2020 Chevrolet Corvette Lease Rates Are Worse Than You Think

Mar. 01, 2020 6:55 AM ET by Jay Traugott Pricing / 9 Comments

Will this ever change?

The all-new 2020 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray has finally arrived. After decades of waiting, the beloved Corvette has finally switched to a mid-engine design and expectations in terms of performance and handling are extremely high. With a total of 490 horsepower on tap, the C8's starting price is a darn reasonable $59,995, including destination. But this is before, of course, any extra features are added and, unfortunately, dealership markups and other related situations.

So this begs the question: Is leasing a new Corvette instead of paying in crisp clean cash the better way to go? Not really. In fact, leasing a new C8 is actually a terrible deal right now, as Cars Direct discovered. Examining the C8's current offers, Chevrolet doesn't have any incentives these days, which isn't surprising for any new and in-demand vehicle.

This means that if you plan to lease a C8, the only way to do so is through the Chevy's standard lease rate of 0.00258, or 6.2 percent APR. Factor in a 36-month residual value for the C8 at 63 percent, this comes to $890 per month based on a 10,000-mile per year limit and $0 down.

Sound pricey? It is. Compared to the new Corvette's competition, such as the 2020 Jaguar F-Type, it's definitely worse to buy one instead. The F-Type can currently be leased for $728 per month or $589 per month for 36 months with $4,995 due at signing. Is the new Corvette worth any extra $160 per month over the F-Type if one chooses to lease? We're not so sure.

In addition, Chevy has yet to announce any loyalty discount for existing Corvette owners. This isn't entirely without precedent. Last December, for example, Chevy was selling 2019 C7 Corvettes with a $3,000 bonus for current owners. Then again, the automaker was anxious to offload its remaining stock of C7s.

But there's another factor that could very well be preventing Chevy from offering any C8 incentives or loyalty discounts: the 2020 Corvette is nearly sold out. Although this is not official just yet, those who haven't placed an order yet are very likely going to have to wait until the next model year.

Fortunately, the Corvette is a mainstream production model and the C8 is only just beginning its expected multi-year production lifecycle.