Thanks for the responses — I think there may have been some miscommunication on my end, so let me clarify.
I was never suggesting I’d roll $11k of negative equity into a new deal. What I was actually asking is whether the dealer or AFS would be willing to negotiate the buyout price at lease end — essentially, is there any flexibility on the residual, or is it always a hard number with AFS? That was the core of my question.
On the tax point — I hear you that it’s a sunk cost in MD, but the angle I was exploring is slightly different. In Maryland, when you trade in a vehicle toward a new purchase or lease, the trade-in value offsets the taxable base on the new deal — you only pay tax on the difference. This applies even when trading in a leased vehicle; no buyout required. So at lease end, if I trade the Q8 e-tron into the same dealer and get into a new Audi, the trade-in credit would reduce the tax owed on the new vehicle. That offsets some of what I’ve already paid in taxes over the lease term, which is what I was trying to quantify.
Not trying to manufacture equity that doesn’t exist — just trying to understand all the levers before the lease ends.
Just checked tax was after dealer discounts, but before rebates.
Thanks for confirming. Looks like the only silver lining here is their pull ahead program since I have already used all the miles, I can potentially save 3 months of payments and get a new car.
Jumping in because I also have a 2024 Q8 e-tron, so I’m in a similar predicament. The neg eq means options are limited to turning it in, just a question of when.
You should know that they’re doing pull-ahead right now (at least here in CA), so if you’re within the last 3 months, you could dump it early penalty free.
I believe Audi also lets you extend by 3-6 months.
My predicament is that the Q6 e-trons are leasing so terribly right now.
They’re literally trying to tell me it’s a good deal to use pull ahead and get into a 2025 Q6 P+ for ~$950/month with $3k DAS. Like, wut? I looked into why, and it’s because the RV for 36-39 mo. is an atrocious 42%. Good lord.
I’m honestly tempted to hold onto the car for another 3-6 months after my September due date and see if Season of Audi yields any good programs on the 2027s…
My q8 etron also due back in September. Also no equity, My dealer said to extend lease since I am below mileage and wait and see if anything else becomes available at about the same price.
No one should anticipate equity in an EV lease from the last 2 years. KBB reported that the average transaction price of new EVs by the end of last year included a “typical discount” of 18%. The used market absolutely corrects for the overinflated MSRPs and heavy rebates that went into these transactions.
Already over miles, but that is a sunk cost. I believe if you extend the lease, they prorate you additional miles… So I’m not really considering that as a factor. I think it probably still makes sense to extend the lease and wait around for a season of Audi. Would you agree?
I would say it depends on how much you have already gone over the miles.
Yes, they’ll give you more miles if you extend, but if you’re already over, you’re just going to delay the issue. But that’s a math problem, you can figure out how much each mile costs and estimate how much you’re going to be over by the end of the extension. Just keep an eye on the warranty, you don’t want to be out of warranty. And also keep an eye on the tires, you don’t want to extend 6 mo and put you in a place where you have to buy another $1000 in tires.
The 2024 deals aren’t coming back; there’s no gov’t EV incentive anymore.
Genuine question: which model are we talking about? Helps me to have a concrete example in mind as I consider my next car later this year (although I assume everyone will be “no one” moving forward, w/o the gov’t rebate)….
I flipped my i4 m50 for $1k but I was severely under my miles and had a desired color combo. Sure there are always outliers but a realistic rv would be your Lexus. Even 55%-60% is a sure fire loss imo.
I too have a 2024 Q8 lease coming up. Based upon the lease buyout vs. market trade-in price, I am about $8k negative. But I really dislike the car and would have no intention of buying it out or looking for a CPO after handing the keys back. I’ve been laughing at the constant emails about a trade-up to a Q6 at a higher monthly for a longer term! I laugh because it isn’t a trade-up and what kind of an idiot would pay more for a longer term and think it’s a great deal?!
I won’t be staying with Audi given the experience (after having already owned 7 Audi’s) and am happy I leased this thing. It’s too bad none of the pull-ahead allows me to turn it in early and walk away. Right now it sits in my garage unused. Some lucky person will buy a very low mileage well-kept Q8 and hopefully be very happy.
