Is this a good deal?

04 targa 9k off sticker 10k down 860+tax x 48mo 12k a yr

i can't tell you about the monthly payment-it depends what the interest rate is-but 9k off sticker for an 04 is a good and fair deal,

I just leased a 2003 C4S. It was purchased in April for $92,000. The purchaser traded for a new Turbo in Oct. I got it for $78,900. I put $15,000 down and the payment is $815 plus tax, 48 month 10,000 miles per year. The money factor translated into about 6.4% interest. C4S' are so hard to find, almost impossible, I was thrilled to get this at $13,100 off price after just 6 months. The dealer here won't discount on 2004 new cars. No dealer I know will discount the C4S. They only get a couple per year. Even Penske in Phoenix, I tried. I live in Vegas. I think you got a very good deal!

Those of you leasing cars and putting down large downpayments are sort of defeating the purpose of a lease - that 'down payment' is essentially just extra cash in the dealer's pocket. Always with a lease try to get $0 down or close to it - not 10k or 15k!

This is not true. Down payment on a lease, what is called cap cost reduction, does lower the amount you are borrowing, therefore lowering the payment. It does save you money in the long term as you are then paying less interest, because you borrowed less. If the money you put down is shown on your lease contract as cap cost reduction then the bank pays the dealer the lower amount, the amount you borrowed from the bank to pay for the car. It is no more profit for the dealer.

bruce-i disagree. putting large, or in fact any, downpayment on a lease makes no sense for various reasons. lets take a look at the deal that david michael got to illustrate why. i am sure that the c4s that he leased is beautiful. his cap cost is $78,900. he put 15k down, which, over 48 months, works out to $312/month. add that to his monthly payment of $815 and you have and add 6% tax on the $815 ($49) and you have a true monthly expense of $1176 for a 4 year lease on a 1 year old car. make it a 12k mile/yr lease and you will be a little north of $1200/month. take into account the fact that you can lease a new tt that lists for $122,000 for 48 months for $1275-$1350/month, and you will see how you can get screwed up putting down a big down payment on a lease. it is easy to not understand what you are really paying-hence the problem. i am not trying to be critical of david-i am just trying to point out why you should lease with 0 down and look a bit closer at what you are paying. by the way-in the northeast, c4s's are discounted.

I do not know if he is getting a good deal or not. We need more info like interest factor and residual to determine that. I am just saying that in some situations putting money down is not bad. Interest on a lease is calculated by a factor multiplied by the sum of the cap cost plus the residual. If you lower the cap by putting money down you are paying less interest. What would his payment be without the $10k down? The difference in payment should add up to a lot more then $10k because of the interest. I do agree his payment sounds comparatively high with that money down. I have a 48 month lease on a loaded C2 for $900+ tax with no down. Unless residuals have dropped a ton in the last year, something sounds fishy

bruce-being a used car, his residual is not going to be as high as a new car, especially with the soft resell market. i am sure that he could have leased a new car for less per month.

doc - that's somewhat true, but you are forgetting that a used car already has the lion's share of depreciation priced in, so actually the residual as a percentage is likely higher than with a new car, which takes its biggest hit in the first month. I saw a guy on swapalease who has a lapis blue turbo '02 leasing for only $960/month - now THAT'S one heck of a lease deal!

If the car is a total loss, the insurance company pays the lessor the value, and you are out your cap reduction cost.

ACCIARDI-good point. another reason not to put a downpayment on a lease. SCHVETKAAKS-you are right.