Don't Get SCREWED on a Car Lease | 3 GOLDEN RULES to Negotiate a Car Lease 

Here's everything you need to know about how to lease a car, and how to avoid overpaying: caredge.com/guides/leasing-a-car-in-2023

Another lease tip if you stay with the same brand try and turn it in a month or 2 before your lease ends to avoid the lease aquisition fee when you turn it in.

I have a new business idea. “Professional car lease or purchase negotiators.” For those of you who know the in’s and out’s of car lease/purchase negotiations, you could offer your services to people looking to buy/lease a vehicle but who also may not feel confident in the negotiations. You go in with the customer, sit at the desk with the customer and salesman and you negotiate the best deal for the customer. Charge a reasonable fee of $300 per negotiation for your services, which the customer would feel is money well spent in order to save yourself from getting ripped off. Do you know how many people would sign up for that??? Your welcome!😅

Car buying is too complicated can I just pay someone to do this for me?

Great info. Most people wouldn’t realize you shouldn’t put any money down on a lease

I've been leasing for 15 years, and I usually negotiate by monthly payment in order to get the total cost down vs. the cost up from. I do this because I have a monthly budget that I want to be within. Also, I never turn in the car at the end of the lease primarily because I typically have equity in the vehicle and use that money for the next lease. Also, I never had a dealer ask me to purchase an extended warranty because it's a 36-month lease and already under warranty as is. But maybe there are some dealers which are scum bags and try this tactic... Thanks for your videos!

Thanks to this video and your clear explanations of these factors, I was just able to confidently negotiate with a sales manager who tried very hard to not discuss the total price of the vehicle the bank would pay or the money factor. I was able to get a $1650 discount off of msrp and a significant reduction in the money factor when he came back to me with the new numbers after my initial “not going to work for me response.” Thank you very much for advocating for the buyer and providing such valuable information when the dealers continue to not only squeeze the customer for more money, but attempt to crush them in these transactions.

This is great info. It’s just exhausting to think that you even have to apply it to get into a car. Unbelievable.

Great info! I find leasing very confusing, this information helps. Having you guys do a demo between customer and sales person for a lease would be helpful, too.

How about a video on whether to buy the vehicle when the lease is up, pros and cons.

Great advice. I would have also discussed the residual value as well. People don't understand that some cars don't lease well and that comes down to the residual set my the manufacturer.

A video on residual values would be fantastic. To me, it seems like the residual value is an arbitrary number. I suspect that certain makes and even models would likely have a higher residual at the end of the lease. It would seem that the higher residual value of a vehicle at the end of the lease would mean that the vehicle has depreciated less than a vehicle with a lower residual value. A Toyota Highlander would have a higher RV vs. say a Ford Edge. One would also think that if the vehicle retains a higher RV at the end of the lease, the lease payments would be less since the car would be worth more at the end of the lease????

you mentioned the high yielding savings account, i am not finding anything where you can get 150 a month if you put 5k in the account. can anyone help me out here.

Dumbest advise I've ever heard.. you can negotiate payment with zero down! Who cares about the rest, unless you are buying at the end which most do not! Waste of time negotiating price.. they will lower that by just negotiating payment at zero down

My key points, most of which in the video: 1) do the homework on lease specific incentives and the lease money factor from the mfg leasing company before going to the dealership 2) If considering an EV lease, confirm if any available tax credit $s are being fully passed through to the lessee as a cap cost reduction versus being fully or partially held back as profit 3) confirm who the leasing company (lessor) actually is, i.e. make sure there is not a 3rd party leasing company being inserted into the deal, only deal with the mfg's finance company 4) and as illustrated in the video confirm your lease includes GAP as a default item...

Excellent review, Leasing cars since 2004, have gone over 20 leased vehicle (all luxury cars), never put down ,money ZERO DRIVE OFF. now here is the thing, you have to find the good lease offered by companies, thats the key, most companies at least once a year bring crazy deals on their cars, example I am leasing a 58K Acura MDX Advance for last 2 years and I got that car lease for 396.77, ZERO DRIVE OFF lol go out 80-100 miles to remote town which has a dealer, instead going to yout city dealer, who might be selling tons of cars. remote dealer who doesnt sell much would love to earn your business. tomorrow, I am picking up Subaru Solterra EV MSRP 54K ( Touring model) for zero money down for 329 a month. I made 2 dealer compete each other lol

Lol all these "fair" questions.. the dealer will say yes we mark it up.. doesn't mean they remove it.. no one will do that for you

Sadly, this video came 6 days too late for me. I leased a 2023 Mazda CX-5 Turbo. My lease did NOT come with GAP insurance included, so I had to purchase that. In Ohio, GAP insurance is required. I was offered the drive-off option (no money down, blah, blah, blah) and turned it down (stupid in retrospect), put down $2500 (stupid 2.0) and focused on the monthly payment, per another YT video. Luckily, I did not get the extended warranty. After watching this video, I realized how foolish I had been (despite researching the hell out of which car to get and how to negotiate a lease). I've been leasing Hondas for 11 years and wanted a change, so I wasn't a total newbie to the process - and I STILL got screwed. The only good thing is that I love my new vehicle and enjoy driving it a lot. My sales rep kept me there from 1:30-6:00 p.m. during negotiations - it was hot outside, I hadn't eaten in hours, and I was tired - so my defenses were down. I feel like an idiot now. I don't believe they behaved "above board," but I unfortunately signed the contract. I should have walked out of the dealership, like my gut was telling me to, but I didn't. I did receive a Mazda satisfaction survey email - can I complain there? Is there anything I can do to make this less financially painful?

3 years ago your tips helped me with my lease. But went back this past week and was not successful making a deal. Going back through your videos to hopefully make a deal on Atlas SE w/technology 24. Thanks for making this videos!

@2:56 gap insurance can be much MUCH cheaper through your regular auto policy than whatever the lease people are charging.

Another bonus rule is to never have your lease payment exceed 1.5% of your MSRP based on a lease with NO MONEY DOWN due at signing otherwise you’re not getting a good lease. Best leases are when your payment is 1% of the price of MSRP and you get there with no money out of pocket at signing or only doing your first payment upfront and rolling the rest of the fees into the lease Another tip is try to stay away from long term leases that exceed 39 months and choose lease term 33 months 36 months or 39 months at most and all the other terms should be avoided as options to lease and if you want to keep the car for longer then 39 months than you really shouldn’t be leasing but financing.

I get the info about down payment, but what about this - due at signing? It's always around 3-5k at once, as I do understand it is nothing to do with down payment. How to make this amount down??

How come Everytime I speak to a dealership about OTD price on a lease, they look at me like I'm speaking another language. They say otd price for a lease doesn't matter

A week ago you said don't buy until December lol, I know you need money too 🤣

Zero dollar leases are going to push monthly payments pretty much close to a finance deal. Then why would I lease instead of finance if the payments are about equal? And despite what these car salesman tell you, the payment numbers do matter to the consumer.

What are the pros and cons in buying the lease after it ends?

Right now I'm trying to lease a BMW I4 M50 they quoted me at 599 a month but they want 6 grand do at signing so I told him I don't want to put any money down but if I roll over enter my monthly payments it'll be well over $800 a month

This is important to know, but these factors work with one another and change the only thing that actually matters - the all in effective monthly price. That's it and that's what everyone should focus on.

me watching this realizing the scummy dealer did all these things to me and gave me a terrible deal :(

Appreciate this video is a few months old but hopefully someone can help! If we shouldn't give away our monthly price, what should you say when a lease sales rep asks "what is your budget for your new lease?" Do I say something along the lines of, "monthly budget doesn't concern me I would like to get X% off the MSRP"? If so, what is a reasonable discount to ask for without getting laughed at or screwed over.

As far as warrenty, the only thing you may consider is a dents, scratches and dings package. They cover dings scrtches and dents (obviously) and wheel damage (curb rash) so that you are not charged for those things at the end, because they can add up. But i would also say, never "return" the lease always trade it in (check and make sure your lease allows this, most do) or put it to another lease. Our last lease was over miles, had a couple dings and scratches, chip in the windsheild etc but the car still had positive equity that went to the new lease - so we didnt pay the dings/dents or return fee or over miles and got $ toward the new lease.

you guys been saying wait,wait,wait!!! And the prices have just keep going up.. the only people making a ton of money are Ray and Zac with all the programs, warranty’s,buying help programs, oh yeh You Tube channel

Okay, why is a guy who tells others how to buy cars talking us he leases a car. To me, the math does not work out when leasing. Now, I am sure there are some tax breaks some people could leverage. However, for the ordinary person I am thinking buying is better.

I am turning in my lease in 4months, but plan on leasing again. I bought gap insurance last time, is it recommended to get gap insurance again. I have the best coverage with Triple A, so is gap insurance worth it.

But what about needing a lower payment due to budget?

If I talk to the dealer for those Golden Rules in Canada, I won't have a car.

5:33 Where can you get a high yield 5k savings account that pays 150$ ….lol

It's a bit different in the UK. Most leases allow you to put 1 month down minimum (+fees). That said, depending on the deal, putting more down CAN reduce the total amount payable. Agreed, if the car is written off or stolen within that "down payment period" you lose out. The finance company will be paid out by your insurance but YOU will not get that money back or be able to carry it over into another lease. That's the risk you take by putting more down in an attempt to get a better deal over the total term of the lease.

My husband and I are driving tomorrow to finalize a lease contract that I negotiated for a Kia ev9 GT. MSRP was $76.860 talked town to $59,862 with $5,898 in discount and $11,100 in rebates making the total balance of $65,677.75 with all taxes and fees. With zero down our monthly is $770.87 for a 36mths with 15x annual miles. I made sure the MF is at .00093 and residual is $41,504. My husband is wanting to do zero drive off and not pay our first month at signing but wouldn’t that make our payment higher(we are in Tx if that matters)?

Wait so I’m confused in the sense of rolling everything in. If I do that for example on a 60k car and I say no money down, and roll everything into that payment, isn’t the cat going to be like 1000 dollars a month?

How do you help reduce a price for a car that is a 2024 Audi SQ8 . The car is a six figure car 138,294.95 OTD . I want to be able learn the calculations.

What high yield savings account you using to get $150 on interest from monthly with only $5,000 because I need to switch

Can you negotiate the money factor? How does knowing that help me as a buyer?

Thanks for this video. We were just looking at a Lincoln Nautilus 2024. We are going to lease but it can get complicated. You guys are the best.

I just got screwed then. 2024 X3 BMW $2500 down $745 monthly for 36 months. Car value at end of lease 31k 😢

$0 down-payment leasing is a TERRIBLE idea. As of 9/12, a local dealer has leases at $31/$1,000. That works out to a 7.7% annual cost. The best savings account pays 5% annually but you have to pay income taxes on that so the effective rate is about 3.5% even in a no-tax state. In effect, a $0 down-payment strategy recommends borrowing at 7.7% in order to earn at 3.5%. Sound like a winning strategy? Yes, you risk losing your down-payment in the event that you total the car but I haven’t totalled a car in 50 years of driving nor has anyone in my family. I don’t know how you drive but risk seems remote at best.

This is obviously for people who have a slight grounding in the subject, not for complete newbies. They could clarify a few things.

Hold the phone. I want this high yield savings account, where I can apparently earn 36% on my money. I could retire today!

Fantastic deep dive, guys, THANK YOU so much!

If I give them a monthly payment that is super low and hard/impossible to hit. I can’t afford much anyway. Why would I care what numbers they have to manipulate to get there?

Does the 3 GOLDEN RULE apply to people with 650-680 credit score as well?

Man, you guys are my new personal hero’s! Super helpful info. Thank you!

Went to the dealership 1,000 down 601 a month for a Nissan rogue got them down to 0 down 476 😂

When I had my landscape company I always leased my work trucks (Chevies) got better deals extended miles per year and when I turned them in, only one got a charge for a dented rear quarter panel. I could write off the lease payments and all expenses associated with the trucks. I did buy one of the trucks out at the end of the lease as the buyout was almost 3K less than the current prices of the same truck used with more miles and poorer condition. Personally now being retired I have a Buick encore gx, got it for 23K, less 9K for my 2016 Cruze it was a purchase not a lease so I have a $258 payment for 5 years which I'm ok with...i really couldn't find a $0 down lease deal where I could have sold the Cruze for cash to a dealer, deduct the first payment, and drive out with a new car and a check. I would lease again on those terms but right now no good lease deals are out there and I do like my Buick.

Nice advice however, it may not apply for exotic cars for example. In order to lease this cars you need to put a down payment, ‘cause the monthly payment could be really high. Moreover, the financial department may ask u to pay at front the whole year if they believe it’s the safest way to proceed. So no monthly payments but a necessary down payment

This is confusing! If you finance a car and you put money down and you total the car, the money will be lost anyways. If your goal is to reduce your monthly payment, putting money down, will help you reduce that monthly payment. Also, the money that you saved from the lower monthly payment, you could put that back into your savings account. If you put money down on a lease and you total your car and you have gap insurance, You are right, it would be foolish because if you put money down and you totally car the very next day, gap insurance will take care of it but yes, you have lost all of your money. But that’s the same thing about financing a car! When you put money down when financing a car instead of leasing, if you crash your car in total the next day, you’re going to lose all of your money anyways Why are we talking about a car like it’s an investment?

What happens when dealer won’t give u numbers in transparent way?? I always get screwed when lease

When they say selling price is they mean the msrp or otd? Or is it something different?

THANK YOU SO MUCH! LEASED A CAR TODAY USING YOUR RULES AND GOT AN AMAZING DEAL 😊

How does trade-allowance on existing car effects the analysis of deal. Does no money-down include trading in equity on existing car.

but do you have to have perfect credit in order to pay 0 down?

You e 100% wrong on the money down aspect in relation to a insurance loss, the vehicle is worth the same regardless of what is owed on it, so if you owe 10k less than is owed on it, the insurance pays you that money.

How can you negotiate these things when you’re attempting to lease a very popular make and model. One where someone is going to pay if you won’t.

I have a lease quote on a 25 Mazda CX 70 I need help determining if this is a good deal. Can I upload the quote to have someone look at it?

So I have a lease 2020 explorer xlt. Buy out is $26k with 17k miles on it. By researching, it seems that on average, they go for $30k give or take with a bit more miles. Would it be wise to buy it out at this current time instead of leasing a new one of the same model?

They never mentioned anything about a trade in????? Theu should have coverage thay part too.

How to put 0 down with a credit score of below 500

Living in Metro Detroit here , leasing appears to be a simple process since so many qualify either for an employee discount from one of the Big 3 or another type of discount (example - Friends or supplier discount). I leased three Ram trucks between 2016-2020. The invoice showed the employee price (which I got from my dad). I always did absolutely nothing out of pocket. My most recent lease was on a 2023 Jeep Wrangler 4xe. Thanks for the great content !! 👍🏻

Can you please clarify. I thought that the advertised GM Lease, Mazda Lease etc. terms were set by corporate, not the dealer. They can be negotiated with the dealer?

“Fair Deal.” What a loaded phrase. What makes any price fair? For decades now, my attitude has been that if the dealership loses money on one deal during the year, I want it to be mine. Fairness doesn’t apply here. It is a competition. I want to do better than the the dealer. But, the dealer has many advantages. Most significantly, they have a much better understanding of Supply and Demand in this market for this week than any customer can have. Still, the best defense is to focus on the OTD price. And don’t be emotional.

Can you explain the process for leasing a car? Is it the same as financing a car? Would I need a loan? I can’t find any videos on it.

This is great advice for the Toyota Crown since they're not selling well. I might even get the Crown Max.

First of all, you guys and your team rock 🎸 , awsome job, if its not to much trouble in another video go over what a vehicle lease agreement form is its almost has as many line entries as a federal income tax form , that would be awsome. Ooo and not all lease agreement forms are the same they different in the way all the crazy math is done. Keep rocking, im learning alot thanks to you guys and your awsome team 😊😊😊

5:02 I thought I was well versed but didn’t realize this. So I don’t need to make the first payment when I drive off? I’m confused. When do I pay the first payment?

Interesting. Ihave had 2 very good affordable lease situation with no money down, refused additional cost add ons and questioned all the line items. Honda and Subaru were very cooperative. I leased for under $250/mo.

What about the west & tear policy always do up front ? Yes or no. Thank you

What about the west & tear policy always do up front ? Yes or no. Thank you

Heck, I got one Golden rule: Buy or finance a reliable vehicle. You save massive amounts of money in the long run, if you keep it for several years and do just routine maintenance. We all got that one friend/relative/co-worker who onsists they have to drive a new or different vehicle every couple of years. Well, enjoy being broke your entire life unless you're a legit millionaire.

You two should offer either buying or leasing services for potential customers ❤

I’m going today. Thank you for the information!

I want to turn in a car I bought 6 months ago to do a lease on the car I really want. Am I insane to do that? The payments are about the same

This is great info. I /am/was looking at trading in my lease and whatever equity I had was going towards the next one. I was told I'm essentially stuck until the end of my lease because leasing companies are giving crazy buyout prices. My leasing bank is Ally and the dealer said we don't deal with them because their lease buy out numbers to dealers are about 20% more than the truck is worth.

i paid only my gap insurance and first payment upfront while negotiating the selling price.

If you have good credit you can do this lol 😂

get a quote online before you go to the dealership

If I am paying nothing upfront, then why would I care what the purchase price or the money factor is? All that matters is the monthly payments!

Bad advice - I have been leasing cars for 25 years. The monthly payment is exactly what I concentrate on. BUT I know the term I want and don't deviate from it. I know the annual mileage allowance I need and don't deviate from it. I know what the manufacturer says the monthly payment should be - AT FULL MSRP. So I negotiate from there, always on the monthly payment. I am arranging to rent the car the same way you would rent an apartment. The monthly rent is the single most important aspect. OTOH, your advice is good if it is just a warning that people need to not allow the dealer to manipulate the monthly payment by altering some other condition, like the annual mileage allowance. But that is just the normal advice to keep your eyes open.

Can I use my own bank or credit company to pay for a lease?

Could you please do a pro/con of doing a lease to purchase process? I would love to hear Ray’s perspective on it.

Great vid guys . Yes but of course leasing cars all these years that has always been principal to get the selling price first from the sales MGR . I skip the salesman altogether and talk straight with the sales MGR.

Another key to leasing: go the message boards at Edmunds and find out the posted program rate (money factor) for the lease you want (length/miles/zip code). Then you will know how much the dealer is marking up the finance charge and be able to use that to negotiate either a lower money factor than what the dealer quoted you, or as leverage to reduce the MSRP to offset that markup.

Y’all literally give the worst advice ever

I was at a Ford dealership today. New trucks with missing stickers, about 1/2 of them, just the “dealer add-on” dealers and total pricing. There were trucks with the MSRP and a difference, up charge, from MSRP to the start of the dealer add on sticker averaging 1500-2000 higher to start.

So you say you rather have the higher monthly payment? Uhh idk about that. At least put a SMALL amount. It helps.

First, I can’t negotiate, so I always say at the beginning to save time for both sides that, I’m not going to put any down payment ($0 drive off), and I always pay my first payment in 30 days. I traded off my 2020 Honda CRV EXL, and got 2024 Honda CRV EXL end of 2023, with the same lease payment $370 tax included, and my question is how to make sure a deal is a good deal? especially for guys like me that do not know how to negotiate, is there any calculation or something?

can i negotiate a lease a special order. I am purchasing the tundra Litted Edition 1794 . 1 of 1500 being made

I would suggest not rolling the tax into the lease. I do not think it's smart to pay interest on taxes. I totally agree with not discussing monthly payments and nothing additional over taxes and first month.

Thank you guys”

Thanks for these tips! But do you think in these times we can still have leverage not to put money down? Dealers here in South Florida are being too comfortable and not wanting to negotiate. In fact, they say, you can go if you want, we have other people in line.... its crazy.

Still a good idea to put $0 down, but it will save interest if you put something down. It’s not a cost-neutral choice. But still a smart choice.