Positive equity and replacement options in the current market

very interested to hear more about this strategy, sound a super money saving one !!!

@mllcb42 Thank you so much, really appreciate it !

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I know of this 10-day rule, but how can it be done in actuality? You need the title in hand in order to sell to the likes of Carvana, Vroom, etc. I suppose the steps would be like:

(1) Pay buyout price to leasing company or bank;
(2) Wait for leasing company or bank to sign the original title (in their name) to you:
(3) Take the original title to DMV to register under your name:
(4) I believe that DMV would collect the sales tax in Step 3. How to get around that?
(5) Assuming one could get away with paying sales tax in Step 4, wait to receive new title (in your name) from DMV;
(6) Bring the new title to sell to Carvana, etc.

In addition to the hurdle in Step 4 above, I just cannot think of a scenario where the above process can be completed within 10 days. Please share your experience if anyone has successfully achieved that.

Step 7 fill out form and wait a few weeks for a check. And there is a thread here for that. Titled CA 10 Day or something.
5a. Date of Mailing I believe is start of 10 day

Thank you for the info. I searched and found the thread, the link of which is attached below for anyone who is interested.

California 10 day tax exempt For lease buyout - Ask the Hackrs - FORUM | LEASEHACKR

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In GA, I have a 2019 Sonata that is coming up on the end of the 36-month lease at the end of February. I got the 10k/yr mileage option and am well under with only 19,800 miles. My residual value is $12,417.90 but I think it’s value is much more since it’s in great condition.

I know I have quite a few options here, but I’m not privy to the current car market, so I want to make the smartest decision.

Originally, I planned to trade in the Sonata and lease a Tuscon, as I want to upgrade to an SUV, and with potential desire to purchase the Tuscon at lease end. However, I don’t want to put any money down at signing or lose equity in the car I have.

Should I consider buying out my lease & eventually sell/trade-in with something like Carvana? Move forward with my original plan? Something you recommend that I’m not considering?

Any recommendations or suggestions or any help are so welcome!

    1. Get your real payoff amount (Call Hyundai for this amount)
    1. Go Online to Carmax / Carvana / Vroom and see how much that car is worth. If you don’t have that number then you are proceeding blind.
    1. If that number is over $5k over payoff then seriously start thinking about buying it and selling it to make some cash. (If less than $5k over payoff…that’s a lot of work for little money after taxes)
    1. Go to your local dealer that you want another car and ask them to give you near or above the best price of the 3 (There are like 10 of them but I don’t like typing them all out) Note : If not a Hyundai dealer then assume you will have to sell it in #2 as the new dealer cannot buy it at your payoff.
    1. If you can try to separate the selling of the car and buying of the new car, Dealers love to hide lots of bad stuff when trading in a car and selling you a new one. If say they don’t want to give you anything, you can proceed with #2 and sell the car.
    1. If #4 is bad, then shop for your car separately without a ‘trade in’
    1. Since you want a Hyundai, some dealers will Order you a car for MSRP. Just throwing this out there in case all goes south.
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Tucson is not going to be an upgrade though.

I’m currently leasing a 2019 BMW X3 xDrive with 14.9k miles and ending in early May. Today’s buyout is $33.2k and KBB Trade is $38K to $41K and Private Party is $41K to $44K.

  1. I want to unlock the lease equity. What is the best option for me?
  2. Should I purchase the vehicle and sell it to CarMax, Vroom, Carvana?
  3. If I purchase at $33.2K and sell the car, what is my tax implications?
  4. If/when I can unlock the lease equity, I want to use that as a downpayment for a used or a new car.

Trying to understand my best options for me.

Thanks!

Please read my post 2 above yours…if you don’t do #2 , then anything else is a crapshoot.
KBB numbers are useless for this. All other items you asked are in that post.

Hey everyone! I recently sold my 2021 GLE 53 AMG finally (I had a love & hate relationship with this car thank god) with a $15,000 positive equity and I am ready to purchase a replacement soon.

I have two allocations available, 2022 Cayman GT4 for 10k above MSRP or 2022 992 base Carrera at MSRP. Both are about the same price 115k MSRP + 10k ADM for GT4 and 120k MSRP for 992 base.

911 is a dream car of mine and really fits my needs well (daily driver, no track, prefer straight acceleration over corners, better interior, a larger cabin) but the GT4 is just magnificent and it is really tempting to get the GT4 because they hold their values sooo well and I feel confident I won’t lose that much even with the 10k ADM. Plus better street creds haha

Overall if you had a choice what would you choose? I welcome any other recommendations for my replacement! My budget is 120k-125k


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Doesn’t sound like you prefer the Cayman in any shape or form as a car over a 911.

Why end up in another love-hate or hate-hate relationship?

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That’s a great point I guess I should stop second-guessing myself and just go with my heart even if its a worse financial decision

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Top= Impress the men
Bottom= Impress the women
Equation solved.

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:point_up_2:t2::point_up_2:t2:, and: don’t get your 2nd choice because it might be worth more than your first when you are ready to part with it. Get the car you want.

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Sure, make it sound easy. :grinning_face_with_smiling_eyes:

My 2019 X5 got into accident and I think it might be totaled, still waiting on insurance. Front bumper, head lights, grill, hood, radiator and fenders all suffer some damage. Front beam was bent and driver/passenger airbags deployed and driver side air curtain deployed. Thankfully no one was hurt.

Any thoughts on what to replace it with? X5 M50i won’t lease well in this market. Looking for good power and good residual since I might replace it in a year. Does Tesla Model 3 LR make sense? Thanks!

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It really depends on your usage. If you are going to track it then GT4 no doubt. For backroads and weekend drives, 911 would be way more comfortable. I have my gt4 for almost a year now but whenever I need to go somewhere, I wouldn’t drive it, it has pretty bad front clearance due to the splitter and rough ride from coil overs. It lives at 4k+ rpm, not in traffic.

Nothing I enjoy more in LA than watching people with exotics take out their front end spoilers on various inclines and curbs. Or take a solid two minutes inching down their driveway to avoid it.

This city is designed for cars with chunky, high profile tires and lots of ground clearance.