I'm considering financing a car at AMAG since they have recently very nice offers for Vorführwagen. I've never leased a car before but I'm thinking about taking a lease for 36 moths, 9k CHF downpayment with annual mileage ca. 25k kilometers. That would make 500 CHF/month with 24k CHF of the rest value of an Audi A5 I'm interested in.
- Do I have to buy insurance from them or I can choose (comparis?) keeping in mind that I also need full casco?
- What in case the car get damaged during the lease? Will the rest value drop and I will have to pay for the price difference?
- Do you have any experience with AMAG? I don't want do buy a car afterwards. Just a long-term rent.
You can choose any insurance you want, however leasing requires you to have a "Vollkasko" insurance (apparently, lease drivers claim damage more frequently).
Any damage caused during the lease can be claimed with the insurance (usually CHF 700-1000 francise), however not more than once a year without it affecting your insurance premium. The residual value remains the same.
By the time your lease ends and you have either driven more than the contractually agreed 25K / year, or have caused any damage to the car that hasn't been repaired, you'd probably be better off paying the residual value or selling the car.
If you search for relevant threads on EF, you'll see that it usually ends up in a discussion about the definition of wear and tear in relation to the bill the garage has sent after the car was returned.
if you think there is even the slightest chance you won't be able to see out the lease then don't lease, if you think you'll go over your KM limit then don't lease, if you intend on giving the car back after 3 years then don't lease, if the car warranty is less then the lease term then don't lease
when you return a lease car it has to be in show room condition, inside and out, that means no stone chips, stains, damage of any kind, if its not then the dealer will get the car into show room condition (at main dealer prices) and send you the bill.
Saying that there are some good leasing deals out there at the moment, just go into with your eyes open, personally I'll never lease another car here
This will depend entirely on the actual insurance contract.
Usually you can choose between different deductibles.
With some contracts the premium will rise after each claim, with others you are allowed one or even several claims per year. (usually called "Bonusschutz" in German)
I have been an AMAG customer for 15 years and have never had any problems. They seem to love taking my end of lease cars back, maybe because I treat them as if they are my own.
How are you going to buy your next car. Maybe it is better to agree a lower end value. Then, if anything happens you don't have to worry.
And with AMAG the warranty will be at least as long as the lease. My latest one includes everything except fuel and insurance.
Actually I'm thinking of giving car back after the lease term. You loose money, that's clear, but you can drive better car and pay less for it. With my budget I car take brand a new Mazda 6 2017 (and own it) or I can lease Audi A5 from AMAG. As you said the car has to be in a show room condition while returning, I'm the person who really takes care about cars, in case of damage there's always casco.
Just go into with your eyes open, sure you can drive a 'better' car for the same money but at the end of the lease you have nothing, when we where looking at mercedes it was cheaper for us to buy then lease, monthly payment was about 20chf more but no 20k final payment, it was a no brainer, we bought.
re showroom condition - I posted up my experience of giving a MINT mini back to bmw a few years ago, and I do mean mint, a couple of stone chips and 1 mark on 1 wheel, they basically resprayed the whole car and charged my insurance company half and tried to charge me half, replaced all the (legal) tires and various other bits and pieces (inc pre agreed warranty work they tried to charge me for), all without asking / telling and after signing off as ok the hand over sheet, this on a car that had done just over half the KM limit for the whole lease - which at the time they said I would actually get money back for, reading the work sheet they eventually sent me you'd have though the car had rolled over in a serious crash.
They did eventually back down and all I paid for was 1 wheel refurb, god knows how many people just pay up.
Ive use AMAG for my current car, but leased it through a third party. since it comes through my employer, it is vastly cheaper then if i did it myself.
9k downpayment? Are you planning to buy the car after the lease?
Keep in mind that a downpayment is essentially, money lost that you get nothing back for.
As well, having 9k in the bank but paying a little more per month is, in some cases, a fair trade. Ask yourself if you really need to have the reduced monthly cost. If the answer is yes, ask yourself if you should really be considering a lease that expensive in the first place.
Generally, the higher your monthly, the better the deal you can get at the end of the lease (since your business is more valuable). So, foregoing the downpayment, or a much reduced downpayment, can actually be worth dividends in the long run.
So finally I decided to go with AMAG but for a cheaper car. Leasing was granted and I need to provide them with some documents. Here is the e-email:
- So I do not have any insurance besides the private health insurance. Is it better/cheaper when AMAG takes care about it or should I rather do it on my own (I guess he meant obligatory car insurance+casco?).
- I do not have any swiss plates but I completely do not understand what certificate of damage he wants from me?
I suggest you organize your own car insurance, comparis.ch is your friend.
Once car insurance is arranged, you can provide the info to AMAG and they should be able to procure your license plates from the StVA (for a fee of course). If you want to save a few franks, you can do this yourself.
Thanks maypril! Can I the buy insurance online? Any specific requirements for the casco? I guess this is this "certificate of damage" they require? Just insurance confirmation?
The car will be bought from AMAG in Geneva and I live in Basel. If I would like them to organize plates for me would I get Basel plates or Geneva? :-)