Anyone leasing their G8?

I know we've got some dealers that post here. Any insight on lease options?

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Dad was telling me I should go that route. He is concerned that the car may only be a fad and values will drop off sharply, so to protect yourself against a loss at resale you can go with a lease option. If you go to Pontiac.com and go to the Financial Tools tab (bottom left) and then click on Estimate Payment you can play with numbers and it will show you Buy, Smartbuy and Smartlease Options stacked up against each other. I plan on keeping this car for a long time, so for me, lease is not an option. But if you are trying to cut down on your payments then lease is a good option, unless you decided you want to keep it. What usually happens is that to Finance the remaining balance on the car at that point is not cost effective.

I wonder what the residual value would be set at.

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60% at 24 mo and 51 or so after 36mo, not very good IMO

I was quoted $650+Tax for 36mo/12k for a GT with Sport&Prem pkg.
You can get a $45K BMW 335i with premium&sport pkg. for the same $$$.
The above rate assuming tier 1 credit and $2000 total to start (including
1st month payment and tax/tag).

My advice is to wait and purchased the car at or below MSRP.

I got an infiniti G35S for $410+Tax, should keep me happy till I can afford the
G8GXP

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04 RX-8
92 Miata
06 E350
08 G35S

Yeah, I saw someone post that he got one for $580-90/mo 36 mo lease but the buy payment would have been $620. For that difference, I would have purchased.

Wow! thanks guys, that is really informative and will definitely have me on hold to lease or buy the car. I might wait until Pontiac has one of those specials, just like the Infiniti special leases that have the g35 going for $349.00/mo 36months with 2k or 3k down.
But, it seems that the car is getting rave reviews and the people are loving it, it is becoming a mainstream car where many people have their eye on it. If that trend keeps going, I don't think there will be any specials this year. Let's hope the volume goes up for the '09 shipments.

I imagine prices will come down shortly. As great of a car as it seems to be, the economy is having problems. I hope the G8 sells strong so it'll stay around.

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I was quoted the following in SoCal;

2008 G8 GT - $31,845 (Prem + Sport)
$3,500 Down + $1,000 rebate towards down.
$406/mo X 39 months (+tax)
10k miles/yr - $17,514 RES

Friggin rip off!!!

I explained up front that I was leaning towards a Infiniti G lease, as it's a sweet deal on a "Brand" car. The G8 may be fast, but no prestige due to the "Pontiac/GM" name plate :-( Don't get me wrong, up until this point I HATED all homeland vehicles below $45k. GM appears to be turning the corner with the G8, but even it can wash away the decades of crappy, cheap, under performing vehicle heritage.

Plus the resale value on American cars suck, which is why ANY G8 lease will be expensive. I would love to support my country by patronizing our automotive offerings, however, at the present time I can't afford a Z06 or XLR (due to my new over priced SoCal home!!!!!!).

I talked to two different dealers and even with the Military Discount (selling price of the car is $29,500 for everything except sunroof) with zero down they wanted $500 a month for a 4 year smart buy. That is crazy. My last two cars were both $32k no money down (both Grand Prixs 04 Comp G and 06 GXP) no money down and my payments where $450-$470 a month.
Tate

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2008 Ignition Orange Metallic G8 GT
Roto-fab Intake, Kooks 1 7/8" headers w/ catted X-pipe, VMS 93 Tune, Free Mods
2006 Stealth Gray GXP(Wife's Car)K&N,3" DP,160*, magnaflow catback, HP Tuned

I understand your issue with $30 more a month which is $360 more a year in payments but are you comparing apples to apples? I am guessing the interest rates on the Comp G and GXP were probably lower and the residuals were most likely higher, so that is why the lease payment is higher.

I ended up buying my G8 with money down, plus all my rebates and gm points and a "special" interest rate and my payment for 5 years is $450.

One of the many websites with some good lease info is:
Car Lease Guide - Free Guide to Smart Car Leasing - LeaseGuide.com

Dealerships love leases as the math is much more complicated that a typical auto loan, they have lots of numbers to play with, and the monthly payments are typically lower than buying. If you don't do your homework they can easily screw you.

Seriously, you'll be wise to learn the lease lingo, understand what numbers are good, and bring a laptop with a lease calculator installed with you and demand all the numbers so you can crunch as you negotiate.

I can tell you one thing that will be a problem leasing a G8 is the residual. Cars that hold their value are typically better lease candidates. Other gotchas are max mileage and return conditions.

Knowledge is power

They are padding the lease on you.

I lease a G8GT with leather, 39 months, 15K a year for around $520+tax. The Sport package only adds 600 so they are adding a bunch of money to that number.

Never lease....bad investment...for me anyway

OK....with all the talk of mods available now I am regretting leasing since I feel my hands are tied now for making improvements.

But I have never leased before....let's say I decide to make some big changes to the car - will I have the option at the end of my lease to but the car?
Does the dealer set the price at the end of 3 years to do this (i.e. can they try and screw me)?

When I bought the car I didn't expect I'd want it for more than 3 years - but the more I am driving it, the more I realize I can be quite happy with it for a long time!

Yes, you can buy your car back...but it doesn't make finacial sense to do so. Figure out the math for your lease, then to buy your car back add on another 15-18K for buy back, and you would/will pay over 40K for a car only worth 20!!

My moto is buy never lease, if you need to lease a car, you can't really afford it.

Anyway, with your mods, if i were you i wouldn't get any and if i do, i would ensure i can remove them and maybe resell it or buy a new car with the same engine.

Well, that's it.
I'm just going to keep this G8 fairly stock for now, and then get a GXP when the lease is up!