Hi I’m new here but this place seems really great and informative!
I leased a Camaro RS in May 2016, and the lease is ending soon. I work from home and have put low miles on the vehicle (around 25K) and despite the buyout price, I’m trying to decide if I should buy it out to get a lower monthly payment for a couple years, then do a trade in for whatever I decide to do in the future (lease or buy).
I understand that a Camaro in general isn’t a great lease vehicle, though I’m curious if I’ve been ripped off for the last 4 years. In short:
$408 a month / 10K miles a year / 48 month lease (Indianapolis)
Here are the details of the 2016 lease:
1. MSRP of the car: ($30,563) I believe it was actually $32,563 before the GM discount 2. Selling price of the car ($29,193) 3. Gross cap cost of the car ($30,563) 4. Incentives (I remember him using a 2K GM discount but can’t find it on my contract. I added some services like wheel protection for the 20" rims) 5. Money Factor (I don’t know this) 6. Residual (in 55%) Lease buyout is $16,692 7. Term of your lease (48 months) 8. Mileage allotment (10K a year)
From what I see, if I tried to own the car, I’d be paying 35K for a 30K car which sounds insane, but I also don’t plan to fully pay it off and just do a trade-in midway through. Are my thoughts on this financially faulty? Am I losing MORE money by doing this? Should I just buy a used certified car on the lot for 20-25K? (payments will be higher again for years)
Just trying to strategize my options. I haven’t 100% decided if I want to re-lease again either. Thanks for the help!
That’s good. I ask because occasionally people will try to buy out leases that are worth way less than market value, etc. Looks like your buy out is pretty much in line.
At this point, the lease you had is irrelevant. It’s in the past, so you’re starting from a clean slate. Treat your decision to purchase it like that.
So you’re saying to separate the lease to the buyout like having 2 different vehicles? I suppose I haven’t thought of it like that. I just kept thinking, “this car was 30K, but I’m refinancing twice on it and it’s costing me $35K.”
If I paid 4 years on this, and buyout with a 48-60 month loan, is that crazy? That’s 8+ years paying on a single car. Is it more sensible to end the lease and find a similar vehicle with way more options and similar miles for a 48-60 month purchase? (payments higher, but more car)
or like I said… trade-in in 24 months (enjoy some temporary lower payments) into the loan and get another vehicle. Would that be redundant?
Yeah, that’s a factor I’ve been considering. I’ll own more of the car for a trade-in.
Do you think it’s financially senseless to try and completely buy the car? (aka finish the loan). I imagine it’ll have between 40-50K miles on it once I own it. Then again, do I want to be driving this for 8-10+ years
I don’t think so. If you can buy it for what carvana will give you for it, you’re slightly ahead of the market if you went to buy a new one. How has it been maintenance wise? Do you have huge upcoming services it will need in the next 2 years?
It’s only got 25K miles on it now, so no major things need to happen anytime soon. It’s been pretty reliable, taken it on many long road trips, and my best MPG has been 39.5! (4 cylinder turbo). It’s also super clean, inside and out, and being the single car owner… it’s a good and safer feeling.
EDIT: I also wanted to add that I did some research today with my credit union, and if I put down at least 3K on the buyout amount, it does something to the interest rate which would get me their maximum lowest, roughly around the 3.85% area. FYI
One quick followup that I remembered, is a lease buyout price negotiable at all? The exact buyout price is printed in my 2016 contract. I’ve heard it’s very difficult to negotiate this price. Are there any kickbacks or incentives I can possibly get by choosing to purchase the car in general? Just curious. Thanks!
