My elderly dad (in Connecticut) is leasing a 2017 Honda CR-V LX AWD. He babies the car and it will have barely 25k miles used on the 36k lease when the lease is over in December 2019. The payoff price will be around $17k. He is planning to lease another Honda once this lease is over.
I’m in Massachusetts and will need to replace my car by December. Since I do a lot of driving I’d rather buy than lease. If it makes sense financially, I would prefer my dad’s CR-V to some other random used CR-V since I know it has been very well maintained and has had no issues. I do have enough cash saved to cover the $17k if needed.
Since I am a total lease newbie, I could probably manage to find some way for everyone except Honda and/or the dealer to get screwed on this deal.
Instead, I hope the hackers here can let me know the best way to come out ahead on the two transactions: CR-V for me, new lease for him.
You’ll buy his CR-V out at the residual value (no negotiations possible) at the dealer. You will pay doc fee so it will make sense to go to NY where it is capped.
Because you are buying it out, you can start shopping whenever theoretically. Deals don’t seem very good on it right now though
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Thanks @BoardWalkNJ!
So if I understand you correctly, the dealer is not going to care that I’m buying out the car, and it won’t help my dad get any sort of better deal?
How much money could I save on doc fees? It might be nice to have as few states as possible trying to get sales tax.
When you mention deals not seeming very good, do you mean Honda leases, prices of used CR-Vs, prices of new CR-Vs, or what?
So many questions! I appreciate the help. Thanks again!
The dealer won’t care at all. They get nothing except the doc fee when completing a buy out. A NY dealer should be able to have you pay MA sales tax without any issue. Out of state deals aren’t uncommon.
Honda leases in general, with rare exceptions, are usually rather poor. You’d likely be better off getting him an Equinox, Terrain, or Encore if price is most important.
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Thanks for the explanations! Price (and reliability) are the most important concerns for my perennially broke ass. My dad does like Hondas, but he’s enjoying his retirement and will lease whatever floats his boat. 
He should go for a $200/month Corolla w $200 DAS
Can’t beat that and they’re right here in MA!
Insert “Why lease Honda when you can lease Bimmer for much less!” comment here.
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Just FYI if this is the redesign with turbo engine, they have an oil/gas issue. Gas leaks into the oil and can potentially cause expedited breakdown and wear of the engine. That being said, I am leasing a 2018. Thought about buying at the end, but most likely will not due to this issue. Honda has ignored it and stated that it is normal.
@Ian_Park Some of the next generation might agree with you, but part of enjoying retirement is doing whatever you want and ignoring the younger generation’s opinions. 
Thanks @gabsonfire! Yeah, lots of discussion about the gas leakage with the turbos on the Honda forums. But my dad’s is the LX trim with the regular 2.4L engine, not the turbo.
Nice. Otherwise I love the vehicle. Best of luck.
-Alex
I remember back when I was still on Facebook Honda announced the “new” CR-V with the turbo. I had commented at the time that I would probably stay away from them once my existing CR-V lease was up because of potential reliability concerns. If it ain’t broke, why fix it? Everyone called me crazy.
“consumer reports” still recommends it. Which is crazy.
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I mean an entire (totalitarian, but still) nation forced Honda to recall them all… Yet CR will bust Tesla’s chops over little things that they patch the next day via OTA software. Go figure.
Consumer Reports is so hypocritical nowadays. They went from loving Mazda’s infotainment system to saying that it is very confusing. Heck they complain about virtually every infotainment system and want physical buttons the size of disposable cups. I guess their target demographic is 95 year olds with cataracts (which makes sense with most of the cars they recommend)
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I think most people still getting their magazine probably fall into that demographic, and I’d be curious how they do online. Mercedes nails it IMO by offering redundancy on these systems (buttons, touch, pad, etc), but if you want all of that you’ve gotta pay for it. Barring a horrible Chinese knockoff system with a resistive touchscreen, most of the time the problems with these systems are between the seat and the wheel.
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