Hey all,
New to the thread, looking to get back into the Ram game with a leftover 2015 1500 bighorn. Anybody recently lease one? Looking for some ammo before I head in and deal with the scammers! Months, miles, payments, money down? Any info is good info!
THANKS IN ADVANCE!!!
I've done six truck leases since 1997, all F150's until this year. I feel I know my way around this particular block...
I did a lease back in the first week of July. I wanted a V6, not the hemi, not the diesel, and I wanted either Granite or Max. Steel Metallic. I also wanted Luxury Group, Comfort Group, Remote start, and back-up camera.
This was the starting point. I went to three dealers. Dealers were at $389/mo., $384/mo., and $429/mo. for trucks with the equipment I needed. The tough part was finding a V6 in those two colors I wanted.
They always, always ask you to name a price. Always name a lowball price. This becomes your flag planted in their showroom floor that they will attempt to conquer. I said $339 a month (trying to keep a straight face). They came back at $379 and $369.
"But I have two months left on my F150 lease."
"We'll make the last two payments for you."
"I don't know. I need to shop around."
At this point they don't take you seriously and they let you go without a fight. I always say something like "I WILL be leasing a new truck before my current lease ends. I am a serious customer." Time is your friend. Use it. Don't call them back, wait for them to call you back. They will typically say they found another vehicle that meets your criteria, and would you like to come in and see/drive/learn about it? Once you agree they figure they own you. Don't let them.
When you go back in say something like, "I really want to do a deal TODAY." The magic words, 'deal' and 'today' have been uttered. Then your strategy is to keep on bringing up objections as to why you don't want to do their deal while they keep throwing more perks at you.
Here's what I ended up with:
2015 Ram Bighorn 1500
V6 Pentastar/8 speed trans
Premium cloth buckets with full-length floor console
Luxury Group
Comfort Group
Remote Start and Security Group
Anti spin differential
Chrome Body Side molding
UConnect 8.4A
9 Amplified Speaker System with Sub Woofer (the Alpine system)
ParkView rear back-up camera
Spray in bedliner
The total sticker came to $45,200. I got the bedliner, audio system, body molding and anti-spin differential that wasn't on my "must have" list.
36 months, 10,000 miles per year
Minimum down which was taxes and license, came to $1,036.00
They make my last two payments on my F150.
They make my first payment on the Ram.
They throw in chrome step bars. (This was the last thing--"Hey throw in the step bars and you've got a deal.")
They throw in five free oil changes.
There is no security deposit.
There is no lease termination fee.
They add on as many miles to the odometer on the paperwork to bring it to the maximum allowed by the leasing company. In my case they brought it up from 269 miles to 494 miles. So 225 "free" miles. (Truck was from out of state.)
$365/month.
They cut me a check for $800 to cover the last two months of my F150 lease. I thought they would pay Ford Credit but they paid me.
[My F150 was $397/month. I priced out new F150's with the twin turbo V6 and the aluminum body and the best I could do was $530/month.]
Hints and Tips
1. Never, never put any money down. That is, don't pay down the capitalized cost of the vehicle. Why should you pay $2,400 down and then pay $300 a month for 24 months when you can put $0 down and then pay $400 month for 24 months? Keep that $2,400. By the end of the lease the overall amount of money in the deal is the same but you didn't have to fork over $2,400 up front.
Now, you may have a used vehicle you could trade in on the lease to lower the capitalized cost and thus lower your monthly payment. Usually the dealer will not give you a fair price on your trade in, but sometimes it's worth it to avoid the hassle of selling your vehicle by yourself.
2. Never, never do a lease longer than 36 months. I say this because most vehicles bumper-to-bumper warranty run out after 36 months. If you do a 39 month or 42 month lease you will be liable for repairs if anything happens to the vehicle past 36 months. Dealers like to do 39 and 42 month leases because it lowers your monthly payment.
3. Use the deals they advertise in the paper and online as a rough starting point. Never go in there and do a deal with the published terms. Never. Use the down payment amount they are asking for in the ads and divide it out into the lease term to get the $0 out of pocket amount. (Following the advice in #1, above.) Example: Ad says 36 month lease, $2,999 down, $329/month. Well, that's $2,999/36 or $83.30 more per month with no down payment. So, $412.30 per month. Think of this as the number that is higher than any number you will ever pay. I got to the point where I had memorized these amounts. For this deal I would probably have my opening offer be $350 a month, nothing down.
4. If you are currently leasing ask them to make the final payment(s) on your current lease. For my Ram lease I didn't think they would do this because I was leasing a Ford, but they did it (and paid me directly). In the biz this is called "pull ahead programs", and typically they will go a maximum of 3 payments to "pull you ahead" to their vehicle.
5. Always frame the deal in dollars per month. "But I don't really want the spray-in bedliner or the 9 speaker premium sound system. That's $775 which translates to $21.52 a month more. I suppose I could live that truck if I got that equipment thrown into the deal at my (lower) price."
6. Time your shopping so you will be ready to sign lease papers at the very end of the month. Two reasons--the dealer wants to book a deal in the current month, they have incentives and bonus programs so they might bend a bit more on price, but more importantly if you wait until the end you can say, "I don't know. The lease programs might change tomorrow. If they change and get better I'd want to do a deal tomorrow. If they change and get worse I should have done the deal today. How about getting the papers drawn up but leaving the date blank. I'll come in tomorrow and decide if I want this month's deal or next month's deal. After the new programs come out we can fill in date that works best for me." I've done this in several of my leases. They might want you to put something down to assure you will come in tomorrow. "OK, here's a check for $25. When I come in tomorrow and fill in the desired date on the paperwork we'll rip up this check. If I don't come in tomorrow and do the deal you can cash the check."
6a. Make sure you ask about all rebates and incentives on the vehicle you are looking at. These rebates and incentives will be deducted from the "cost" of the vehicle, thus lowering your monthly payment.
7. Do not pay a security deposit. Typically $300 for the life of the lease. Unless you have young kids and/or are rough on your vehicle that's throwing money away. Again, $300/36 months is $8.33/month saved.
8. Do not pay a lease termination fee. I don't mean the fee you would pay if terminated the lease early, I mean the fee they sneak into the contract where they get $300 when you turn in the vehicle. Just because.
9. Stick to your guns. If you say, "My budget is $375 a month", stick with it. Don't let new truck fever get a hold of you. Resist that devil. Remember #5 but in reverse--Salesman says he can do the deal at $389/month, that's only $14 more." No, it's $504 more (over 36 months.)
10. Use one of their sales tactics on them. "Oh yeah,
one more thing. I'd do the deal if you throw in some step bars and some free oil changes."
11. Have them add on a couple hundred miles on the paperwork. So even though you are getting the vehicle with say, 11 miles on it, have them put down 356 miles or somesuch. It's free miles a small insurance policy against going over the mileage limit.
12. Learn the jargon.
Residual Value -- The residual value is a percentage of the sticker price. Say a vehicle has a sticker of $40,000 and a buyout price at lease end of $25,000. That is a residual of 62.5%. Monthly programs key in on the residual.
"Pull ahead lease"--when the dealer will pay off the remaining payments on your lease to get you into their vehicle TODAY. These payments can be offered through Ram or through the dealer. Either way, they don't directly affect your monthly payment, but it is definitely money you will keep in your pocket.
"Do a deal" -- salesperson's favorite words.
Wow, this got kind of long. Hope it helps.
I did have fun playing a bit when I first got it though, but that pedal sucks down some gas. My main concern was normal wear and tear and how they factored that in. You have put my mind at ease.
