A friend of mine has extended her lease so long that she no longer has equity in it, she didn’t realize that extended the payments wouldn’t buy down the buyout anymore.
So she has a 2020 Terrain with 24k miles on it, her lease is long expired her buyout is 22k and she’s getting around that same number for selling it off. She’s currently paying $265 a month put 0 down and to lease another one they are asking for $350 a month with $6600 down. She is thinking to just buy the truck and keep it. I told her to just extend the lease again and keep looking because the $265 a month is probably less than the depreciation anyway if she owns it and I don’t think that is a good vehicle to own long term.
She’s not the type to care if she’s driving a fancy car or not, but it’s michigan so a truck or SUV would be preferred. Is there anything out there right now at a decent price?
I know this is a totally general post, just don’t want to see her get screwed over she’s a nice girl and works hard for the little money she makes.
hmmm… that doesn’t sound right. I thought RV continues to go down with payments. If they are telling her different, I’d like to see invoices showing she was paying $265/mo in interest and tax only.
IIRC, some captives the buyout decreases with payments and some it does not.
OP - if your friend isn’t concerned about what vehicle she drives and is happy with it. Fir that buyout price I’d just buy it. Any new vehicle will include an Acq fee, dealer fee, and various transaction costs that could otherwise go towards owning a perfectly fine vehicle.
I would take a new Nissan Frontier or a Murano over a 2020 Terrain, both of them are “decent” deals right now for this market. If she ups the budget a bit, she can get into Wrangler 4xe.
Did not realize the frontier deal was still decent I thought it was done, she would definitely take that and would actually be really happy with a murano. It’s been a while since I’ve hacked a lease, the frontier thread looks dead and I don’t see the murano being discussed at all…can you point me in the right direction?
She was offered an equinox at $350 a month and 2k down and she’s considering taking it. I haven’t yet asked her for the details on it.
Frontier is probably the best bet for her. S crew cab has a 99% residual, $190 payment(w/ out tax) at msrp. Check out autocompanion deal listings for Nissan deals(2-4% off Frontiers).
Thank you, I did hack a frontier for my sister a while back. She would be much happier with a Murano I’m sure but I’m not seeing a good price on those and beggars can’t be choosers I suppose. The dealer that played ball with me and my sister on it doesn’t currently have any S crew cabs or at least it says on the website, only SV’s and King cabs. We tried a couple other dealers first and they tried to mark up the numbers on us…
Don’t spend $22k on a used Terrain. Especially at used car auto loan rates rn
I can understand why your friend leased 3 years ago, but there’s no reason to stay on that hamster wheel now.
You can still get a decent new car loan APR these days. Get a brand new Corolla Cross, HRV, Soul, Legacy, etc. depending on which has the best price and APR combination.
Not only are those more reliable than the Terrain but because of that it’s also cheap to extend the OEM warranty.
Set your friend up for the long term instead of watching someone get ripped off every 3 years or having to run interference. BTDT.
I know we’re all about the numbers here but I wouldn’t let her buy out the car just because I know it’s a terrible vehicle with catastrophic engineering ticking time bomb failures. It’s still in warranty for a while but that is not a car I would ever want to own out of warranty or just be responsible for in general.
