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Lease This, Not That: Camry and Accord Compared (Hint: $129/Month, $0 Down)

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Old 12-29-15, 07:03 AM
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bagwell
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Default Lease This, Not That: Camry and Accord Compared (Hint: $129/Month, $0 Down)

Cars of the same price and type can cost vastly different amounts of money to lease. Case in point: the Toyota Camry and Honda Accord.

On paper, these two cars are very similar. Both are midsized family sedans that sell in the hundreds of thousands. Both are available with the same kinds of powertrains (four-banger, V6, and hybrid), and the two have sticker prices and equipment levels that mirror each other.

The enthusiast press (Car and Driver, et al.) will tell you the Accord is a bit better (because, sporty!) whereas the Camry has the personality of a refrigerator. But what they won't tell you is that one costs significantly less to lease than the other.

Second Place: 2016 Honda Accord LX ($223/Month)

We actually prefer the Accord; it's a more harmoniously calibrated and precisely engineered device than the Camry. But none of this will matter to the average consumer who simply wants a spacious, comfortable, safe and reliable car. The price difference is simply too big to ignore, and for that reason, it's coming in second place.

The 2016 Accord LX CVT, Honda's bread and butter, has an MSRP of $23,725. Aim for a selling price of $21,300 (about 3% below the average). Add the $595 acquisition fee, and the net capitalized cost becomes $21,895.

Honda estimates that an Accord LX CVT will be worth 58% of its MSRP ($13,761) after 39 months of use at 12,000 miles per year. Therefore, the total depreciation expense is $8,134, or about $208 per month.

The money factor (MF) for the Accord is .00041 (0.98% APR), which will result in a finance charge of about $15 per month. The total lease payment? $223 per month. Program valid through January 4, 2016.

Winner: 2016 Toyota Camry SE ($170/Month)


To the vast majority of folks, a 2016 Camry is legitimately a nice car. All Camrys now come with a reversing camera, touchscreen radio with Bluetooth, and power driver's seat; SE trim gets you paddle shifters (sporty!) and alloy wheels.

The 2016 Camry SE has an MSRP of $24,675. Aim for a selling price of $21,235 before incentives (dealers on a popular car buying site are offering that amount). After the $650 acquisition fee and $1,000 Lease Cash, the net capitalized cost becomes $20,885.

Toyota estimates than a Camry SE will be worth 63% of its MSRP ($15,545) after 36 months of use at 12,000 miles per year. Therefore, the total depreciation expense is $5,340, or $148 per month.

Toyota's MF rates and incentives are highly regional. In Southern California, the Camry has a MF of .00060 (1.44% APR), which will result in a finance charge of about $22 per month. The total lease payment? $170 per month. Program valid through January 4, 2016.

But Wait, There's More ($129/Month)

Toyota Financial Services offers a multiple security deposit (MSD) program that few people know about. By putting down 7 security deposits, the MF drops to .00004 (0.96% APR). This reduces the monthly finance charge from $22 to $2.

Additionally, if you graduated from college within the past two years, or will graduate within the next six months, there is an additional $750 rebate. This will further lower the lease payment to $129 per month.

Here's what you should expect when all is said and done. We've added in Los Angeles County sales tax (9%), license/registration, and fees. Program valid through January 4, 2016.

Total Drive-Off
First month's payment (after 9% tax) $140
DMV license/registration $252
Dealer document fee ($80 max. in CA) $80
Down payment $0
Security deposit (refundable) $1,050
Upfront taxes $165
TOTAL DUE AT SIGNING $1,687

Toyota's lease rates and incentives are regional. Let us know if you have any questions about your region!

December 20, 2015 Update: Toyota also offers a 24-month lease program on Camry. The same MF rates apply, but the residual is 71% for 12,000 miles per year. Going for the 24-month program would actually reduce the sample lease above to $110 per month + tax.

December 28, 2015 Update: We are getting mixed information as to whether MSD can be used on the Camry lease program. It may be regional: readers in the Northeast have reported success, while others have had no luck in Southern California. If you have any insight into this, please share in the comments section below!

http://leasehackr.com/blog/2015/12/1...29month-0-down

great site for leasing info... http://leasehackr.com/

Last edited by bagwell; 12-29-15 at 07:08 AM.
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Old 12-29-15, 10:27 AM
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Mr. Burns
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You crazy Americans.
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Old 12-29-15, 12:07 PM
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Aron9000
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$129 a month is a hell of a deal on the Camry. I was thinking you might be able to lease a Nissan Versa or Kia Rio that cheap, but not a Camry.
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Old 12-29-15, 01:36 PM
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evident
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for that price it's a no brainer. but the accord is so much nicer.
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Old 12-29-15, 01:44 PM
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Originally Posted by evident
for that price it's a no brainer. but the accord is so much nicer.
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Old 12-29-15, 02:22 PM
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129 / month with zero down sounds unrealistic just like those crazy lease advertisements which never materialize.

The Camry may have higher incentives than the Accord but the difference is marginal, not what the article claims.

Last edited by sorptd; 12-29-15 at 02:26 PM.
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Old 12-29-15, 07:07 PM
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Wow my civic lease was 195 no down no first month payment, how can they make a Camry this low.
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Old 12-29-15, 08:02 PM
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With these ridiculous leases, who is buying all the used cars that come off lease?!?! These used cars are already beat up, out of warranty, and will further depreciate at an even faster rate than the cost of lease!
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Old 12-30-15, 12:21 AM
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No one in SoCal is advertising a Camry lease for anything that low. So not sure if it's do-able here. If it is, that is historically low. Most compact cars (Civics, Corollas, Elantras) do not lease for anything close to that.
Great article and breakdown of numbers though. Food for thought.
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Old 12-30-15, 04:42 AM
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how, exactly, is putting down 7 security deposits "no money down"? Yes you get that $1,050 back 3 years later if the car is returned in exemplary condition. But you're still out that grand for the entire term of the lease.
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Old 12-30-15, 08:42 AM
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For comparison, the lease special in the Cincinnati region (MI, OH, KY, TN) is:

2016 Camry SE
$179 Mo
$899 DAS
36 mos / 12k mi
Includes $1500 lease cash
Tier 1+ MF .00035

Of course still need to account for misc tax, title, license fees. MSRP here is $24,900. You will not find a dealer in the Midwest that will sell you a Camry for $21-22k before rebates (invoice is $23k). Residual is $17,181.

Last edited by RX_330; 12-30-15 at 01:20 PM.
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Old 12-30-15, 09:43 AM
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Originally Posted by Och
With these ridiculous leases, who is buying all the used cars that come off lease?!?! These used cars are already beat up, out of warranty, and will further depreciate at an even faster rate than the cost of lease!
I believe Toyota CPO warranty is 7-years, 100k miles.

But that's CPO...
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Old 12-30-15, 12:56 PM
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Reading that just made my head spin ~ and I thought BMW M3 lease thread was already crazy info to begin with.

One take-away is it's shocking the Camry will retain 63% residual, that is really really good for ANY car! Try that with an AMG
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Old 12-30-15, 02:16 PM
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Originally Posted by s4play
One take-away is it's shocking the Camry will retain 63% residual, that is really really good for ANY car! Try that with an AMG
I guarantee that an AMG will retain at least that much value after 36 days.
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Old 12-30-15, 06:49 PM
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Some dealerships will give an additional discount if you pay the whole lease-deal at once, up front, instead of month-by-month. A friend of mine has done that twice leasing new ES350s.
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