American Reaches Agreement in Principal

Markup is generally considered this:

1979 Ford Pinto: $8,999

...versus...

1979 Ford Pinto: $8,999
Concession Fee: $1,999
Dealer Market Adjustment: $4,999
Empire of Warlord Derg Tribute: $500

Yes, I know what markups are.

This was the wife’s new SUV after she got hit by someone who wrecked/total loss on her Highlander a couple months ago…



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That’s almost $4K in useless markups.


Clearly you were able to negotiate those away. Right? Right?!
 
That’s almost $4K in useless markups.


Clearly you were able to negotiate those away. Right? Right?!

Of course ;)

I did much better. I used leasehackr to find the good deals, it was on 18 month leases on Pathfinders and Frontiers. My wife’s Highlander only had 10 months remaining when the accident happened.

In this case, 94% residual from MSRP of 36,760 is = 34,554

My agreed upon selling vehicle price was 34,714

The bottom line was the depreciation charge on my entire lease is only $100. The rest is all interest charge.

So a brand spankin new 3-rd row SUV comes out to $240/month plus 10% tax = 264/month.


Due upfront was DMV fees of about $450, Bank Fee (to start any lease) $595. About $1043 upfront plus 18 payments of $264/month. And that includes 10% CA sales tax for my city.

Friggin steal! This was the actual dealer ad for this same VIN#

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Our SUV wrecked on a Wednesday in Feb, by Friday insurance informed us the inspection result was deemed to be a total loss. By Saturday I called to secure the Pathfinder above, Sunday was e-sign using online forms. Picked the car up on Tuesday.



A “hobby” of mine is to browse leasehackr. I always check the first week of the month to see what the latest and hottest deals are. This knowledge became tremendously helpful once our car was declared a loss and I wanted a replacement ASAP.

Especially in this car environment of high prices, markups, etc!



And yeah, yeah, I can afford to get a luxury brand SUV and we will next year. It’s just that with a total loss sudden news, I needed something NOW. But you can’t appear desperate to a dealership. This Pathfinder will serve as a perfect short term solution for our needs.

Next one I hope to do a an Acura MDX or a Volvo XC90. Ideally, one should have at least a month to look around, make calls to dealers, find local inventory (maybe even up state or out of state deals), be willing to walk out, negotiate, etc. that requires time, and time was something I just didn’t have. I needed an immediate replacement. At the moment of the accident , the guy produced no insurance. So no one was gonna pay for a rental car in the meantime. One month SUV rental was coming out to $1,700 in Torrance.
 
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Of course ;)

I did much better. I used leasehackr to find the good deals, it was on 18 month leases on Pathfinders and Frontiers. My wife’s Highlander only had 10 months remaining when the accident happened.

In this case, 94% residual from MSRP of 36,760 is = 34,554

My agreed upon selling vehicle price was 34,714

The bottom line was the depreciation charge on my entire lease is only $100. The rest is all interest charge.

So a brand spankin new 3-rd row SUV comes out to $240/month plus 10% tax = 264/month.


Due upfront was DMV fees of about $450, Bank Fee (to start any lease) $595. About $1043 upfront plus 18 payments of $264/month. And that includes 10% CA sales tax for my city.

Friggin steal! This was the actual dealer ad for this same VIN#

View attachment 71775


Im bad with money…and math… but aren't leases typically worse (costlier) than just getting a loan to buy the vehicle, not to mention you wont “own it” at the end?

Seriously asking because between looking for an airport beater/ and aged daily driver, Im considering just getting a new car and using the old for work. But prices these days make the monthly payment waaaay high.
 
Im bad with money…and math… but aren't leases typically worse (costlier) than just getting a loan to buy the vehicle, not to mention you wont “own it” at the end?

Seriously asking because between looking for an airport beater/ and aged daily driver, Im considering just getting a new car and using the old for work. But prices these days make the monthly payment waaaay high.

Depends on the vehicle and the market.

Typically vehicles are depreciating assets. Now for the first time it seems (not just rare brands), but your avg cars are being sold for more than the owners paid for it. That’s unheard of. And that is throwing the equation off for leasing vs buying.

Really, really good lease deals can be had but now in this environment of high APR it is making leasing hard.

In my case, this lease deal is excellent.

What if I bought this? With 10% tax plus DMVs it would have been 40-41k. And if I sold it after 18 months, what could I have gotten for it? MSRP was 36,760. Most cars start depreciating so after 18 months *normally* it would be maybe 32k? So in that sense, buying and selling it in 18 months would have cost $8k.

In todays crazy world, 18 mos from now this car *might* still sell for MSRP. Maybe even more. It’s hard to say.

In my case, buying this outright just in taxes and fees alone would have been about $4,200. The lease itself for 18 months is $5,790 out the door with taxes.

This lease is an excellent deal. But today, this deal is not available. The residual went from 94% to 87% for the 18 month lease. Effectively, doubling the payment from 240 to 480 plus tax. Not worth it now at this price point.

Airport car? It’s hard to say. IMO lease deals are harder to come by. You’re gonna be looking at a high(er) payment. Even if you buy by finance, it’s still gonna be a high(er) payment. This market sucks to buy a car in. Sell, good. Buy? Yikes.
 
I honestly think it will be too much money for the senior pilots to turn down….they already have the schedule and QOL, so if they have fewer than 5 years left , what do I think they would do.

Everything posted above is a legit concern…but not for those cats
Depends how butthurt they were about their retirement and likely which airline they originated with. We had guys that wanted 25% contributions and a minimum retirement guarantee. I have no idea what those guys were smoking.

Im bad with money…and math… but aren't leases typically worse (costlier) than just getting a loan to buy the vehicle, not to mention you wont “own it” at the end?

Seriously asking because between looking for an airport beater/ and aged daily driver, Im considering just getting a new car and using the old for work. But prices these days make the monthly payment waaaay high.
Rule of thumb is to buy cheaper cars and lease luxury vehicles with no money down.
 
Depends how butthurt they were about their retirement and likely which airline they originated with. We had guys that wanted 25% contributions and a minimum retirement guarantee. I have no idea what those guys were smoking.


Rule of thumb is to buy cheaper cars and lease luxury vehicles with no money down.
Yeah that's unrealistic...it's a negotiation, not a hostage situation...there's a point when the company will say F*Off

Even the butthurt Pilots will take the money when they know it's their last chance. I say this passes at over 75%
 
Yeah that's unrealistic...it's a negotiation, not a hostage situation...there's a point when the company will say F*Off

Even the butthurt Pilots will take the money when they know it's their last chance. I say this passes at over 75%
There seem to be a surprising number of people in the Facebook groups that don’t get that. The consensus is that since we have leverage “never before seen in the industry” the company WILL absolutely roll over on anything and it’s just APA’s failures.
 
They’re marked up accordingly. The higher trim MSRP may be 40k but it’s being sold at 55k, as an example. A base with a lift and M/T tires is good enough!

And yes, I am doing me. That’s why I bought the car.

Next time you buy a car, try this one......I have a bud ordering one for when they arrive in the US. People's heads will explode just trying to figure out WTF it is (free clue....it isn't a Defender)
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