Long time lurker, but first time thread starter. Im reaching out to seek guidance on my current situation.
My wife and I currently have two cars, one that’s leased and the other which is financed. We find ourselves using the leased vehicle as our DD, and the other car doesn’t get as much love (i.e., sits in our driveway). We’re looking to buy a home deeper out in the suburbs within the next 12 -18 months, which would require having two cars.
Does it make sense to get rid of the second car now, and buy or lease something else once we need the car? I did some high-level math, and we’re paying roughly $600 a month for this vehicle, and it gets driven ~50-100 miles a month.
That’s what I was leaning towards as well. The only thing holding me back is the possibility of not finding a decent car / deal if and when we move. However, both are uncertainties (car market and timing of the move), so I should probably hold less weight on those factors.
The market seems to be starting to soften, so your equity in your current vehicle is likely to continue to go down and the price you’d pay for a new one is likely to continue to go down. Rising interest rates are really the big risk. You’re also talking about $10k in holding expenses between now and then on the current vehicle. A recession is a good time to cut unneeded expenses.
The other question is when is your lease up on the leased vehicle? If you have between 6 and 12 months left, and you think you won’t find something at a comparable price, you have to factor that into the equation as well.
Comes down to what each is worth in the open market. One thing to note is the lease has a dedicated rip cord at the end of lease, Audi FS is either gonna hold the bag, break even, or make some $$$. The financed car is basically your problem.
There also the math you have to consider with buying the home… interest rates are up inventory still low so your 12-18 month timeframe may move out longer which favors selling the financed vehicle.
And if we are talking over year’s time in the first place… there may be better lease deals for cars then… as long as some supply chain event doesn’t reoccur.
I ended up selling my 2017 S3 over the weekend. I thought about putting an order for the 2023 Mustang, since the 2024 is a new generation. But given the timing of when that order would come in, I’ve decided not to. Hopefully the newer generation grows on me…
