I was at my dealer today, observing all 4(!) of their S2000s --

-- the sales-lady said they "just started" a lease program on the s2000s, $459/mo. for 36 mos. wih 12K/year mileage -- it's a "sign and ride" deal, with no other financial commitment -- I told her it's a car I likely wouldn't want to give up in 3 years, so I'll probably buy one instead...

I also asked her what the 2003 was like and she said "oh, we don't know yet" -- and then some fat-ass "sales manager" said they're only making the car for five years... whatever.

Finally, one benefit of this dealership is that they don't allow test-drives of their 2000s -- ! They make the customer sign a "bill of purchase" and if the customer isn't satisfied with the car (after purchase), they can return it -- sort of odd, but it ensures delivery of a worthy 2000...

 

469 a month for 3 years doesnt sound all that bad..no $ down though right, just a straight 469/for 36 months right? so basically a little over 13k+ dollars by the end of the lease..which is awesome. if the car cost 32k right now and you drive it for 3 years and 36k miles later, and its still worth 19k dollars, that sounds good to me.

 

You really should check out Honda's own website and do a calculation on their lease calculator. I just ran a calculation with no money down, at MSRP, 12k/year for 3 years and it came out to $460. You should be able to get the car for under MSRP. For every grand under MSRP you should cut your payments by about $25-$30. Also, for ever grand you put down, you should cut your payments roughly the same amount (depending on your credit rating of-course).

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Humanatek
[B]You really should check out Honda's own website and do a calculation on their lease calculator.

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Colin
[B]

You should remember the Honda site does not add the local sales tax to the MP, this will naturally vary from state to state.

 

Thanks for your posts, all -- I'm in Upstate NY, and do have the cash to buy $30K of the car, it's just that I don't want to blow too much cash in one direction, you know?? I may very well buy the car outright, since I want to keep it for good, though. I just got out of business school and have those loans (plus law school before it!) --

I'm not sure whether this leasing-option includes tax or not, though since they said it was "sign and drive", you'd hope they'd included that in the quoted payment.

Also, this dealership is selling their 2000s at sticker, which isn't too bad, though there's no rush to buy them (that's why they've got 4 of them!).

I went to another dealer who had a 2001 black left-over from last summer (so they said) -- they'd "give" it to me for $31K, they said.

Remember, though, these were just quick-quotes from the dealers, and I wasn't really negotiating with them at all --

-- maybe the fact that I drive a '91 Civic hatchback with 140K miles on it tells them I have no cash -- not true!!

 

Check the New England Board. People in Boston are getting them at around $30K. The lease monthly payment that salesmen quote will never include tax. And, if you can afford to buy, it'd be always a better deal than leasing.

 

If they didn't say tax was included, it wasn't. FWIW, I always include tax in my quotes since it is the amount you will actually write your payment check for. I do, however, stress to my clients that 4.16% of the payment is going to the state. On the plus side, the residual value is entirely untaxed till you buy it. Eric, your choice of vehicle tells me that you don't have car payments and have been saving money!

Humanatek, the worst place (price wise) is here in Hawaii. S2000s here are still selling over MSRP at all three dealerships on Oahu. I happen to work at the only Acura store (in Hawaii), but our company has a Honda dealership at another location.