With the cost of buying used vehicles rising by 35% over the last five years, leasing Honda Certified Pre-Owned Vehicles (HCPV) can be an attractive alternative for price-conscious customers.
American Honda Motor Co., Inc. (AHM), has launched the HCPV lease calculator on hondacertified.com to help would-be customers easily compare the estimated price of leasing versus financing an HCPV. The new HCPV lease calculator, which is integrated into each vehicle description page, allows customers to see the cost benefit of leasing an HCPV. They can then click into the payment calculator to adjust their down payment and terms until they arrive at a desired payment.
The challenge of leasing HCPV, says Dan Rodriguez, senior manager, Auto Remarketing & Fleet Operations, AHM, is the variability in calculating residual values. “A new vehicle always has the same residual value, calculated as a percentage of the MSRP,†Rodriguez says. “On a used vehicle, say three years old, it could have 30,000 miles, or it could have 10,000 miles.â€
The HCPV lease calculator takes the guesswork out of the equation.
“The dealers put in the model year, the miles and the selling price,†Rodriguez says. “AHFC knows the rates, the money factor, what the residual values are, based on the mileage and model. We just took those data sources and brought them into one place.â€
That information is available to dealers and now to customers as well. “When the customer is looking at that vehicle on our site, they can see that they can finance it for 60 months at $500 a month with 10% down,†Rodriguez explains. “Or they can see if they’re interested in a lease alternative. They can lease the same vehicle for 36 months, same amount down, and maybe a lower monthly payment.â€
The lease calculator is accessible via desktop, tablet and smartphone, providing flexibility that allows customers to shop from anywhere.
By offering leasing on HCPV that are under five years old with under 80,000 miles, Honda Financial Services is encouraging both brand loyalty and dealership loyalty, says Jon Eldridge, assistant vice president of Sales and Marketing, American Honda Finance Corporation, “and the conversion rate to new vehicles off HCPV is currently at 40%. Once customers drive a Honda vehicle, odds are they’ll stay with the brand.â€
