I am looking to trade in my current Lexus for a 14 GS350 with luxury package. I've been told my trade in value is $10k by the dealer. What is the best use of that trade in value? Should I put it all down to lower my monthly rates? I'm in NY so it doesn't look like I can do MSD, but I should be Tier 1+. The pricing I currently have is MSRP 60,248, sale price of 55,500, then rebates, etc (I know 1000k lexus loyalty, but not sure what else). If I put the whole trade down, it looks like the monthly price for a 3 yr lease/12k mi will be about 375. What is my best option here with the trade in? Is this a good deal? Thanks!

 

I think you should first think about not using the equity on your old Lexus towards a lease. What do you think will happened to you 10K if the car is stolen or totaled next week?

 

$5K off a '14 GS then rebates at this point is a nice deal.
Big discounting already on the '14's is odd.

 

Fair point. I guess I'd have an issue depending on the spread between the residual versus the insurance payout? Is it standard to get gap insurance? What would you recommend that I do?

 

Never put money down or do a trade-in on a lease. Sell your current car to CarMax (if you're willing to drive to CT) or a private party, and use that money towards your drive-off and monthly payments.

 

Gap insurance is included in a Lexus lease.

 

Agree with the other posts, consider your current vehicle as a separate transaction. I like not to tell the dealer about my trades until my deal is agreed upon so it won't affect the current deal that I'm working on. I suggest CarMax or Autotrader---I've had huge success on Autotrader and for $69, it will likely get you several thousand dollars more than a trade.

Regarding the lease deals, see some of the threads (I've started one recently). Several cities have multiple dealerships and they compete on volume. I'm in Arizona and half the time get my vehicles from Los Angeles. These dealers are offering very attractive 2014 prices already--don't be afraid to ask. PM me if you want to discuss offline.

 

I am also in Arizona, and my local dealer matched the best LA offer.

 

agreed.

 

Definitely do not put down $10,000 towards a lease. Personally would be a really bad idea. On my last lease I only put down $2,000 but I only had it two weeks and I was in an accident (total loss). I learned my lesson. That money is non redeemable.

 

Thanks everyone for the advice.

Do you think that the dealer will "split" the trade in cost (for example, apply 1/3 as a down payment and give me 2/3 cash/check)? Unfortunately, I don't have the time or energy to try a private sale or drive to CT for Carmax.

 

I don't see why not? If they want the sale bad enough, which I'm sure they do, then they should go for it.

 

I think thats a good compromise. I know the lease payments will optically go up, but just set the cash payment aside and everything will even out (might be out some sales tax though). At lease this way I'll have some cash should something go really wrong.

The dealer located a car for me, slightly different numbers from before. What do you guys think:

2014 GS350 AWD, Luxury package, cold weather, nav, BSM, Park Assist, power trunk, wheel locks & accessories.

MSRP 60,587
Residual 37,563.94 (62%)
Cap Cost 56,992
Rebate 1250
Bank Fee 700
MF 0.0009

With trade in 100% applied (don't have updated #s from them), adjusted cap cost is 48,454.5 (includes NYS tax)

36 mo, 12k/yr, 380/mo. I expect it will jump to mid 500s/mo with splitting the trade between down payment and cash.

 

Use this link to see what your payment will be and also give an idea of how good the deal is.

http://www.ridewithg.com/calculator/index.html