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Purchasing at the End of Your Lease

949 messages,  Last post on Apr 19, 2013 at 6:36 PM

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What is this discussion about? Car Leasing

Messages Page 1 of 95

#1 of 949 Purchasing Your Leased Vehicles by kirstie_h HOST

Dec 14, 2004 (6:51 am)

Should you purchase or turn it in? What kind of fees can you expect? Here's the place to ask!

#2 of 949 Buying out a lease by teresa72

Dec 14, 2004 (6:46 am)

My husband leased a 1999 Olds Bravada for 5 years and it is about to end. He was wanting to buy it out. The truck has 60,000 miles and is in good condition. Our lease payments were higher than what they should have been, but we were very upside down in our trade. What do you think we should do?

#3 of 949 The biggest issue I see to debate by driftracer

Dec 14, 2004 (6:54 am)

is what is your lease end value, and what is the thing really worth?
 
If you post all of the information in Real World Trade Values, we can get pretty close on wholesale and retail - if your lease end value is more than retail, it's not a good decision to keep it. If it's a good buy compared to real world numbers, then it may be a good choice.

#4 of 949 Re: The biggest issue I see to debate [driftracer] by kirstie_h HOST

Dec 14, 2004 (7:00 am)

Replying to: driftracer (Dec 14, 2004 6:54 am)
Since I moved Theresa's post from Ask the Hosts into this discussion, let's try to get the information here - I hate to shuffle her all over the forums, especially as a new member! (we can ask Terry to make a special guest appearance)

#5 of 949 I'll drop a note to Terry by driftracer

Dec 14, 2004 (7:09 am)

if she will drop all the info on the Bravada...

#6 of 949 by stickguy

Dec 14, 2004 (7:44 am)

I look at it this way: at the end of the lease, you need another car, and your off-lease mobile is just another used car (but at least you know the history and how it was treated). So, look at the residual/fees, and determine if you a) want this car, and if so b) what it is worth.
 
If it isn't a good deal, find a different car. If the price is right, buy it.
 
of course, this assumes you want to own an older car. From what I've seen, many lease people prefer to move right on into a new lease.
 
Actually, this raises another point: some manufacturers (I know Honda did at one point) give you a deal if you re-lease (no orig fee or something), just to keep you in the "family".

#7 of 949 Buying Your Leased Car by Car_man HOST

Dec 14, 2004 (11:07 am)

There is an informative article on this very subject in the Advice section of Edmunds.com. Here is a link to it for those of you who are interested: Buying Your Leased Car.
 
Car_man
Host
Smart Shopper Forum

#8 of 949 teresa72 by michaell

Dec 14, 2004 (3:06 pm)

I've done this before ... a few (more) questions:
 
1) who did you lease through? If GMAC, you might be able to secure pretty good financing terms if you decide to buy. We did that with our '99 New Beetle .. got 5.9% for 36 months, plus they threw in an extended warranty. Can't hurt to ask.
 
2) is there any visible damage? you say the truck is in good condition, but when you go to turn it in, that small crease on the drivers door and the cracked windshield and the almost used up tires will count against you. If you buy it, these things don't matter.
 
3) if you really, really like the truck, no reason to start over. As mentioned above, you might find some loyalty incentives to stay with GM -- or, alternatively, there might be some "conquest" incentives from another manufacturer.
 
Bottom line -- do the research.
 
Let us know how it all turns out.

#9 of 949 Lease buyout through dealer by steve18

Dec 17, 2004 (7:30 pm)

I want to purchase my 02Accord which lease is about to end. I decided to work through the dealer from whom I had originally obtained the car. He ran the numbers and after I quizzed him on the monthly payment (which was higher to what I had calculated) it emerged that he had added on $800 to the residual owed to AHFC for "dealer fees" (processing/his time etc--this was in addition to the regular doc fees & licensing and reg fees).If I had not grilled him on his calculations I would never have known about this added charge.Is this normal dealer business practice?. I have decided to work directly with AHFC and obtain financing myself. Is their any risk you are aware of in dealing directly with AHFC to buy out the lease. Thanks

#10 of 949 Re: Lease buyout through dealer by Car_man HOST

Dec 19, 2004 (7:09 am)

Hi steve18. One should always deal directly with the bank that they are leasing through and leave dealers completely out of the equation if they want to purchase their leased vehicle. The bank owns your vehicle, not the dealer. They are the ones that set its selling price. Your dealer, who knows that you are not going to purchase another vehicle from them in the near future because your are purchasing the one that you were leasing, is only going to try to profit somehow from your purchase.
 
Car_man
Host
Smart Shopper Forum

Messages Page 1 of 95

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