kaotiq

So I'm in the market to lease a 2007 GS350, black on black, base model, NO NAVI. Before anyone suggests that I buy the car, the only reason that I am leasing is because my CPA recommended that I lease it since I own a company (obviously for tax reasons).

My friend who is a salesman over at Longo Lexus got me this quote over the phone today. I needed to see if this was a good deal or not. I have never leased a car before, so this is a first for me.

1. $2500.00 initial payment
2. $658.00 per month
3. All taxes, fees, and registration already included.
4. Four year lease.

I have heard of other car brands that do NOT have a initial downpayment. My friend's mom for example is leasing a brand new 5 series for $550 per month and no initial down.

dchen2

Check out my thread I just posted on here complaining about the high costs of leasing a GS. Apparently in comparison to BMW, the residuals for the GS are much lower, thus resulting in much higher payments.

For example, you could lease a BMW 335i or 530i for ~$500/month with 0 down assuming the best deal where as with a GS350, at the minimum it would be $700/month with 0 down.

The reason is that according to the banks doing the leasing(Either BMW financial or Lexus financial), they estimate (in my case for a 3year 12k/yr lease) a BMW 335i sedan at the end of 3 year lease being worth 63% of its new msrp where as with a GS350 would only be worth 52% of its new msrp. Assuming a loaded $45k 335i and a stripped $45k GS350, that means over the life of the loan, you are paying an additional 11% of $45k or $5,000.

It sucks but word on the street is that BMW is heavily incenticizing the BMW leases, thus inflating its residuals and also subsidizing the interest rates, bringing the leasing money factor (lease interest rate in other words) down far below market rates. Thus BMW(and also Mercedes) still sells more bimmers/Mercs by making the lease deals very cheap but at the same time they don't devalue the brand image like the big three did by offering thousands of dollars in cash back on their F150s and Suburbans.

kaotiq

That is actually depressing. Now you have opened my eyes to the possibility of leasing a 5-series, but I'm a hardcore Toyota addict. However, in the best interest of my company, maybe it's better to spend less?

onchrome

thats a high lease payment.... in 2 months i was going to start shoppin for a gs 350..thats y i joined this site because u get the best real world opinions on forums like this.... i want to lease and if i cant get it for under 600 with 2000 down total then im gonna shop somehwere else cause the numbers dont make sense for a car around 45 grand....

AlBoston

kaotiq, can u get me more info on that 5 series lease? Model, options, etc.

kaotiq

refer to the second post by DChen2

AlBoston

obviously I saw that post, but I wanted to get "real world" numbers from you since you said you had a friend recently lease one. Torn between the GS and 5 series right now...

kaotiq

i'll get details later. All i know is that it was 0 down, and 500 per month. Literally $500 only. Tax, title, registration fees all taken care of. 3 year lease. Lemme see if i can get more details.

For me, I'm comparing the interiors and reliability factors.

RNM GS3

Infiniti had good lease rates for M35 if your interested..........I prefer the GS also but Lexus lease rate SUCK right now.

kaotiq

I wouldn't say that it's high, but more like it's trying to keep an elitist viewpoint if you will. They want to keep the car to a point where it is affordable to the few, according to some quotes that I read in previous threads. It seems a bit snobbish and promoting affordability/income segregation; but isn't that what luxury is about?

Thank you for the info on the M35. I unfortunately do not like infinitis. However, in pertaining to the thread, I am going to give the 5 series a test drive and interior inspection before I make my decision.... although, I'm already leaning towards the GS regardless of the inflated price.

EXE.UCF10

iTrader: (3)

Don't cross over to the darkside Geoff. Unless you want a car that may be more fun to drive (in terms of handling) with subpar interior...go with your gut and get the GS.

kaotiq

yeah, I know. I'm already like 90% on the GS side. That 10% is just like "Oh, you need to be fair and give it a shot."

what you said just reminded me of something. "Something something something, darkside. Something something something something complete."

Threxx

So this is a 36 month lease I'm guessing? If you build in that down payment into the monthly payments that's $727/month! You know you could get a 60-65k dollar BMW or Mercedes for that kind of payment... V8, fully loaded...

May be more fun to drive? Try WILL be WAY more fun to drive. And yes the interior on the 5 series if laughable compared to the GS - but if I'm leasing a car, I don't care much about how nice the dash feels to fondle. If I was BUYING a car then yes, quality and materials would mean a lot more to me since I'd count on them to hold up over time. Leasing? Nah - I'm just beating the crap out of the car.

kaotiq

48 months actually

Threxx

OK so that's $34,000 to drive this car for 4 years and have nothing to show for it at the end.

What is invoice price on the GS350 you're looking at? You could probably buy it for invoice price, finance it at a low rate, and in the end barely have higher payments to OWN it.

I'm a big proponent of leasing when the situation calls for it, but the situation calls for leasing when the residuals and MFs are in your favor, and unfortunately that's just a rare occasion to see from Lexus, especially when the terms are at 48 months (most leases stop being really advantageous around 36 months - some at 24 months)

In summary, if you want to lease, get the 5 series. If you want to own, get the GS.