help with new car lease

So I'm looking to get another car as a daily driver since there's a newborn in the family now. Turns out my car is too stiff and loud lol. But anyways, I'm looking to lease a car. I was wondering if anyone works at a dealership or can give me advice when it comes to residual, cap cost, money factor, etc etc. I'm completely new to leasing. I have done a ton of research online and also used sites like leasehackr to try and educate myself before jumping in, but still confused. There seem to be so many tricks to leasing. I'm hoping some people can provide some advice. I'm looking at a new honda civic lx. I know it would probably make more sense to post in a honda forum, but I just want general information on the topic of leasing not specific information on the costs for that particular car. I figure fellow gti owners would be helpful to a peer lol.

Might want to talk to your bank or credit union, especially if they have a buying service (like USAA). Otherwise, it's pretty much one of those "one size does not fit all" type of questions.

If you know the terminology, all of which is easily looked up online, then it comes down to the numbers and what you want out of the deal. Generally, a lease has you paying for only the part of the car you use during the lease period, and usually only paying taxes on that part as well. One thing to figure out is, why lease? Is it to get the lowest possible monthly payment, period? Is it because you don't want the car for longer than three years and will replace it then?

Really, with a lease, it comes down to how much you pay a month, how many miles they give you, and what the value of the car will be at the end of the lease (if you're interested in buying it at that point). That, and what sort of leeway they'll give you in terms of damage/wear and tear. If you're going to be toting an infant around in it, figure a high chance of messes that could, for a hardass dealership, result in additional charges at the end of the lease.

For a non-modding, non-performance car like a Civic LX, it's probably a pretty safe deal, as the car is not that expensive anyhow. By the same token, though, you might be able to finance one for four years pretty easily too.....

You can negotiate the cap cost (cost of the car)

The residual and money factor are non-negotiable though and are set by the bank/lender

You may already know this:

Money factors can be confusing so to convert a money factor to interest rate (which most of us can better relate to) multiply the money factor by 2400.
So, a money factor of 0.00125 X 2400 = 3% equivalent interest rate.

Also, if you do lease, there's an app called "Lease Saver"http://appwelder.com/w/LeaseSaver.html that can be a great help when it comes to figuring out whether you are ahead or behind in your mileage allotment and maybe avoid excess fees.

And be realistic about how many miles you will drive, which determines the monthly payment. Don't fall for a mow monthly payment only to realize that you will be driving much more and end up having to pay excess mileage fees.

This goes without saying: Make sure it's a closed-end lease.

Best of luck to you.

Edmunds has a great forum to get lease info like money factors and residuals on cars you are interested in. Search google with "Edmunds (car model) lease questions."