Hello CL Community,

Just wondering if I can get some assistance regarding my current lease situation with Acura Canada? In short, I'm very displeased with the product (2015 TLX - V6 SH-AWD Elite Trim) due to the ZF9 transmission. It's a common issue among TLX owners which is described in detail very thoroughly on the A forums.

I need help to prepare myself with the ground knowledge to see whether getting out of my current Acura lease is worth it to move into a Lexus IS. Off the top of my head, my current monthly payment is $422 CAD on a 4 year lease. I did put a little bit of money down initially and the car currently has 3600 KMs.

What additional info do I need to calculate the cost of switching? My assumption would be that I need to contact Acura to figure my buyout price today, subtract the trade in value and see where I end up? Is there anything else that's involved in a lease?

On to part 2 of this thread. How well does Lexus dealers do with regards to negotiation? I remember about 10 years ago as a kid, I went with my mom when she got her 2006 IS250 AWD. She doesn't speak english very well as an immigrant and was under the impression that Lexus = Luxury = No negotiations. She ended up paying full price which I hope there's some wiggle room today.

Any help from the more experienced car people would be greatly appreciated.

 

You pretty much have the right process in figuring out your loss. Not to discourage you but your trade-in value will will be ~20% less than the price of the car before signing (48k) so +- 39K

So if your buyout is 44K (lease payments remaining + residual), it's going to cost you 5K. This is a guesstimate but it wouldn't surprise me if your loss is around this.

Now, armed with the dollar amount you'll know from Acura to get out of your lease, you have two options. 1. take this information to Lexus and work out a deal to buy out the Acura and minimize your penalty. The penalty balance (say 3K) could be rolled into the IS lease payment.

2. Leasebusters. Someone takes over your lease, you just (offer to) pay the lease transfer papers at Acura(+- $400) and your losses end there. The benefit to the buyer is he/she takes advantage of the lower monthly payment thanks to your down payment you initially put in. and retains the original warranty.


As for bargaining on a Lexus, it's tougher in Canada but you still should aim for something. At minimum on a 2016 3IS at this time, the dealer prep/transport ($2K) and an accessory or two thrown in (paint protection film, cargo net, etc.
Good luck and keep us posted.

 

I am from BC as well.
Local Lexus dealers will not do negotiation.
I went to 3 different dealers and non of them gave me any discount other than factory incentives.
I do know one person got a $500 discount and she was a cash buyer.
But it's not going to affect your payment much if it's a $500 discount.
You may pay $10 less a month.
Most of the luxury brands do not do negotiations on new vehicles.

 

I'm in Toronto and yes, you can negotiate. I financed mine, but I got a very good price. I used Car Cost Canada to find out the dealer invoice, and used that to bargain. You're essentially negotiating the profit margin the dealer makes on the car. AFAIK, the minimum margin Lexus will accept is about 5%.

 

You can also try Lease Busters for getting out of your lease. Essentially you'll have to give someone a cash incentive to take over your lease which you negotiate. It might be a cheaper alternative to the buyout.

As for negotiating, I emailed several Lexus dealers in the Toronto area telling them what I wanted and for them to quote me their best price taxes in. And from there I picked the cheapest.

 

Thank you guys for the informative posts. I have some number crunching to do regarding the TLX and exploring possible avenues.

 

I believe the Metro Vancouver region has limited room for negotiation because a lot of their clients are foreign and pay full cash price. If you drive up a bit into Kelowna, they may be more flexible. Here in Alberta, we do have some room for negotiation.

On another note, I have a friend with the ZF9 transmission in his TLX who has suffered similar shifting issues. After much back and forth with the dealer and corporate headquarters, he managed to get the transmission replaced. It completely fixed his problems and he is now loving the car more than ever. Amazing how a transmission can ruin your perception of a car... I personally considered the TLX but didn't find it as sporty as the IS and the styling was too conservative for me.

 

I don't know what they were thinking with that transmission. I was watching a review a few weeks ago and they said that there are a few gears that use a dog clutch to hook up leading to it feeling a little bit slow and harsh.

 

I'm in Toronto and managed to get 3,600 off of a 2016 F Sport 3, because of the company I work for.

It's essentially Invoice + 3%, which is approximately 7% off of MSRP.

There is room to negotiate. If they still don't want to budge, I suggest using a service like "unhaggle". You should be able to get the same pricing.

A dealer should be willing to go to their invoice price + 1.5% - 3% (depending on the size of the dealership) without major issue.

Best of luck!