Buying out VW Tiguan lease? 2018 lease up at the end of month. 19800 residual

Ask the Hackrs
1

I leased a 2018 Tiguan SEL for 280/Month with 1500 due at signing and the lease ends 1/31/21. It was a great deal, was very happy with the lease price. However, I can’t get a lease close to the above. New leases are closer to 400+ a month due to the residuals being closer to 50% for 15/36 in a 2021 Tiguan SEL.

My car is at 40k miles with a 19800 residual. I am slightly above residual with market value. There is ~$300 dollars of damage to the car as per the inspection and new tires put on the car in 2020.

Am I missing anything by just buying this directly from VW Credit with a loan from a credit union?

2

Is there no other similar car for $1500 DAS with ~$280?

3

Equinox LT would easily be in that price range

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4

Honda CRV

You’re missing VW’s questionable resale value and maintenance needs

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5

Hard pass, don’t a buy a vw that’s almost out of warranty. That residual is pretty close to retail prices. Shop around, not sure when you got the quote on the new Tiguan, but the program has probably changed. The sweet spot is the SE trim usually

6

I don’t like the way they look, but I will look into it as I just disregarded the Equinox.

The maintenance did catch me off guard. Are you saying the book value will always be out of line with what I can sell it for?

I still have 3 years left bumper to bumper. Only reason I’m considering it. The 18’s came with 6 year/72000 mile warranties. I’m waiting to see what the new rates are for this month. Nothing posted on edmunds yet.

7

I think the residual on the 2018 is too high, look at them now, they lowered the residual and dropped the MF compared to your 2018, and don’t lease very well. The Atlas deals seemed better than the Tiguan’s the last couple of months. You still need to finance the residual, 5 year note with tax, you will be $350ish and at the end of that term you have an 8 year old broken vw that isn’t worth much(and then out of warranty for sure). I’d keep looking around.

8

Very well put, thank you. Thankfully VW will let me extend the lease 1-6 months at the same rate.

Going to look at the Kia Sorento tonight.

9

That’s the way to go, extend and shop some more, then you aren’t forced to make a bad decision

10

There’s book value and then there’s the separate issue of ease of sale.

All else being equal, a $10,000 Toyota will sell faster on craigs than a $8,000 VW.

11

The Equinox LT (at least the 2020) leases pretty well, but isn’t as well equipped as a Tiguan SEL. Blind Spot warning isn’t even standard on the LT, while it is standard on a base Tiguan S. The Equinox Premier is more comparable to a Tiguan SEL.

A Tiguan S or SE leases well, but you’d need to make a step down in content, of course just as you would with an Equinox LT.

12

Couple of notes:

  1. Make sure you get the actual 10 day payoff quote by calling VW Credit. That’s the real number, not the residual on your lease agreement. Use that number to compare on KBB website and get an actual dealer offer for your car. If it is too low, look at private party listings on Car Gurus or similar. You are probably upside down on the retail value right now.
  2. If you lease a new VW or Audi they will waive the disposition fee. (if you have one. Mine is $345) There also may be some mileage allowance if you are over. That’s decent savings.
  3. The Tiguan SE was a good lease in 2018. Ours was a true sign and drive with $0 DAS and 35 payments of $298/mo with tax included (7.25% in CA). It will be hard to match that deal with a new car this February when ours is due back.

Good luck!