Which CX-5 should I buy?

Get your hands on a low mileage 2017 GT! Newer models might have that annoying cylinder deactivation option đź‘Ž
 
Hi guys, just wanted to update everyone that I ended up leasing a 2021 CX5 GT black/black for 24mo/15k.

A lot of people have been saying how now is the worst time to buy a car due to shortages and a few people brought up the idea to lease until this shortage hopefully blows over.

I tried to do as much research as I could into everything in about a week, which isn't much time, but here's what I ended up doing:

- I sent out an email to several dealerships in my state asking what the best OTD (out the door) price would be for the make/model I wanted. Most did not respond with any numbers.

- I then changed my strategy based on a helpful reddit post and emailed dealers directly with an offer for their vehicle. In this case, I offered to lease their vehicle if they could do $31,000 capcost for the vehicle and $0 down (MSRP is around $33,000 to $34,000 depending upon the dealer). In retrospect, perhaps I should have aimed lower but based on Edmunds, I was shooting considerably below their lower end pricing for this vehicle).

- One dealership 5 hours from me said he would do the deal. When I asked one of my local dealership to match the offer he said that it was a crazy stupid offer and the dealer was not making any money on the deal.

- Just as I was preparing to head out on a 10+ hour round trip drive.. I get a call from another dealership about 1.5 hours from me and I shoot them over the same offer and they say they'll match it!

- As I'm going over the details with this closer dealership, they change the offer in an email to 36 mo instead of 24 mo and after some back and forth they agree (again) to match the original offer.

- When I get there, the finance manager asks me to sign a contract for 36mo/10k.... (original offer was 24mo/15k). I ask what's going on and they almost give me a hard time updating the offer to 36mo/10k (she told me they don't do 24 mo leases..). I'm like, okay but where's my 15k mi/yr?! Finally, they agree to honor the original offer (again!).

They seemed like they really did not want to do it at all, which makes me hopeful that I actually got a decent deal. The fact that we went back and forth BEFORE I ever came in to iron out any misunderstandings and then when I get there they are almost acting as if we never even spoke seemed hella shady to me but in the end I got the original deal.

Truth be told, I could have held onto my rental vehicle longer (my original car was totaled) and continued shopping for a better deal but this car search was consuming me and taking up most of my days so I was just ready to be done. There is just SO much information to assimilate when you've never known a damn thing about the buying/leasing process previously.

Here is the deal I got:

2021 Mazda CX5 GT black/black
MSRP $33,135
Capitalized cost $31,740
Lease term: 24mo/15k
First month's payment ($457) and DMV fees ($220) up front = ~$770
Monthly payments = $457/mo (this includes GAP insurance otherwise it was originally $448/mo)
I did not qualify for any of the incentives this being my first Mazda, etc and I did not want to put down $4000+ plus for their current lease special.

I was confused because the original offer had the same monthly payments with a $31,000 capcost for the vehicle but the dealership I went to had the capcost listed at $31,740. But my monthly payments were the same? Why the discrepancy then?

Anyways, hoping that at the very least I didn't get screwed over. I ended up feeling more confident about the deal since one dealership told me it was a stupid deal that made no sense and the dealership I leased from seemed really not happy about giving me this deal.

Thank you to everyone who helped provide ideas, advice and support, I really appreciate it and it helped me a lot to get through this stressful process. Thank you again.
 
Congrats for the new ride.

Mazda just announced a 10-day shutdown in one of the factories producing Mazda2 / Mazda3 and CX-3 for 10-days due to chip shortage. 1st time for Mazda.

I do wish there were models with the 2.5T when I got my '17 CX5. NA 2.5 has to work very hard with decent load when climbing mountains.... i.e. hwy-5 south bound into LA.... at 3rd gear most of the time... noisy and gear-hunting between 3rd and 4th, very annoying.

My Mazda3 sGT (also w/ 2.5L) did much better due to less weight (4th gear was sufficient).

Horsepower/torque is appreciated when needed. :)
 
With the time crunch you were under, you made a good choice. You'll enjoy a nice car for a couple of years and, who kmows, maybe the buyout at the end will be too good to pass up.

It is a shame that some sales people will say anything to get you in and try to switch the deal on you. Good you were able to hold out for want you wanted.

Price descrepancy, maybe it will show up in the back-end value?

Congratulations!
 
A lot of people have been saying how now is the worst time to buy a car due to shortages and a few people brought up the idea to lease until this shortage hopefully blows over.

MSRP $33,135
Capitalized cost $31,740
Lease term: 24mo/15k
First month's payment ($457) and DMV fees ($220) up front = ~$770
Monthly payments = $457/mo
Why didn't you just purchase this vehicle instead of lease it?

With this lease, you will pay $11,000 to use the car for 2 years, with nothing to show for it after that time.
You'll also have to worry about going under/over your mileage and paying for excess wear/tear, disposition fees, ect.

You could have probably purchased the car for $31,000, driven it for 10 years, then sold it for ~7,000-$9,000.
 
I think it's a matter of perspective and how many miles you put on your car.

If you buy a $31000 car and it's worth $8000 after 9 years (three 3 year leases) it's cost you $23000. Say your leased cars at $5000 / year ( that's been my cost over the course of leasing my three CX-5's including the present one) will run you $45000 over the same time period. So that's a difference of $22000. Over the course of the 9 years that's about $2500 / year.

The leased cars will cost you virtually zero in maintenance over that time except for minor things like oil changes since it will always be under the factory warranty. Once your owned car is OOW after 3 years the maintenance costs will add up over time, reducing the price differential.

This assumes of course you don't go over your leased miles. In my case that'll never happen, I just don't drive that much anymore.

So it costs me about $2500 a year difference over that time period to never have to pay for any major car problems, always have a reliable car with newer tech and safety features and not have to worry about any questionable engineering problems like cylinder deactivation. And if there's a car I like more or fits my needs better at the end of the lease I can switch over to it.

That's worth it to me personally. Again, it's a matter of perspective.
 
Over the course of the 9 years that's about $2500 / year.
The OP's lease is costing $11,000 for 2 years, and he will need 5 2-year leases over the next 10 years.
Lease costs will certainly rise in the next decade, so say each new lease renewal costs an additional $10/mo, which is extremely conservative (way below inflation rate).

This means his lease of the CX-5 for the next 10 years will cost $57,400.
This does NOT include excess wear/tear costs, mileage surcharges or lease-end disposition fees, ect.

Contrast this with buying the CX-5 for $31K and selling it for $8K after 10 years.
The net cost would be $23,000.
That is $34,400 less than leasing.

Regarding maintenance...Your concerns of "major car problems", "unreliable cars", and "maintenance costs" are extremely overblown and largely an excuse people give who want to lease.
Modern cars are very reliable and can easily be driven 10 years without major repairs. I speak from experience, as I've owned 3 vehicles that I drove for 10+ years and 150K+ miles.
 
But again it's a matter of perspective and what you want to spend your money on. I like having a newer car and am willing to throw money at it. My '20 CX-5 is a much nicer set of wheel than my '15 was, and I like all the newer stuff so I spend money on that luxury. I don't want to drive a 10 year old car and can afford to not do so, so leasing is a better fit for my wants and needs. It's not purely a monetary consideration in my case, but more about having a car I like with minimum muss and fuss.

I also have a '05 Yamaha motorcycle I bought used, and have no inclination to get a new one. It runs like a champ, and has not had any major mechanical failures in the 12 years I've owned it. I still enjoy riding it as much as the day I bought it. So I understand not spending money on something new when you're good with the one you have.

Everyone "wastes" money on things and in ways other people think are silly, but it's all in the way you decide what's important and what's not. Different strokes for different folks and all that...
 
But again it's a matter of perspective and what you want to spend your money on. I like having a newer car and am willing to throw money at it.
Everyone "wastes" money on things and in ways other people think are silly, but it's all in the way you decide what's important and what's not.
I agree with this.
If you are willing & able to responsibly "waste" money on a lease, because you want to always drive the latest/greatest vehicle, then more power to you.

Though even if you are "willing to throw money at it", it's important accurately quantify the cost. In the OP's case, leasing will cost an extra $30,000+ over 10 years vs. buying.

But it doesn't sound like the OP values having a brand new car like you do.
He wasn't even considering leases and actually planned to purchase a used vehicle.
So in the OP's case, he would almost certainly have been better off purchasing the car instead of leasing it.
 
I agree with this.
If you are willing & able to responsibly "waste" money on a lease, because you want to always drive the latest/greatest vehicle, then more power to you.

Though even if you are "willing to throw money at it", it's important accurately quantify the cost. In the OP's case, leasing will cost an extra $30,000+ over 10 years vs. buying.

But it doesn't sound like the OP values having a brand new car like you do.
He wasn't even considering leases and actually planned to purchase a used vehicle.
So in the OP's case, he would almost certainly have been better off purchasing the car instead of leasing it.
Honestly all friends and family I know who are leasing vehicles are either having too much money to spend, or they’re doing business. Actually one good friend of mine who owns a business tried a leased Mercedes S Class and started buying the car again after the lease ended. He said leasing a car definitely is more expensive with everything considered. Other than the extra cost mentioned, you’ll find additional taxes and fees, higher insurance rate, and some additional expenses such as the property tax only on leased vehicles in Texas, etc.

But to each their own.
 
He said leasing a car definitely is more expensive with everything considered.
Leasing is virtually always going to be significantly more expensive than buy/hold for 10 years. With a lease...

- You are paying for the highest depreciation years and never benefiting from the lower depreciation years.

- You are paying increased car prices every 2-3 years as MSRP rises (due to inflation). With buy/hold, you are immune to inflation over those 10 years, and actually benefit from it when you sell the.

- You are MUCH more susceptible to getting screwed by the dealership, as you have to negotiate complex lease deals 5 times in a decade, versus researching and buying 1 car during that time.

- You are also likely to get screwed on the back end at lease turn-in...exceeding the mileage limit, paying for excess wear/tear, paying for disposition fees, ect.

- The amount of time involved with leasing is much greater...researching cars, searching inventory, contacting dealers, negotiating, turning in your old car, ect.
 
Signature is the only way to go. But only when someone else is paying. If I had to do it over again I would probably buy a GTR.
 
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