18-month lease for 2012 Infiniti G37x nav $0 down $259/month

A quick primer on leases. This is to help those who aren't familiar with how car leases work. Please feel free to comment on any errors or ambiguities.

With a car lease, you are financing the differing between the vehicle price and the value of it at the end of the lease period. The manufacturer's finance company (or the 3rd party bank) set that value. When leasing a car, you're looking for the highest possible value for this figure. This value is the residual. In the case of this deal, the residual value of the car after 18 months is set at 78%. In other words, you're financing 22% of depreciation.
At the end of the lease, you return the car to your local dealership (it doesn't have to be the one you bought it from) and walk away. Infiniti does have a $395 end of lease fee which is waived if you lease or buy another. You can also buy your leased car for the 78% residual if you want.

Another term you'll hear and see is cap. cost (capitalization cost). This is just a fancy way of saying the selling price of the car. This is vital in leasing. The residual value is set on the MSRP of the car, not the selling price. For example in this deal, 78% of the MSRP would be around $9,000. Get the cap. cost down to $3,000 less than sticker and then you're only financing $6,000. In leasing, negotiating the sales prie is just the same as if you're buying the car. To the dealer there is no difference.

You'll also hear the term "money factor". This is just the leasing term for interest rate. To get the interest rate, multiply the money factor (MF) by 2400. In the case of this deal, the MF is 0.00001, so the interest rate is 0.24%. Look out for mark-ups on these. It's a favorite spot for dealers to make some extra cash. I used to get a $400 bonus if I could mark up by 0.5% or more.

Look out for fees. All you should be paying is;

1. Bank fee. For Infiniti this is $700. The dealer does have to pay this. Some will try to bump it up to make more money.

2. Security deposit. This isn't always charged although folks with lower credit scores or short credit history may be asked to do so. It should be around $595 and is refunded at the end of the lease.

3. Sales tax. For most states, this is just the tax on your monthly payment. If your sales tax rate is 10% and your payment is $250, then you'll pay $275 per month. This isn't the case in New York, Illinois and Texas. They will either charge you for the entire cost of the car upfront or the entire cost of the lease.

4. DMV fees. Self explanatory.

Any other fees (document fees, etc.) are bogus and just a way for the dealer to make extra money.

Some things to be aware of;

If you go over your allotted miles, the charge will be 10c to 25c per mile depending on the lease term.

Do NOT pay a large down payment to lower your monthly bill. If the car is stolen or totalled, you won't get it back.

Look after the car or you will be penalized at hand-back time.

Resources;

http://www.ridewithg.com has lease residuals and MFs for various brands and a good Q and A section.

The forums at http://www.edmunds.com/forums/ are a good source of info. Select the make and model you are interested in, hit Go and then select the leasing forum.

Any questions, please feel free to ask.