jersh

So ... in my lurking I have come to understand that with audi, lease payments are high and residuals are low, and this is largely seen as a negative since ... who wants a high lease payment, right ?

But am I correct there is a silver lining here for people trying to end their lease ?

I am two years into a three year (2009 SWB) and if current trends continue, I am going to go about 10k miles over, which is bad news. BUT, if I can sell the car for even one dollar over the residual amount before I turn it in, the mileage doesn't matter at all ... and since my residual is only $34k, this isn't impossible...

And the same holds true if I decide to sell it right now, 2 out of 3 years in - current KBB price is $50-$58k, and if I sell it anywhere in that range, I can recoup most of the final years lease payments that I owe audi...

So, am I correct that the low residual value is helping me here ?

Comments appreciated.

Satch0922

You are correct assuming you have a buyer. KBB is a guide and while some data is regional, it is also a rule of thumb to use clean trade in if you are selling privately. When crunching the numbers, be conservative. Average clean retail is usually unrealistic if your selling privately.

tashakes

Add to that a 17% real unemployment rate (as reported by 60 Minutes, and I believe), in an economy where guys with PHD's are flipping burgers because there are no jobs out there, you will find that there are very few buyers for a used car out there in the price range.

Anybody that has a few bucks will wait for a killer deal, so realistically, the KBB values are out the door.

FYI, auction prices are $45K (31K miles, below avg condition) to $60K (avg 10K miles, above average), BUT only 7 sales in the quarter. 2nd Qtr 3 sales, 1st Qtr 4 sales. The volume in this car is lethargic, so either not many are available, or people are just not buying them.

That being said, you definitely are in a good position to hold on to the car and try to sell it a couple of months before your end of the lease and save the bucks on the excess mileage.