I'm going to lease a new 2007 GS 350 loaded w/ NAV/LEV MSRP just over $50,000. I was wondering what ya'll are leasing your's for. Thanks for your help.

 

Anyone?

 

Sorry- Paid cash.

 

I can tell you the terms of my 450h lease from last Saturday, if it helps: 36 months with 12K miles annually; residual value 53%; money factor 0.00245.

 

Thanks, that helps give me an idea of what I'm looking at!

 

There is a "Leasing questions" forum for every model car on Edmunds forums. The moderator "Car_host" can provided you the latest residuals and money factors for your model. I got a reply the same day, when I inquired about 450h leases.

 

I am sorry if this is a dumb question, but I was hoping someone can help me with this issue.

I am coming off my first ever lease. (I currently have an '04 GS300). My lease ends in August and I want to get into a GS350 AWD but the lease prices seem high.

My question is this: Do the residuals and/or lease terms get better or worse as you get later in the year? (IE will it be cheaper to lease in August, than in January).

Thanks for the help!

 

Residual values should be unaffected. Interest rates are completely unpredictable and are driven by the particular vehicle's desirability; if it's not selling well, they'll lower the rate.

By the way, consider a BMW, if you're leasing. Because of BMW's inflated residuals and low interest rates, the lease on a BMW that costs over $10,000 more than GS can be cheaper than GS lease!

 

Thanks for the info! I hope things change between now and August.

 

How much did you put down, what are the payments and how does one use this money factor I keep seeing in determining payments? Thanks

 

There is a fantastic lease payment calculator at http://www.leaseguide.com/calc.htm that will allow you to determine the payments and will translate the money factor into the equivalent interest rate.

"Money factor" is just a different measure of the amount of interest you will pay. Lexus interest rates suck really bad compared to most other car manufacturer owned finance companies. My money factor of 0.00245 is equivalent to roughly 5.7% interest rate and was the best available on GS 450h. To get the best rate you have to have a FICO of 730 or above. If your FICO is between 690 and 730, the rate is about 0.5% higher (makes only about a $9 difference in monthly payment).

I did not make any "capital cost reductions", which is the lease speak for downpayment. Since I had a FICO over 730, I was not required to make a security deposit. So all I had to pay was the first month lease payment plus the "bank fee" of $600, which is a junk fee charged by Lexus Financial that appears to be unavoidable.

By the way, you should do a Google search for guides to leasing before you take the plunge. Leasing is not for everyone; it's hard to get out of it, so you better be sure it's what you want and you will want to drive the car for as long as the lease lasts.

You should also never lease if you think you would want to purchase the car after the lease is over. If I did that with my lease, it would pretty much completely erase the $7,000 off MSRP that I negotiated.

 

Where can I get a 450h for $7000 under MSRP?

 

Talk to Josh Weiss at Rallye Lexus in Glen Cove, New York. Tell him Jason from Virginia just bought a silver GS 450 h for $53K from him and you want one too. No guarantees, of course, but maybe you'd get lucky too.

Great dealership, by the way. Now that I've been there and bought the car, I'd be comfortable buying from them remotely and having the car shipped. Although, it's pretty costly to ship cars these days...

 

"You should also never lease if you think you would want to purchase the car after the lease is over. If I did that with my lease, it would pretty much completely erase the $7,000 off MSRP that I negotiated"

No, this is not true. One of the benefit of leasing a car is the fact that manufacturer assume the risk of guessing the residual wrong. And as a consumer we can decide if the price is right when we are ready to turn in the car at the end of the lease. You already captured the 7000 discount by paying less each month on your monthly payment during the lease term. The residual for a given model and a given mileage/duration is fixed and is not affected by the price you negotiated upfront. e.g If you negotiate a GS350 for 53K vs a MSRP of 60K and the residual is set to 33K for 3yr 15k mi. You can buy the car at the end of the lease at 33K weather you cap is 53K or 60k.