Hey guys, apologies in advance for what may be a more lengthy post. Just heard about this forum from reddit.
Currently I am leasing what is my first car, a 2016 WRX premium trim. I am about to hit the 2 year mark of my agreement in August on a 3 year deal (12,000 miles a year or 36k in total). The car has been shared between my father and I (long story but I will spare the details) so we have accumulated a lot of miles thus far (~31k) over a number of trips, school, etc. We pay $469 a month (a hell of a lot for a WRX I know).
I am interested in possibly returning the lease early to get myself into a 2017 or 2018 STI (while the interior of the 2018 has been revamped, I am more concerned about getting a better deal to be honest). I am relatively young so my knowledge with this whole process is very limited but this time around I would like to take more of the initiative during the car buying process (since I will be the sole driver this time around) and would like to become more knowledgeable before visiting a dealership.
Now from what I understand and the help I received from Subaru sales related associate on Reddit, my car’s worth at this point may still be higher or close enough to payout amount that the dealership may charge me. Again, if I understand this correctly that would leave me with positive equity or floating in very little negative equity that would be carried over to my new lease. Using the KBB instant cash offer, the car is worth around $20,000 (while the sales guy from reddit said i can possibly get as much as 22-24k).
Please excuse my lack of knowledge, I am trying to learn as much as possible so I do not screw myself over this time around and I greatly appreciate any help that you guys can offer. Thanks!
Little Edit: Been doing some research into some programs Subaru offers that may help. I am a Subaru ambassador so I get the $500 off. They also offer loyalty leasing programs as well as a college graduate program (or soon to be graduate as myself). Can’t seem to find much more on those two programs though.