Possible to get a hellcat lease around $500/month?

Anonymous · ‎06-02-2017

In about 12 months I will be in a position to lease a Hellcat and am trying to figure out what might be a realistic expectation for pricing. I have heard many people say how you can get into a Hellcat lease for around $500 no money down. I'm hoping that a year from now they prices will be even better since the Demon is going to be popular. I currently have 2 auto loans - $12k balance on one, and $22k on the other. I am trying to figure out what is the best course of action in the next year. I heard paying off car loans can cause an initial drop in scores, so I'm not sure if I should pay them off, or pay them down. I can affored to pay the $12k off fully, and would like to pay the $22k one down to $11k and trade my current vehicle in for the rest. I should be able to get around $2k trade in for my current vehicle after it is paid off. I would love to put $0 down if possible. Really liking the idea of a 6 speed manual Challenger Hellcat. I have 1 rouge collection account from 2013 from Comcast screwing up billing that I am going to arrange a pay for removal shortly ($550 balance). I have 5 credit card accounts from 2013 that were 120 days late because I was in between jobs and was originally careless with my credit. All of the cards were paid in full as soon as I got a new job a few months later. Some closed the accounts, one let me keep it open and I have been paying ontime since, and have gotten CLIs for it even. One closed but let me open a new account with them later, which is on time and has gotten CLIs as well. I have too many hard inquiries right now, but majority should fall off within the year. Fico is currently ~649 from all three CBs. In 10 months, ALL credit card debt ($10k) will be paid off, thus taking my credit utilization from 69% to 0% which I am hoping helps a lot. Credit simulators estimate i can be around 730. That would be nice. I plan on using my spouse as a cosigner or joint because she makes a little over $60k gross, and I make $42k gross. Hoping that income should be enough, and our scores will be low to mid 700 by then.

Anonymous · ‎06-03-2017

It's funny. I'm in the market for a Dodge Challenger myself!

I don't have any particular advice, but I just find it just find it awesome that I'm not the only one who wants one of these things.

I'd love to have a Hellcat, but I'm settling for an RT. Trying to find one under 100,000 miles and under $20,000.

Appleman · ‎06-03-2017

Welcome to myFICO. You are doing it right in that you have 12 months to improve your fiscal picture prior to getting your Hellcat.

You may want to consider starting to use a budget to better track your money. Not creating debt for the next 12 months will be a challenge and a budget can help you achieve the goal.

A lease of $500 on a $62,000 + vehicle sounds great, just make sure it truly fits your future plans (like having kids and buying a house). Living with a 700+ HP beast, feeding it and insuring it could become a full time job by itself.

Good luck, and you are heading the right direction in paying off everything that you can.

joeyd5oh · ‎06-03-2017

Not credit related, but yes you can get a HellCat Now for around 500 a month. But I dont suggest getting one. I recently bought one and sold it about 2k miles later due to constant problems with body flexing causing issues with the paint from the torque. Also The supercharger kept breaking down causing it to be replaced twice. I saw the writing on the wall and got rid of it quick. For the money the Horsepower you get is an extreme bargin but the problems that come with 700hp on a mass produced car are insane. I went back to Ford and bought a Mustang GT350R and Never looked back. Good Luck

bigpoppa09 · ‎06-04-2017

I wouldn't be lining up to buy a mustang gt350R. After googling it this car MSRPs for about 65K but there are a ton of reports of dealers marking this car up. As much as 40K I would never but it for that price. http://autoweek.com/article/wait-theres-more/dealer-adds-40k-markup-ford-mustang-shelby-gt350r

Anonymous · ‎06-09-2017

There are several factors involved in an auto lease, frequently the dealer can get you just about any payment you want but the remaining terms may not be as favorable. I have seen some pretty terrible leases that end up costing a ton in the long run so I would suggest reading up on auto leases during the coming months leading up to your deal so you are familiar with money factor, fees, residual and mileage. If you know the price, length of lease, money factor and residual you can calculate the payment using an auto lease app. I would have that on my phone before going into a dealer as well as any advertised specials so they don't play with the numbers. Bringing down your utilization will help your scores for sure, I saw pretty significant increases from bringing mine down ( about 60-70 points).

Anonymous · ‎08-04-2017

As Appleman and joey5oh have already said, getting a 700hp Hellcat for a $500/month lease sounds great, but are you looking at everything that also goes along with that type of vehicle. Going to need full coverage since it's a lease which may also require comprehensive collision coverage that adds $$$ to the policy. Then there's maintenance/mechanical upkeep requirement of a car like that:

Blow a clutch because you launch racing it go wrong...non covered repair because clutch is considered a "consumable" item on the car (been there done that and dealers usually know to check wheel wells for rubber splatter from doing burnouts, had to pay for towing and clutch replacement)

Take it to the track and the engine or tranny fails...non covered repair because the car was being used in an off-road application

Get in a wreck at the track...not covered by insurance because the car was being used in an off-road application

Leases are also very restrictive on what mods you can do to the car. Get a chip or certain other mods and mechanical damage coverage can be voided (father in-law used a diablo tuner on his brand new leased F-150 Lightning and blew engine racing someone, luckily for him his family business leases about 20 vehicles thru the same Ford Dealer so they covered the repair)

Not trying to discourage you, but leasing a car like that just lends itself to trouble unless you are going to baby it and treat it more like a trailer queen. If something were to happen you'd be stuck paying very expensive repairs or paying of a car you can't even drive due to damage.

You said you could pay off $12k completely and $11k off on other loan, if it were me I would take that $23k buy a used Hemi Challenger/Charger, Mustang GT, or something similar for around $10-12k and upgrade it with the remaining money. You could easily get over 800hp out of one of these cars for about $10-12k on top of the purchase price.