6 months left on my 23 Audi e-tron GT lease and trying to figure out the smartest next move.
I’m about 6 months out on a 36/10k lease, sitting at ~12k miles total. Residual is around 69k, so I’m assuming there’s no real equity here even with the low mileage. Kind of a weird spot to be in after only using about a third of the miles, especially coming from ICE cars where that usually mattered.
Part of the confusion is that this e-tron deal was unusually good. Friends and family discount, big Audi incentives at the time, EV credit, plus equity from my M2. All in, it was sub-100k for a 130k car, so resetting expectations now is a bit of a reality check. Doing the math doesn’t help either, roughly 36k over 3 years for about 12k miles, or around 3 dollars a mile. Ouch.
Normally at this point I know exactly what I want next. This time I don’t. For context, prior cars were an M2 Competition, M235, and a 2 Series. That’s more to give flavor than define criteria. I’m not in the two door phase anymore, but this also isn’t the primary family car. We already have a three row SUV, which is why the mileage is so low.
I see plenty of Porsche, BMW, Mercedes around me, and nothing turns my head. The one thing that’s consistently caught my eye is the Rivian R1S. If I had to move tomorrow, that’s probably where I’d land. I’ve also been looking at the BMW M850 Gran Coupe since it has similar proportions to the e-tron GT and feels more aligned with how I drive now. Dealer tried to push me toward an M5, but that’s not really the point for me given traffic, short commute, and how little of the performance I actually use.
I’ve looked at Porsche options like Taycan Cross Turismo, but between pricing, ownership hassle, and a firm veto on wagons at home, I’ve moved on. I’m also not locked into German luxury. Honestly, even the new Kia Telluride looks great and I wouldn’t hate a much lower payment.
What I’m trying to solve for:
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Around 1k a month, ballpark
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Fun daily, leaning comfort over horsepower
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Doesn’t need to haul kids but proper backseat (think executive saloon / GT, not an M3 backseat)
Couple questions for the group:
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Any cars I should be looking at that lease well and fit this lane?
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I’ve never used a broker before, but I’ve got three young kids and not a lot of spare time. Happy to pay a fee if it makes sense. Any broker recs in Northern Virginia?
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Anything creative worth exploring with my current lease if a good deal pops up, or am I best off just riding out the last six months?
