I stumbled on this site and I’m just a regular person so please don’t flame me too hard. Here goes. I just got caught in this horrible snowstorm in the Lehigh Valley of Pennsylvania and I’m done (working in healthcare I can’t miss work). I currently lease a 2016 Honda Civic. I’ve only put less than 16,000 miles on it and lease ends in summer 2019. I prefer leasing to buying because I hate repair bills on older cars. I think I want to lease a Subaru Forrester. Shouldn’t I have equity in that Honda? It’s a very desirable car and it’s in pristine condition. I always use floor mats, trunk liners, pet sling in back seat etc. I want a payment as close to $200 as possible. Maybe I’m delusional I don’t know but I read these ads that say lease for $179/month. What is my Honda worth? I see there are brokers on this site who do the deals for a fee. I would be open to that. Ok please don’t kill me in the comments, fill my inbox with spam, and Thank you for your time.
get a quote from Carvana or Vroom and compare to your payoff amount
Or just get snow tires…
first thing, you need to get a quote from carvana, vroom and local carmax. check with your pay off quote. if that’s good, then you can start looking for a new lease.
if you are new to leasing, i would suggest to hire a broker. there are many awesome brokers here. you can check the dealer/broker reviews section of the forum and reach out to them.
I had on snow tires 
Thank you that is a helpful first step
Any car can be leased at $179/month provided you put enough “down payment” and you never want to put “down payment” on a lease. Read the fine print, not just the headline, the devil is in the details. I suggest you read Leasing 101 to start and acquaint yourself first with the details of leasing.
maybe, call Honda financial and ask for your “payoff quote”. This is the amount to pay off your car in full.
Then go to vroom.com or carvana.com and get a quote what they are willing to pay for your car.
If it is equal or more than you payoff quote, you can accept the offer and they will come pick up your car and pay you and you’re done with the civic and can get another car.
If it is less than payoff and you still want to sell, then the difference will have to come out of your own pocket. Up to you to decide if it’s worth it.
there are a handful of entry level cars that lease in that price range without too much upfront cost, a car class similar to the civic. Most ads you see that show a low payment require large upfront cost as shown in the ad’s fine print. So you might see a Nissan Rogue SUV ad for $179/mo but it will require $3000 upfront payment.
Since you’re very new to this, I would recommend the use of a broker.
@nyclife is a reputable broker serving Pennsylvania that can help you for a fee.
Lastly, you’re only half a year away for lease end, if carvana and vroom don’t work out, it’s not the end of the world, you’ll be out of your civic soon anyway. In the meantime you can use those months and familiarize yourself with leasing so you’re ready in July.
If you’re only driving only 6-7,000 miles a year, you’re leaving money on the table by leasing each time.
I know. I just don’t like owning aging cars.
The storm that affected the NY metro area was just handled poorly. An SUV wouldn’t have helped that much. You’re making a rash decision based on trauma, which is never a good idea. My neighbor with a 530i was stuck in traffic for 7 hours to come home (usually takes an hour and 15) and so was my neighbor with a Traverse. It made no difference what car you had. NJ, NY, and PA all handled it poorly. A Subaru isn’t going to magically help. It’s all marketing that they have with their AWD system
Leasing 101 was a great suggestion. I feel like I’m in school. Getting too old for these learning curves.
Ok I still need 4wd as I live on a steeply inclined road. Peace of mind is what I’m after and YES this storm was handled poorly! Everyone I know who owns a Subaru loves them. I dont know. I’m not ‘into’ cars. What’s your favorite 4wd?
Yeah I was just going to ask if you need the AWD for inclines in Lehigh Valley.
Not a Nissan Rogue IMO.
Thank you. I live on South Mountain. Definitely need 4wd
Personally, I hate Subarus because of their dowdy styling, cheap and noisy interiors, and massive oil-burn problems. At $200 per month, you can’t be picky at all. You’re shopping based on budget, not the car itself
The oil-burn issue is exaggerated IMO. And none of the cars in this price range have lux interiors. Go with the Subaru if you can find a good deal.
Subaru all the way then. You can also price Impreza or Crosstrek.
I think you might struggle to get a Subaru or anything else with a halfway decent AWD system for that budget. An Impreza is probably the best bet or maybe a Crosstrek if you need the added height but I think $250-300 is more likely.
$250-ish is probably doable, but there are almost no 2018s left and 2019 are still coming in.