fringe_remnant

We just leased a new 2013, business use. Everything is written off. (It is being built as we speak)

2 year contract at 0.99%, threw some dollars at the remainder of the MSRP once they had taken $15500 of of a $49K unit. Payment is $182 per month, and we will buy it out at lease end.

Looks OK to me. I lease always. This one was shorter than usual as the rate and discounting were exceptional.

In short, my thoughts on leasing are pretty simple: make sure you get a fantastic deal on at least two of these three: the MSRP, Lease End Rate (they are doing 50% up here in Toronto on 2 year.. that means the buyout is 50% of original MSRP, not what you have squeezed it down to), and Lease Finance Rate (.99 % means almost no borrowing charges). Leasing is best described as a win-win for Ford Credit because you are paying to borrow their car, and they fix the game. Writing it off sweetens the formula.

It costs around $43 per $1000MSRP at 0.99% to lease. Bringing down the MSRP by $15K means you save $645 monthly borrowing costs on the lease. But wait, nobody pays MSRP right?
The real value is much lower. Around $15K lower. That is where you need to be FROM THE START.

The kicker in the lease is not the MSRP unless you do not know how to evaluate a vehicle's true cost. The kicker is the Lease End Value. It must be in line, or less than, the expected retail (not their wholesale cost) value of the car at lease end. If you cannot meet this from the outset then DO NOT LEASE.

On Order: Kodiak 5.0 XLT XTR w/ 302A plus plus. The colour below is from a base XLT..

nyxltregcab

My wife turned in a leased fusion for a 2013 Escape. When Ford looked it over they sent us a bill for $2xx.xx in damage repairs for stuff like scratches on the underside of the front bumper cover, etc. The car had 97XX miles on it and had been detailed(including wax and interior. It said on the final bill that they would wave up to $250 in wear/damage if a new Ford was/purchased or leased at that time.
I called Ford and they looked things up and basically closed out the old lease and ripped up the bill, but I'm sure if it was over $250, we would still owe it. I was PO'd initially because it had 10K less than allotted on it, but trade in was still less than residual.
They are pretty thorough from what I've seen and I don't believe they will just wave any mileage/damage or whatever over the $250, so be careful.

Doubleg71

Here is the other option that I did with my 2001 Ford Explorer sport trac. I leased it because I had a company vehicle and knew I wouldn't put the miles on the vehicle. As I was nearing the end of my lease, I put the car up for sale and made $2000 on the sale which I put down on my next vehicle. There are 3 options to leasing a vehicle. Walk away after the term of he lease, get into a new car after the lease, sell the vehicle and make money (only if you have kept the vehicle in awesome condition like I did). It makes sense for some, not a lot for others!

FordRoushFan

I guess I'll find out when I go back but I really don't think I'll have any problems when it comes down to it. I've purchased vehicles from this dealer before (just never leased) and have used the same salesman and finance manager every time. I trust what they say because so far they have not given me a reason not too.

Oh and one other thing that I left out. I was told to bring my vehicles in 3 - 4 months before my lease was up so that I could trade them in. My finance manager said that if waited until the end of my lease then Ford would get involved and that would make the transaction more difficult. I'm not to sure about the details on this but I'm assuming that this is where going over the mileage and the wear/tear penalties would come into affect, if necessary. So, I'm going to make sure that I show up 3 - 4 months early!!!