What lenders will accept a lot of negative in a lease?

Hi all!

First post here on the forums. So long story short I’m upside down about 8-9k on my current ride. Rough…

Anyway, I’m thinking about possibly leasing to try and get out of this negative equity that I have on this car. I know that 8-9k means about $200-$250 on top of the lease payment.

My question is what main stream lenders will allow such a high amount of negative? I know GM Financial will do it, but how about Ford Credit or Chrysler Capital?

I’ve been trying to get into a GMC Terrain but they are scarce in Northeast Ohio where I’m at. I spent all day Saturday trying to get into one but no one is under $600 with the negative. I had a dealership say about $469 a month on an AWD Equinox LT including my negative but really am set on a terrain.

I had one dealership say $315 on a terrain with 0 down, taxes/fees included, and when I had 9000 negative added they were over 650. I mean the math doesn’t add up there… $315 plus $250 in negative is only $565. They tried saying interested on it is what brings it to $250 but I have a hard time believing interest is $100 a month on $9k.

Any ideas? Or any other lenders I should try and look into? Northeast Ohio area.

It depends on your credit and the bank, I want to say that you could probably go 125% on most makes with good credit. So something like a base terrain you could carry about $7k plus whatever rebates. Anyway you slice it, you’re really upside down.

You’ll pay tax on that negative equity too.

1 Like

I…I think that’s a really bad idea.

You should post your situation on r/personalfinance. They will have some good advice for you.

1 Like

Would you mind elaborating?

Here’s how I see it… if I pay $100-150 more per month than my current payment for 24/36 mo, I’ll pay at most maybe 5k in 2 or 3 years vs 8-9k over the next 4. Maybe I’m missing something because I’m new to the leasing game?

Why/how would you only be paying $5k if you have $9k in negative equity?

1 Like

What is your current car?
What is the reason you want to get out of it?

Generally speaking, it’s never a good idea to roll money into a new car, especially this much. You’re paying taxes/interest on something that doesn’t exist anymore.

2 Likes

My thought process is this: I pay $400 a month on my current car. Let’s just say I get a lease on something where my payment is $500 on a 24 mo lease (not practical, but use it as an example.) including the negative.

Pay $500 for 24 months, which would be 24 months of $100 more than I’m paying now - $2400. Lease is over. Hands are washed.

Is my thought process completely wrong?

2011 Lincoln MKX Premium Package - reason for getting out of it is to just try and get rid of the negative.

that’s a terrible reason to get out of a car, unless your engine and transmission are blown.

Why not simply pay that one down and revisit in 2 years? To wake up and say “I’m buying a car to get rid of this negative equity” is not a wise decision.

1 Like

yes, that thought process is completely wrong. Your monthly payment will reflect 9k over 3 years, whether you’re paying 400/month or 800/month. You’re simply overpaying for your new car by 250/month on a 3 year lease + taxes + interest.

Oh I see. Would incentives and rebates help eat some of the negative up?

You’ll eat some of the negative up, yes. You’re just moving money around though, and taking those incentives off of the sales price of the new car…therefore paying more than you should for it.

No matter what way you slice it, that 9k has to come from somewhere. It doesn’t just magically disappear. You will pay for it one way or another, whether you keep the current car, or trade it and roll it into a new lease.

If there’s nothing wrong with the car, you’d be better off paying the loan down for the next couple years. Pay extra into your payment each month to pay it down sooner. At least you’ll have something at the end of the term in regard to equity. At worst, you’d roll less into the new one should it blow up in 2 years time.

Is the issue your finance rate? Can you refinance to a lower rate? IDK the specifics on your note, but I’m assuming you purchased this fairly recently, and your rate is high, or you overpaid for the MKX to begin with to be this far underwater.

Alright! Sorry, I’m not trying to be ignorant here! Just trying to understand everything.

Could I make the argument at least if I’m paying more money I’ll at least be in a car with a full warranty vs my Lincoln that has 117k miles? lol. I get i’d be over paying but I mean at least if something went wrong I have a warranty to back me up on major issues. I can’t be 100% sure but I suspect my transmission in the Lincoln is starting to go, I’ve noticed it slipping a few times.

a 2011 Lincoln MKX that’s 8k underwater with 117k on the clock…you got fleeced brother.

You really need to read up on leasing before you get taken to the cleaners a 2nd time. Not trying to be mean…just realistic.

1 Like

Hate to say this. But the way to get out of debt is NOT to buy another depreciated item. How about just do it the honest way, pay it off and enjoy the car. Any new car you acquire the next, it will add more negative to your negative to begin with.

1 Like

Alright so a little backstory on how I got this screwed, lol.

About 4 years ago I bought a 2009 Cadillac CTS for like $14k. I was driving 60 miles round trip every day for work and I quickly added miles to the car. Also, after purchasing it started to rust in on the passenger rear wheel well, and had to replace the transmission on it (it was a known problem in 09 CTS’s). Anyway, when I traded that in on the Lincoln, I was about 4k underwater on it as is. But I bought the Lincoln anyway, and all was good the first year or so? I maybe was about the same amount negative on it as I rolled into it. But now the car as apparently just dropped in value and here I am. The interest rate on the Lincoln isn’t incredibly high, I think maybe 4.9% or so. Tier 1 credit here. Also FWIW, I’ve owned the Lincoln for 2 years.

So yes, I screwed up and rolled negative into a new purchase. I have a Honda accord that just sits in my driveway that’s worth about 2k private sale, maybe I could sell that and help pay down some on the Lincoln?

Drive the Accord and get rid of the Lincoln.

3 Likes

That doesn’t help the 8k he owes though

Yeah, I could do that. I only bought the Accord because when I got my new job I was driving 100 miles a day to and from work, so I bought it to save the miles on the Lincoln. Now I live 10 miles from work so I’ve been driving the Lincoln. It’s just been sitting and I don’t really need two cars right now, especially if I get into a new car under warranty.

But of course that all remains to be seen.