Lease Calculator for Volt - U.S. Bank

[highhandicapper]

I've created a spreadsheet that lets you build a Volt based on the options you want and calculate the base monthly payment, the monthly payment including taxes, and your initial up front payment.

I've tried to include instructions on how to use it within the spreadsheet - let me know if you have any questions. ONLY CHANGE THE CELLS HIGHLIGHTED IN YELLOW!

I've tested it against the examples posted by folks like LeelaLB and musicman and it works within a penny. I don't know what happened with the mechanism initially posted by corvetteguy, which is a bit different, but since the other people have shared actual experiences with dealers, I think this is the way the lease is going to work.

In case you care, U.S. Bank is getting to the residual in a funny way. I originally thought it was a little more than a 61% residual, but I couldn't get the numbers to precisely match up. Then I realized that what they do is take 44% of the MSRP and add $7,500 to get the residual...and when I do that, I get exactly what is shown in the different lease worksheets that are posted in the other thread.

I checked it against the base example to see if I can get a $350/month payment, and as long as I assume a $2,150 down payment by the buyer AND a $2,000 rebate from U.S. Bank, it works. ("Why $2,150?", you may ask. "I thought it was $2,500 up front!" $2,150, plus the first month's payment of $350, gets you to the $2,500 that Chevy advertises).

NOTE 1: Some folks don't seem to be getting that $2,000 rebate, so ask the dealer to see the lease worksheet and make sure you're getting it!

NOTE 2: The DMV fees in Step 2 vary from state to state, but the dealers seem to calculate it and put it in the "GOVT FEE" line of their lease worksheet. You can probably go online to figure out what it is for your state/county.

NOTE 3: Now updated per Cari's post below.

NOTE 4: If you are really particular, and are checking the spreadsheet against LeelaLB's example, it gets off on the "initial payment" calculation because of the way that the dealer treated the rebate - they charged sales tax on the rebate as if it were a down payment.

NOTE 5: Updated to reflect the actual deal I signed for my Volt.

NOTE 6: I've added an additional version of the spreadsheet that should work for Texas buyers (who pay sales tax on the entire value of the vehicle, instead of just on monthly payments as is the case in California)

NOTE 7: Fixing an error in the sales tax calculation in the California version to reflect paying sales tax on the $2,000 rebate

NOTE 8: Fixing an Excel error

Hope that's helpful! I hate not knowing whether the dealer is somehow ripping me off, so I get comfort if I can see how the numbers are calculated.

[Cari]

NICE! Very nice cal. Looks like you put some time into it. While I don't think most dealerships will settle for doc fee that low, glad you made it where we could change that field.

This issue I found is when you go through to step 4, it doesn't change any of the numbers except the amount you put down. If I put no for paying the Acq and Doc fees up front, it doesn't change my payment. It does take the change, showing them as paid or unpaid in your inital payment, but if you have 0 for buyer down payment and the Acq and Doc fees are figured into the net cap costs, then some change should happen to the payment if you don't pay those up front

[cheifsfan]

Thank You Highhandicapper! Again this is what I have been calculating as well. You got these numbers to work based on the lease sheets you have seen? I assume the 2000 discount is where people are getting hit. If I can get this I will be more than happy. You should add in the 15k miles as an option like Marty did. I am still concerned that this doesn't match what everyone has got so far, so until I see someone get these numbers I am going to assume US BANK is screwing us all over somewhere.... Thanks again

[highhandicapper]

Cari,

Good point - I've updated the attachment to the original post to account for the issue you spotted (it now asks you to enter in the amount of the various additional costs/fees and whether you want to finance them or pay them up front).

Thanks!

[Cari]

Cari,

Good point - I've updated the attachment to the original post to account for the issue you spotted (it now asks you to enter in the amount of the various additional costs/fees and whether you want to finance them or pay them up front).

Thanks!

Should I take it as a sign that you fixed it using FU instead of YN?

[deckster]

highhandicapper:

Thanks so much for putting this together. You very clearly explained the process and I think this is going to help a lot of fellow folks here.

Unfortunately my Chevrolet dealer seems to not be aware of any $2000 rebate. Is this specifically from US Bank? If yourself or any experts here know anything about this and/or has links to documentation, please holler and send a shout out here so I can convey the information.

Cheers everyone!
Kevin

[Cari]

Also, I think the amount of tax paid varies by state. I don't mean the amount, but how it is figured. In Texas, we pay tax on the full sold amount, not the amount used during the lease. This puts our tax (6.25) close to $75 a month. Your cal shows about $30 a month. Maybe this is the reason why some peoples numbers are coming out high?

You didn't put in an easy way to show taxes up front. Most leases are likely worked up where you pay the listed 2150+350+ttl by default. Most people should want to put the lowest amount down, but just don't know how flexable US Bank is on this deal.

[highhandicapper]

Cari,

You are correct - my spreadsheet calculates it as it works in California, where the sales tax is paid on your monthly payment. I recognize that it works differently in other states.

Thanks!

[highhandicapper]

highhandicapper:

Thanks so much for putting this together. You very clearly explained the process and I think this is going to help a lot of fellow folks here.

Unfortunately my Chevrolet dealer seems to not be aware of any $2000 rebate. Is this specifically from US Bank? If yourself or any experts here know anything about this and/or has links to documentation, please holler and send a shout out here so I can convey the information.

Cheers everyone!
Kevin

Kevin,

The $2,000 rebate has been mentioned as coming from U.S. Bank by other posters. Maybe the thing to point out to your dealer is that the only way to get to the Chevy advertised $350/month on the base model is to have the $2,000 rebate.

[cheifsfan]

Is the acq fee supposed to be included in the 350/month that Chevrolet is advertising? Is it in your updated calculator?