I finally ordered one today. After being almost ripped off at one Ford dealer i went to another a couple miles away and got a 2007 Mustang GT Deluxe, Vista Blue with cloth interior and IUP. I wanted the 18" polished wheels but the salesman said they are **** near impossible to get on order right now. He said he would try to get them but he couldent promise anything. If he cant he will just add the fanblades instead. The guys at the first dealer i went to wanted to charge a fee for ordering the car. Said it would be from $1,000-$1,500.

Anyways i just had a few questions.. First off im going to be leaseing this car. Is their anyway i can add a cosmetic modification without having to pay money when the lease is finished and without voiding the warranty?

Second, When i went to order my car they had me put a $500 deposit down. Has anybody else that had ordered a car done this when they ordered theirs?

Last question, i thought the 07 orders stopped in early april? But i ordered one today with no problem.. Is it different times in different areas?

 

A lot of dealers will have you put some money down when you order a car. It's a good faith gesture on your part that you'll actually buy it when it comes in. I think in most States they have to give it back even if you don't buy it.

 

I'm curious what location/area wants to charge to order $1,000 - $1,500?

 

the dealer may just try to dealer trade one from another dealer in the area. usually much quicker than ordering and building one

 

If you lease the car, only put mods on it that you can take off when the lease is up. Otherwise they can (and will) charge you the cost to take the mods off the car and return it to stock.

There's even a clause that says you have to have OEM brand/size TIRES when you turn it in (no buying Futura cheapo tires just to get rid of it at the end of the lease) or you will be charged.

It's all in the lease agreement. What fun!

I swore up and down that I will *never* lease again after my last disaster back in 2002. The leasing company demanded a $350 "lease disposition fee" after I turned the car back in because I didn't opt to keep the car. I had to shell out this $$$ about 2 months after I had gotten rid of the car and thought all was well!

Like I said above: It's all in the lease agreement. READ IT CAREFULLY before signing it. Good luck with your new 'Stang!

 

Woodfield Ford in Schaumburg, Illinois. The guy seemed like he knew nothing about the car. Every question i asked he had to go back and ask another person. I ended up going to Arlington Heights Ford instead and got a really nice deal from the same guy who sold my sister her Fusion.

@ mrkabc, The salesman that i made a deal with said that if they found anything that looked like it was messed with in the car that they would still charge me even if i change it back. The only modification i wanted to do was add clear corners. Would they notice something wrong if i switched the turn signals? Could i have them add it when the car comes in before i sign the papers?

 

Don't lease unless you are a business that writes off a lease as a tax advantage and lease cars continually for that purpose.

They just don't make sense for the average consumer and you'll end up paying MORE rather than less if you end up keeping the car.

 

I don't want to be a wet blanket, but most of the consumer's mags say that leasing is not a good way to go. Whatever, I hope it works out for you Chris.

 

It depends on the plans. Currently the 4.9 for 60mo rate is much better then a lease. The GT holds its value well enough after a couple years you should have no trouble getting out of it should you decide to. The rate and residual stink on GT's right now(trust me, I sell them-I wouldn't bother leasing). Last year they had an insane lease rate(i.e. lease factor) and residual on V6's but it only lasted a couple months.

Modding a leased car is basically throwing the money in the trash. I did a few small things to my last leased car but I already knew I'd never see them again. I would try to find a local GT that is close enough in options. Unless you are looking for tons of options or a spoiler delete, they should be able to find something that will work.

A manufacturer has to have a lease incentive program for it to be worthwhile, like the Edge does. The Mustang doesn't have anything to outweigh buying it right now. If you work up the same selling price at 4.9%/60, it will be less per month.

 

As the others have said, I would definitely stay away from leasing if you are able to. It's more than likely not really going to save you THAT much on your monthly payment, and if you DO decide to purchase the car at the end, you'll have paid quite a bit more for it in the long run. Plus, if you plan to modify it, I'd stay away from leasing. They're going to charge you to put it back to stock if you don't do it yourself, plus who knows what other charges they will try to hit you with in the end. I had a bad experience leasing, as did my parents, especially at the turn-in phase, where the dealer / leasing company always seem to try to slap on some extra fees.

 

If i do plan to buy the car at the end of the lease how much do you think they will sell it for? I got 299/month for 36 months with $6500 down. So i would end up paying 17,300 by the time i turn it in to them.

 

Oh ya i had a huge problem with the rate for leasing.. They were charging 9.05%. They said it would go down to 6.75 until July 2nd. The thing is i want to keep my payments under 300/month.. I know i wouldent be able to do that if i bought it.

 

Are you putting big money down on a lease to get anywhere near 300? The price to buy out the lease at the end is calculated when the contract is written, but it will be much more then the remaining balance making payments. Putting money down on a lease is akin to pre-paying rent on the car. 6.75 is the Ford promo rate for 48 months, they were trying to get you for a couple points. Leases are 'payment closes' and a lot can be hidden if you are only looking at the payment. A lease over 24 months typically doesn't pay to buy the car at the end. You are paying for a discounted depreciation so the balance at the end to buy it will be high. If you did 4 years of payments you would only have 1/3 of that left to pay on the car versus the buyout price, if that. If you decide you want to mod the car, you're stuck with it as a lease. If you get attatched to the car, you have to pay big bucks to keep it later.

Leases are mostly done for high end luxury cars, where the high residuals and mfg sponsored rates make sense. Lease a 48 month BMW 7 series for $400+ a month less then buying it, turn it in at the end and lease another(it will be 'old' to your friends by then anyway). Allows you to move up in car for your budget. BMW probably leases 50% of its vehicles, Ford probably about 5% at the most.

 

You can switch the turn signals without them ever knowing. It's a pretty straightforward mod that doesn't alter/damage the car.

They probably won't add clear turn signals as a DIO (dealer installed option) because the completely clear ones aren't DOT legal.

If I might offer a suggestion I'd run your lease terms on the "Ask a Ford Salesman" part of this forum to find out if you are in fact getting a good deal.

Also make sure to get the 15k/year mile limit instead of the 12k/ year mileage limit. You'll be GLAD you did!!! (speaking from experience... note that those of us who have leased in the past will **NEVER** do so again!!)

 

I put down 500 on the order and the rest of the down payment once I had recieved "THE CALL."

 

I ordered mine in 2006 on a handshake. My salesman told me " if you don't buy it, the next guy through the door will".

 

Im putting down $6500 to get to 300/month for 36 months and 12,000 miles a year. I might be able to get a deal if i trade in my truck with the down payment. Problem with that is if i get rid of my truck then i will have to drive the mustang through the winter.

 

I bought mine x 2 & Still have a wet blanket ?

 

Thats completely insane. Never put big bucks down on a lease. average gt at 4.9 is 500-550/month. 6500 down(7 including deposit) will reduce it by 150 bucks. So 350-400/month to own, if that. 3 years later and you'll only owe about 10k on it, a lease buyout is probably 15k+. 12 bucks more a week. If you have a credit union you can probably get 72 months for 6 percent and take the 1000 rebate and drop it even more. I would avoid a lease like the plague.

I did quick math/ 27000 + 5% tax +400 processing fees 7k down about $410 a month.
6.0 for 72(would have to be from a CU) $350's. If you just have the 18"s/IUP/3:55's you can get it cheaper then 27k.

$100/mo sounds like a lot on paper, but break it down per day and think of how much money you waste on other stuff. I know my lunches/smokes/snacks/coffee is about $500/month. I would stretch it a bit and stay with 60 months over 72 though. If you can get $6k together, I'm sure you can stretch the 100/month.

 

lets see if i remember the RCL spiel from several years ago... and maybe another reason why you shouldnt put too much money down.

lets say you are getting the car for 20k. at the end of the lease, ford says the car will be worth 10k. so over the period of time, you are making payments based on the difference of what you are buying the car for and what the car is projected to be worth at the end of the lease (yes - the money factor comes into play - but lets keep it simple). in our example - your payments are based on the 10k difference. so yes, putting money down can save your payment, but you are not actually saving any money by doing so.

personally - i would keep the 6500 safe and use that to suppliment your payments during the term. put it in a savings account and keep it separate from any other funds. that way you are still allocating 300/mo from your income to make the payment, but using the 6500 in savings to pay the rest.

i have leased several cars and can say it has advantages and disadvantages. one more thing to consider is you rinsurance levels. in a lease, you are required to carry 100/300 limits. fr some this may mean you can afford the payment but cant afford the difference in insurance.

about the mods - so long as you cannot tell at the end of the lease that you made changes - they dont care. make sure the installer does a great job and make sure you take care when removeing the mods. the dealer doesnt even do the inspections and they are usually shippped out to another company for inspection.

finally - make sure you know the lease. are there acquisition fees, termination fees, etc etc...?? honda used to have an excellent lease on the accord, but if you just turned the car in at the end- you also ha to pay a $795 termination fee. this fee was conveniently waived if you got another car or purchased the vehicle.