My car is a secondary car and I work from home, doesn’t get much use. 7500 miles per year would cover my needs from a historical perspective.
should I buy 10k just in case or is it the same as just paying overage if needed?
first time leasing so your advise would be helpful. Looking at an Audi for this scenario.
Hi,
Get the higher miles. You never know what can happen. The fee’s on the overage is astronomical.
Define astronomical
OP I would just go by historical usage. I see no need to essentially lock yourself into prepaying any miles above 7,500
I was told whether you pay them upfront or add them later it costs the same?
7500 + 2500 miles = 10k miles
So, 2500 miles x .25/mi = $625
$625 / 12 months = $52/mo (which is what some folks may quote to increase the prepaid upfront).
I might be missing something though.
Are you asking if you should get a lease w/ 10K miles/yr or, once you have already leased the car, if is cheaper to pre-purchase miles vs. paying the penalty?
The former results in a lower RV.
If you do not foresee yourself needing 10K miles/yr, I would simply go w/ 7500.
Depends on the vehicle. Typically it is cheaper to increase the mileage upfront. Sometimes it is cheaper to do the lowest mileage lease and then pay the per mile penalty (more common on the high msrp EVs). It almost never costs the same though.
To really know do the lease math for payment on 7.5K and 10K then compare 7.5K with overage penalty to the 10K numbers.
There is no universal answer, but calculate where the break-even point is and that will help you decide.
IIRC on my Audi even if I contracted for 10k and used exactly 10k, it would have been slightly more expensive than contracting for 7.5k and paying the other 2.5k / year OOP.
I think what people are missing is that you have to pay for the 10,000 miles up front but if you take 7,500 miles and drive 8,500 miles, you will only pay a 1,000 x .25 = $250 penalty
Most people clutch their pearls when they think about having to write a check at the end of the lease.
This drives all kinds of irrational decisions, ranging from prepaying for too many miles “just in case” or spending thousands on tire/wheel and other lease-end protection packages so they don’t have to pay $75 each to repair two curbed rims, or get dinged (if you’ll pardon the expression) for a $200 bumper repair.
Of course a lot of people spend way more than they should on car payments, and can’t scratch together an extra few hundred dollars and also make the next mortgage payment plus the minimum payment on the $15,000 Disney vacation they put on the Capital One card in 2017. Plus they want to put in a pool.
Legit thought this would be the most slam-dunk question I’d read all day yet here we are
If you only need 7.5k miles then no need to go for 10k miles, since the higher mileage affects the residual value of the car.
Some leasing banks offer a discount if you prepay for additional miles before lease end. For example, Audi Financial Services offers a $0.05 discount ($0.25 vs $0.20) if you prepay for additional miles.
@shahrukh.noor- What is the mystery car you are thinking of leasing?
Haha! I like to overthing things too…but using actual math to convince me! 
Lmao! Felt like a basic question. Gained a lot of insight!
Thank you!
Looking at either Lucid Air or Audi A6 sportback etron for me. Thinking I’ll get a cheaper price on the Audi and might be able to get lender tax credit on it.
Looking for an Escalade IQ for my wife/family car. Would need 15k miles on that.
I genuinely don’t see what numbers need to be run. Precedent says OP needs 0 miles above 7.5k/yr.
There’s no math when it comes to “just in case” based irrational decisions. It’s just cognitive bias
How much additional interior space does it offer for the 100% monthly premium over a Vistiq?
Make sure your wife gets a Lux 2 or Sport 2. No auto-opening doors or passenger memory seats or massaging seats on Lux 1 and Sport 1.
Just out of curiosity type numbers, it takes like 5 minutes to do! Hey, one long unplanned road trip can eat up a couple thousand miles! Or maybe plan one because you got more miles…
i see the benz and bowties guy doing 7.5k lease with prepaid miles up to 9999. They payments higher but the miles are refunded if you dont end up using them.