Happy 4th everyone! I hope you all have awesome events planned. Just a couple things:

Try to avoid those “Holiday Sales Events”, leases/purchases are best done during “slow” days or end of the month. Another thing is, most rates will not be changing until after the 7th of July. So many of the June rates will still apply unless the dealer has the new rates in hand.

Have a great Independence Day!!!

Every tire has a “manufactured” date or as Budweiser would call it, a “Born-On” date.  Like beer, tires have a shelf life too. It is very important that you know how old tires are before you buy them. Since tire rubber deteriorates over time if its stored under less than optimal conditions. Drinking old beer can pose a health risk or to a lesser extent, bad taste in your mouth. Installing an older tire on the other hand, can pose a very serious safety risk, even death.

Industry standard suggests that a tire should be removed from service if its older than 6 years. If stored properly, a tire could be used even if it’s two years old. Remember this is under the assumption that the tire are stored properly. In warm states (where the potential of tires’ “drying out” is high), you probably want tires that are less than one year old. So read each tire carefully BEFORE you have them installed. The last thing you want is to have a four year old tire and then drive on them for another three.

To learn how to read the sidewall for the “manufactured” date, find the DOT (Dept of Transportation) Markings on the sidewall of your tires.  The DOT markings help track the tire in the same way food is tracked.  Circled in the image below, you will see the last for digits of the DOT markings on one of my tires. The first two numbers are the week (08), and the last two are year (08). So my tires were “born” on the 8th week of the 2008 calendar year or February 2008. Not bad since I got the car three months later.

Back in May 2008, there was a story on this same topic on ABCNEWS. Check it out!

I hope everyone takes the time to check their tires and get new ones if needed. I know they can get expensive, but life is priceless.

If you found this article helpful, please consider sharing this article with others and subscribing to RIDEwithG.

I’ve made some changes to the lease calculator, so be sure get the newer/updated version. This version includes a couple of changes:

• Added “Total Taxes on Down Payment”. This shows how much taxes you will owe if you put XYZ down to reduce the cap cost. That number is them added to the “Due at Signing” field.
• Acq/Bank fees and Dealer Doc fees are now taxable and is automatically added into the “due at signing” field.

So go ahead and download the new Lease Calculator to replace the old one. Please understand that not all states lease cars the same way. I do my best to “cater to the masses” but it’s practically impossible to cover all the different rules, taxes, etc… from each state.  So you may need to use the calculator “creatively” in order to get the desired results.

Special shout out to Dave ISM over at myG37.com for bringing this to my attention. Questions, comments, issues? Leave me a comment.

A picture says a thousand words, so just look below:

That was this morning…talk about rude awakening…

I actually used the Gas Price Locator to find the cheaper gas station around my work. It was pretty accurate, $4.65 for Premium (91). That’s surprising since I’ve seen this gas station change prices three times in one day!

Word of caution: if you do a lot of city driving and are looking to lease an Infiniti G37…I’m getting 17.5 miles to the gallon on Premium fuel. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

This freaking hurts…lucky for me, it only hurts about twice a month.

RIDEwithG gets a  Twitter!

In case you don’t know what Twitter is, it’s a status update of sorts.  It allows you to make small updates on pretty much anything you want in 140 characters or less.  It’s not as useless as it sounds.   For example, during the wildfires in San Diego last year, KPBS twittered little updates on freeway closures.  It beats going on traffic bloated websites and Twitter is so small, it’s easy to check on your cell phone.

Some other Twitters I subscribe to are BBC News, NPR News, MSNBC, 10news (my local news), KPBS News, White Carrot Food & Travel, Got|Apex? Deals, and some of my friends.

Also, you can also set your Twitter up to automatically change your AIM, Gchat, and Facebook status automatically.

Check out the RIDEwithG Twitter!

This guide is meant to guide you through the auto leasing process. I put together this “guideline” based on my past experiences with leasing. Some experiences were good, others were less than perfect. Overall, I learned a lot about the leasing process and I think these recommendations will have a positive impact on your leasing experience. If I missed anything or if you disagree with some of my steps, please feel free to leave a comment.

Finding the Car
I usually start my research by visiting Edmunds.com and Carsdirect.com to get model/trim/options/pricing information about the car I intend to lease. You need to know exactly what you want because each option can change the price dramatically. Carsdirect.com does a better job letting you pick the correct combination of options for a specific trim.

Get Your Credit Score. Knowing your credit score is important because it qualifies you for the lowest money factors. I typically let the dealer I am working know that my credit score is “XYZ” and I am looking for car “ABC”. Telling the dealer your credit score lets him know in advance that you are prepared to make a deal and you aren’t wasting their time negotiating. You also don’t want to have your credit run multiple times from dealer to dealer, so finding out ahead of time will keep your credit score from getting too many inquiries (personal inquiries do not hurt your credit). Typically, I don’t even deal with dealers want to run your credit before working with you. You let them run your credit ONLY when the negotiation is complete and you ready to begin paperwork. If you credit is less than perfect, leasing is no for you.

Locating a Dealer. Once you are set on the car, you have a couple of options. You can go to the manufacturer’s web site to search for all local dealers OR you can use sites like Cars.com or Edmunds.com to find local dealers.

Email Dealers, Don’t Call or Visit Dealerships. Try to email your dealer to locate the car with the colors/options you want, let them know the term you want (months and miles per year), then ask for the following:

1. MRSP (to make sure it doesn’t have ‘extras’ on it).
2. Sale Price (start with invoice, or $500 below invoice and go from there)
3. Money Factor
4. Residual Value
5. Acquisition/Bank Fee
6. Dealer Doc Fee
7. Other Fees (such as DMV, tire, etc…)
8. Is there a disposition? Gap coverage? (these are important things to know!)
9. Taxes (depending on which state you live in, find out if you have to pay those up front and/or if you need to pay for the entire car or just the depreciation)

Once you have those numbers, you can calculate your own payments to see if there are any discrepancies between your numbers and theirs.

If your payments are still higher than you like, ask for the option to make “multiple security deposits” or MSDs. You basically pay security deposits to lower the Money Factor. This will lower the interest paid on your lease but increase your up-front costs. The good news is you will get that money back at lease-end. If the numbers are still not to your satisfaction, try having the dealer thrown in some free oil changes to help you offset the costs.

Only work with dealers that are up front with you. A pleasant leasing experience is worth something, believe me. It will make you feel better bringing the car in for service and you won’t feel angry driving around in your car because you feel like you got ripped off.

Avoid “All-In-One” Quotes. By those I mean “$1999 down, $399/month” type of quotes…the ones the dealers love to quote you. You want to avoid those because it’s easy to start losing track of what you’re actually paying for since everything is bundled and nothing is itemized. If this seems like nit-picking, it is, but you must realize that for every $100 paid in bogus charges, you are doing so with interest (and maybe even tax) if you roll it into your lease payments.

The Numbers look Good, Now What? If you haven’t gone in for a test drive, go ahead and schedule a visit to your dealer. You probably want to visit the person you’ve been dealing with, that way he/she will already know you and won’t go in to “sales-mode”, so you can enjoy your test drive.

Got a Trade-In? If you do, negotiate after the new car and keep it separately. I usually use this as a “deal breaker” if the offer isn’t good enough (to see if they will bump out the trade value to make a sale). If you don’t like the offer, remember you can always get it appraised elsewhere or sell it on your own. You can get a good idea as to how much your trade is worth to a dealer by going to Edmunds.com and appraising your car at “average” condition to get a more “realistic” idea of the value of your car. If you are still financing your car and the offer is lower than balance of your loan, you will have to pay the difference. If its more than your loan, the dealer will either give you the option to apply it to your new car or cut you a check (have them cut you a check). If you are trading in a lease, the process is generally the same.  The only difference is that you need to find out what your “Buyout” is from your bank and see how close the dealer offer comes to it. If your leased vehicle has low miles and is in great condition, you could get some money back.

What Should I Pay Up Front/At Signing? I normally advise people to pay the 1^st Month Payment +  Acquisition/Bank fee, DMV fee, Doc fee and Tire Tax. Sometimes you maybe be assessed other fees, so double check what they are and make sure they aren’t bogus. Try not to put any money towards cap cost reduction, after all, this is a lease. In the event of an total loss accident or theft, you could lose a significant part of all the money you have put down (some or all).

Beware of the Finance Guy/Gal. The Finance Guy/Gal is the dealer’s last ditch effort to sell you stuff you may or may not need. Seriously, do you really need anything more than the standard bumper-to-bumper warranty on a lease? You don’t need Lo-Jack on a lease, specially if the lease will offer GAP coverage, so there isn’t a reason to get something like that.

Make sure you READ the papers you sign. You got time, after all you negotiated online before you showed up to the dealership, so READ, make sure the numbers are correct and ask questions. Once you sign, the deal is binding by those terms.

Have more further questions, email me at g(at)ridewithg.com.

2008 Lexus ES350 Sedan
24 Month – Residual 58% of MSRP – .00085 Base Rate
36 Month – Residual 52% of MSRP – .00085 Base Rate
48 Month – Residual 43% of MSRP – .00125 Base Rate
60 Month – Residual 34% of MSRP – .00225 Base Rate

2008 Lexus ES350 Ultra-Luxury Sedan
24 Month – Residual 56% of MSRP – .00085 Base Rate
36 Month – Residual 50% of MSRP – .00085 Base Rate
48 Month – Residual 41% of MSRP – .00125 Base Rate
60 Month – Residual 32% of MSRP – .00225 Base Rate

2008 Lexus GS350 Sedan
24 Month – Residual 53% of MSRP – .00105 Base Rate
36 Month – Residual 47% of MSRP – .00105 Base Rate
48 Month – Residual 39% of MSRP – .00105 Base Rate
60 Month – Residual 32% of MSRP – .00225 Base Rate

2008 Lexus GS350 AWD Sedan
24 Month – Residual 52% of MSRP – .00105 Base Rate
36 Month – Residual 46% of MSRP – .00105 Base Rate
48 Month – Residual 38% of MSRP – .00105 Base Rate
60 Month – Residual 31% of MSRP – .00225 Base Rate

* Residuals posted are for 15K miles/year. Add 2% to Residual for 12k mi/yr and 3% for 10k mi/yr on all terms
** Rates provided by Tarry Shebesta from Leasecompare.com

My Take: The ES and GS are current enjoying lower MFs. That also is partly because they aren’t as popular as the IS. Residual values are terrible for the GS though, I think that care is in need of a redesign. No worries though, Lexus will be rolling out the LF (which happens to be the car on the banner of RIDE with G) in the near future. Expect it to be VERY expensive.

2008 Mazda CX-9 Sport 2WD
24 Month – Residual 58% of MSRP – .00032 Base Rate
36 Month – Residual 47% of MSRP – .00077 Base Rate
48 Month – Residual 38% of MSRP – .00137 Base Rate

2008 Mazda CX-9 Touring 2WD
24 Month – Residual 58% of MSRP – .00032 Base Rate
36 Month – Residual 47% of MSRP – .00077 Base Rate
48 Month – Residual 38% of MSRP – .00137 Base Rate

2008 Mazda CX-9 Grand Touring 2WD
24 Month – Residual 58% of MSRP – .00032 Base Rate
36 Month – Residual 47% of MSRP – .00077 Base Rate
48 Month – Residual 38% of MSRP – .00137 Base Rate

2008 Mazda CX-9 Sport AWD
24 Month – Residual 60% of MSRP – .00032 Base Rate
36 Month – Residual 49% of MSRP – .00077 Base Rate
48 Month – Residual 40% of MSRP – .00137 Base Rate

2008 Mazda CX-9 Touring AWD
24 Month – Residual 60% of MSRP – .00032 Base Rate
36 Month – Residual 49% of MSRP – .00077 Base Rate
48 Month – Residual 40% of MSRP – .00137 Base Rate

2008 Mazda CX-9 Grand Touring AWD
24 Month – Residual 60% of MSRP – .00032 Base Rate
36 Month – Residual 49% of MSRP – .00077 Base Rate
48 Month – Residual 40% of MSRP – .00137 Base Rate

* Residuals posted are for 15K miles/year. Add 2% to Residual for 12k mi/yr and 3% for 10k mi/yr on all terms
** Rates provided by Tarry Shebesta from Leasecompare.com

My Take: The two Mazda CXs have enjoyed fairly low money factors since May, so hopefully some of you jumped on them between May and June. I’m pretty sure the residuals will take a hit in July…as to the MF staying or lowering, that’s anyone’s guess. One thing about lease rates is that I can comment on them as they are, but it’s very hard to know what the manufacturers are planning for the up coming months. I can guess, but not even dealers know next month’s numbers until they are released.

2008 Nissan Rogue S 2WD
24 Month – Residual 69% of MSRP – .00240 Base Rate
36 Month – Residual 57% of MSRP – .00240 Base Rate
48 Month – Residual 46% of MSRP – .00260 Base Rate
60 Month – Residual 39% of MSRP – .00260 Base Rate

2008 Nissan Rogue SL 2WD
24 Month – Residual 66% of MSRP – .00240 Base Rate
36 Month – Residual 55% of MSRP – .00240 Base Rate
48 Month – Residual 44% of MSRP – .00260 Base Rate
60 Month – Residual 37% of MSRP – .00260 Base Rate

2008 Nissan Rogue S 4WD
24 Month – Residual 72% of MSRP – .00240 Base Rate
36 Month – Residual 59% of MSRP – .00240 Base Rate
48 Month – Residual 48% of MSRP – .00260 Base Rate
60 Month – Residual 40% of MSRP – .00260 Base Rate

2008 Nissan Rogue SL 4WD
24 Month – Residual 68% of MSRP – .00240 Base Rate
36 Month – Residual 56% of MSRP – .00240 Base Rate
48 Month – Residual 45% of MSRP – .00260 Base Rate
60 Month – Residual 38% of MSRP – .00260 Base Rate

* Residuals posted are for 15K miles/year. Add 2% to Residual for 12k mi/yr and 3% for 10k mi/yr on all terms
** Rates provided by Tarry Shebesta from Leasecompare.com

My Take: No lease support here. Maybe July will be a better month. Personally, I think the Rogue isn’t a very attractive mini-crossover. The Infiniti EX is it’s “better looking” and more expensive cousin, worth the upgrade if you can afford to.

Volkswagen Touareg V6 4WD
24 Month – Residual 58% of MSRP – .00024 Base Rate
36 Month – Residual 49% of MSRP – .00024 Base Rate
48 Month – Residual 41% of MSRP – .00076 Base Rate

Volkswagen Touareg V8 4WD
24 Month – Residual 54% of MSRP – .00024 Base Rate
36 Month – Residual 45% of MSRP – .00024 Base Rate
48 Month – Residual 37% of MSRP – .00076 Base Rate

Volkswagen Touareg V10 TDI 4WD
24 Month – Residual 58% of MSRP – .00163 Base Rate
36 Month – Residual 49% of MSRP – .00163 Base Rate
48 Month – Residual 41% of MSRP – .00193 Base Rate

* Residuals posted are for 15K miles/year. Add 2% to Residual for 12k mi/yr and 3% for 10k mi/yr on all terms
** Rates provided by Tarry Shebesta from Leasecompare.com

My Take: Three years ago, it used to hurt every time you had to gas up a Touareg …with today’s gas prices, I think it pretty much kills family budgets, ruins vacation plans and makes grown men cry. So what is the consolidation price? Ultra-low MF for those looking to lease one of this gas-thirsty urban family haulers. Doesn’t seem to help all that much since the residual values are terrible.