Hi there! This is my personal car — it’s a 2018 Mazda MX-5 Miata. 

It’s a lease, and what I thought I’d do is tell the story behind this car, and how I managed to lease it for effectively $105 per month.

GETTING THE DEAL

So, back in August of 2018, I was browsing the Leasehackr Forum for ideas on what car to get. 

Somebody had just posted a deal on a Miata, and that really piqued my interest because Miatas — or, really, any interesting car — tend to not lease very well. 

But here was Mazda, offering $4,000 in incentives on all 2018 Miatas in anticipation of the 2019 ND2 Miata that was soon to arrive. 

On top of this incentive, Mazda was offering a super low money factor of .00014, which is equivalent to 0.3% APR — unheard of for a specialty car like the Miata.

I can’t say that I was ever a huge Miata person but here was a chance to try something fun and different without huge expense or commitment. 

So I reached out to the local Mazda dealer. Using the Leasehackr Calculator, I had already calculated a target deal that I was shooting for.

We exchanged a few texts, agreed on a deal, and I showed up the next day to pick up the car.

THE DEAL  

My 2018 MX-5 Miata Grand Touring, with a soft top and a manual, retailed for $31,390. After the $4,000 incentive and a $2,000 dealer discount, the net cost of the car was $25,390.

The 36-month residual was 52%. The money factor, like I said earlier, was .00014.

I chose to roll-in the first month’s payment and all fees, including registration fees, for a true $0 drive-off lease. 

All in all, it ended up being $335 per month, including tax, with $0 out-of-pocket — a pretty good deal on a Miata. 

Unfortunately, it’s not something you can replicate today, or even in the months after I leased the car, as the programs changed.

OK BUT YOU SAID $105 PER MONTH?

Well, the brilliant thing about leasing is that with most lenders — not all — you can have a third-party buyout the lease from you.

In my case, I have three months left on my lease. If I wanted to buy it out, my current purchase balance is around $17,000.

However, used car prices are going through the roof right now, due to a supply shortage. Carvana, an online used car retailer, is willing to pay $24,500 for this car.

Basically, they’ll buy out the car from the lender, pay off the purchase balance, and pay me the remaining $7,500 — making my lease effectively $105 per month!

LESSONS LEARNED

So, Carvana is coming to pick up this car next week, and I’ll be sad to see it go.

For $105 per month, or even at $335 per month, this has been an incredible value.

In my particular case, this lease was certainly much cheaper than buying a used Miata, paying sales tax on the entire car, and selling it later. Instead, I got a brand new car with a full warranty and fresh set of tires and brakes to use.

I also recognize that this is obviously an anomaly. It’s a combination of two things: a great lease deal to begin with and a temporary increase in used car values.

But there is still a lesson to be learned here.

And that is, don’t, whatever you do, return your lease without first getting an appraisal from Carvana, Vroom, Shift, and CarMax. You might have lease equity, especially if your car is in good shape and has low miles. If that’s the case, you should definitely sell your car to a third-party, rather than just returning it.

Second thing is — a lot of people think that when you’re leasing a car, you’re just throwing away money — that you’re paying a lot to rent a car, without anything in return.

Well, the truth is — the main expense of any new car is depreciation. Whether you’re buying or leasing, that’s what you’re paying for.

By leasing, you’re letting the bank take on the risk of depreciation, and if it turns out the car is actually worth more at lease-end than originally anticipated, there could be ways to access that equity. It could be a win-win.

If you know what you’re doing, leasing can actually be pretty advantageous.

And on that note, happy Leasehacking!