My wife has a 2022 Kia Sportage and the lease ends next month. We’re contemplating our options for what to do with her vehicle. She is interested in possibly getting a Kia Carnival (or other minivan) so we might be looking to trade it in.
Here’s the thing, I think her car might have a bit of equity because it only has 1200 miles on it, she rarely drives it.
Would it be better for us to purchase the vehicle now and then trade it in or just try to go to the Kia dealership and have them buy it/trade it in? I thought there might be some tax savings if we just go through the dealership.
One other thing I wanted to ask about, she was in a fender bender earlier this month. She literally never drives the car and a month before turn-in she hits a car in the parking lot . Anywho, should we fix this before buying/trading or will that hurt us more because if we go through insurance because it will show that the car was in an accident? Damage is pretty substantial, probably a new front bumper cover.
Thanks all in advance! If I need to provide more information, let me know.
Has a Fender Bender - $2000 Min on Equity
Note : This is a Lease so you have to get that fixed if you return it.
Check for sure if it has equity, that Fender Bender on a the Front Bumper made any equity Zero. If you fix it and it shows up on Carfax, make that equity negative.
That doesn’t sound like a lot. You could probably have it done for cash
But fix it either way. Because you’re going to get lowballed if you don’t.
Second, minivans are way more unwieldy around parking lots than compact SUVs. IDK if that impacts the decision process of a driver who hit something within driving a Sportage for 1,200 miles. Not saying this to shade you but might be worth considering keeping the Sportage for a while.
So since we’ve been married it’s always been that I have the main car and she has the “low mile” car but I think we’re going to swap this and we’ll have the main “family car” which in this case will be the van and then I’ll get something fun and sporty . But I do agree with you - her accident was my fault because I hate the parking sensor alert in her car and I disabled it the last time I drove it and it wasn’t on for her and she misjudged the distance.
. Anywho, should we fix this before buying/trading or will that hurt us more because if we go through insurance because it will show that the car was in an accident? Damage is pretty substantial, probably a new front bumper cover.
. But I do agree with you - her accident was my fault because I hate the parking sensor alert in her car and I disabled it the last time I drove it and it wasn’t on for her and she misjudged the distance.