For instance, getting a lease under $100 / mo and then trading it on a lease trader site?

In theory, yes. You would have to find a buyer willing to pay you a “fee” to take over your low monthly lease payment. Also, some people have leased a car, then sold it to a private buyer or to Carmax for more than the lease payoff. You would have to have a big discount and a ton of incentives appl…

Forgive my ignorance, but isn’t the residual based on the MSRP? If it is, doesn’t the sale price and incentives become moot when trying to sell for profit at lease end? Because isn’t buying out the car at lease end essentially the equivalent of purchasing for MSRP?

The lease payment is calculated based on the difference between residual of MSRP and how much the dealer “sells” the car for to the lease company. The residual value is just a “guess” of how much the car will be worth at the end of the lease. The customer pays the difference between the sale price a…

Makes perfect sense, very interesting!

I think it would also be easier to make money on it if you drive less than your allotted miles. I’m planning on leasing a car for 36/10k, but I really only drive 6k miles per year. I’d expect the car to be worth more than the payoff by the time the end of the lease approaches, so I could sell it, pa…

Thanks for the explanation. My lease has some language regarding early termination of the lease and applicable fees depending on when that occurs. Does this generally apply to buying out the car? Or is this more for just turning it in early?

I can only speak for my GMfinancial leases. If I buyout the lease early, there is no fee. If I turn in the car, it costs $395 unless I buy or lease another GM vehicle within 10 days.

This stuff is incredibly interesting, it reminds me of the airline miles stuff I am way into.

[image] adamcar: Also, some people have leased a car, then sold it to a private buyer or to Carmax for more than the lease payoff. You would have to have a big discount and a ton of incentives applied to the lease to overcome the depreciation hit a new car takes when you drive it off the lot. Th…

I managed to make money off a Cruze Limited lease I picked up last December. Sorta was the perfect storm though. GM was running super-aggressive lease specials on Cruze Limiteds at the time. For manufacturer incentives, I got the $2,500 Volt loyalty rebate, another $3,700 or so in lease incentives, …