My wife has a 2019 QX60 which is set for lease termination in the next 14-days or so. Slightly under mileage of a 39-month lease, residual approximately $30k. Vehicle is in very good condition with one (MAJOR) twist.
Several months ago, the engine light came on and - as typically the case - we assumed it was something minor. It was not; the engine had developed oil sludge and after flushing engine oil, etc. the problem got worse. Infiniti refused to fix under warranty, claiming it was an oil changing issue. While in COVID, we were staying at a location without any nearby Infiniti dealer and had oil changed at 3rd party vendors. We had engine inspected by 3rd party mechanic, and long story short the engine has seized up entirely and the engine needs to be replaced. An Infiniti-installed new engine has a rack price of around $18k.
I don’t want to go down the rabbit hole of what we need to do to pursue relief on what happened, but am interested in my immediate options to deal with this. I know at least in the near-term I’m going to eat a 10-18k price for an engine replacement, but I’m trying to determine the best manner to handle this.
Option A is to buy out the lease, pay retail price to replace the engine, and then use/sell/or trade the vehicle in the usual manner. End result would be eating cost of engine replacement (absent success of other remedies I might pursue) but that cost being partially offset by equity I would have in the car past residual. For example, 18k engine repair offset by say $4,000 equity over residual an I have a $14k loss.
Option B (which would seem best option if available) is to find an Infiniti dealer that would want the vehicle as is and is able to repair it themselves for far less than the retail cost. For example, they pay $20k for car as is, my buyout is $30k and my loss is $10k (which would also be simpler and less time consuming). Let’s say the actual cost for the dealer to replace the engine is $10k, they dealer then has purchased the car for effectively $30k in cost and presumably could resell for $36-38.
I see Infiniti purchase brokers on here sometimes and would be interested in chatting with them if they have interest in the vehicle under these circumstances.
Option C (which seems worst option) is to turn the vehicle in as is, at which point I will lose both the cost of repair at whatever Infiniti chooses to price it as well as any lease residual equity that would exist after the repair.
Any advice on which option to pursue (especially leads on Option B) would be very much appreciated! Obviously a painful situation - and I may have some remedies which are beyond the scope of this thread - but I’m determined to find the best short term path and turning the page on this. Thanks!