End of Lease - Buy or Lease Again?
 

My lease is up in mid October. I don't plan on looking at another kind of car. This is my 2nd Audi and I have been happy with them.

My plan was to buy my Audi since the buy out was very reasonable at $22,900 for my premium plus. However, I spoke to my car dealer and he said I have equity in this car to put towards another lease. I told him I had a small accident where a truck turned too soon and pulled off my bumper. There was no frame damage. It was simply the bumper. A very clean accident if that makes sense. So then he shows concern and says once the car has had an accident, the equity is just about lost from a dealer standpoint. He says he will run a carfax on it when I go to see him this week and see what comes up. So if I am able to get equity out of my Audi, should I re-lease? Or just buy it at the good price it is at now and wait on something new? I love my car, but new is nice too :)

I just don't want the same payment of almost $500/mo. I need to be under $400, but I don't want a basic model, I'd want at least what I have now.

Thanks

My car has about 21k on it, so it has real low mileage which makes it even more desirable to the dealer.

Looking at this from a practical point of view. If the dealer believes it to have damaged the cars worth - why not tell the lease company - if they say the same then the car price would drop. Bargain....

So are you saying I can get a better deal the what they want for it @ $22,900? I think what the dealer was saying is that the cars value to them is worth more then $22,900 since it is a desirable vehicle. Meaning they may give me a few thousand towards another lease since they can sell it for a profit. However if the carfax shows damage, then the value to them would not be worth giving me anything extra for it and it would then be more of a value for me to buy it.

If you want to maximize your money the most, you should sell it privately to someone for more than what the dealer is offering you. 9 times out of 10 you get more for your car than what a dealer offers. Even if he's telling you you have equity in it, he's still low-balling you or is planning on giving you a poor deal on a new one (they get you somewhere, always). This is the protocol for ALL car dealers and trade-ins.

Or, you can buy out your lease and keep the car. Eventually you'll pay it off and have full equity in it. Of course, you should consider a warranty if you hold onto it for more than four years.

I seriously doubt lease companies will adjust the buyout amount down for diminished value. Lease contracts require the car be kept in good condition less normal wear and tear and they are not likely to give a price break for your repaired damage.

Have you been talking to my father? lol

He says to buy it and sell. He also is trying to be my conscience because he knows once I get to the dealer, it could be trouble for me. Like a zombie looking for brains...... Except I am looking for new car smell :)

I know the dealers are out to make their profit, but I'd like to see what they have to offer so I can weigh my options.

At this point, my plan is to buy.

I think the dealer would give me X amount of cash for my car above what I could buy it for that I can put towards a lease or something else. I don't believe the leasing company would be involved in that transaction.

Trlyka, while none of us know (or want to know) your personal financial situation, it's going to be least $$$ to keep the car you already know and can buy for a below-market price.

Do you have Carmax in your area? If so, get an offer from them if you don't keep the car. (You need to ensure you can convey the vehicle to a third party when dealing with the lease company. I attempted the same here in MA and VCI prevented that deal from occurring. The lease company said they are not set up as a "used car dealer" in MA and cannot transfer cars to third parties.)

I think the best strategy is to let the dealership take the car back off-lease, have them CPO it and re-sell it to you. I've seen this work very well for others in the past but, if you're not "close" to them, they'll decline doing this for you.

Use the force Luke! lol
Well, I've been in your position, so I can relate. If you are smitten by new cars and have your heart set on something, you could easily be wowed by the dealer and his offerings. I know it's tempting, and I've gone for the bait too. However, in my older years now, I've come to find better compromises. I bought out my last lease, sold the car privately, and made money off of it. That profit was then used to put into a new car. So one can kind of say I ended up getting "free" money for the down payment. The whole process takes a bit of time, but I found it to be worth it.
Just an option...