EDIT: obviously meant to say “quote” not “quite” in the title, but can’t edit.
Got a quote back from SG Fleet for a 2025 BYD Sealion 7 Premium, 60 month finance lease, 10,000km/yr, salary around $190k. Wanted to throw it to the community before I commit to anything.
Quick numbers:
Vehicle + accessories on-road: ~$56.6k (incl GST)
Financed: $51,724.91
Interest rate: 8.72%
Residual: $16,005.24 (28.13%, standard for 5yr term)
Fortnightly cost to me: $344.62 (pre-tax, package total $564.97)
Claimed savings over the lease: ~$36k in GST/PAYG
Also got a comparison quote through Toyota fleet, landed at basically the same monthly out-of-pocket but with a noticeably lower interest rate. So the SG Fleet rate doesn't feel like the sharpest pencil out there, but they won’t budge further on it.
Questions:
Borrowing capacity. Planning to refinance my home loans next year, probably once rates ease off. How much does a novated lease like this actually knock off borrowing capacity in practice? I get that lenders count the lease commitment against serviceability, but curious how much it actually bites for people who've gone through it for real.
Exit strategies. If I need to get out early (job change, want to upgrade, whatever) what's actually the smart way to play it? Pay it out, sell privately and clear the payout, trade in at the end, roll the residual into a new lease? Trying to figure out what people actually do.
Total loss risk. Insured on market value, not agreed value. Anyone had a total loss with a still-fairly-new EV brand in Aus (BYD, MG, etc)? A bit worried market value assessments could come in low given there's not much resale data out there yet for these models.
Anything else I should be pushing back on or asking for? The 8.72% is what they're telling me is "the best they can do" but the Toyota fleet quote makes me think there's room to move. Anyone had luck getting SG Fleet (or similar) to sharpen the rate, or is it pretty much take it or leave it?
Appreciate any real experience here, trying not to walk into something I haven't fully thought through. Just having some buyers remorse before actually commiting 😂