Lease Prices Steady Heading Into Memorial Day Weekend

CINCINNATI — The latest update on new-vehicle lease offerings from Wantalease.com finds prices on most of today’s popular leases holding steady from last month. Thirty-six different vehicles maintained their prices from April, a slight decrease from last month’s lease deals, when 75% of manufacturers maintained their lease prices from the previous month.

The Nissan Sentra is currently priced the lowest of all vehicles, coming in at just $129 per month. The Nissan Sentra has retained this price for the past four months.

While most vehicle prices held steady entering May, several manufacturers increased their prices on compact cars, entry-level midsize cars, and entry-level luxury cars. The BMW 330i increased in price by 19.7%, the Chevrolet Cruze increased in price by 13.1%, and the Chevrolet Malibu increased in price by 10.8%.

Other price hikes include Volkswagen Jetta with a 4% increase, the Lexus IS 300 with a 2.2% increase, and the Acura ILX with a 2% increase.

When compared to data leading up to Memorial Day weekend last year, the majority of vehicles that experienced price increases for 2019 had price decreases in 2018- showing manufacturers are holding strong this year for what would appear to be better deals for shoppers.

“It’s apparent that manufacturers are holding strong to their prices in preparation for an influx of Memorial Day shoppers who are searching for new-lease deal incentives,” said Scot Hall, executive vice president of Wantalease.com. “It will be interesting to see if dealers introduce a new wave of promotions entering June, following the holiday weekend.”

In addition, May also experienced price drops on select popular vehicles. The vehicle that saw the largest price drop entering May is the Ford Escape. This vehicle, which is currently offered at $209 per month, decreased in price by 15.1% from April. The BMW 330i saw the largest increase in monthly payment, rising by 19.7%. The vehicle is currently offered at $399 per month.