Hi everyone! My 2021 Tiguan SE lease is going to be ending in June, and I’m not sure what the best path forward is. We are going to be over our allowable mileage by 20,000 miles, and according to my lease those are going to be billed at 20/cents a mile, or $4,000 in overages. The residual/buyout on the vehicle is only $16,000, and it appears the market value is currently closer to $20,000.
We love the car and would like to lease a 2024 Tiguan, so with all that in mind what would be our best path forward? Would VW be willing to waive the mileage overage if we leased another? Would the dealer be able to purchase the car and give me a credit for the equity? Should I buy it myself for $16K and then sell it privately, and if so what are the tax implications that usually come along with that? I’m in Tennessee and based on my understanding I would need to pay around $1,000 in sales taxes, even if I turn right around and sell it to someone else.
What was the MSRP of your car? I don’t think VW has ever assigned high RVs to their cars, but that seems very low.
Probably not a 20K mileage overage, no.
Yes.
If you’re using the equity as part of a new lease deal, you should expect the dealer will either give you less than you’d make selling it privately or will give you less of a discount on the new car. But that might end up a wash, since you would presumably need to pay taxes, if you sell privately.
Market value doesn’t mean jack. What matters is how much is written on a check that a buyer can write — could be a lot more or a lot less than what anyone guesses from looking at market values.
I’ve always leased and just prefer to get something “new” every 3-years. Having the vehicle covered under warranty and not having to stress about maintenance is a big advantage for me. Plus, the new Travel Assist feature on the 2024 Tiguan is compelling since I take a lot of road trips. I’ll definitely be opting for 15K/miles a year on my next lease though!
Yeah, I have no concerns in my ability to re-sell it. Online listings show the exact year and trim going for $19K-21K, giving me a $3-5K cushion above what I owe. Plus, factoring in the $4K mileage overage fee if I return it, I could potentially sell it for as low as $12K and break even. Even Tesla offered $16,800 trade-in value when I looked into the Model Y.
I would put together a target deal just for the new Tiguan w/o the trade and then see what dealers are willing to offer on your current Tiguan.
Might also want to offer look into purchasing one since it seems like VW is offering $2K customer cash and 0% APR for 72 mos (although the MF this month is not bad).
Considering your potential $4k over mileage penalty if it were me I would focus on selling it now directly to a VW dealer for the highest bid I could get.
Buying it out yourself, paying taxes, waiting for the title etc. then trying to sell it privately is a huge hassle especially for a minimal upside of only $2-3k.
If a Tesla dealer offered $16,800 then I would shop it to any VW dealer and try to get them to match. If one offers $17k take it, walk away with $1k in your pocket then start over from scratch on the new car.
