I did my first ever lease 14 months ago, on a new 2019 RAM 3500 crew cab diesel 4x4 truck. I have no idea if I did OK or not, but it was a 24mo / 15k per lease. There was no money down, aside from paying the monthly payment amount up front, which seems to mean I don’t have to make the last payment. The lease is through Ally. Regardless, none of that matters because I’ve been paying it; what I’m interested in now is what happens at the end. First off, is there any possibility of equity? I know it would be small, but I’m 14.5 months into this and haven’t hit 14k miles yet, so the mileage will probably be at least 5k under the allowed amount. Second, the truck is in great shape, and I added factory remote start to it on my own a few months into the deal.
Secondly, my plan is to either lease another similar truck or buy one. However, I’m not sure if I want another RAM, or perhaps a Ford or GMC. Do you get a worse deal buying (or re-leasing) from a different dealer / different manufacturer?
Third, will a dealer custom-order a vehicle you plan to lease?
Finally, I’m in tax-free NH…no tag for that, so I picked MA which is closest. Thanks for the advice.
Go online to Carvana or Vroom and get a quote for them to buy your truck. Compare that to your current payoff. This will give you an idea of how much equity you have, if any.
Keep in mind banks can have different payoff amounts depending on if you’re buying the truck or selling to another dealer, etc.
As to getting a good deal, the biggest factor is how much time and effort you’re willing to put into the process, doing your research, etc. Going to another manufacturer doesn’t automatically mean you will get a worse deal or anything like that.
That said, sometimes manufacturers will offer an extra incentive to keep you with the brand (loyalty). You just have to do your research and run the numbers on everything you’re looking at to know how much of a difference it might make (if any).
And yes, a dealer will custom order a car that you plan to lease. Happens on here all the time. Dealer’s generally don’t care whether you lease or finance as long as they move a car.
Lease payments are paid at the start of the period rather than at the end of the period, so your final lease payment for the last month is made 30 days before your lease termination.
Well, I’m a car person. I could tell you every detail about HD pickups from any of the big 3. However, I’ve only bought cars in the past, never leased. I buy a brand new truck on average every 1.5 years. That’s generally a losing proposition financially so I decided to lease for two years as a cheaper means to the same end. But I don’t want to get screwed, of course. I’m assuming at the end of this term, signing a new lease for the best deal possible from the same dealer is going to be the best option. The market doesn’t seem great right now…more value on used cars, no incentives on new vehicles, or not much. These big pickups often see incentives and deals for $10k off pretty routinely; now they are more like $500 off due to inventory shortages.
One of the ‘pillars’ of getting a good deal is a willingness to cast a wide net beyond your local market. Unless you just happen to luck out, it’s a rare case where just going back to the last dealer you bought a car from will yield the best results.
That’s not to say that your previous dealer won’t play ball, but it is a mistake to assume that just going back and leasing another truck from them will be the best option without doing any further research.
Have you looked into calling the bank and asking for a Covid-19 lease extension to give you more time to figure things out and inventories to be replenished (and hopefully the deals and incentives)?
Please be aware that Ally has usually higher payoff number for 3rd party dealer, so You might be surprised that there is negative equity on it having still around 10 months to the end of this lease.
So it seems you guys think it might be wiser, in a few months, to try to sell the lease to Carvana or Vroom rather than just ending it at the dealer? Is it smart to put money down? What is this I hear about the “money factor,” is that like the interest rate on the money you borrow to “rent” the car for the period of time? It seems there may be different money factors? Thanks.
No one is saying that it will be better to sell to Carvana or Vroom versus just turning in your truck at lease end. All we’re saying is to use their offers to get an idea of how much positive or negative equity you may have.
If you can sell to Carvana or Vroom and pocket $5k in positive equity, then it would be silly to just turn the truck in. On the flip side, if you’re $5k upside down, then it would be equally as silly to sell it rather than turning it in.
You just have to run the numbers at the appropriate time to see what makes sense. And definitely make sure you’re using the correct 3rd party dealer payoff amount, as mentioned above.
As to money down and MF, these are very basic questions, you would do yourself good to take some time to read the Leasing 101 articles and better familiarize yourself with how leases are calculated, what the MF is, down payments, etc. etc.
