5 payment left on my 2016 GTI, looking into buying next car

Ask the Hackrs
1

Hello, I have a 2016 GTI with 5 payments of 323.00 left on it. I have some money I want to put down on a new car(Subaru) and purchase it as my next car.

Is there any way that dealers make this work(returning the gti ahead of time) without hurting me at the end?
The car has very low miles 15k and is in good shape.

I would like to trade the gti in for the new purchased car ASAP. I can get good prices and am good at negotiating a car price but if it’s going to benefit me heavily to wait it out I can do that.
Thanks in advance

2

I dont know man, like throwing darts blindly. More info needed.

3

Wait and get a better deal in December when you don’t have to deal with GTI payments anymore.

1 Like
4

Put your GTI on Turo and go buy whatever you want. If you’re in a decent sized city, it should bring in some nice steady cash flow and, at least enough to make the payments. Maybe even take to a Turo airport dealer lot and just leave it there to rent to whomever without taking any of your time.

I did this with my last vehicle and I made well over what the remaining payments were but it requires you have some miles left in your lease, of coursw. Turo is the real deal. You have an asset, put it to good use and don’t get f-ed over by a dealer.

5

Before following this advice to put a car on Turo, you should be sure this doesn’t violate the terms of your lease with VW Financial - I’m pretty sure it does. The only lease captives I’m aware of that allow this are MBFS and BMWFS and you have to be sure your lease contract explicitly allows it.

6

What is the turo airport dealer lot? It’s like a Turo lot that handles the pickup and dropoff? How much do they charge for the privilege? Can you just go pick it up whenever you want?

7

Sounds like a good way to get your car trashed…not to mention you could be F(((ed if the renter crashes your car.

2 Likes
8

I’m sure he has the 5-10k liquid and available in case a renter totals his car and GAP insurance doesn’t cover it since it was being used as a rental.

9

To answer the OPs question, the payments will affect you in any negotiation if they plan to return your car early and make the remaining payments for you. Even if they say “we will make the apyments for you” the money is coming out of somewhere *likely your pocket). That being said, there are a couple of things you can check to see if it is possible to walk away clean. All three are basically derivations of the same thing (selling the car for the same or more than you owe)

  1. Have the dealer take the car on trade (not as a lease return to the bank) for more than your payoff to VW credit. You should be able to do some research and get and idea if you are under water or not (i.e. owe more than the car is worth).

  2. Sell the car privately for more than the payoff.

  3. Try Carvana. I have read that they are very generous on what they are paying for some cars right now. I mean they could all be internet shills but it’s worth a shot. If they offer you more than what you owe, you are good to go!

1 Like
10

Thanks for the feedback everyone. I’m in the process of fixing a small dent my car has then gonna go to a dealer and see what they want to give me for the gti and how much I can get the subaru for.
Turo seems like a good idea but I wouldn’t risk it myself.
I know the smartest decision is to wait, just wanted to see if there was any way to change it up now.
Thanks again

11

Only if you can sell the GTI at or above buyout, but it’s obvious. Also, in December you can get a 2019 Subaru rather than a year old MY one, which is better since you will be buying it.

12

What about leasetrader? Is that an option for 4-5 months ?

13

More hassle for all parties, IMO. 4-5 months is nothing.

14

Not to mention, VW would still keep your name on the lease if you tried to do a lease transfer.

15

Call the lender on the GTI. See what the payoff is to you or another dealer (they could be different). Find out what a real market value is on the GTI from Carmax (you have to go in), Carvana (you can get a number online), or a few VW dealers (ask for the name of the used car manager first, then ask to speak to him for an estimate based on description). See how much positive or negative equity you have to deal with.

If you sell it yourself, make sure the buyer of your GTI pays the sales tax and not you in the payoff. In CA you get 10 days to resell the car before you’re on the hook for the tax. It’s wise to pay it off with your private party’s money, so you don’t get left holding the bag.

Ask the lender if the lease can be assumed, and if so, confirm you’re not secondarily liable if the one assuming the lease flakes out.

16

I just sold a 2016 GTI and I wish that I checked Carvana first. The price estimate was a good deal more than I was able to sell it for privately. Worth checking out.