Looks like it’s Kia’s time now.

Leasing 101, thanks to Leasehackr.

• Leasing is like paying for the depreciation that occurs during your use of the vehicle. The monthly lease payment is calculated based on the car’s depreciation over the lease term.
  
• Some cars lease better than others. Factors such as residual value, money factor, and cash incentives affect the lease cost. High residual value, low money factor, and generous cash incentives are desirable. You can lease an EV6 at ok price but be aware you are paying more than 8% in interest.
  
• Lease prices can be negotiated. The selling price of a car, which affects the lease cost, is determined by individual dealers and is not set by the manufacturer. The more discount you get, the better, the lower your buyout.
  
• Be cautious of marked-up rates and fees. Dealers can mark up the money factor, acquisition fee, and disposition fee, potentially increasing the lease cost. Edmunds forums has the latest Money Factor and Residual for all the different terms. Leasehackr also has a paid option to pull this data for yourself at any time. A dealer cannot change the Residual but they can markup the rate. Knowing that they are could be used as a bargaining chip to get a larger MSRP discount.
  
• When leasing, someone else (the lessor) takes on the risk of depreciation. The automaker sets the residual value, and any overestimation is their risk, not the lessee’s.
  
• Avoid making a down payment on a lease. If the car is totaled or stolen, you may not get your down payment back. A down payment also obscures the cost of the lease.
  
• In a lease, Kia financial owns the car. You are just “renting” the car. Your insurance company pays out to the owner = Kia. Insurance company doesn’t care what you paid for the down payment.
  
• A Down payment is not DAS (due at signing). You can have $0 down payment but still pay fees, taxes, first month payment upfront.
  

What does this have to do with a Kia EV6?

• Kia Financial is passing through $7500 as a rebate. This rebate is from the feds, your tax dollars. As part of the IRA bill, corporations get $7500-$40,000 in tax credits with no limits for EV and Plug-in hybrids that they put on the road. In a lease, Hyundai is the owner of the car, hence they get the rebate, they are passing it through.
  
• This has no effect on your taxes. There is no limit, you can get as many cars as you want.
  
• Before you ever approach a dealer, know what the numbers look like. The Leasehackr calculator is invaluable for this.
  
• Negotiate MSRP. You should not be going in targeting a monthly payment. Lower the MSRP, the lower your buyout. As data points, multiple people have sent me sheets where they got discounts ranging from $1000-$3000 on Wind RWD. Example here
  
• Extra Fees: Acquisition Fee is always $650. Documents fee, some states have caps on this, others don’t. Dealer fees can vary as well.
  
• Deal sheet would look like this. Feel free to send it to me as well to take a quick look.
  
• ”Agreed upon Value of the Vehicle” - this is a line item and should Match MSRP. I know that dealers have added $3k to this line for a third-party warranty. So keep your eyes open.
  
• ”Gross Capitalized Cost” - This will be the MSRP with any extras you add. There should be a breakdown of what this is on another page. Typically it’s MSRP+Acquisition fee+ Document fees+ dealer fees but you could also choose to pay all the extras upfront instead of adding it to the total.
  
• Cap Cost Reduction - part of the $7500 will be taxed and the rest will go to pay for any of the extras listed above and the remainder will apply to the actual MSRP. Again this can be structured differently depending on what you are paying for upfront.
  

Most importantly, don’t let a dealer rush you or pressure you to sign something you don’t understand.

What about trade-ins?

I get the allure of trade-ins and some states offer tax credits too. However, I implore you to take a few minutes and go through this list with links to tons of places to sell your car. Run your car through a few of them before asking for dealers’ trade-in. You would be surprised at $1000s you might be leaving on the table even after tax savings.
It’s entirely possible your dealer might match or beat these offers too.

How do I do a buyout?

Bad news first.
Kia requires a dealership to purchase the vehicle if it is garaged/registered in CO, DC, FL, HI, IN, PA, SD or SC.
This process is going to suck in these states unless you know a good dealer. Good news is that you don’t have to use the same dealer you bought your car from.
This process sucks because you are at the mercy of the dealer and AFAIK they can charge you whatever they want within reason. I have seen insane fees of $4000-$5000 in Florida.
Other states - Get your Lease Buyout quote online. Send the quote to your bank or credit union. A lot of credit unions will treat this as a new car since it’s a 2023 car. YMMV however.
Mail your payoff check to:
Kia Finance America
PO Box 660891
Dallas, TX 75266-0891
Or overnight:
Kia Finance America
Box 660891
1501 North Plano Road Suite 100
Richardson, TX 75081

• For some states the check has to be made out to HCA. Your buyout quote will have instructions on who to make the payment out to.

Can I buyout immediately?
Yes, you can buy out as soon as the deal is funded. Typically a week or two or as soon as you can make a Kia Financial account online.
When you do an early lease buyout, you're ending the lease and buying the car outright. Unearned rent charges(interest) are part of the lease financing and no longer apply since you're settling the lease and taking full ownership. Basically, you're paying off the remaining balance, so no more rent charges.
LEASE BUYOUT IS NOT AN EARLY TERMINATION, THERE IS NO PENALTY FOR BUYING OUT EARLY
DO NOT BELIEVE ANY DEALER THAT TELLS YOU CAN ONLY BUYOUT AFTER XX MONTHS.
DO NOT BELIEVE ANY DEALER THAT TELLS YOU HAVE TO PAY REMAINING RENT CHARGE

What about taxes?

Ok, this is complicated.

• For most states, you pay tax on the monthly payment.
  
• Tax is levied upfront on the total lease payment for NY, MN, OH, GA. This leads to an issue of double taxation for early buyouts, at least in NY. No way around it, if you are in NY you should know what you are in for.
  
• NJ has no taxes for EV but Kia/Hyundai system charges tax on the buyout. People have explained how to fix this here with Hyundai and it should be the same procedure
  
  • For NJ buyouts, request to speak to the Escalation team. Explain to them you would like a buyout quote without sales tax and the NJ ST-4 needs to be routed to the tax team. They asked me write the dealer info as the seller. I was able to payoff my lease by using the website, but there is a 25k restriction per transaction. From ay5800
• Tax is levied upfront on the selling price VA, MD, TX. Double taxation is an issue for TX. VA will give you credit for the taxes paid on the lease once you submit proof and then refund you after a few weeks/months. Unsure of MD. MD seems to have a similar provision as VA to avoid the double tax.
  

Ultimately, I can’t account for each and every situation. Contact Kia Financial and your local DMV to get a definitive answer.

Titling and Registration

• Unfortunately Kia Finance has a reputation for being incredibly slow when processing titles for lease buyouts
  
• Expect anywhere from 60-90 days to get your title in hand. So if you are planning to flip the car or something, think again.
  

Why are you doing this?

I love a good deal and I have been leasing cars for a long time. I use Reddit a lot and I have seen too many people posting misinformation with 100% confidence.
Please please ask more questions here and I will try my best to answer. I will also add the answers to the post. You cannot have too much information here, feel free to PM me with questions as well.
Section 23 of the contract. explaining the buyout clause

High time I did this. Please ask me questions and I will add it here as well.

Leasing 101, thanks to Leasehackr.

• Leasing is like paying for the depreciation that occurs during your use of the vehicle. The monthly lease payment is calculated based on the car’s depreciation over the lease term.
  
• Some cars lease better than others. Factors such as residual value, money factor, and cash incentives affect the lease cost. High residual value, low money factor, and generous cash incentives are desirable. For reference, Ioniq 5 and 6 are all terrible leases.
  
• Lease prices can be negotiated. The selling price of a car, which affects the lease cost, is determined by individual dealers and is not set by the manufacturer. The more discount you get, the better, the lower your buyout.
  
• Be cautious of marked-up rates and fees. Dealers can mark up the money factor, acquisition fee, and disposition fee, potentially increasing the lease cost. Edmunds forums has the latest Money Factor and Residual for all the different terms. Leasehackr also has a paid option to pull this data for yourself at any time. A dealer cannot change the Residual but they can markup the rate. Knowing that they are could be used as a bargaining chip to get a larger MSRP discount.
  
• When leasing, someone else (the lessor) takes on the risk of depreciation. The automaker sets the residual value, and any overestimation is their risk, not the lessee’s.
  
• Avoid making a down payment on a lease. If the car is totaled or stolen, you may not get your down payment back. A down payment also obscures the cost of the lease.
  
• In a lease, Hyundai owns the car. You are just “renting” the car. Your insurance company pays out to the owner = Hyundai. Insurance company doesn’t care what you paid for the down payment.
  
• A Down payment is not DAS (due at signing). You can have $0 down payment but still pay fees, taxes, first month payment upfront.
  

What does this have to do with an Ioniq 5/6?

• Hyundai Financial is passing through $7500 as a rebate. This rebate is from the feds, your tax dollars. As part of the IRA bill, corporations get $7500-$40,000 in tax credits with no limits for EV and Plug-in hybrids that they put on the road. In a lease, Hyundai is the owner of the car, hence they get the rebate, they are passing it through.
  
• This has no effect on your taxes. There is no limit, you can get as many cars as you want.
  
• Before you ever approach a dealer, know what the numbers look like. The Leasehackr calculator is invaluable for this.
  
• Negotiate MSRP. You should not be going in targeting a monthly payment. Lower the MSRP, the lower your buyout. As data points, multiple people have sent me sheets where they got discounts ranging from $1000-$3000 on SE and SEL.
  
• Extra Fees: Acquisition Fee is always $650. Documents fee, some states have caps on this, others don’t. Dealer fees, this can vary as well.
  
• Deal sheet would look like this. Feel free to send it to me as well to take a quick look.
  
• ”Agreed upon Value of the Vehicle” - this is a line item and should Match MSRP. I know one of the dealers here added $3k to this line for a third-party warranty. So keep your eyes open.
  
• ”Gross Capitalized Cost” - This will be the MSRP with any extras you add. There should be a breakdown of what this is on another page. Typically it’s MSRP+Acquisition fee+ Document fees+ dealer fees but you could also choose to pay all the extras upfront instead of adding it to the total.
  
• Cap Cost Reduction - part of the $7500 will be taxed and the rest will go to pay for any of the extras listed above and the remainder will apply to the actual MSRP. Again this can be structured differently depending on what you are paying for upfront.
  

Most importantly, don’t let a dealer rush you or pressure you to sign something you don’t understand.

What about trade-ins?

I get the allure of trade-ins and some states offer tax credits too. However, I implore you to take a few minutes and go through this list with links to tons of places to sell your car. Run your car through a few of them before asking for dealers’ trade-in. You would be surprised at $1000s you might be leaving on the table even after tax savings.
It’s entirely possible your dealer might match or beat these offers too.

How do I do a buyout?

Bad news first.
If your vehicle is garaged/registered in CO, DC, FL, HI, IN, PA, SD, SC, you will need to contact a Dealership to purchase the vehicle.
This process is going to suck in these states unless you know a good dealer. Good news is that you don’t have to use the same dealer you bought your car from.
This process sucks because you are at the mercy of the dealer and AFAIK they can charge you whatever they want within reason. I have seen insane fees of $4000-$5000 in Florida.
Other states - Get your Lease Buyout quote online. Send the quote to your bank or credit union. A lot of credit unions will treat this as a new car since it’s a 2023 car. YMMV however.
Mail your payoff check to:
Regular Mail: Payee must be: Hyundai Motor Finance HMF Payment Processing PO Box 660891 Dallas, TX 75266-0891
Overnight Mail: Payee must be: Hyundai Motor Finance Hyundai Motor Finance PO Box 660891 Dallas, TX 75266-0891

• For some states the check has to be made out to HCA. Your buyout quote will have instructions on who to make the payment out to.

Can I buyout immediately?
Yes, you can buy out as soon as the deal is funded. Typically a week or two or as soon as you can make a Hyundai Financial account online.
When you do an early lease buyout, you're ending the lease and buying the car outright. Unearned rent charges(interest) are part of the lease financing and no longer apply since you're settling the lease and taking full ownership. Basically, you're paying off the remaining balance, so no more rent charges.
DO NOT BELIEVE ANY DEALER THAT TELLS YOU CAN ONLY BUYOUT AFTER XX MONTHS.
DO NOT BELIEVE ANY DEALER THAT TELLS YOU HAVE TO PAY REMAINING RENT CHARGE

What about taxes?

Ok, this is complicated.

• For most states, you pay tax on the monthly payment.
  
• Tax is levied upfront on the total lease payment for NY, MN, OH, GA. This leads to an issue of double taxation for early buyouts, at least in NY. No way around it, if you are in NY you should know what you are in for.
  
• NJ has no taxes for EV but Hyundai’s system charges tax on the buyout. People have explained how to fix this here.
  
  • For NJ buyouts, request to speak to the Escalation team. Explain to them you would like a buyout quote without sales tax and the NJ ST-4 needs to be routed to the tax team. They asked me write the dealer info as the seller. I was able to payoff my lease by using the website, but there is a 25k restriction per transaction. From ay5800
• Tax is levied upfront on the selling price VA, MD, TX. Double taxation is an issue for TX. VA will give you credit for the taxes paid on the lease once you submit proof and then refund you after a few weeks/months. Unsure of MD. MD seems to have a similar provision as VA to avoid the double tax.
  

Ultimately, I can’t account for each and every situation. Contact HMF and your local DMV to get a definitive answer.

Why are you doing this?

I love a good deal and I have been leasing cars for a long time. I use Reddit a lot and I have seen too many people posting misinformation here with 100% confidence.
Please please ask more questions here and I will try my best to answer. I will also add the answers to the post. You cannot have too much information here, feel free to PM me with questions as well.
Edit - Edited formatting after running through ChatGPT. Hopefully my rambling is a little easier to read.

High time I did this. Please ask me questions and I will add it here as well.

Leasing 101, thanks to Leasehackr.

• Leasing is like paying for the depreciation that occurs during your use of the vehicle. The monthly lease payment is calculated based on the car’s depreciation over the lease term.
  
• Some cars lease better than others. Factors such as residual value, money factor, and cash incentives affect the lease cost. High residual value, low money factor, and generous cash incentives are desirable. For reference, Ioniq 5 and 6 are all terrible leases.
  
• Lease prices can be negotiated. The selling price of a car, which affects the lease cost, is determined by individual dealers and is not set by the manufacturer. The more discount you get, the better, the lower your buyout.
  
• Be cautious of marked-up rates and fees. Dealers can mark up the money factor, acquisition fee, and disposition fee, potentially increasing the lease cost. Edmunds forums has the latest Money Factor and Residual for all the different terms. Leasehackr also has a paid option to pull this data for yourself at any time. A dealer cannot change the Residual but they can markup the rate. Knowing that they are could be used as a bargaining chip to get a larger MSRP discount.
  
• When leasing, someone else (the lessor) takes on the risk of depreciation. The automaker sets the residual value, and any overestimation is their risk, not the lessee’s.
  
• Avoid making a down payment on a lease. If the car is totaled or stolen, you may not get your down payment back. A down payment also obscures the cost of the lease.
  
• In a lease, Hyundai owns the car. You are just “renting” the car. Your insurance company pays out to the owner = Hyundai. Insurance company doesn’t care what you paid for the down payment.
  
• A Down payment is not DAS (due at signing). You can have $0 down payment but still pay fees, taxes, first month payment upfront.
  

What does this have to do with an Ioniq 5/6?

• Hyundai Financial is passing through $7500 as a rebate. This rebate is from the feds, your tax dollars. As part of the IRA bill, corporations get $7500-$40,000 in tax credits with no limits for EV and Plug-in hybrids that they put on the road. In a lease, Hyundai is the owner of the car, hence they get the rebate, they are passing it through.
  
• This has no effect on your taxes. There is no limit, you can get as many cars as you want.
  
• Before you ever approach a dealer, know what the numbers look like. The Leasehackr calculator is invaluable for this.
  
• Negotiate MSRP. You should not be going in targeting a monthly payment. Lower the MSRP, the lower your buyout. As data points, multiple people have sent me sheets where they got discounts ranging from $1000-$3000 on SE and SEL.
  
• Extra Fees: Acquisition Fee is always $650. Documents fee, some states have caps on this, others don’t. Dealer fees, this can vary as well.
  
• Deal sheet would look like this. Feel free to send it to me as well to take a quick look.
  
• ”Agreed upon Value of the Vehicle” - this is a line item and should Match MSRP. I know one of the dealers here added $3k to this line for a third-party warranty. So keep your eyes open.
  
• ”Gross Capitalized Cost” - This will be the MSRP with any extras you add. There should be a breakdown of what this is on another page. Typically it’s MSRP+Acquisition fee+ Document fees+ dealer fees but you could also choose to pay all the extras upfront instead of adding it to the total.
  
• Cap Cost Reduction - part of the $7500 will be taxed and the rest will go to pay for any of the extras listed above and the remainder will apply to the actual MSRP. Again this can be structured differently depending on what you are paying for upfront.
  

Most importantly, don’t let a dealer rush you or pressure you to sign something you don’t understand.

What about trade-ins?

I get the allure of trade-ins and some states offer tax credits too. However, I implore you to take a few minutes and go through this list with links to tons of places to sell your car. Run your car through a few of them before asking for dealers’ trade-in. You would be surprised at $1000s you might be leaving on the table even after tax savings.
It’s entirely possible your dealer might match or beat these offers too.

How do I do a buyout?

Bad news first.
If your vehicle is garaged/registered in CO, DC, FL, HI, IN, PA, SD, SC, you will need to contact a Dealership to purchase the vehicle.
This process is going to suck in these states unless you know a good dealer. Good news is that you don’t have to use the same dealer you bought your car from.
This process sucks because you are at the mercy of the dealer and AFAIK they can charge you whatever they want within reason. I have seen insane fees of $4000-$5000 in Florida.
Other states - Get your Lease Buyout quote online. Send the quote to your bank or credit union. A lot of credit unions will treat this as a new car since it’s a 2023 car. YMMV however.
Mail your payoff check to:
Regular Mail: Payee must be: Hyundai Motor Finance HMF Payment Processing PO Box 660891 Dallas, TX 75266-0891
Overnight Mail: Payee must be: Hyundai Motor Finance Hyundai Motor Finance PO Box 660891 Dallas, TX 75266-0891

• For some states the check has to be made out to HCA. Your buyout quote will have instructions on who to make the payment out to.

Can I buyout immediately?
Yes, you can buy out as soon as the deal is funded. Typically a week or two or as soon as you can make a Hyundai Financial account online.
When you do an early lease buyout, you're ending the lease and buying the car outright. Unearned rent charges(interest) are part of the lease financing and no longer apply since you're settling the lease and taking full ownership. Basically, you're paying off the remaining balance, so no more rent charges.
DO NOT BELIEVE ANY DEALER THAT TELLS YOU CAN ONLY BUYOUT AFTER XX MONTHS.
DO NOT BELIEVE ANY DEALER THAT TELLS YOU HAVE TO PAY REMAINING RENT CHARGE

What about taxes?

Ok, this is complicated.

• For most states, you pay tax on the monthly payment.
  
• Tax is levied upfront on the total lease payment for NY, MN, OH, GA. This leads to an issue of double taxation for early buyouts, at least in NY. No way around it, if you are in NY you should know what you are in for.
  
• NJ has no taxes for EV but Hyundai’s system charges tax on the buyout. People have explained how to fix this here.
  
  • For NJ buyouts, request to speak to the Escalation team. Explain to them you would like a buyout quote without sales tax and the NJ ST-4 needs to be routed to the tax team. They asked me write the dealer info as the seller. I was able to payoff my lease by using the website, but there is a 25k restriction per transaction. From ay5800
• Tax is levied upfront on the selling price VA, MD, TX. Double taxation is an issue for TX. VA will give you credit for the taxes paid on the lease once you submit proof and then refund you after a few weeks/months. Unsure of MD. MD seems to have a similar provision as VA to avoid the double tax.
  

Ultimately, I can’t account for each and every situation. Contact HMF and your local DMV to get a definitive answer.

Why are you doing this?

I love a good deal and I have been leasing cars for a long time. I use Reddit a lot and I have seen too many people posting misinformation here with 100% confidence.
Please please ask more questions here and I will try my best to answer. I will also add the answers to the post. You cannot have too much information here, feel free to PM me with questions as well.
Edit - Edited formatting after running through ChatGPT. Hopefully my rambling is a little easier to read.
Edit 2 - Section 23 of the contract.

This post is specific to the 2024 GMC Sierra model year's 2500HD and 3500HD aka Heavy Duty versions. I'll include info on all trims. If you're looking for 1500 series models, some discounts below might be interestingvbut fair warning: most everything else is about the HD series trucks.
I've been watching all the news, spy shots, auto shows, press releases and can't wait to see this truck in person. Until then, I've been researching like crazy. Because I'm a nerd. Figured some other people might be like me, looking for all the quality updates, videos, pics, and (eventually^{I can't wait}) reviews - so why not put them all in one place. Here goes...

Official stuff

• GMC's Sierra 2500HD Homepage / Model Details
• Build and Price
• GMC's press release
• Ultimate Heavy Duty press release
• PDFs of all the trims, packages, option codes: https://www.gmfleetorderguide.com
• Video: 2024 Sierra HD: First Ever Sierra HD Denali Ultimate GMC
• Live Search of all 2024 HD's either In Transit or Delivered to Dealer

Track Your Order

Auto-updates from VinView of every status change
Once your vehicle has a VIN assigned (event code 3800 or greater), your dealer can look it up in VinView for realtime status. It uses the OnStar GPS to track history and current location. There's one field for text alerts, and one field for email alerts. Salespeople usually use the email box, so just ask them to put your number in the empty box for text alerts if they're not using it. You will get automated order updates.
Email Alerts from GM

1. Go here: https://www.gmc.com/order-notifications-form >> enter your info. You'll need your Order Number.
2. Click submit. You'll get a confirmation, "Thank you for enrolling in GMC Order Status emails. We will provide you updates on your vehicle’s status as it moves through the build and production stages. Stay tuned for more."
3. Keep an eye on your email. You'll get an automatic email as the order progresses through the build process. It looks like this (example).

Ask GMC Chat Bot Method

1. Go to www.GMC.com >> click black "Message Us" icon in bottom right corner. If you don't see, adblockers and pi-hole will break it; disable and refresh page.
2. Reply to the first message with Hi (this will have an automated reply) >> type order status >> when prompted for your six-digit order number (it might be alphanumeric) type that into chat.
3. It will tell you order status in plain English. It will not provide dates or Event Codes.

Ask Live Agent Method

1. Follow the steps in Automated Method above. At end, type Agent >> the system will automatically reply saying it'll transfer you to someone that can help. You can only do this during US business hours, otherwise chat will say they are closed and tell you to return the next day.
2. Once an actual person replies, ask them to provide the status of your order. They may ask for the order number. In theory though, they should already see it from the steps earlier in the chat.
3. They will give you a brief explanation of your order status.
4. Reply by saying, "Can you please provide me with the event code on the order?" They'll most likely provide the code on the fist ask. If not, be firm and polite. If they still decline, close the chat and try again in a week.

• GM quotes 6 to 12 weeks from order to delivery at dealership, barring any unforseen delays.
• They won't provide more detailed order updates until you reach Event Code 3400 or greater.
• At code 3800 or greater, you have a VIN assigned. Dealership ONLY can login to VinView to track the realtime location of your vehicle using the OnStar's GPS as identified by your VIN number. It shows the location history of the vehicle since it left the factory.
• Order info is updated 1x/week on Thursdays. No sense in asking more frequently.

Order / Event Codes

Event Code	Description
500	This is a dealer stock order code used to order common vehicles. Please contact your dealer to receive an actual active order number.
1,000	Order on hold at dealership
1,100	Preliminary order accepted (This means your dealer has entered your order into their system but does not mean they have the allocation to submit the order to GM yet. Speak with your dealer to verify when they expect to be able to submit your order for production)
1,101	Order entered into the system
1,102	Order entered via web
2,000	Order accepted by GM (This means the order has been submitted and accepted by production. You are now on your way.)
2,001	Order generated to dealer
2,005	Order replaced by GM prospec order
2,030	Order re-edited (if necessary) (This is simply an edit code showing that something on your order has been changed. It does not mean your order has been accepted to production and really does not mean anything beyond your previous status other than a change has been made.)
2,051	Order changed thru Web (same as above)
2,500	Order preferenced (This means that the Order has been moved to the stage that parts department is now ready to place the orders for the components that will become your car)
3,000	Order accepted by production control (This is the response from production to your 2500 status and is when Parts are actually ordered. No further changes can be made to your order once you reach this point.)
3,100	Order available to sequence (This is more or less an inter-office memo from Parts to Production saying all parts are committed to this build, they are clear to sequence them for the build.)
3,300	Order scheduled for production (This is the response to the 3100 status where Production is cleared to sequence and schedule the build)
3,400	Order broadcast (This is when the order is actually loaded onto the production line computers and parts are being staged for the build)
3,450	Import vehicle produced
3,550	Import vehicle shipped from Port of Origin via boat
3,575	Import vehicle received at port of entry
3,750	Import vehicle received at Port of Entry
3,800	Order produced (The vehicle is completed and has rolled off the line. A Vin is now available.)
4,000	Available to ship (Vehicle is off the line and available to ship)
4,104	Bailment Invoice (Shipping documents generated)
4,106	Bailment released
4,150	Vehicle invoiced
4,200	Shipped (Vehicle has been moved by a carrier to another location or destination. If in combination with a 4300 status code then this is transfer to either a vendor for upfitting or to a distribution yard for final transportation.)
4250	Ocean Dispatched
4,300	Intermediate Delivery (In combination with a 4200 this is saying that the vehicle has been transported to a vendor)
4350	At Port of Exit -- Truck
4B00	Bayed (listed anytime a vehicle is sitting parked waiting for next mode of transportation)
4B01	Arrived at Vehicle Distribution Center
4B10	Available for Export Shipping
4B11	Available for Sale
4B12	Argentina Built Order Ready for Re-Invoice to Mexico
4B31	Anticipated Tag
4B40	Grounded Tag
4B42	Untag
4B45	Credit Rebill Rejected
4B50	Final Dealer Assigned by Central Office
4B60	Credit Rebill Sent to Vehicle Billing and Accounts Receivable System
4B65	CDO Requests Created (GM International Sales Only)
4B70	Credit Rebill Cancelled in Vehicle Billing and Accounts Receivable System
4D00	Vehicle on Hold: Bayed for Quality Control Inspection (Unknown Time frame)
4DCR	Carrier Reject
4F01	Vehicle Arrived at Central Distribution Center
4F02	In Transit to Regional Distribution Center
4F03	Vehicle Arrived at Regional Distribution Center
4F04	Vehicle Tagged in Transit to Dealer
4FCR	Invoice Reject
4FUN	Credit DealeUndo Invoice
4V01	Vehicle at Upfitter
4V02	Vehicle on Transportation Hold
4V03	Estimated Delivery Date Updated
4,800	Rail Ramp Unload, end of the line by (if) rail. To be delivered by truck to dealer
4850	At Port of Exit -- Rail
5,000	Delivered to the dealer
5050	Vehicle Transfer -- Dealer Initiated
6,000	Delivered to Customer; First Delivery; D1
6061	Delivery Cancellation; First Return to Stock; R1
6200	Retail Sale; Second Delivery; D2
9,000	Order Cancelled

Order to Delivery Timelines

• In mid-March we saw the first dealership to post a pic/vid with a delivered 2500HD on the lot. It was in Indiana.
• 3/29 first hands-on video posted. Was 2500HD Denali, not Ultimate. Build date 3/2023 per door jam sticker, was on lot in Murfeesboro, TN. That's production to delivery in max 29 days. If the TPW was 3/6 week, that's ~21-day production to delivery.

Production Timeline

Trim	Initial Orders Acceptance	Production Startup
Sierra 2500 Reg Cab	1/26/23	2/27/23
Sierra 2500 Double Cab	1/26/23	2/27/23
Sierra 2500 Crew Cab	1/26/23	2/27/23

• Rumor: orders are accepted - moved to status 3000 - in batches of 10 at a time.
• Rumor: As of 3/28/23, the 2024-year 2500HD's have taken exactly 4 weeks to move from 3400 to arrival on dealer's lots in Midwest.

Pricing

• GMC Supplier Discount website
• Check if you're eligible (here) aka work for a company that gets this. There's a ton. It's worth trying. Look up your company here, grab the code, then make a free account and use that code. It's crazy simple.
• The Supplier version Build/Price tools aren't online for 2024 models, but you can do it anyway just use the one depending on your model:
  • Sierra 2500 HD
  • Sierra 2500 HD Denali
  • Sierra 3500 HD
  • Sierra 3500 HD Denali
• GMC Friends and Family Discount website
• The Friends & Family version Build/Price tools aren't online for 2024 models, but you can do it anyway just use the one depending on your model:
  • Sierra 2500 HD
  • Sierra 2500 HD Denali
  • Sierra 3500 HD
  • Sierra 3500 HD Denali
• Dealers do not have to accept Friends&Family or Supplier pricing. They are reimbursed partially by GM, so in effect are taking some hit by accepting it. Hence, why so many turned away buyers during pandemic.
• In Feb 2023, GM idled its Fort Wayne, Indiana production for two weeks (source) because inventories of 1500 series reached 100 days. That's above their stated goal of 50-60 days of inventory. At year-end 2022 inventories were at 50 days. TL;DR supplies of light duty trucks have outstripped demand, and I'd hope that means good news for pricing now and into 2Q.
• For reference, here's dealer's pricing on a 2024 Sierra 2500HD Denali Ultimate.

Quote	Price	Dealer profit
MSRP	$94,635	$4,549.60
Invoice Price	$90,085.40	$ -
Employee Discount	$85,522.33 (dealer incentive $5,401.85)	$838.78
Supplier Pricing	$88,994.3 (supplier incentive $1,929.88)	$838.78

​

Engine	Denali Ultimate	Denali	AT4	SLT	SLE	Pro
MSRP 6.6L V8 Gas w/ 4WD (starting at)	n/a	$75,095	$70,995	$65,195	$57,795	$52,795
MSRP 6.6L V8 Turbo-Diesel w/ 4WD (starting at)	$93,795	$84,585	$80,485	$74,685	$68,280	$63,780

Discounts

• Dealerships that have told me they're honoring Supplier Pricing
  • ~Laura GMC (website) in Collinsville, IL~ Edit 5/23/2023 per this comment no longer honoring dealer pricing.
  • Beck & Masten (website) in Houston, TX
• Dealerships offering discounted pricing to anyone. Does not stack with Supplier or Friends and Family though.
  • Laura GMC (website): $2,500 off MSRP. Will ship car to you (at your expense). Free shuttle pickup from airport, if you fly in.
  • Beck & Masten (website): $2,000 off MSRP + free delivery within 500 miles
• ~Costco discount / Costco Auto Program Savings Event. I don't know what it is (will be?) for 2024, but was $1,000 off for 2022 and 2023 models (source, also mentioned on a few forums and in askcarsales).~ Edit May 2023: I called Costco. There's no rebates/discounts on GMC through them right now. The $1,000 was a one-time thing that's long since expired.*
• Uber - discount for Uber drivers. In past was $2,750 off BoltEV, no idea if anything for Sierra models and if so, if even for this model year.

Reviews

I mean, it's about the best info we've got from the bigger websites

• 2024 GMC Sierra HD Preview [JD Power]
• 2024 GMC Sierra 2500HD [Car Buzz]
• 2024 GMC Sierra 2500 [Cars.com]
• 2024 GMC Sierra HD Brings the Luxury and the Muscle [Car and Driver]
• 2024 GMC Sierra 2500 and 3500 HD First Look: Denali Goes Ultimate, AT4X Joins the Ranks [Motor Trend]
• 2024 GMC Sierra HD: High Luxury Meets High Limits [Edmunds]
• Hope You’re Ready: The 2024 GMC Sierra HD Now Tops Out Over $100,000 [The Fast Lane Truck]
• 2024 GMC Sierra HD Debuts As Part Workhorse And Part Luxury Vehicle [Car Scoops]
• 2024 GMC Sierra HD Looks Sharper, Picks Up Fancy New Denali Ultimate Trim [CNet]
• 2024 GMC Sierra HD Gets Engine Upgrades, Towing Aids, Two New Trims [The Drive]

Videos

ProTip browser extensions: SponsorBlock auto-skips intros, comment/like/subscribe junk. uBlock Origin eliminates all YouTube ads.

• By GMC: 2024 Sierra HD: First Ever Sierra HD Denali Ultimate GMC
• 2500HD Denali Ultimate hands on - 13min vid
• First dealership vid online
• First hands on drive at dealership. A Denali, non-ultimate. 16mins w/ hands on a 2500HD Denali. Not Ultimate though.
• 3500 Denali Ultimate - at night
• 3500 Denali Ultimate - at night
• 2500HD AT4
• 2500HD Denali Ultimate - black
• 2500HD Denali Ultimate - white
• 2500HD Denali - white
• 2500HD Denali - black
• Denali Ultimate in white
• Denali Ultimate hands-on

Official GM private event/unveiling, hands-on w/ senior GM design team

• Here Is Why the New 2024 GMC Sierra HD Is the MOST Luxurious Truck Ever Built! [The Fast Lane Truck]
• 2024 GMC Sierra HD In Depth look with all the Experts [Pushing Pistons]
• Four In-Depth Interviews! 2024 GMC Sierra HD Revealed! [Pickup Truck Plus SUV Talk]
• 2024 GMC Sierra HD First Look [Alex on Autos]
• The NEW 2024 GMC SIERRA 2500HD / 3500HD is AMAZING! [GM Jeff]
• Interviewing the GMC TEAM about the NEW 2024 GMC Sierra 2500 & 3500 HD! [GM Jeff]

At various auto shows

• 2024 GMC Sierra 2500 AT4 [DeLo Enterprises]
• 2024 GMC Sierra 2500 Denali Ultimate Edition [DeLo Enterprises]
• 2024 GMC Sierra 2500HD Denali Ultimate Full Review and Walkaround CLE Auto Show [Cochran GMC dealership]
• 2024 GMC Sierra 2500 HD Denali Ultimate at the Chicago Auto Show [Garage Talk]
• Hands On - The 2024 Duramax GMC Sierra AT4 Now Tows 4000 Pounds More & Goes Off-Road! [TFLnow]
• NEW, 2024 GMC Sierra 2500HD AT4, Duramax! [GM Jeff]
• 2024 GMC Sierra 2500 HD Denali Ultimate // $100k Ultimate CAPABILITY & LUXURY! [Car Confections]
• 2024 GMC Sierra 2500 HD - Did GMC Make The RIGHT Changes? [Vehicle Visionary]
• 2024 GMC Sierra 2500HD Denali Ultimate New Interior, Refreshed Exterior! [Cars Made Simple]
• 2500 HD Ultimate Denali 2024 GMC Sierra 4x4 Truck [InterUnetAutomotive]
• New 2024 GMC Sierra 2500 HD Denali Ultimate [GM Jeff]
• 2024 GMC Sierra 2500 Denali Ultimate Nightshade HD Very Luxurious [Express Car Reviews]

News

• GM Authority: Sierra HD news. Note: Skip the comments section on their articles. It's straight cancer.
• Prior sales numbers here.

Gallery

• https://www.gmc.com/trucks/sierra/2500hd-3500hd
• https://gmauthority.com/blog/gm/gmc/sierra/2024-gmc-sierra/2024-gmc-sierra-hd/ >> scroll down and click "Gallery" it expands with a ton more pics than GM has in link above.

Other conversations w/ recent intel on 2024 Sierra 2500HD's

• Relevant search of askcarsales: https://old.reddit.com/askcarsales/search/?q=2024+sierra+2500hd&include_over_18=on&restrict_sr=on&t=all&sort=new
• DuramaxForum: thread on 2024 HD's
• Leasehackr forum: https://forum.leasehackr.com/search?q=2024%20sierra%202500
• GM-Trucks.com forum: https://www.gm-trucks.com/forums/forum/240-2020-2024-silverado-hd-sierra-hd/

Latest info I've heard

• Downpour Metallic paint color is delayed, marked "late availability". Any orders with this color are delayed for likely months, but dealers don't have exact timing.
• Best discount is $2,500 off MSRP (at Laura GMC)
• Costco discount does stack with other discounts
• $1,500 OnStar Premium is included in vehicle price. For the first time can be Deleted, $1,500 savings. If want to delete OnStar to later buy different plan, pricing is here, skip the BS graphic and click on Compare All Plans which gives you this PDF. Cheapest plan is "Remote Access" $14.99/month, gives you the app and "remote key fob".
• No Super Cruise. Yes Adaptive Cruise Control.
• GMC MultiPro tailgate Step Lights are a $150 option, even on Denali Ultimate. Wut!?
• CarbonPro bed isn't available on Heavy Duty series trucks, irregardless of trim.
• OEM Upfitter switches will be available (here >> GMUpfitter.com) and go in the "change pocket" area (pic), directly in front of new Trailer Brake controls placement.
• First dealership to have a 2500HD arrive was on Mar 22nd: Tom Kelley GMC in Fort Wayne, IN. They put up a youtube video here.
• Bigger GMC dealerships have been telling custs expect first trucks arrive on lots May 2023.
• The tailgate Step Lights do work even if have Kicker audio systems in tailgate. There's small knockout holes in the center two square panels above the Kicker controls, and the lights go in there. If you don't have the Kicker system, the lights sit in a similar square plate with knockout hole, just rest of panel is blank. Without the audio system, the lights are in the outer two tailgate holes. If have speakers, lights go in inner two holes, as speakers take up the outer two holes.

If I missed anything, please share! Just really like this truck, ordered one, can't wait for arrival. I am not in the car business, affiliated with any sites. Linked only to legit, high-quality sources that were best I could find, avoided the dumb Chinese bot knockoff YouTube channels and blogspam that just steal content. If you find some new juicy tidbits, please reply so we can all benefit.

Does anyone know where to find a lease deal like this in WA or OR? Thanks Edit: click the word “this” to see the deal

Really not trying to spam, just this market is insane and everyone could use some help right now. You can order CX-50s (and get big discounts on other Mazdas) for 5% off built to order here: https://forum.leasehackr.com/t/autoleaseninjas-march-mazda-florida-deals-5-off-cx-50-orders/330703/147

I have been trying to understand more about how car leasing works and I feel like I have learned a lot from this forum and others. I had read that Leasehackr maybe isn't great at calculating taxes and fees and what not so I made my own calculator in the hopes I could get a ballpark number and that it would also help me understand all the numbers better by figuring it out myself. I thought I had it figured out. So I calculated what I expected should be the monthly payment for a KIA Forte LXS, based on the fact that it says MSRP is 19,590, I'm guessing no reductions for selling price, and I asked on edmunds and they told me .61 residual and .00127 for 36 mo 10K. Keep in mind I live in Chicago, sales tax is 10.25 percent and there is an additional usage tax of 8% on car leases (so dumb).
Based on this, I'm getting around 283 a month 0 down. But of course, the market is utter crap, so I know I'm going to pay more than this. But how much more?
So I went to a Kia, and they gave me a quote of 460 a month for 36 mo 12K (might have been 490 but it's all a blur now, I bolted). They tried to tell me it's just so high because the market and taxes in Chicago. They didn't even try to come down. I mentioned 3000 dollars in accessories was listed, and they didn't tell me what it was just that they could potentially bring it down to 2000. There was probably other stuff in there but I felt really stressed and couldn't really process the numbers on the paper they gave me and didn't have the presence of mind to ask for a copy or take a picture of it.
They eventually emailed me asking what they could have done to get me in a Kia so I mentioned my concerns that it was no where near what I thought it should be and I felt they were upselling some things, like the accessories.
Their response was "So just to show you that we are still a little far from your payment I asked my manager to give me your monthly payment IF WE DID sell the car at sticker just to gauge how far we still are. At sticker with $0 down your monthly payment would be at $375.00 a month. When I spoke to him about helping out with market adjustment aka the accessories he said it could be brought down to $2000 instead of $3000. So that would have your monthly payment at $441 a month."
Did I screw up my calculations? Are these really reasonable numbers for a 2022 Kia Forte LXS? Or are they trying to trick me? Halp.

I've posted before about my buyback experience, but this will be the $$$-specific post to wrap up everything. FWIW, my Bolt was registered in MD and I'm a resident of MD.
2019 Bolt Premier (purchased NEW), MSRP: $43,905 (~22k miles on the odometer at time of buyback approval)
Via the MSRP trade route, I selected a 2021 Chevy Blazer w/$33,795 MSRP (no incentives/discounts).

• no usage fee deducted in MD, full $43,905 MSRP trade credit given
• all fees associated with Blazer purchase were covered by GM; literally $0 out of pocket

I did not use ~$10,110 of my replacement/trade credit, so GM applied that unused credit to my existing loan balance for my Bolt (my understanding is if I had no loan balance, the unused credit would have simply been forfeited). So the balance I had to cover to complete the trade into the Blazer was my Bolt's old balance -$10,110.

• existing loan balance amount paid down by GM: $10,110

I decided to park the Blazer in a nearby storage lot until the title came in, as the plan was to sell it to the highest bidder. Ended up requesting a duplicate title as it was taking forever for the original one to arrive.

• storage payments for 2 months: $103
• duplicate title fee: $38
• 2 months of insurance paid on Blazer while waiting for the title: $84

While waiting ~6 weeks for the title to arrive, I shopped numerous used dealers to find the best price for my Blazer. Contacted all the online dealers (Carvana/Vroom/ALgo, Driveway, etc), several dealers around town (local Nissan/Toyota/Chevy/CarMax), but a dealer I had never heard of CarBuyer USA) offered the highest price (by $600). Reviews looked decent enough, and they ended up being (mostly) legit.

• Sale price of Blazer: $34,600 (click here for my CarBuyer USA selling experience). That is $800 MORE than MSRP of the Blazer (and $3,300 more if you factor in the $2,500 cash rebate on the hood just about all '21 Blazers are eligible for currently). Insanity!

So while this entire buyback experience was at times hellish (8 months including the time to sell the Blazer), in the end it was worth it as I came out waaaaay ahead financially. For a comparison on if I had simply broke down and sold my Bolt to the highest used dealer back in the spring, best quote I got over the months was $22k from Vroom. A final breakdown:

• $43,905 MSRP swap credit received from GM
  • acquired $33,795 Blazer, sold for $34.6k
  • $10,110 ($43,905-$33,795) credit applied to my existing Bolt loan for "downgrading" to the Blazer
• costs incurred during buyback: $103 storage fee + $38 dup title fee + $84 insurance premiums = $224 out of pocket costs
• Total compensation received from GM when all said and done: $34.6k + $10.1k -$242 = $44,468

Compared to what I could have fetched by simply selling off my Bolt, the buyback put an additional $22,468 in my pocket. While it took forever and a day, the wait was indeed worth it.
For those of you currently pursuing buybacks (and especially MSRP replacements), good luck. You'll probably need a lot of intestinal fortitude to see the process to the end and probably will end up with a few more grey hairs/less hair as well.

This community was a huge help during my car purchase in April so I'm hoping to get some help again. I've never leased before but we are looking to lease my wife a Rogue SV. I did some research, found the Edmund's forum and Leasehackr showing rates for my zip code (01863) should be MF .00218 and residual 61%.
Using Leasehackr calculator I expected payments around $350 but the first dealership quote I got was $468. This is for 36 months, 12k miles, and $4k at signing. Vehicle price $32,825 which includes a $2k market adjustment. 740+ credit.
I really don't understand the numbers here and want to know if I'm making a mistake on my end or if I'm just being quoted with bad rates.
Here is a picture with the break down of numbers.
https://ibb.co/2kyD5CK

I have been shopping for deals on a new BMW for some time now, but this market is insane! Dealers selling cars over sticker, not even willing to negotiate. I have been playing with the idea of using a broker. Does anyone have experience with this? I did research and found a broker on this leasing forum:
https://forum.leasehackr.com/t/bmw-lease-deals-august-3-4-5-7-i3-x1-x2-x3-x5-x7-lease-specials-omega-auto-group/244345/57?u=omegaautogroup
Any advice, do's and don't's, etc?

Some pretty interesting stuff going on with Volvo Car Financial Services (VCFS) and a dozen other car manufacturers. My lease is expiring next month, and Volvo quoted me $28,100 for my XC40 to purchase my lease. This includes tax, the final payment, and everything else my contract states. I reached out to Carmax, Carvana, Vroom, and Get Me The Vin (GMTV), all who are offering me $4-$5k more than what I owe Volvo. The interesting part is that they are all banned from buying directly from Volvo. My understanding is that this is a fairly new policy change that is protecting Volvo (and other manufacturers) from losing money to competitors due to the high demand on used cars and low inventory. I reached out to VCFS and all they could tell me is that they do not accept payments from third parties. I was confused because no where in my contract does it say that, despite what the agent told me.

Carvana $32,785

Carvana was the first quote I received which led me down this rabbit hole, so I decided to dig in a little further. I asked one of the representatives why exactly Carvana could not purchase my lease from VFCS. Unfortunately it was his first day on the job and he told me that "Their paperwork turn around time is too long since they are located in Europe." I asked for a call back from someone higher up in the sales/finance department and he said absolutely, but I never received a call back. On their online "instant offer" I received this:

Thank you for taking the time to submit your vehicle for a value with Carvana. At this time, we are not able to move forward with purchasing your leased vehicle as Carvana's policy does not align with (US Bank / Nissan Motor Acceptance Corp/ Infiniti / Ford / Ally Financial/ Volvo/ Lincoln/Tesla)'s policies, and this prevents us from being able to purchase leased vehicles from this provider.

Carmax $32,000

Same deal at Carmax. They told me that they were prohibited to work with Volvo but could not tell me why. They told me to buy the car on my own and then sell it to them. The representative really had no idea why but mentioned that it was a fairly new policy change.

GMTV $32,000

Same deal but a little sketchier. I requested an offer and got $28,000 to $29,000. There was a button for a counter offer and I sent in the offer that Carvana had sent me to see if they could match. I immediately got a phone call form them but did not answer, then I got a text from some representative. They asked me again how much I wanted, and I texted back a screen shot from Carvana for a total of $32,785. He proceeded to bash Carvana saying to look at their reviews and that customers have told him that they have has terrible customer service from them and sometimes back out of a deal. I have a friend who has bought and sold to Carvana 5 times for his entire family and has had nothing but a pleasant experience so I think it was just a crappy sales tactic. Anyway, the guy offers me $32,000 and says that the cannot work with Volvo directly, and that there is no work around. Again, no explanation.

Vroom $33,235

After reading some online forums I learned about and decided to give Vroom a try. To my surprise I got the highest offer. I called them to see what the deal was with VFCS. Honestly, best customer service I've ever received, and shoutout to Nick, one of the sales reps, for sharing his knowledge.
He told me exactly what I suspected, that these car companies have been changing their policies to protect themselves due to the Covid crisis. He said that before the pandemic, Vroom was not allowed to work with only Ford, for whatever reason. But now that list is up to about 10-12 different manufacturers with VCFS included and he suspects more to follow. He was not entirely clear on the legal aspect, but mentioned that even though my contract does not state anything about third party buy-outs, the contract is only between Volvo and me. Meaning, Volvo can decline a payment from anyone that is not me, since they are not on the contract and there are no clauses stating that they cannot do this. I don't know much about legal jargon, but this sounded off to me. Apparently Volvo will accept payments from banks who choose to finance me in a traditional way, but will not accept payments from another dealership. I read about some story where a customer had Carmax buy his lease from him under the customer's name, and handled all the paperwork after that. I asked the rep to see if that's something Vroom would do and he said that that would be fraud. Understandable, so I wonder how other people got away with this. Maybe they didn't, I don't know from personal experience just forums.

Conclusion

The whole thing is bizarre to me. At first I thought it was illegal and against antitrust laws for Volvo to not accept payments from another dealership. Then I started thinking about well, if they can't accept payments from a dealership (eg Carvana, Carmax, Vroom), why doesn't the dealership finance me directly? I understand that that may open up a whole new can of worms given that Carvana, Carmax, and Vroom cannot claim collateral on my car because it is owned by VCFS. Ok fine. Then why haven't dealerships taken advantage of this "void" by offering loans through an ancillary firm, or partnering up with a "non-dealership" firm that provides these short-term loans for instances like this? There are plenty of people in my position who would live to take advantage of this + $4,000-$5,000 equity but don't have $28,100 to fork over in order to do this. I understand you can take out a traditional loan and then go and flip it to another dealership, but this is an added headache with more potential interest to pay. Vroom, Carmax, and Carvana obviously want my car, so why don't they figure out a way around Volvo's policy. The only thing I can think of is that both Volvo and these used car dealerships have a mutual agreement somehow because maybe Volvo owns a certain percentage of Carmax for example, and wants to protect Volvo. I don't know. If not, then I believe there is am issue here that may not hold up in court barring any explicit legal language on a contract that prevents me from doing so. And if it does hold up, I am not sure why this void hasn't been exploited yet by a smaller auto loan firm and them splitting the profits from Carvana with the customer.
It's all really interesting to me and I decided to dedicate my day yesterday to doing some mental brainstorming on the topic. I'm more informed but still overall lost on this fairly new policy.
On another note, I heard stories (1, 2) where people have been successful at having a used car dealership buying their lease from Volvo. So I am not exactly sure what to believe.

Hello carleasing experts!
I'm looking to lease a Nissan Sentra SV. This is my first time getting a lease by myself, and honestly I know I have pushover tendencies and come off like someone who is easy to take advantage of, so I'm trying to do research beforehand so I don't get swindled at the dealer. I've learned a lot from this reddit post about the numbers involved (and googling around to understand the post haha). I'm math savvy so doing calculations are not a problem, but I'm having a hard time actually understanding what can or cannot actually be negotiated and how, and what numbers might be dependent on the city I'm in or the dealership so they might not be comparable to what someone says in a random forum.
I've attached a picture (edit, at the bottom of the post) of promotion from a Nissan dealer in my area which is pretty much the exact same deal I'm finding online for all the other Nissans near me. As an example, another dealer says their lease deal is "189/mo. Stock# N20340. $2,919 due at Signing. Plus tax title, license and doc fee. Lease Selling Price:$22,600. 2021 Sentra SV. "
What I don't get is, that monthly payment seems to be quite low compared to what I'm seeing suggested googling around. I've also googled around and found what I think are the correct numbers for MF and residuals and whatnot (58% residual and .00129 MF??), but when I use the leasehackr calculator I can't get anywhere close to 189/mo like in the ads (I get 219/ month). So, is there something sneaky in this deal? Part of me feels like this looks like a steal and I should go for it. But part of me knows I don't know what I'm doing and should ask people who understand, like you guys! :)
Some things one should know, I'm in the Chicago area, ~780 credit score, I don't technically mind putting money down although it seems the consensus is you shouldn't? All I care is that the car is black or white and not gray or silver lol. I'm expecting a 36 month lease, 10,000 miles per year. I do not have a car to trade in.
I want to start emailing the sales managers at a few of the dealerships near me, but I don't know where to start. This is what I thought I would email (some of it is based on what others suggested in random forums I have found online):
"I am looking to lease a Nissan Sentra SV, and will need to finalize a deal within the next week. I hope you don't mind communicating over email, I do not need a test drive and would prefer to have everything finalized over email before going in person as my schedule makes it difficult to come in person.
I see you currently have a lease special on the Sentra ("$189/MO $2,919 due at signing"). Can you please provide your best 36 month/10K miles per year lease price? Credit score is ~780. I would like the monthly payment based on a $0 drive-off (just first month’s payment), with Illinois taxes and fees rolled into the payment. Please also provide a breakdown of dealer discount, incentives, rebates, as well as the MF and residual."
Does this sound like a good starting email? I figured I will send this to a few dealership sales managers and maybe see what happens and use what one says to haggle a little with the other, so long as I understand their replies haha. What ballpark should I consider a fair deal? Really I can afford anything <300 a month, but again, I just don't want to be taken advantage of and want to get a good and fair price.
Any advice would be very much appreciated!
​
https://preview.redd.it/g4tgbkqa88f71.png?width=1706&format=png&auto=webp&s=8ea9e545e8ddfc4a77e91690b2ab5806b42d7fb2

I'm interested in leasing a BMW. Someone recommended that I look into online brokers on lease hacker. There are lots of people saying good things, but then there are a couple of stories like this one
https://forum.leasehackr.com/t/dealer-canceled-my-order-broker-ghosted-me-and-is-not-refunding-fee/
where brokers took money and basically vanished. It looks like this one is actually still doing business on lease hacker!
Does anyone have any experience using a service like this, or is this lease hacking broker system just a scam?

I've been combing this sub and other forums because I want to sell my car and lease this next time around for a number of reasons. While it looks like a great time to sell/trade in, it looks like a horrible time to acquire a car in any way? I've never leased before and have only sold one car in the past, so I'm trying to educate myself on all sides. I do want to get rid of my car sooner rather than later, but I can't get a handle on if the market for leasing (or buying) a car is expected to improve any time soon? Or do I just suck it up and go ahead and lease now? Where else can I educate myself besides here and leasehackr? Any advice from experts is appreciated!

If one leases a car, he (=lessee) has the option to buy out the car from the lessor (=leasing company) at the lease end. It's all written in the contract and you can also buy out in FL.
What's different in FL is the lessee must complete the buyout transaction at a dealership. In other states, lessee can buy out directly from lessor over the phone without involving dealership. (https://forum.leasehackr.com/t/purchase-at-the-end-of-lease-situation-dealer-fees-excessive/112517/6)
In FL, when you buy out the lease at dealer, the dealer will charge several thousands of dollars on top of the residual value in the contract. Some of it such as sales tax/title is unavoidable. But most are predatory. In my case, buyout price was quoted $4k above the residual value. It even included inspection and reconditioning fee for the car that I have been driving and going to buy out.

UPDATE: Yes. I just traded in Kia lease which had equity to Hyundai dealer. The 3rd party buyout price was $400-$500 higher than mine. Thanks to everyone here, we saved several thousand dollars.
In general, dealership can take lease as trade-in and buyout the lease. However, some leasing companies don't allow 3rd party buyouts: https://forum.leasehackr.com/t/companies-that-don-t-allow-3rd-party-buyouts/157106. This brings up my specific question.
I have a Kia lease through KMFUSA that's expired and currently on month to month extension (till 6/2021). State is FL. Called KMFUSA end-of-lease department but they don't answer on weekends. Hope someone knows the answer to the following question soon so that I can visit dealer later today.
I'm buying a new Hyundai and Hyundai dealer wants to buyout my Kia lease as trade-in (Kia has equity, 9k miles less than allowance, excellent condition). My specific question is Does Kia Finance (KMFUSA) allow 3rd party buyout by dealership in FL?
(I read the lease agreement but SECTION 23 PURCHASE OPTIONS AND VEHICLE RETURN is a little ambiguous on 3rd party buyout.)

The lease to my Toyota Highlander ends in about a week, but I'm planning on selling the lease because I have a couple thousand in equity. A smaller private dealership offered $500 over my Carmax offer, so I'm planning on going with the smaller private dealership.
Is there anything I should look out for form wise or contract wise? I wouldn't be worried about getting potentially forgetting about something at Carmax, but this is one of those used car dealerships, so I'm wary of what they may try to pull. One of these private dealerships told me they would pay for Toyota's disposition fee, but when I called TF, they told me disposition fees only apply when I'm returning it to a Toyota dealership. I've tried searching through other forums such as leasehackr too, but everything seems to be about private sale or Carmax/Vroom/Carvana with little details regarding the steps.
I'm located in California.

As the title says, I’m looking for a lease and currently test driving cars. I’m looking in the leasehackr forums to get a good deal but I wanted to hear thoughts on cars below $400 to lease. I enjoyed my Si but the used car market is bonkers right now so I sold it, I don’t want something used because of same issue. I test drove an S60 T6 (thought the XC40 was more fun!) thinking that the 311HP would make up for the weight but although it was fun fast, it wasn’t as fun to drive and the automatic was laggy (I like DSG cars tho). Any ideas? I want to check out a 2021 TLX A Spec soon once the lease deals come out. I like the A3, WRX, IS350, GTI, BRZ but it seems that all of these are a year away from being replaced with a new gen. Any 2 doors, hatches or sedans that are fun to drive and good leases out there? Thanks!

TL;DR: Mercedes Benz of Foothill Ranch swindled me out of a $1700 prepaid maintenance refund, and as a result Mercedes has lost me as a 15+ year customer.
I’ve been a happy Mercedes customer for 15 years. I finally donated my trusty 2004 C230, basically my first car, early this year. But in the mean time I’ve leased multiple other cars, and gotten some friends and family to switch because I had great customer service in my formative years (though that had slowly eroded with less generous loaner car policies, service departments trying to rip me off, notices that complimentary car washes were “temporarily out of service” but never receiving a notice that it was back up). But my latest experience has likely made my current lease the last.
In summer of 2016, I leased a new GLE 350. It was to be my wife’s primary vehicle, we were planning to start a family, and we walked into the Mercedes Benz Foothill Ranch dealer. Dina Backer, our salesperson, found us a car that had most of what we needed. Within an hour we had reached agreeable terms. I’d done the math before and knew they were marking up things like acquisition cost and the rate, but it wasn’t a huge difference and honestly I am willing to support a business that provides good service. During the negotiations she tells me that I could get the prepaid maintenance, and if I didn’t use it, I could get a refund when I returned the car. I figured I would get in in case my wife needed to take it for service but needed a loaner, otherwise I would use my preferred mechanic who I trust not to try to upsell me on unnecessary service. I confirm with her and the finance guy that it’s refundable, and sign a lease for 3 years, 15k miles.
At the end of the lease, we’re at another dealer (Long Beach) because it’s closer to where we live and my wife is very pregnant with our second child. I tell that dealer (Dez Desbiens) about that prepaid maintenance, and he says no problem we can return the car to him when we pick up our custom ordered car, and just submit paperwork for the refund. The Long Beach finance guy says the same, I sign a couple extra forms, and am told to wait 6-8 weeks. Dez got me a good deal, though annoyingly he took an extra 1% or so in tax saving I should have gotten because of where I live and rolled it into the lease instead of passing it on to me. Anyway, I wait 3 months and get nothing. It’s January 2020, and I start calling Foothill Ranch. 10+ calls with messages left on the finance department’s answering machine, with reception, or with the sales department with zero return calls. All the while I’m still getting calls/emails from Edward Hwang the manager and Jack Croft a salesperson trying to get me to lease a new car.
Just when I’m about ready to go in on my day off (hard to find time with 2 kids under 2) COVID hits. So I just try calling a few more times with no response. I email Dez who suggests I contact Client Care. Before I do that I make a post on the Leasehackr.com forum and Calvin Zhao, another salesperson at Foothill Ranch, responds to me but finds that I’m due no refund. I don’t bother him any more because he’s not really involved. Dina Backer had never responded to any contact since she sold me the car, maybe she doesn’t even work there any more.
I called Client Care in April. Sandy says she’ll email Kashani Mossey, finance manager, who will call me in a couple days.
I called Client Care again in July, having received no response. Garland says he’ll send the email again to Kashani, and also to another finance manager. He mentions “If you knew how easy this process is, you’d be upset about how much they’ve dragged this out.” Great. So I wait a few more weeks, and get no response.
I call again in August, my case gets escalated to an Executive Referral Manager named Tamara. A day after she is the first person other than the random online interaction with Calvin Zhao to respond to my issue. She actually gets some responses from the dealers and MB USA. Almost 2 months later, she lets me know that since my maintenance was only good for 40k miles but I returned the car with over that mileage, I was due no refund. Which I consider kind of bogus, I’m not asking for them to do any work, why does it matter that the car is no longer qualified under the package? But at this point, 9 months of work trying to get an answer, I’ve kind of given up. I’m sure there’s some fine print on some form I signed stating that to be the case.
But I do feel that this dealer in particular was dishonest. They leased me a car for 45k miles and sold me a package under the pretense that it was refundable, knowing full well that this would happen. They never told me the rule of canceling before the mileage went over. And based on Yelp.com reviews, they’ve pulled this crap with prepaid maintenance on others. Besides the money, they also never responded to any of my calls or any requests by Client Care to call me. My original salesperson didn’t respond to other emails about my lease (minor things I figured out otherwise). And I was never actually able to use the complimentary car wash because every time I tried they said it was out of service.
I always liked Mercedes because of build quality, consistency, luxury, and I just like the style. When I first started driving one, I found the service to be excellent (in Anaheim, where the car was purchased, and in San Diego where I lived). I’m not opposed to paying a premium for service and luxury. But I want to be treated with respect and have those premiums be put up front. The general degradation of service combined with the major disservice Foothill Ranch pulled (and to a lesser extent the shenanigans with the tax rates by Long Beach) has soured me on Mercedes.
I ended up getting a Model 3 to replace my C230 with 200k miles on it. The purchasing process was so much easier; no games, no hidden fees or pressured sales tactics. The car itself is not as nice as a similarly priced C or E class but the tech is way better. I trust autopilot way more than the 2020 GLE’s adaptive cruise control and lane keeping/changing. My next car when the GLE lease comes up will probably be a Model X, maybe an Audi or BMW SUV, but almost certainly not a Mercedes.

As someone who've leased a few cars, after a recent, fairly heated exchange on this sub where one person was adamantly arguing with me that under no circumstances does leasing a car make financial sense, I realized there is a lot of misconceptions with regard to the pros and cons of leasing. So I'm writing this post hoping to explain a few things.
The Basic: For the context of this post, I'll only be discussing close-ended leases, which is by far the most common type. This type of lease works by manufacturer defining a residual value of the car, given a certain lease duration and set milage allowance. And you pay the difference between the MSRP and that residual, plus the interest of those differences (which is calculated by Money Factor.)).
Misconception #1 Residual value is always equal to the actual value of the car after lease term is over:
Reality is that it varies quite a bit, depends on models and brands. Some brands tend to have artificially inflated residual where the RV is much higher than the actual value of the car after a 36 months lease. BMW is a known culprit of this type of financial engineering. In turn they get to claim higher sales volume and they get to also inflate MSRP. This is the primary reason why some cars are "better to lease" than others.
Sometimes residual values are inflated so manufactures can offer discounts without making them seem like discounts. At one point you could lease a brand new $80k Maserati Ghibli for $500/month over 3 years. Alfa Romeo is also similar, you could lease a Giulia for as little as $279/month + $4k down at one point.
On the other hand, some models tend to have artificially low residual value because the manufacturer is unwilling to take the risk of depreciation of a newer model, or cars with new technology. For example the the Porsche Taycan Turbo S has a residual value of less than 50% of MSRP for a 3 years lease, which is much more depreciation than your typical Porsche.
Misconception #2 You have no choice but to return the car at the end of the lease:
Pretty much all close ended leases come with the option to buy out the car. The cost of buy out is usually closely tied to the above-mentioned manufacturer set residual value. So for a car that leases badly (like the Taycan), buying it out after 3 years would be an attractive option since there is a chance the buy out price is less than the actual market value of the car. Whereas for most BMWs due to their artificially inflated residual, it almost never makes sense to buy out the car since a similar one on the used market would be much cheaper. But in the end lease customers tend to have more options than generally thought.
Misconception #3 Leases are bad because you never own the car at the end, you just rent, you have nothing to show for it:
The second half of this statement is in general correct, if you don't take the buy-out option mentioned above. However the misconception comes in the form of "owning" is better than "not owning" something at the end. New cars are quickly depreciating assets and in this case, ownership in general is not a desirable thing for this class of assets. The smart way to manage purchase should always be looking at total cost of ownership instead of "whether you have something to show for it".
Extreme thought experiment: If you can lease a Ferrari 488GTB for $300/month for 3 years, would it really matter if you have nothing to show for it at the end? The depreciation alone on a 488 would run twice the total cost of that imaginary lease every year.
Misconception #4 There are significant tax advantages for lease due to write off:
Unless you can prove to the IRS that the vehicle is specifically used for your job or your business, you are unlikely to be able to write off the expense. However what some people don't realize is that in some states, you only pay sales tax on the lease payments instead of the whole car, and that can contribute to significant tax saving vs. buying a new car. When I leased my F80 M3 the sales tax saving alone was close to $5k.
In the end, for most people who intend to drive and own the same car for many years, the cost of ownership is usually cheaper with buying, due to the depreciation curve flattens out after 3-5 years. But for people who wants to drive a brand new car every 3 years (and whether that's a good idea or not is entirely based on your priorities and personal finances), lease may or may not be financially advantageous, depends on the particular model/brand.
Additionally leases may also be a good way to hedge against uncertain future depreciation, since the residual value is locked in at the beginning. This is why I actually recommend people leasing EVs since due to the rapid development speed of EV tech the depreciation is very uncertain for new EVs.
It's also best to take advantage of leases by driving different new cars every 3 years, since leasing a brand new car of the same model over and over again doesn't make a lot of sense vs. just buying that car to begin with.

https://forum.leasehackr.com/t/2019-hyundai-ioniq-electric-negative-404-mo-effective-for-9-months-3638-profit/277636/

I have always "bought" my cars, usually with a 5 or 6-year loan, and I NEVER end up keeping one until it's paid off. I have a spreadsheet of my ownership history and the average length that I've kept a car (going back 14 years) is 1.5 years.
My current car (2020 Explorer XLT) was "purchased" back in February because I needed something bigger than my 2017 Jetta, I traded the Jetta in and that added about $2500 worth of negative equity to the Explorer right off the bat. Luckily there were a lot of rebates on the Explorer when I bought it and the dealership had it heavily discounted, so I still got a really good price on it.
Fast forward to now, I like the Explorer but I'm not in love with it, so out of idle curiosity, I plugged the VIN into Carvana to see what they would offer me for it. The offered me almost $35k for an SUV that I bought 6 months ago for <$34k OTD (including the $2.5k of negative equity). I currently only owe $30k on it, so selling it to Carvana will net me almost $5k in cash.
So now I'm looking at a Suburban/Yukon XL as my next SUV... we recently adopted a big dog and something Explorer-sized would be pretty cramped with family+dog+luggage when we go out of town. I found a 2017 Suburban locally that has pretty low mileage and that I could probably "buy" for around the same $500/month I was paying for my Explorer.
Then I started thinking, I always hear about how you should lease if you don't keep cars for long, but usually, I have a trade-in with negative equity that makes the lease option too expensive for me. But now I have cash, time to shop (we have two other vehicles still), and no trade in to worry about since I'm selling the Explorer to Carvana.
I've been reading through the LeaseHackr forum but I haven't seen anyone post about Suburban/Yukon XL leases, do they not lease well? Chevrolet has a "lease special" online for the Suburban LT 4WD for $599/month with $7500 DAS... I wouldn't want to pay that much at signing, I was thinking one month's payment plus taxes and fees (I live in SC so the taxes are $500 or less).
Is it crazy to think about leasing a new Suburban (or possibly an Expedition) for around $500/month without a crazy amount DAS? I drive an average of 12k miles per year, and it would be simple for me to keep to that since I have an older (paid for) pickup that I could use when not hauling the kids/dog around if I was worried about going over.
If that isn't even in the realm of possibility then I am fine with just buying a 2017-2018 Suburban, but I always say that I plan on keeping a car for a long time when I buy it... and that always turns out to be false. The only vehicle I've kept for >5 years is my old beater-truck that I still have, nothing else has even had a 3rd anniversary in my garage.