no worries, sounds like you've done it this way before, and if you're comfortable with it, that is what matters.

enjoy the new car! they are great

Bad idea to put money down on a lease, especially $10K. If your new Q7 is lost or totaled in the first year you lose every penny of it. Plus it saves zero interest.

I don't have my deal paperwork, but on my first 2014 lease, they marked-up my AudiCare by $900 - I caught it later and went back to the dealer, they gave a refund after I complained - so unless this has changed in the last 5 years - I believe you are incorrect.

I don't understand how this makes any sense....You sign a contract that for X numbers of dollars Audi is obligated to provide you a car to drive for X number of leasing months. If you total the car 1 month into the lease and you paid $30,000 in cap cost reduction/down payment, exactly how how do you loose $30,000?

Or perhaps you can explain what happens on a single pay lease if you pay the entire lease amount up front, and then total the car one month later....is that "down payment" all lost?

For the life of me I can not understand this theory of "if you put money down on a lease that's a big risk". At some point, in some manner, the leasing company has to refund some of that down payment, or move you into a new lease with identical/similar terms you agree too. Legally, they are obligated to do so. Where is the risk?

My guess is your insurance company takes over if you total the car. (I don't lease pure ignorant speculation here, its not Audi's fault I don't see why they would have any liability for someone's bad driving/luck)

I did a one pay lease on an A4 few years ago. Stupid idea yes, but not in Texas, where sales tax on whole car is due and Audi pays most of that tax bill in case of one pay lease. Long story short i asked about this and the answer sales rep gave me is that there is gap insurance included in the acquisition fee. That means you won't be liable any additional money to AOA in car is totaled.

thinking about this a little more, my guess is it would come down to your insurance. Say for example you do a one pay lease, and the residual (money owed to bank for the car at lease end) is $20k. Having done a one pay lease, that $20k is what's left to "part-ways" with AOA. Now, Your car gets totaled and gets appraised at $30k by insurance. My guess is the insurance would pay $30,000 to Audi of America as they are the "owner" of the vehucle. At this point, it would be up to AOA to refund the lessee the $10,000 difference ....now whether or not that $10,000 is enough is a different story...

Thoughts?

Cool, appears we are both right - times have changed apparently - I DO know that a lot of people had complained to AOA about mark-ups on AudiCare in the past... I guess it worked.

yep, it's definitely a good thing

they are really strict in how they work their funding now to a dealer on a sale, and in how quarterly bonus monies are paid out....they had dealers reporting cars as sold that were never sold, and then once an audit was done, there's the car. Meanwhile, Audi had paid out tens of thousands to a dealer based on sales performance which was, at the end of the day, artificial. They definitely cracked the whip, which is good, as it levels the playing field for smaller guys to compete.

Interesting, I never thought of this angle - the bad dealers that make put the good ones on the defensive out of the gate with new customer - that AOA has to deal with them too and have to keep things tight via policy to protect themselves. /mindblown