!

 

[dhje83]

I am looking to lease a 2015 FFE, but one thing that confuses me is why isn't the federal tax credit of $7500 is not factored into the equation like Nissan does to Leaf or other EVs?

It should be factored in as part of the Ford lease cash promotion.

Yep the current Ford FFE Lease has a $8000 red carpet lease cash that is mostly the $7500 fed tax credit.
Last year back when I leased my FFE (Sep 2014) the FFE lease cash was $11,000 though Ford reduced the price of the car by several thousand for 2015.
But the best deals are usually From July-Sep anyway.

In California, you can also separately apply for the current CA state $2500 rebate for a 36mo+ lease which I did last year.
You get a check in the mail for that, since it isn't a tax credit - paid for about 9 months of lease payments for me!

Got it. Thanks for the reply.

 

[FFEFTW]

Hey folks, thought I'd bump this thread as a way to say hello. Leased a sharp little Kona Blue & Leather 2016 FFE yesterday from Capitol Ford in San Jose (part of the DGDG group).

Agreed price was $28,658, subtract a total of 9K in rebates (including the fed tax credit), add tax and fees, and the bottom line is $291/month for 36 months and 36K miles, or $.29/mile. For the other end of the deal, and in spite of it taking a good hour of negotiation back and forth and being ready to walk out :roll:, I received full KBB Trade-In value on my old vehicle (2008 Nissan Pathfinder), plus of course the $2500 CA credit.

Simply fantastic car, couldn't be happier. It's going to be a struggle to keep it charged via L1 charger for friends and family test drives until I can get an L2 installed...

 

[v_traveller]

Congrats, FFEFTW! Great deal on a fully loaded 2016.

Last month my local Ford dealer tried to get me to cough up $381/mo (tax incl), $0 drive-off on a Platinum White 2016 with leather, and he wouldn't budge. I told him I could get a Mercedes for less than that. So that's what I did.

I think if I waited a couple of weeks I could've gotten a better deal on that FFE; noticed while updating my blog that the national lease deal on the 2016 FFE dropped by quite a bit since mid-November.