And if so, how have you worked the arrangement out with your dealer, as far as what lease rate you will be paying? I'm considering talking to my dealer about the possibility of leasing an S4, but I know that dealers usually hate to give out lease figures on cars for which they actually KNOW THE PRICE, let alone for the S4, which has neither a price nor a residual value (in the US).
If you have an S4 on order that you intend to lease, what kind of assurances do you have from your dealer that the lease rate/month will be somewhat reasonable? Anyone able to get an estimate from a dealer?
You have to understand-- I've had a dealer try to convince me that $515/month for a 36 month lease was a "good deal" for a 1.8T (cough). So, I'm understandably concerned about what kind of figures unscrupulous dealers might try to make up for an S4 lease (I wouldn't be surprised to hear some dealers asking for close to $700/month for a 36 month lease).
I might be able to swing $550/month, approx. Is this feasible? Anyone want to share their experience or thoughts?

TIA

Greg

once the figures are in and the initial problems ironed out.

You make a good point.

Assuming a 38,000 base price and a 5K down payment, along with a 60 month payment period, monthly purchase payments (at 7.3%) would be just about $658.

If you can afford to lease at $625/month, I can't imagine that a purchase for $23/month more would be prohibitive.

Although there is no denying that either of those figures give me concern. Even assuming I could afford that (which I may be able to), could I justify the expense? I know we've all been through this calculus before. Funny that just two years ago I was sweating the same thing before leasing my 1.8T for about $400/month.

Greg

But then you are in the whole lease vs. buy thing again.

You are assuming:

a. you'll get an S4 at 38000, probably be a little higher, may be marked up, and it would be a BASE model. I don't know how the S4 is on standard equipment, but my 97 M3 base price was about $39,000 and MSRP on mine was $45,500, and I got it for $42,000

b. The lease doesn't require anywhere near a 5K downpayment. You can use 5K to do ALOT of things.

c. If you don't plan to own the car but for maybe 2-3 years, leasing can be better. Many auto loans graduate their principal/interest ratio with most of the interest paid in the first few years, and very little of the principal done that way. Leases are geared towards owning the car for just a few years, so you won't be in the hole (although, even the best lease deals cost a little more in the long run than buying, and the worst lease deals are ALOT more expensive).

I was planning on financing through the Premier Purchasing Plan that way I can have low payments like a lease with very little down, but not have to pay "property tax" at the end of the year or be stipulated to crazy low mileage requirements. Plus I would actually own the car.

After 36 or 48 months I can decide to turn the car in or keep makin' payments and pay it off.

Those of you that say that financing a $43-45k car is the same as lease/premier plan are nutz!

Just Using Audi's own financial calculator... here are the numbers...

Assumptions - Car costs $40k and all taxes and fees are paid with "money down" 8.5% Interest rate

Financing $40k at 8.5% for 60 months is $820
Premier Plan $40k for 48 is $655 at 15k miles/yr
Leasing $40k for 48 is $629 at 15k miles/yr

$200 per month pays insurance and gas...

do what you want, you are armed with the facts...

RJ
'00 S4 in Imola AKA Stealth Yellow

Is it a lease? Is it just Audi Financing? I was just planning on financing my S4 through my credit untion. 7.25%, at least until the Fed raises rates again.

Let's not forget we also have to pay a luxury tax on the S4. If memory serves, anything over
$36k is subject to the bend-over tax. 6% tax on the amount the car is over $36k. Bastards.

So, 6% on 4,000 if the car is 40,000

I leased my 99.5 2.8QMS and had asked about the Premier Plan that I saw on the AoA website. The dealer said he has never done one of those deals before. They claim to be 5th largest volume dealer in USA (Hoffman in CT).

So I got a decent 39 month lease deal, with the $1000 AoA incentive and if I buy at lease-end with a 3 year loan it would only be about a couple of hundred $$$ more than if I financed the car for 6 years.

What I like about the lease is that I can walk away from it. (Secret plan is to walk away from the A4 in 3 years and into an S4! I have 3 years to convince my wife and it only took 2 years to convince her on the A4)

Arch57

Basically, to move more NEW cars, the manufacturers had to get creative. Cars cost alot of money these days. Many people don't want to have high payments ($500+) even though, on average, we all make more money...

Being creative they had to come up with a purchasing plan that allowed consumers to accomplish 2 things... 1) Keep payments low 2) Avoid Leasing costs that negate #1!

Structuring the payments so that you only PAY for what you USE, instead of paying to pay it off, makes sense for many people that require, desire, or need a new car every 36 to 48 months. So structuring the PREMIER plans and "Smart Buys" of the world similar to lease calculations solves the "keeping the payment low" problem. Rewording the contracts so that the consumer owns the vehicle eliminates the need for year-end property taxes, extra liability insurance necessary for a lease car, and providing options for purchasing or extending the length of the agreement once the original agreement is complete.

Mileage restrictions tend to vary between programs. Some programs (like Honda and VW) don't have mileage restrictions, but it seems that Audi has included a standard 15k per year requirement in its program. This of course can be negotiated.

Also, one may note that there is always a payoff amount with these "Smart Buy" plans, so you aren't stuck in a car for many years to come if your life necessitates a different vehicle.

I purchased a VW GTI back in 97 for my ex-wife (wife at the time) and we chose the Premier Plan for VW. I have never had a problem with big city financing dealers not knowing about this type of purchase program. I would print out the Audi website info in the "financing" section and make them provide you with these services if that is what you want. Don't be naive enough to think that they AREN'T directing you to certain financing options that are more lucrative to their bottom line.

RocketJohn
'00 S4 (ordered in Premier Plan Imola Yellow)

nt

unless you finance it for 6 or 7 years. And frankly, a real car guy/gal can't go for more than 2 or 3 years without wanting the newest piece of candy in the store window. That's why people lease.

The luxury tax is also being phased out over a 10-year period I belive, but for 99 it's still about 90% of the initial tax rate, but for 2000, I think it's only 80%. I believe that the initial luxury tax rate is 10%, not 6% -- that's about equal to sales tax.