I'm a car salesmen, Go ahead and ask me anything

[RyZ]

Originally Posted by pylon

Not to Hijack the thread... but I am a Finance manager at a dealership. The answer is yes, most dealers will offer you lease end financing... however, wait until the last possible second to do it. You may get a letter from the manufacturer offering you a lower purchase price than the actual residual, as the car may not be worth its residual value at auction and they may want to cut their losses with you. However, do not expect 0% financing, as the incentives on the car are long cashed out, and you will be subject to regular market financing. However, I can tell you all major dealers have a rate of 4.99% available through ATB and 1st Calgary right now, which is very reasonable for a fixed term car loan.

Thank you for the info. Very much appreciated.

[photon]

Originally Posted by Canada 02

please educate me on this process, as I have never leased a vehicle before.

Do I negotiate the price of the vehicle, as if I was buying, then apply the lease terms based on the negotiated price?

What aspects of the lease are negotiable? Term, monthly payments, mileage/year, etc

TIA

Seconded!

Since one of our cars might be a writeoff (not sure yet), I'm thinking of doing a lease for a car because you can writeoff a lease correct? (might be 50/50 business/personal or 40/60)

I would assume I would negotiate the price of the car first, then bring the lease into it.

Can one lease a almost-new car?

Can taking over a lease be a good situation for the person taking it on?

[TimSJ]

You can certianly write of a lease quite easily. the max is $750 per month plus tax if you were at 100% write off.

if you have a $500 lease payment at 50/50 you could write off $250 of it not $375 of the $500 payment

Yes negotiate the price of the car first. Generally they will try and always sell on the payment and leave the actual price of the vehicle out of it all together. Most people don't care about the price only if they can afford the payment.

Negotiate the price and then do the lease bit. one caveat is that the Lease price may be different depending on whether you lease, finance or buy. could be different incentives on each option.

Take an MB S-class right now.

we have
4.9% lease rate with a $3000 credit
2.9% buy rate with a $3000 credit
or if you are writing a cheque/have own financing we have a $10,000 credit

Depending on the company they may also have leasing on Pre-Owned as well. Demo's would certainly qualify.

If you have any other questions or need clarification just ask.
tim

[amorak]

Originally Posted by TimSJ

You can certianly write of a lease quite easily. the max is $750 per month plus tax if you were at 100% write off.

if you have a $500 lease payment at 50/50 you could write off $250 of it not $375 of the $500 payment

Yes negotiate the price of the car first. Generally they will try and always sell on the payment and leave the actual price of the vehicle out of it all together. Most people don't care about the price only if they can afford the payment.

Negotiate the price and then do the lease bit. one caveat is that the Lease price may be different depending on whether you lease, finance or buy. could be different incentives on each option.

Take an MB S-class right now.

we have
4.9% lease rate with a $3000 credit
2.9% buy rate with a $3000 credit
or if you are writing a cheque/have own financing we have a $10,000 credit

Depending on the company they may also have leasing on Pre-Owned as well. Demo's would certainly qualify.

If you have any other questions or need clarification just ask.
tim

Very untrue - As a CA, I can say that the tax laws have changed on this, with the advent of things like standby fees and availability-for-use charges. Many companies are no longer leasing employee cars due to the negative tax impact, depending on your situation

The safest bet these days is to simply buy a vehicle for personal use and keep track of your KM - you can then bill the company a per KM charge for business travel, etc.

Either way you must track the KMs used, and if you lease the car under a business and have less than 50% usage (if memory serves, is it 70% now?), you'll be hit with the standby charge, which will be a taxable benefit to you

This is pie-in-the-sky advice and you should speak to a tax professional about the specifics of your situation

[Berger_4_]

Originally Posted by Pinner

I had exactly that, a doorbell button on my first car, bought it from the police auction for $100 (min bid) didn't come with keys.

Ran out of gas once and used a can of ether to get to the gas station

Ahh, the good ole days... the stories I good tell.

Man alive, how did you not dry out all your seals and stuff doing that? That's a pretty gutsy thing to do....although I guess if the car was only worth a hundred bucks, who cares haha.

[photon]

Hm interesting.. What about if I buy the car under myself and write off a portion of the lease, does the standby charge still apply?

If one is assuming a lease, does one still need to qualify? Just wondering because while I don't think I'd have any problems qualifying, it's a supreme hassle because our finances are so complex.

And yeah last time I got a new car, I used carcostcanada to get the dealer invoice and all the special incentives and stuff.

[TimSJ]

Originally Posted by amorak

Very untrue - As a CA, I can say that the tax laws have changed on this, with the advent of things like standby fees and availability-for-use charges. Many companies are no longer leasing employee cars due to the negative tax impact, depending on your situation

The safest bet these days is to simply buy a vehicle for personal use and keep track of your KM - you can then bill the company a per KM charge for business travel, etc.

Either way you must track the KMs used, and if you lease the car under a business and have less than 50% usage (if memory serves, is it 70% now?), you'll be hit with the standby charge, which will be a taxable benefit to you

This is pie-in-the-sky advice and you should speak to a tax professional about the specifics of your situation

No question each person needs to talk to their accountant about their personal situation.

But if you are a personally leasing the car for business use it is fairly simple math for the write off amount. again no question talk to your personal accountant

In the end if you buy or lease there is no real tax advantage either way to my knowledge. The govt will only let you deduct so much. 30% deprecation of the $30k cap or $750 a month on a lease is $9000 a year, notwithstanding the hit on the buy in the first year only allowing 50% of the 30%

[TimSJ]

Originally Posted by photon

If one is assuming a lease, does one still need to qualify? Just wondering because while I don't think I'd have any problems qualifying, it's a supreme hassle because our finances are so complex.

Yes you would still have to qualify just as if you were getting a new vehicle

[photon]

Yuck.. it takes FOREVER to get all the information together.

[Sliver]

Originally Posted by photon

Yuck.. it takes FOREVER to get all the information together.

Your finances must be really complicated if it's that tough, Photon. My business leased a Toyota truck in September '08 and all we needed was our financial statements for the past two years.

[photon]

Lol you have no idea.. Own / partially own a number of corporations, all kinds of different investments, own real estate inside and outside corporations..

For our taxes last year leaving the accountant's office I had a pile of tax returns, all the papers together were almost a foot thick.

And I'm starting another corporation for my contracting business this year, so even more paperwork!

I'd almost rather just buy a junker than have to apply for credit lol.

[Sylvanfan]

So I have a lease due on a 2006 Toyota Rav 4 in July. Right now Toyota is offering me a get out of my lease now if I upgrade to a new one. The last damn thing I want to do is take on a 2010 Rav4. Will Toyota's recent issues have an impact on the price of used Toyota's from previous years? I'll likely end up buying out the vehicle, but I was going to wait until the very last minute in case the price of used Toyota's tanks.

Another question is why are Canadians still getting gouged on prices compared to the US. I needed a part for the Rav4 that was $1100 in Canada. Since I live right on the border, I phoned a dealer in Washington state and the part was $750, even with getting raped on the exchange it's still $325 less there for the exact same part.

[Table 5]

Speaking of leasing, is it possible to lease a car in the US, and then move to Canada while you're still making payments? Not sure what my situation will be in 2-3 years, but it might include moving back to the Great North. Cars here are stupidly cheap and tempting at the moment though.

And on that note, is it a big detriment resale value wise to have an American car in Canada, considering the slight differences. Personally, I don't really care, but I would assume some people would be turned off by the MPH speedometer.

[BlackArcher101]

Originally Posted by Table 5

And on that note, is it a big detriment resale value wise to have an American car in Canada, considering the slight differences. Personally, I don't really care, but I would assume some people would be turned off by the MPH speedometer.

Personally, I've found the decrease in price people are willing to pay is less than the amount you saved by buying it in America. You still win.

[Acid Rush]

I still have two years on my current lease but I want to be able to get a new one (something cheaper, of course). I can do a trade in but do I have to do it with the same dealer/manufacturer? Any suggestions? Thanks.

[FLAMESRULE]

I've got a 2007 Subaru Legacy Spec B. Fantastic car. Its only got ~45,000kms on it. Have full set of winter + summer rims + tires, plus Cobb AP Tuning Kit. Very few to use as a base price, but I'm thinking in the $28K - $33K range as a selling price. Is that a fair price??

I'm looking at possibly trading this in for something a bit bigger. Is it usually a better bet to sell privately and then take that cash to the dealer or use the car as a trade-in?? Looking at '09 Forester.

[Canada 02]

About to buy a subaru forester. MSRP is ~$25700. Dealer invoice is apparently $23900

Is dealer invoice plus $150 doc. fee reasonable? They would throw in 4 free oil changes as well

[BagoPucks]

Originally Posted by FLAMESRULE

I've got a 2007 Subaru Legacy Spec B. Fantastic car. Its only got ~45,000kms on it. Have full set of winter + summer rims + tires, plus Cobb AP Tuning Kit. Very few to use as a base price, but I'm thinking in the $28K - $33K range as a selling price. Is that a fair price??

I'm looking at possibly trading this in for something a bit bigger. Is it usually a better bet to sell privately and then take that cash to the dealer or use the car as a trade-in?? Looking at '09 Forester.

I drive a 2006 Legacy GT. And I can tell you thats a very very nice car... 28-33K is a very fair price for the car (maybe I am a lil biased) .. On a side note- do u know if the Cobb AP tuning Kit on ur car would work on mine? I would love to take that off ur hands if it would...

[Table 5]

Bringing back this awesome thread.....

As per my other thread today, I'm probably moving back to Canadia, however before I do so, I was thinking of taking advantage of the lower car prices here in the US and bringing one up with me. My question is twofold:

1) Do Canadian car dealers honor warranties/free-maintenance plans of vehicles purchased across the border. I know this may depend on the brand....I would most likely buy one of Audi/VW/BMW/Subaru/Mazda (and god knows I'd need service with the VW/Audi). Some of these brands offer some great covered-maintenance plans, which is a big draw for me and I wouldn't want to lose that.

2) I'd prefer to lease, but am not sure if it's possible to import a car still under a lease in a different country? My guess is no....

[bizaro86]

Any thoughts on what a 2008 Hyundai Sante Fe with ~60,000 kms would be worth as a trade? It's the Limited edition, with every option they had available including the third row seat.

Michael