Hi everyone,

I went into Mini SF this past Sunday to look into their lease offer. Per their website, and also Mini US website, the lease offer is as follows:

(1) *Offer not valid in Puerto Rico. Lease financing available on new 2015 MINI Cooper Hardtop 2 Door models, from participating MINI Dealers through MINI Financial Services through 06/01/15. Monthly lease payments of $229 per month for 36 months based on MSRP of $22,800 which includes Automatic Transmission and destination & handling fee of $850. $2,674 cash due at signing is based on $1,650 down payment, $229 first month payment, $795 acquisition fee, and $0 security deposit (not all customers will qualify for security deposit waiver). Tax, title, license, registration and dealer fees are additional fees due at signing. Program available from participating MINI Dealers to eligible, qualified customers with excellent credit history who meet MINI Financial Services credit requirements. Payments do not include applicable taxes. All figures presented are examples only. Actual MSRP may vary. Lessee responsible for insurance during the lease term and any excess wear and tear as defined in the lease contract, $.20/mile over 30,000 miles per lease term and a disposition fee of $350 at lease end. Purchase option at lease end (excluding tax, title and government fees) is $13,908. Qualified rate lock applicants must take delivery by 08/31/15. Offer includes a $250 Lease credit which is used to offset final contract price. Customer is responsible for all taxes on full contract amount. $250 Dealer Contribution (if applicable) offsets MSRP. Dealer contribution may affect terms. Offer and credits valid through 06/01/15 and may be combined with other offers unless otherwise stated. Models pictured may be shown with metallic paint and/or additional accessories. All 2015 MINI Passenger Cars come standard with Boot to Bonnet No Cost Maintenance standard for 3 years or 36,000 miles, whichever comes first and begins on the original in-service date. Refer to the MINI Service and Warranty Information booklet for complete terms, conditions and limitations. Stop in for complete details.

I was going to trade in my car, which they gave me a very fair amount, for the base Justa, but when we started the leasing papers, they told me i had to put down 4,000, instead of 2,674 listed in the promo. They claimed that the 4,000 is the due at signing of 2,674 plus down payment of 1,650. This didn't make sense for me because if I added all the amounts, which included the 1650, all i have to do is put down 2,674. I stopped the process right away and told them I needed to think about it.

If you guys read the promo, I should only have to put down 2674. I spoke to other leassors and they agreed with me. I will contact other dealerships in the area to research.

What do you guys think?

 

here's what i learned looking into leasing, the monthly price is never what they advertise..

1650 + 229 + 795 = 2674.. correct

but was the car actually

if not your lease will be higher (or lower if msrp less than 22.8)

now the kicker...

maybe you didn't qualify for the security deposit waiver

and the next kicker:

all the above could equal the other 1600.. and was this after your trade in? if so where did that money go..

 

Yup, the price was 22,800 and they didn't tell me i did not qualify for the 0 security deposit, so I assume I qualify.

My trade in was $9K and after they told me I have to put $4K down, my monthly payments came out to be $283.66. That's 24% increase of the $229 monthly payment. I understand I have to pay taxes on the monthly payments, but 24% increase...

I attached a copy of the calculation.

 

1. MSRP is $23,300 instead of $22,800. The $500 extra is most likely for metallic paint. This difference should only add $6.48 to monthly payment to $235.48 under the MINI lease offer.

2. They use $22,800 as selling price after applying $250 option credit from MINI and $250 dealer contribution mandated under the lease offer.

3. Do you still owe $5,000 on your trade-in? If so, the net value of your trade is $4,000 which they intend to use up on the transaction.

4. They put $3,058.32 as "capitalized cost reduction" aka "down payment". I am not sure exactly how it is calculated, but it seems to be roughly [$4,000 - $321.84 tax - $379 fee (lessor? You need to find out what's for) - $283.66 first payment (based on THEIR calculation)] = $3,015.50.

5. Now, if $3,058.32 is your down payment instead of $1,650, your monthly payment should be around $194.67 according to MINI's lease program. (An approx. calculation is to apply the additional down pay to the 36 payments.)

6. Residual value 61% is correct, but money factor for Hardtop 2-door should be 0.00121. They apparently marked it up to 0.0018. But even with this MF, the payment would only be pushed to $214.70.

7. They crossed out the $795 acquisition fee. However, that was done after the print-out. Even if it is capitalized, the impact to monthly payment would be approx. $24 with the higher MF.

8. I can't figure out how they come up with $283.66, but something is way off. I would be very wary.

Do NOT sign the lease until you get all the facts straight.

 

the money factor could be higher based on your credit.
however you should get the difference back on the trade over and above the 2650 drive offs, the license fee, tire waste management fee, and max in cali is about 65 to 85 doc fee. the only way it should total 4000 is if you do not qualify for the 0 sec deposit and if said security deposit is about 1000.
if thats the case then your total payment would be slightly more as well. 229 plus tax is close to 250 with tax. so a higher money factor could = 280 or so with tax.
ask them what the buy rate is for you and make sure they are not marking it up too high. and find out if you are qualifying for the 0 security deposit.
if you are getting the zero sec dep then they are swallowing up roughly 1000 profit on your 4000 equity in the trade.
cap cost reduction is any amount of down or trade equity that does not go to government fees etc. (tax lic doc fees). it is the amount that is actually being put towards the price of the car. think 22300-3000 cap red=19300, 13603 resid, 19300-13600=5700, 5700/36 mo= 159 + interest (money factor) (70) = 229 + tax per mo.
just rough #'s while in bed but you get the idea,
hope that helps.

 

Thanks jtca and jeepndad for your replies.

I have excellent credit score (750+) so money factor should not be a problem right?

They did not tell me I did not qualify for the 0 security deposit. If I did not qualify, I should expect to see it as part of the calculation.

The cap red calculated makes sense, since the $4k minus taxes and fees are pretty close to the cap red amount.

$250 is more reasonable for me, but I cannot justify putting down $4K as a down payment. They would also give me $5k in cash as part of the trade in.

I have a feeling that they marked it up for me because of my trade in. They probably did not want Mazda in their dealership.

I will contact another dealership and ask them for a calculation based on no trade and how much money down. I will let you guys know.

 

I am plugging it in to my computer to give you a more accurate #'s
I am in the business but not at Mini. edit... ya if my computer would work faster that would be great.

 

okay, based on the picture of the breakdown they gave you,
if you are using 4000 of your equity to go towards the car and the .00180 money factor your payment should be appox. 240 including tax.
the 795 on that printout is some other "add on" thats why it say "OPT" the fee$ / lessor is probably an aquisition fee.
in actuality if there is a 250 rebate you are putting 4250 towards the car and drive offs.
have them remove the options line 795.00 show you the full printout the one they showed you does not have all the lines disclosed.(there are hidden fields)
you want to see what the gross capitalized cost is and the adjusted capitalized cost (the amount after your "down")
as i said above your payment with tax should be about 240 or so including tax based on that deal structure.
however if you can afford 75 or so more per month it might be better to do a purchase instead.
all things being equal 22800 selling price with no rebate however i think there is 1000 on purchase right now. payment comes out at about 325 per month for 72 mo. at a 2.99% apr.
hope that helps.

 

MINI Finance's acquisition fee is $795 which somebody got to pay it somehow. Dealers may "waive" the acquisition fee but charge a higher MF to recoup the cost. If that is the case here, the 0.0018 MF is about right. But then, there shouldn't be $379 fee unless it is for other legitimate items.

 

My bad you are correct the 795 is the acquisition fee. I was thinking of the sec. deposit.

 

Thanks for the info!

I contacted another dealership who offerred $2,674 at drive off and about $250/month, assuming no trade in and excellent credit score. That's what I was thought it should be to begin with.

 

I was just about to recommend checking another dealer in the Bay Area. I've had much better experience with Mini of Marin and its a easy quick drive from San Francisco. Good luck.

 

If sales tax is included for $250/month, I'd say it is a good deal.

 

Sounds like the other dealership is where you count your fingers after shaking their hand. I don't understand leasing, and I bet most people don't. Which makes it easy to mumbo jumbo the customer into a bigger payment than they advertised in the advertisement. SIGN HERE!

 

I believe the 250 should include tax...if no tax it would be 229

it doesnt help the dealership that I am an accoutant...if the numbers don't pass my smell check, I am not signing that lease.

I will check go over there sometime this weekend...now the question is how much will they take my trade in and if i should lease or buy...