Car Leasing Deals: It’s All About the Invoice

When buying or leasing a vehicle, you never have to pay the MSRP value. Still, studies have found that as many as one in seven U.S. car buyers think the list price is a fair price. If you’re looking for car leasing deals, it’s important to consider the factory invoice of your vehicle – how much the dealer had to pay to own the car.

The difference between the list price and invoice price represents the dealer’s potential profit margin. It’s also the space you have to negotiate a better price.

Experienced car buyers and leasers look up vehicle invoice prices online and negotiate up from the invoice, not down from the MSRP. A larger margin often suggests that your dealer will be more willing to lower the price – to guarantee a successful negotiation, restrict your search to cars with higher margins.

Car leasing companies will sometimes even consider leasing a vehicle for below its invoice price. This is because dealers are often eligible for rebates and special interest payments called holdbacks from the manufacturer, allowing them to negotiate below invoice and still turn a profit.