First off I'd like to thank everyone for their posts here, have been very illuminating and it may end up saving me a bunch!
I have a few questions about the lease + cash option. If my understanding is correct, the plan to make the most of this option is: lease a car, get the rebate, make 1 payment and then immediately buy it out via your own private financing. If available get a balloon payment as it will decrease the interest you pay. Due to fees and first payment the rebate will actually be like 1.5k less than the amount reimbursed but generally still a good deal.
So for instance a Stinger GT with AWD, excluding whatever you can negotiate with your dealer, will go for 43500 (price) - 5000 (rebate) + 650 (fee) + 300 (breaking fee) + 550 (first payment) = 40000. Right?
I noticed that you need to put down a downpayment of 2k. What happens to this amount? Is it set aside for future payments, applied to the purchase price of the car, do you get it back upon buying out the lease, etc?
Assuming a balloon option is not available, does any of the monthly payment go towards the car itself or is it all interest?