So my 2018 Acura MDX lease is ending in August. This is the worst possible time to buy or lease ANY car. Extremely low inventory everywhere. Even used cars are marked up like crazy. Was at Toyota to look at a RAV4 Hybrid and the dealer is even cockier than usual, saying he doesn’t need to make deals right now. About 4 Kia Sorrento Hybrid in a 50 miles radius around Boston, going for 4K over MSRP.
So I’m not feeling good at all about this hassle. I called Acura and they can extend my lease another 12 months, on a month-to-month basis. Then hopefully things will settle down in a year or before. But I’m not sure whether this is a good idea. My payoff amount in $27k today, with 2 more payments to make. Mileage is right on par for the course at 34k. The car is valued at $30k by dealership & Carvana, so there is some equity in it.
My goal is to put off buying or leasing another car (new or used) until the market settles down. Should I go ahead and just buy the car for the 27k and sell later? Or just extend the lease which seems like a very easy option?
You could very well lose that $3k in equity if/when the market drops. You could also pay $3k+ more now than if the market drops. It’s a gamble either way but worst case scenario if you extend your lease 12 months is that you have a 2018 payment on a lease for the next 12 months vs a 2021 payment. If I were in your shoes I’d extend.
What would be the RV now and RV after 12-month? Would that affect your decision?
Note that if you plan to return this car anyway after 12-month, RV may not matter. But if RV becomes much lower, the monthly lease payment will not be good, I suppose?
