Turning in a lease

[exranger06]

Originally Posted By: Bottom_Feeder
I really don't think #2 is possible. You can't trade in a car that you don't own and I don't think the new/different car dealer is going to do your lease return processing.

Yes it is possible. My wife traded in her leased car early and we bought the Subaru. The car was worth about $13k, the lease buy-out amount was $15k, so we were about $2k upside down on the leased car. That $2k was rolled into the new car loan. The dealer just buys out the lease and pays it off. It's the same process if you were to trade in a car you bought, but were still making payments on.

 

[JTK]

For what it's worth, I believe the buyout on my 2012 Legacy was ~$16K and I still owed 9 payments on it. I wasn't upside-down. No way I would have done the deal if I was.

 

[fdcg27]

My impression is that a lease return is one final chance for the leasor to get one more bite out of the leasee's apple.
Shame that you're returning a two year old car after having paid considerable money just to drive it and you'll have nothing to show for it.
It appears that you've learned from the experience, though.
Some people never do.
How much actual cash flow did you conserve by not simply buying the car on a retail installment contract?
I'm guessing not a whole lot.

 

[Joe1]

I find these lease threads to be educational although I never have and probably never will lease a vehicle.

 

[Joel_MD]

If your windshield has any cracks or chips in it I suggest you get those fixed before turning in a leased car. Several years ago my ex-wife turned in a BMW with a small crack in the windshield that ended up costing us $1,100. One of those mobile glass guys would have done it for half that amount.

Also, if your tires are worn out go to a used tire shop and put four matching tires on that have 50% tread remaining. Otherwise you'll pay big for tires.

I think most dealers will do a quick check of your car a few weeks before the lease is over, so there are no surprises when you turn it in.

 

[Wolf359]

Originally Posted By: Joel_MD
If your windshield has any cracks or chips in it I suggest you get those fixed before turning in a leased car. Several years ago my ex-wife turned in a BMW with a small crack in the windshield that ended up costing us $1,100. One of those mobile glass guys would have done it for half that amount.


I guess it might depend on the state, but I would just get full glass coverage under your insurance, in my state, you can get it with no deductible so it all would have been covered.

Originally Posted By: fdcg27
Shame that you're returning a two year old car after having paid considerable money just to drive it and you'll have nothing to show for it. How much actual cash flow did you conserve by not simply buying the car on a retail installment contract? I'm guessing not a whole lot.


If you flip this around, it's like renting a place instead of buying. Lots of people rent a place because they can't afford to buy or find it cheaper. I think you make a valid point if the money was the same as buying, but it cost more to buy vs lease. Lease deals probably make sense when there's good discounts/rebates and those get applied to MSRP, then you're just paying for the deprecation which is the difference between the discounted price and the residual at the end of the lease. If you just apply the discounts to the total price, your total discount as a percentage is lower. So with the right lease deal, it can make sense. The worse would be one with no discounts and high depreciation.

 

[JustinH]

Just called another local Toyota dealer.

I have about 3 grand in payments left on my 2014 Rav4 lease.

About a year or whatever.

They will be glad to buy out the lease, then tack it on the price of another car.

Seems to me like I would be paying for a lease then paying for the cost of a car also.

 

[surfstar]

and this thread is why BITOG and other smart forums harp on leasing.
It doesn't make [financial] sense for 95%+ of average owners.

Buy what you can afford and don't be a slave to payments in perpetuity.

 

[rjundi]

Originally Posted By: Joe1

I find these lease threads to be educational although I never have and probably never will lease a vehicle.


Or walk away from a lease to take on another loan for the entire period of ownership a vehicle. IMHO if you cannot pay a new/barely used vehicle in <=3yrs you cannot afford it and set your sights lower.

 

[JTK]

Originally Posted By: JustinH
.....I have about 3 grand in payments left on my 2014 Rav4 lease.

About a year or whatever.

They will be glad to buy out the lease, then tack it on the price of another car.

Seems to me like I would be paying for a lease then paying for the cost of a car also.


I'm not sure why anyone would even consider that an option. Like I say, the Subaru dealer took my 2012 Legacy in ~9mo early, w/ about $2250 worth of payments left.

None of that got 'rolled into' the purchase of the 2014 XV Crosstrek. They wouldn't discount the MSRP of the XV much because of the lease situation and the fact it was the most basic optioned XV you could get, but I got about $600 off MSRP on it, dumped some cash down and financed the rest.

It's tough to get much of a discount on any Subaru model in my area any way, they sell so fast.

 

[saberz]

Originally Posted By: Bottom_Feeder
I really don't think #2 is possible. You can't trade in a car that you don't own and I don't think the new/different car dealer is going to do your lease return processing.


Late to this, but you actually can trade it in. What essentially happens is they will take the car, pay off the balance and any remaining payments would be taken then and there. What ends up happening is the original leasing entity would then come down and take their car.

Did it with my Malibu and wife's Impreza. Ended up making money on both of them, lease company sent me $280 for the Malibu as it sold for more than the agreement and the Impreza net me $1400 (had 11k miles on it).

Suffice to say I myself only used the lease as a way to Zero out from a bad car I was financing. The wife wants the new ride every few years. My Venza is going to be a long term ride barring any 747's or UPS trucks running into it.

 

[JTK]

Originally Posted By: Anies
... Ended up making money on both of them, lease company sent me $280 for the Malibu as it sold for more than the agreement and the Impreza net me $1400 (had 11k miles on it).



Never heard of that happening before. Good deal for you! When I turned my 2012 Legacy in early to the Subaru dealer I leased it from, they put new tires on it and put it out front for sale. It watched it online for weeks. The price eventually dropped to just below the $16K buy-out amount. I'm quite sure the dealership wouldn't have paid me the difference had it sold for more.

 

[Shrubitup]

Originally Posted By: wallyuwl
Originally Posted By: cptbarkey
Originally Posted By: wallyuwl

The car has some brake problems that the dealer won't even look at (major grinding noises since new, especially in wet weather). There is also a tire noise they wouldn't even rotate the tires to see if that would fix it.


forgive me for being coy, but that sounds like your abs going off from driving too fast in wet weather.


That isn't it. It happened regardless of speed before in wet weather. Now it happens in dry conditions as well. It is a problem with the pads or rotors and neither local Hyundai dealer will look into it.


I've had a 07 Nissan Titan since new. Little things I wanted looked at under warranty. Nothing ever resolved except my rusty rear bumper. New bumper of course rusting again now that it's out of warranty. Luckily nothing major but instead of bashing the brand I've learned it's simply the dealers. Only way to win at this is to purchase a higher quality brand next time so you can avoid dealer warranty claims.

As for leasing, the thought of ever having to return to a dealer so they can screw me again on the same car is repulsive!