Can anyone post the deals they have been getting from Crevier Mini in Orange County? My mini is set to arrive sometime next week and I wanted to start figuring out financing. I was told by my MA that the current money factor being quoted was .0035 . I can't believe that's serious. leasecompare.com says I can do .00251 and primelease quoted .00234. I would prefer to finance through Mini, but if TC won't budge on that lease rate I'll look elsewhere.

 

Just as an update, I spoke to them on the phone and they said they would work with me to get the best deal. They also tried to tell me that I can't arrange my own lease financing from another company (B/S?). The deal they offered was 60k miles, .00295 residual, 48 months, and $518/mo payment with taxes included. When I calculated my own payment based on those terms, I came up with a base payment of $422 and with taxes $455/mo. What is the other $70/mo coming from? I'm beginning to get very annoyed with Crevier.

 

what is the MSRP and the selling price of your car? Do you have good credit? and are you trading anything in or rolling any type of negative equity into the lease?

 

MSRP $29,350 Sales Price $31,230 (with Sport Stripes, Driving Lights, LoJack, and Driving Mats). Top tier credit (765+ when I check a month ago). No negative equity, and I'm not putting anything down (I could, but it doesn't make sense for a lease).

 

Yeah something is not right with the payment based on those numbers. Ask to see the print out from their system. They can do a print screen and show you how they are arriving at that monthly note. Ask to speak to the finance manager. Sounds like they are inflating the money factor or sticking you with hidden fees.

Dealers are making good money on these cars just by selling them at MSRP. There is no reason they should be inflating money factors.

Edit...
I take that back. Their number is about right because of the MSRP markup. They are selling you the car at a higher price than MSRP. Which is never good when leasing. I came up with $521 using 8.5% tax rate (use tax).
Take some time to travel to other dealers. Go to another state if you have to. There are dealers that will sell you that car at MSRP. That would make your payment in the high $470's

 

I am just surprised that they did not charge your a $2000 "dealer package" on top of the MSRP. When I was shopping for my Mini last year, Crevier was the worst dealership in S. CA. They refused to let my buy the car without the markup (aka dealer package) and told me to go elsewhere because they have no problem selling their cars. Well I did. I hope you have better luck.

 

SC_Mini - With the MINIs retaining their value very well, have you considered going for a standard purchase and then selling after 3 years?

I'd suggest going on Kelly Bluebook and pricing out a 2005 with similar options and the amount of miles you expect to drive. That will give you your estimated Resale Value.

You could use that to determine the actual cost of owning vs leasing

 

Call Phillipe at South Bay Mini in Torrance.....you won't be sorry.

310-939-7300

 

Markus, Question for you. I'm on the Undine arriving next week. Can Phillippe do anything for me even though I ordered from Crevier? Has anyone ever bailed on a car like that? I don't know if I could wait another 8 weeks for my Mini.

I have definitely thought about buying. Looked at Penfed and Mini Select. I calculated the monthly savings I would achieve based on gas mileage from my Toyota Tacoma to the Mini vs the monthly payment. $500/month is about the break even point so that's why I was shooting for the lease to keep the payments lower.

Honestly, I have the cash amount in Savings Bonds that I could just pay outright. Using savings Bonds Earning 4% are better than financing at 6%+. I just like having them as a safety net should I ever need it.