Ok, here is the crazy scenario, i have always wanted a jeep and i will finally be getting one... hopefully...

i just got offered a job in the wichita, ks area working for cessna, i am really happy about it cause i finally have enough money to get the JK. the trick is that i currently live in michigan. up until today i had this great idea of selling my old ranger up here and using the 1500 bucks as a down towards a lease in wichita. i called them and they were good wtih the idea. i was oging to order this weekend so it would hopefully have arrived by the time i move (may 20th). however, when they gave me the lease prices i was completely shocked, 39 month lease for 369 bucks a month?! isnt that a little much? the cost i got them down to was 20248 from 22248 with the employee pricing plan (the best part of being in the motor city is that everyone works for the auto industry)

i sitll plan on getting my wrangler, i just am clueless as to how? anyone have any crazy financial tricks up there sleeves? it is MUCH cheaper to lease it here in michigan (276 for the same lease), but i wont be living here anymore. i am toying wtih the idea of buying here in michigan and just driving it down. im going to call some other dealers to see if this dealer might have just been crazy. the dealer tried telling me that kansas had a different way of doing things than michigan. is that true? i wouldnt think that the 1.4% difference in sales tax would make that much of a difference...

 

$369? To me that's cheap, but then again, all of the leases I see are in Scottsdale. Most run about $1200 a month. Anywho, I would buy the JK up in Michigan and drive it down. You could, (I know it sounds bad) rent a room out of someones house until you get settled on what you're planning on doing in Kansas. It would be cheaper than doing a lease.

As for money saving tips, eat rice and nothing else. Sock everything you can away for paying the JK off and getting into your own place.

 

AZCA - I think you misunderstood - he's talking about leasing the JK (and if there are people paying a $1200/mo. lease on JK's in Scottsdale, then I've got to get a job down there, 'cause they must pay HUGE!).

I don't know too much about leases, but your payment will obviously be lower the more you can scrape up to use as a downpayment. If you're REALLY looking to scrounge for pennies, you may want to try to buy from a dealership in NH (no sales tax) and drive it to Kansas? If nothing else, it'd give you a nice opportunity to acquaint yourself with the Jeep and break it in...

 

As you found out, leasing can be tricky and most people do not go in fully educated. There are three basic numbers you need to understand in a lease.

1. Residual: This is how much the car is worth AFTER the lease has matured. Average cars run around 50% - 55%, BMW, Audi, Honda run around 62%, but the JK I found out, is at 70%, by far the highest I have ever heard of. This means that over the 39 month lease, you are only paying for 30% of the vehicle price (and only sales tax on this amount as well).

2. Money factor: this is like the interest rate.

3. Capital Cost Reduction: This is like downpayment.

Dealers play with these numbers to come up with a deal. Ask your dealer to tell you what the residual and money factor are. They may hedge, but eventually they will tell you. It also sounds like your number is based on no cap cost reduction. Figure for every $1000 in, you cut about $30 off your monthly payment.
I did a lot of research here in NY and the best deals I found are:
- $314 / month and $3000 out of pocket (includes tax, first month, and cap cost reduction) for a two door JK X, 6 speed, 17" wheels, dual top.
- $379 / month and $3000 out of pocket for a similar JK X Unlimited.

Depending on what you are getting, I think your numbers should be close, although sales tax here in NY is 8.625%.
There are so many ways you and the dealer can play around with lease numbers. Go in educated. I got my dealer down $60 in monthly payment by agreeing to sign the deal.
Good luck....

 

hmmm. my jk is leased and i am paying $299 a month on a 24 month lease (76% residual) for a 25K sticker sahara (negotiated the selling price to 22.9K) and i live in illinois where we have to pay the taxes on the full vehicle price on a lease. i put 4K up front which also covered 1st months payment and all taxes, title, and fees but my lease also includes about 1.8K in taxes which any car leased outside of IL or TX would not include due to state laws. in any event, there is definitley something up with your deal. what money factor are you getting and who are you financing through? i used DC financial. normally leases don't vary that much since the residual should be pretty consistent and the money factor is based more on your credit that anything. dealers WILL try to stick you with higher money factors if you don't pay attention though. know your credit and know what you SHOULD get. good credit on a JK should be about .0032 and average/below average still shouldn't put you above .004.

in any case your quote is WAY too high for some reason. you are putting $2500 less up front than me, but your purchase price is about $3500 less considering i have to pay all the taxes and you are only paying them monthly on difference between the cap and the residual. if you post all of the specifics i may be able to figure out what is going on since i grew up in the car business (dad did it for 60 years) and i actually calculated my entire lease up by hand at the dealership to double check their computers and was off by 37 cents.

i would reduce the term also if i were you. never lease for longer than the factory warranty is valid, so 36 months should be your max. and based on current wrangler residuals you payments actually go DOWN when you reduce the term. my 24 month lease was much cheaper than if i would have done 36. i think 27 months comes out the cheapest but 24, 27, and 30 should all be within 5 bucks a month of each other and them it starts to get about $25-35 a month higher above that.

 

Oh damn I feel like an idiot!!!
See, I thought he wanted a JK, but got a job offer in Kansas, and didn't know who we was going to make payments on the JK while moving. Don't ask me how I thought that up.


I wondered why he was talking about housing in the JK Talk section.

 

Wow, and I thought leasing in NY was a PIA. Why would they make you pay full sales tax on a lease? Isn't the whole idea that you never actually own the car?

JS - can you negotiate my next lease for me.....

 

just to help you out, here is how to calculate the lease on your own to get an idea of what your payments SHOULD be:

(selling price) + (all taxes, title, other fees associated with the lease) - ($$ up front) = ADJUSTED CAP COST

msrp * (residual rate) = RESIDUAL VALUE

(ADJUSTED CAP COST) - (RESIDUAL VALUE) = TOTAL DEPRICIATION

[(ADJUSTED CAP COST) + (RESIDUAL VALUE)] * (MONEY FACTOR) = RENT CHARGE

[(TOTAL DEPRECIATION) + (RENT CHARGE)] / (months in lease) = MONTHLY PAYMENT

pretty easy, really.

 

the idea is even though i'm not buying the car, someone in the state of illinois is (the bank) and the state wants tose taxes. and the bank sure isn't going to pay them. what's worse is that if i decide to buy the car after the lease in this state i have to pay taxes AGAIN on the new selling price that i would buy it for.

it sucks a little, but i decided to lease because i know i will want the 4-door in 2 years but i wanted a new jeep now for as low as possible monthly. and i honestly didn't want to purchase the first model year of a redesign.