All, was wondering if Ford is still leasing vehicles and if so are they offering any lease specials on the 2009 Platinum? Haven't seen peep about Ford leasing in a while now.....

 

I've leased a truck from ford, back in 1997... 2 year lease.. F-150, $22,000 on the A-plan, the buyout after the lease was $19,000... I had paid in over $9,000... ($385x24)..

take a guess if i would do this again. Severe buyers remorse

 

They still lease, but the difference in purchasing/leasing now isn't what it used to be. With today's lease rates it doesn't make sense, you barely lower your monthly payment and have to turn it in. In addition, 24mo leases are gone. Ford is really pushing purchasing on all their large vehicles, with only the cars that have attractive lease offers.

 

Appreciate the insight...only thing is I generally trade up every 36mos or so and am getting tired of having to write the big checks for the difference between my trade in value and the new truck. I was thinking with a 36 mo. lease I could get $$'s back from my trade in (valued at $18K) and not have to write a $25K check at time of purchase...and since this is my 3rd vehicle, I only put about 7K miles per year on it anyway.....my '05 Lariat Screw 4x4 just turned 30K miles and I've had if for just about 4 years now...just looking at the options.

 

If the numbers don't add up, that means the sales manager fudged the numbers so that he took home a big commission for himself and the dealer.

 

There are many ways to take advantage of you when you go back to lease your next vehicle. The only way to protect yourself is to learn the math behind a lease, and you'll find that to be much more work than writing out a check. Leasing is a better option if you can write off the cost of the lease against a business.

If you have $25k budget every three years then it may work for you. Figure 5k to 6k per year to lease. You can lease anything you want for 8K a year.

The problem with leasing now is that residuals are down, which makes leasing more expensive.

 

GreenCrew...good points...so let's recap those all important "variables" that exist in a typical lease scenario.
1) Money factor (or lease money rate)
2) Lease sales price
3) residual value
4) annual miles allowed.
Am I missing anything? Lease sales (or purchase price) is easy to determine, I'd insist on the same Sale/Lease sale price for either a purcahse or lease. The lease money factor can be checked (and compared between dealers) - it may well vary between dealers this is one area where I suspect dealers take advantage of the unwary. The residual value is trickier...as, given the economy, I'd suspect Ford has lowered the residual values - which means you are going to be paying more during the term of your lease and, the annual mileage really means the more miles you want to drive annually - the higher your monthly payment is going to be.

Any comments are welcome and I'll post the lease terms once I have them early next week.

 

Best lease I ever had was on a '97 Lariat super cab, AT&T automotive let me order the truck for $250 down and the first monthly payment of $252. 3 yr lease 12k miles a year. Turned it in after 3 yrs. and leased a 2000 Super Duty from Bank One, I bought out of the lease close to the end and resold it and made a little off of the sale. Leasing got so bad 5 yrs. ago I ended up buying one. If you own a business and don't drive too many miles leasing still may be the way to go. By the way these leases beat Ford's hand's down at the time.

 

Purchase price and residual value go together. You'll pay the difference between the two. #3 - Residual value is determined by the number of years and miles you'll drive over the terms of the lease. The economy does play a part in determining what that vehicle will be worth your your turn it in at the end of the lease.

#2 - Lease Sales price or Purchase price is called Gross Capitalized Cost. This is where the sales manager works hard to add in his commission. Your objective is to get this number as low as you can negotiate. This is the price the leasing company pays for the truck, but can include other costs which complicate the math.

Don't just settle for the number they give you, ask them to show you the math they used to calculate it. I think your best bet is to get the internet price on the vehicle, then ask for for that number to be put on that line. Some sales people will tell you that this number does not matter, and only the final monthly lease payment really matters, but the Gross Capitalized Cost amount does directly correlate to your monthly payment. If GCC goes up, and nothing else changes, your monthly payment will go up.

#1 Money factor is the cost of financing the lease. It's not an interest rate, but works in a similar way. Usually not negotiable, but you'll want ask to see who has the best rate, or if any vehicle has a better rate. You may be able to multiple the money factor by 2400 to get an approximation of the interest rate, but you need to ask if this will work with their money factor. Not all money factors are the same.

#4 Miles allowed will be what it is, you drive what you drive. The more miles you purchase, the more the lease costs. Miles directly impact your residual value.

You want to look for the lowest money factor, highest residual, then pay the lowest lowest sales price for the vehicle.

Tip: Residual value is calculated off of the total MSRP before discounts, not the fiinal sticker price. Look for a sticker with discounts.

When all is said and done, they will ask for another $600 for leasing.

 

Very nice leasing summary - thx GreenCrew

 

Yup that's pretty much what i assumed happened.. and i was young and dumb