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Toshi

butthole powerwashing evangelist
Oct 23, 2001
40,404
9,224
current as of January offers:

Hyundai Ioniq 5 Limited AWD: looks like $14.5k nationwide + the CO $3,850 in lease cash. 0.00056 MF... but crucially a 57% RV for a 24/12 term.

what this translates to in numbers is roughly a $239/mo 0 down lease as advertised (not sure if pre-tax and not going to leasehackr calculate all of these).
note that this lease deal is for 2024s. and the 2025s got some updates that I would want. so I should just resign myself that leases will no longer be super cheap as was the case in 2024. a 2025 Ioniq 5 Limited AWD would probably suit me well:

- wireless CarPlay! (ain't nobody got time for cords each time, this isn't the '90s)
- standard roof rails, not sure if there are factory crossbars for 'em as well? probably?
- 84 kWh, larger battery. 269 mile EPA range for a 2025 Limited AWD.
- hard buttons for seat heat/vent, steering wheel heat, parking camera. kinda inexcusable these weren't present before.
- my beloved glass roof. the new XRT variant looks cool imo and would have the same tire size as the Busy Forks as a bonus, but I'd miss that glass roof. plus I can cram those same 235/60R18s into a Limited's wheelwells per the internet

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2025 Limited. note glass roof and subtle but present roof rails.

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new XRT trim. solid roof makes me sad

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screens slightly embiggened for 2025. Wireless CarPlay is clutch. steering wheel less odd than before.

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crucial hard buttons for things people do every day. cars should have hard buttons for such things. it is known.
 
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Toshi

butthole powerwashing evangelist
Oct 23, 2001
40,404
9,224
The baby @FSM has blessed me with the day off.
... to go skiing again at Monarch



/me could abuse my power a bit and WFH on Monday. but it's better for the residents to get read out in person esp. on ultrasound where there are many but individually shorter/simpler cases than on CT/MR.
 

Toshi

butthole powerwashing evangelist
Oct 23, 2001
40,404
9,224
According to Monarch itself, predicted "high" of -1. FTS. :fie:
meanwhile at Winter Park, mixing it up on Sunday by being windy and cold instead of cold and windy

Screenshot 2025-01-17 114025.png


I'm bundling up the two smol children in extra layers. and will don an extra layer myself + pack two extra sets of glove batteries.

and I'll probably sit in Snoasis for a good part of the day :D maybe?
 

Toshi

butthole powerwashing evangelist
Oct 23, 2001
40,404
9,224
then after working that morning from home I'll jet over to Costco to pick up two of these bad boys:
Visited two Costcos (the Havana St one is crazy! their shared parking lot setup is tight and full of people just wandering about with carts)

Found one of these fuzzy “oversize seats” remaining at the Airport Way Costco where I’d spotted this earlier in the week. Now that I look at my photo in the quoted post I think there was only one then as well. Got it up into the van by myself without injuring anything.

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It wouldn’t have fit in the Buzz with its non-removable second row seats, I don’t think. Maybe barely, nose of box tipped up towards the glass roof precariously. A big ol’ box it indeed is: 64.5 x 43 x 29.5”. It would have fit in the PacHy with second row seats pulled though.

I’ll go with something smaller for the mountain house corner, unless they’ll both deliver there and Vacasa can have someone hang at the house and accept delivery.
 

Toshi

butthole powerwashing evangelist
Oct 23, 2001
40,404
9,224
I’ll go with something smaller for the mountain house corner, unless they’ll both deliver there and Vacasa can have someone hang at the house and accept delivery.
Turns out they will deliver and set up there! On select Wed and Sat dates. I’m off this upcoming Wed anyway ostensibly for skiing so this works out perfectly.

(And the $200 extra for this delivered/set up/packaging removed service item vs the in store price is offset in part by lower Grand County sales tax, and basically offset the whole remainder by not having to rent/drive/fuel up a noisy tin can AWD Sprinter or Transit on 30,000 mile old all seasons. Plus once I find out their delivery time window I can probably work in some ski laps around it/lounge in the hot tub.)

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Toshi

butthole powerwashing evangelist
Oct 23, 2001
40,404
9,224
IMG_7072.jpeg


1:50 from downtown to Tabernash even with slow people heading down from the pass.

Used an even 50% SOC from home: 17F at the pass, wet roads from Berthoud Falls onward, light snow from Golden. (In comparison burnt 53% last weekend with a slightly different route as today I stopped by Polaris downtown to pick up the kids and thus went down Colfax to I-25 south to 6 to cut across town.)
 

Toshi

butthole powerwashing evangelist
Oct 23, 2001
40,404
9,224
Was not warm. Kids both had a great day, super bundled up and all. hot tubbed with 0F ambient air.

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Toshi

butthole powerwashing evangelist
Oct 23, 2001
40,404
9,224
/me could abuse my power a bit and WFH on Monday. but it's better for the residents to get read out in person esp. on ultrasound where there are many but individually shorter/simpler cases than on CT/MR.
turns out Monday will be staffed like a normal weekday from the attending perspective, but like a weekend or holiday (which it technically is) from the resident perspective.

what that means is that there'll be no ultrasound residents in house to read out. so therefore no reason for me to be there.

wfh it thus shall be. I do think I'll drive to my dentist appointment that morning even though it's but a mile away, because brrrr. :D
 

Toshi

butthole powerwashing evangelist
Oct 23, 2001
40,404
9,224
note that this lease deal is for 2024s. and the 2025s got some updates that I would want. so I should just resign myself that leases will no longer be super cheap as was the case in 2024. a 2025 Ioniq 5 Limited AWD would probably suit me well:
a Nissan Ariya might work as well. the lease cash environment may well change by the time I'm in the market again but as of this month it's leasing way better than all the other similarly-contented options.

(note that the bZ4X that I currently have wouldn't count as similarly contented: missing ventilated seats, surround view, memory seats in particular. and buying out the lease would have a monthly cost on par with the 2025 Ioniq, etc. thanks to the interest rate climate.)

Screenshot 2025-01-18 at 9.14.19 PM.png


this is pre-tax, for a 24/10 lease, and may involve some fuckery in that I can't make the publicly visible incentives make the numbers work. plus it assumes a $1k Nissan loyalty bonus up front, too.

Screenshot 2025-01-18 at 9.18.14 PM.png


upsides:

- apparently leases well still
- 267 mile EPA range for the AWD trim in question
- hitch, decent level 2 ADAS, surround view, heated/ventilated seats, memory seats, fancy camera-mirror thing as is in vogue

downsides:

- looks like an egg, and egg-rear compromises cargo and rear seat room a bit for aerodynamics
- apparently fast charges very poorly? but this is irrelevant to me
- stupid designers created a dashboard with smooth, futuristic lines and touch sensitive buttons that one must hunt for, and seat/wheel heat is buried on that touchscreen two looking-at-screen taps deep. stupid, stupid

anyway, another option.
 

Toshi

butthole powerwashing evangelist
Oct 23, 2001
40,404
9,224
an important update: I have gone through a half gallon of windshield wiper fluid in the 618 miles the Buzz has been with us thus far. to clean the top of the windshield requires holding down that sprayer button until it stops on its own. which is like 8 or 10 seconds of it. 28" long wiper blades x 2 and huge glass area will do it
 

Toshi

butthole powerwashing evangelist
Oct 23, 2001
40,404
9,224
#toshiworldproblems



:D
speaking of which, I am bored at "work" (at home, working. a bit) so updated mah spreadsheet with some corrected numbers. RZ unfavorable lease numbers are for a 2024, awaiting 2025 numbers that'll probably make it worse judging from the bZ.

Screenshot 2025-01-21 090552.png


thoughts:

a new lease on a Busy Forks makes no sense at all, 2024 or 2025. buying out the existing bZ lease probably is the sanest choice, but when have I done that anyway

the Solterra leases very poorly! note totally unsubsidized MF. GM cousins don't lease well, either.

the Ariya and Prologue published lease deals are fairly good. Prologue listed lease deal is for a trim that has no heated wheel (boo, would actually miss this), surround view (meh), HUD (meh), or 21" wheels (double meh).

a 2024+ post-refresh ID.4 as the pair to the ID.Buzz would make for common user interface/control layout across both vehicles... but am I willing to pay any premium at all above an Ariya, Prologue (or just buying out the current Busy Forks) for that?

assumptions used in said spreadsheet:

$1k MSRP discount but adding back a $600 dealer fee. 0 down equivalent pricing, 24/12 leases generally but for the Ariya and Prologue which are published 24/10 specials. 8.81% local tax included, CO credit rolled into the deal generally (subtracted out from the Prologue national published promo price in that one case). now that I look at it tax should be 9.15% as of this year now. whoops. (edit: fixed this for the 2025 RZ, Ariya, and Prologue quotes.)
 
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Pesqueeb

bicycle in airplane hangar
Feb 2, 2007
42,608
20,215
Riding past the morgue.
speaking of which, I am bored at "work" (at home, working. a bit) so updated mah spreadsheet with some corrected numbers. RZ unfavorable lease numbers are for a 2024, awaiting 2025 numbers that'll probably make it worse judging from the bZ.

View attachment 225130

thoughts:

a new lease on a Busy Forks makes no sense at all, 2024 or 2025. buying out the existing bZ lease probably is the sanest choice, but when have I done that anyway

the Solterra leases very poorly! note totally unsubsidized MF. GM cousins don't lease well, either.

the Ariya and Prologue published lease deals are fairly good. Prologue listed lease deal is for a trim that has no heated wheel (boo, would actually miss this), surround view (meh), HUD (meh), or 21" wheels (double meh).

a 2024+ post-refresh ID.4 as the pair to the ID.Buzz would make for common user interface/control layout across both vehicles... but am I willing to pay any premium at all above an Ariya, Prologue (or just buying out the current Busy Forks) for that?

assumptions used in said spreadsheet:

$1k MSRP discount but adding back a $600 dealer fee. 0 down equivalent pricing, 24/12 leases generally but for the Ariya and Prologue which are published 24/10 specials. 8.81% local tax included, CO credit rolled into the deal generally (subtracted out from the Prologue national published promo price in that one case). now that I look at it tax should be 9.15% as of this year now. whoops.
Ill admit were kind of tossing the idea around of leasing another leaf or the aryia. We don't need another car, especially given that I doing probably 95% of my commuting by bike or bus, but every once in a while, (like tomorrow when commute temps will be in the negative teens) a third car might be nice and that 39 a month lease from Tynans for a SV plus is just stupid.
 

Toshi

butthole powerwashing evangelist
Oct 23, 2001
40,404
9,224
Found one of these fuzzy “oversize seats” remaining at the Airport Way Costco where I’d spotted this earlier in the week. Now that I look at my photo in the quoted post I think there was only one then as well. Got it up into the van by myself without injuring anything.
Super fuzzy oversized seat: now set up. Did a lot of furniture rearranging/moving to oversized trash pickup pile today. Big box is big: true

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instance 2 of this oversized seat/storage ottoman will be set up at the mountain house on Wednesday. I’ll get the delivery window tomorrow night so will know when skiing might be possible around it.
 

Toshi

butthole powerwashing evangelist
Oct 23, 2001
40,404
9,224
Ill admit were kind of tossing the idea around of leasing another leaf or the aryia. We don't need another car, especially given that I doing probably 95% of my commuting by bike or bus, but every once in a while, (like tomorrow when commute temps will be in the negative teens) a third car might be nice and that 39 a month lease from Tynans for a SV plus is just stupid.
Then the specific ownership tax bill hits you at registration time and that free lease is not as free :D
 

Toshi

butthole powerwashing evangelist
Oct 23, 2001
40,404
9,224
now that I think of it, that specific ownership tax in and of itself* is another reason to perhaps just buy the Busy Forks lease out and call good enough good enough.

* recall that it is MSRP x 85% x N, where N == 2.1% in year 1, 1.5% in year 2, 1.2% in year 3, 0.9% in year 4, 0.45% in years 5-9, then $3 in years 10-onward. this tax in and of itself would be a premium of $19-40/mo over the default case of buying out the then year-3 Busy Forks.

the flip side YOLO argument would be that ultimately all of this is noise, so I should still waste sales guys' time and test drive some cars and see if they spark a tingle in the ol' loins or not
 

Toshi

butthole powerwashing evangelist
Oct 23, 2001
40,404
9,224
I definitely am doomscrolling a bit today. The dotard’s crew flooded the zone with a whole lot of shit to process
 

Toshi

butthole powerwashing evangelist
Oct 23, 2001
40,404
9,224
instance 2 of this oversized seat/storage ottoman will be set up at the mountain house on Wednesday. I’ll get the delivery window tomorrow night so will know when skiing might be possible around it.
window is 11:45 AM-1:45 PM.

so I can carve around for 1.5-2 hours tomorrow morning, if my ankle feels up to it. randomly developed a twinge in it without doing anything other than thinking about weightlifting.

edit: or sleep here, get my morning snuggles with middle kid, leave at 8 am tomorrow, and do the relaxed drive in the daylight. I think I'll do that given the ankle's iffyness.
 
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Toshi

butthole powerwashing evangelist
Oct 23, 2001
40,404
9,224
the Ariya and Prologue published lease deals are fairly good.
should still waste sales guys' time and test drive some cars and see if they spark a tingle in the ol' loins or not
gonna waste a sales guy's time on Friday, out at Empire Nissan of Lakewood as that's closer to Costco Arvada than Schomp way down south on Wadsworth. shall get a $50 Amazon gift card out of it plus a greater knowledge of whether the Ariya speaks to me or doesn't. (I'd go to Schomp afterwards and get $50 more but the fine print of the program says 1 redemption per household per 6 months so hmph.)

anyway, the latest advertised deal is even better than before. trivially this would be $151/mo with my 9.15% tax, but it's not quite that simple.

Screenshot 2025-01-21 at 9.05.03 PM.png

from Schomp

Screenshot 2025-01-21 at 9.16.04 PM.png

from Empire of Lakewood. clearly the same CO-specific program being pushed here. 24/10, which probably would be just fine since I'd have 4 months of 3-car overlap with the outgoing Busy Forks were I to do something like this in December.

Screenshot 2025-01-21 at 9.20.30 PM.png

Schomp has a shitload of Ariyas (409 of all trims including in transit as of today) so this or similar deals should well be around come December when I'm actually shopping instead of wasting time.

NB: note the $4,250 dealer discount right off the top there on all 2024s at Schomp whereas 2025s have no discount. also no dealer handling or doc fees at Schomp, which is a nice breath of fresh air. the flip side is that their One Price schtick also means no haggling, fwiw. in comparison Empire has a $699 doc fee like a typical dealer, but also has even more Ariyas (512 as of today!) and variable discounts: most have $3,000 off but this one particular one is listed with a $5,885 discount instead for no discernible reason. why is it the chosen one?!

so with tax this advertised deal would trivially be $151/mo. from the Empire fine print the acquisition fee seems to be separate, so $695/24 to average in there. it also relies on $1k in Nissan loyalty cash for which I'd not be eligible. but from that same fine print it also assumes a selling price == MSRP. thus one could potentially stack the Schomp or unicorn Empire dealer discounts as per the above atop of whatever this prepackaged deal's terms are (of MF/RV/lease cash)… and through all that we could have the makings of an epic deal a la my $54.91 Busy Forks lease, or potentially even a bit better yet!

recall that stacking is how I got my deal: $4,409 MSRP discount from the AutoNation in question stacked with the nationwide then-very-strong lease incentives, and then adding in math of the CO credit on top (although this CO-specific Ariya deal that both of these Nissan dealers are showing has that baked in already).
 

Toshi

butthole powerwashing evangelist
Oct 23, 2001
40,404
9,224
474513471_988950266381712_6999457115921635839_n.jpg


Had a real brain-genius moment tonight: picked the wrong setting at the automatic wash and said wash proceeded to rip the rear ski rack right off the bars. Broke at the interface of the mount and the rack.

Hmph.

I have two sets so scavenged a whole, intact rack from the Busy Forks—can always use a ski bag inside. I’ll see if Rack Attack has replacement parts to get this one back up and running on Friday…
 

Toshi

butthole powerwashing evangelist
Oct 23, 2001
40,404
9,224
not really making gains so much as holding steady. got to be more consistent and that will probably mean post-ski season before I march onwards/upwards.
 

6thElement

Schrodinger's Immigrant
Jul 29, 2008
17,654
15,196
You're presuming Nissan will still be an ongoing entity by December?

Once you're on the Lakewood dealerships lists you'll be getting mail forever. They continually want to buy or service my truck I sold a few years ago.
 

canadmos

Cake Tease
May 29, 2011
22,525
22,339
Canaderp
Once you're on the Lakewood dealerships lists you'll be getting mail forever. They continually want to buy or service my truck I sold a few years ago.
Dealerships are as bad as debt collectors in regards to calling. When I got my vw, I had random vw dealerships calling me all the time trying to get my business. How the heck did they get my info and why waste your time calling every week when the answer is the same - NO.

Though to be fair, I purchased a Toyota from a Toyota dealership and they didn't call me a single time. Just sent recall notices on what seemed like a bi-annual basis. :D
 

Pesqueeb

bicycle in airplane hangar
Feb 2, 2007
42,608
20,215
Riding past the morgue.
I had a local Chevy dealer contact me more than a year after I walked out of their dealership and had purchased the Leaf, wanting to know if I was still interested in a Bolt. I just laughed and told the gal I'd bought a Nissan instead because they had fucked up so badly trying to low-ball me on the trade in on the Jeep. I was ready to sign papers on the Bolt but they were such unrepentant douche nozzles I walked out and I'll never step foot in that Chevy dealer again.
 

Toshi

butthole powerwashing evangelist
Oct 23, 2001
40,404
9,224
1) providing my Google Voice number is super key for these dealership time-wasting affairs. voicemails and texts all become emails, easily archived away.

2) I bought functional but old gen bolt on mounts for the Yakima FatCat at Rack Attack today. they didn't have the fancier new-gen ones with the straps as I broke, and the only place I could find them was eTrailer, on back order until May. hmph. lesson learned.

3) Furniture delivery was a success. second instance of fuzzy oversized chair now in place up at the mountain house. I spun on the Peloton up there (with the riding shoes now missing after some rental groups?! might have to make a claim for them) for half an hour until they showed up a bit early. then I popped back down to Denver early in turn: 55% SOC used on way up, 37% on way down, both with very cold and snowy trips over the pass.

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4) I used that extra time thus gained by the early furniture delivery to go test drive an Ariya. Empire had a shit-ton of Ariyas all over their lot, and apparently they sell 400 or so of them per month, so their 409 in stock/in transit figure is a bit less insane given that.

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two truckloads of only Ariyas were dropped off while I was there!

anyway, the Ariya is now off my list. I did not care for it greatly. reasons:

ergonomics. namely the seat base bolsters were a bit too narrow for wide me, and I sat too high even with the power seat dropped all the way. I could tell this was the case, in turn, because the top of the HUD was cut off unless I'd slouch down. even though I was objectively high up the glass area felt a touch small along the side windows, too.

user interface/experience. this was a hot mess. the instrument cluster screen had way too many elements/colors/distracting things going on (like what radio channel and song were on currently) and I didn't see an obvious way to suppress it and make it cleaner. the center console screen was laggy and voice commands similarly so: I tried it for manipulating the seat heat controls and it was unsatisfactory. similarly unsatisfactory was the multiple touch and look and touch some more interface to turn on the steering wheel and seat heat without voice. the laggy center screen at least wouldn't be so relevant given CarPlay, but the visual mess was not appealing.

controls. the shifter felt like a cheap 1990s mouse and wasn't very intuitive. the electronic parking brake is not automatic and yet isn't located conveniently. to turn on ProPilot I had to use the blue circle button that apparently shows status of driving aids but also is needed in order to activate cruise at all? it certainly didn't seem to work otherwise. once on it was fine, showing green then blue icons to indicate I could go hands free if I kept my gaze directed towards the road.

there were some positive things, though: the behind 2nd row storage was fairly deep if not tall so would be useful enough, the perforated blue Nappa leather felt nice even if the seat shape wasn't to my liking, there's not only a pano moonroof but also it opens as a sunroof (a rarity, and one that I'd never open honestly), and it drove fine: quiet and appropriately quick/snappy.

as an overall package, though, I did not like it, certainly not enough to be a viable option as opposed to buying out the known-quantity Busy Forks. even if I could get it for $50/mo a la my Busy Forks I wouldn't switch laterally.

5) I also went on VW Financial Service's site to get a lease buyout quote… and was met with this.

Screenshot 2025-01-22 at 4.36.59 PM.png


after getting a human on the line on the second attempt to call them it turns out it's a state-specific thing. CO, FL, and SD don't allow for VW Finance to be the agent responsible for lease buyout transactions, apparently. this was a July 1, 2024 change in CO, as per these redditors going through the motions for their Toyotas:


my sales guy in Grand Junction is coming up with all sorts of bullshit excuses to not provide me with a quote, which ultimately is probably because he and the dealer are going to lose out on some sort of incentives if I do this. he claimed that VW would claw back the rebate (looked through my contract and didn't see any such provisions), that the IRS would audit me and VW and claw it back (I don't think so :D), that it's just better to wait 6 or 12 months (yeah, nah).

but this is 100% legal and I'd really rather not pay the lease's high rent charge (as its unsubsidized money factor was Not Good). I also called McDonald VW in Littleton to see about going through them for the buyout, as I hope they'd be straight shooters since they're the Costco Auto Program dealer for the region.
 
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Toshi

butthole powerwashing evangelist
Oct 23, 2001
40,404
9,224
user interface/experience. this was a hot mess. the instrument cluster screen had way too many elements/colors/distracting things going on (like what radio channel and song were on currently) and I didn't see an obvious way to suppress it and make it cleaner. the center console screen was laggy and voice commands similarly so: I tried it for manipulating the seat heat controls and it was unsatisfactory. similarly unsatisfactory was the multiple touch and look and touch some more interface to turn on the steering wheel and seat heat without voice. the laggy center screen at least wouldn't be so relevant given CarPlay, but the visual mess was not appealing.
With these thoughts in mind I'm actually going to eliminate the Lexus RZ from my list as well. (Not that it was in any position to contend given current LFS residuals vs MSRP!)These first two images show that in the interests of sleek styling there are no hard buttons for seat or wheel heat. Instead one must poke around on the touchscreen, albeit with less awful of an interface than on that Ariya's HVAC screen.

2025_Lexus_RZ_450e_Luxury_Thunderstorm_002.jpg

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The next image shows there are hard buttons! for parking assist and surround view. I'd much, much rather relegate these to the touchscreen and have hard buttons for wheel and seat heat!

2025_Lexus_RZ_450e_Luxury_Thunderstorm_007-1500x1000.jpg


The final image here shows a more conventional looking dashboard than the Prius/alien spaceship bZ4X design. But if it hurts usability it's not worth the flash.

2025_Lexus_RZ_Interior_20.jpg


Here's the non-cold weather package bZ4X XLE interior for comparison. Much frumpier, sure. But dedicated buttons for seat heat (and, in mine with stock photo now swapped out, also steering wheel heat) and defrost. Physical rockers for temperature. I don't love the vol - / power (who hits power? / vol + setup but there's a rocker on the steering wheel.

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This is a more usable design, imo. More expensive vehicles shouldn't be _worse_. (It also has less visual bulk in front of the driver, which is a benefit in and of itself.)
 
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Toshi

butthole powerwashing evangelist
Oct 23, 2001
40,404
9,224
another thought spurred by reading up on early lease termination/buyout is lease extension.

after all, the money factor on my Busy Forks lease is 0.00001, which equates to 0.024% APR. a lease extension would thus buy down the RV some more at this free-money rate.

Toyota Financial Services will do at least one 6 month extension and possibly chain another. rent charge would be on the order of a cent or three. :D

(when the buyout alternative is a 5.49% loan from DCU this may actually be the sanest strategy of all, buying out after the extension or extensions are up at the new, lower RV.)
 

Toshi

butthole powerwashing evangelist
Oct 23, 2001
40,404
9,224
I also went on VW Financial Service's site to get a lease buyout quote… and was met with this.

Screenshot 2025-01-22 at 4.36.59 PM.png


after getting a human on the line on the second attempt to call them it turns out it's a state-specific thing. CO, FL, and SD don't allow for VW Finance to be the agent responsible for lease buyout transactions, apparently. this was a July 1, 2024 change in CO, as per these redditors going through the motions for their Toyotas:

https://www.reddit.com/r/rav4prime/comments/1eltwg3/state_of_colorado_now_requires_lease_buyout/
my sales guy in Grand Junction is coming up with all sorts of bullshit excuses to not provide me with a quote, which ultimately is probably because he and the dealer are going to lose out on some sort of incentives if I do this. he claimed that VW would claw back the rebate (looked through my contract and didn't see any such provisions), that the IRS would audit me and VW and claw it back (I don't think so :D), that it's just better to wait 6 or 12 months (yeah, nah).

but this is 100% legal and I'd really rather not pay the lease's high rent charge (as its unsubsidized money factor was Not Good). I also called McDonald VW in Littleton to see about going through them for the buyout, as I hope they'd be straight shooters since they're the Costco Auto Program dealer for the region.
in addition to the call/voicemail to McDonald I emailed all of the metro Denver dealers last night. got the first buyout quote back.

buyout.PNG


there should be no variation in this part or in the taxes and state doc fee. the variation would be in the amount/presence of a dealer fee. O'Meara is $699. shall await other quotes to see if this is avoidable: for such a non-service "service" no reason not to go with the dealer with the lowest fee here.

in any case, this number reflects no clawback of VW lease cash or the like. GJ guy was blowing smoke.