So it turns out I love my '04 TL more than I thought, and have put 16k miles on it in the first 6 months I've been driving the darn thing.

Since I vowed a while ago never to drive a car without a warranty again, I'm figuring that by the time I hit 45k miles, the 06s will be out (Early 2006).

So here's the question: If I go to the dealership 1.5 years into the lease and say "ok, i want to trade my car back in early for a brand new TL", what's going to happen? Am I going to get reamed? Or are they going to be able to cut me a deal since I'm going from TL->TL (as opposed to just turning it in early and walking away).

nlh

 

Thinking of doing the same thing - love the ride and looks of the TL - only have 6k miles on it and I am worried about some weird noises (maybe tranny) not to mention all the rattles inside. I always seem somehow to get reemed by dealers even when I traded an 03 for this 04. I suppose it depends on one's character and ability to walk out of the dealership several times in the bargaining process which I need to learn to do more of...

 

Good luck.

16k miles in 6 months is 32k/year. And you LEASED?!?!!? Why? 32k/year x 3 years is 96k miles in 3 years.

Even if you have a 3 year lease with 15k miles/year at 15 cents per mile over, that is $7k in overage charges at lease end.

If you try and get out early you are going to get hit for the remaining payments anyway. You are in a contract. Why would they let you out? Forget the dealer, the lease company.

Why would you lease a car when you are going to put that many miles on it?
Why would you lease a car if you would want to trade it in before the lease end?
Why wouldnt you just buy it so you could sell it/trade it whenever you wanted to?


You may want to try and sell it on your own before the end of the lease. Call your lease company and find out the immediate buy-out price and ask them how it changes from month to month. Then you will know the value you can get. You will never sell it for that since you will have so many extra miles, but it would be better then returning it.

 

wow if i drove that much i would have bought the darn thing instead of trying to trade the lease in early. can you get an extended warranty on a leased car?

 

Ok, well I guess we're all in agreement...why did you lease?

My last car was leased (Subaru WRX) and I wanted to get out of the lease to get into it's big brother (WRX STI). Ultimately, you are under contract so you are responsible for the remaining payments so if you want to get out of your lease pay away. My WRX was a 15k/yr lease and I was right on my mileage maybe a little under. The dealer was unwilling to give me a "break" in terms of the STI. Different cars, but since you will be so much over your mileage allotment I'm sure the same will be true for the TL.

I ended up getting out of my lease....but not on purpose. I totaled my WRX and with that I decided to "grow up" and get a TL instead of a STI.

 

When you lease you can buy a lease that has the additional mileage built in... but of course a higher lease payment.

But I would say you would get royally reamed on this deal. And even if they did allow a trade in.. They would get you on the mileage. A friend of mine was told by ford that at 30 months they could trade in their exploder. So they said hell I got 35000 on it so I get to trade it in and get another car... well hold on there.. they told her the mileage was over by 5000. They forgave the additional payments but made her pay for the mileage and, they said they had to repaint part of the vehicle at a cost of 1500 bucks from some small scratches..


Bend over and take it..! ouch!!

 

How about doing a buyout on the lease - and trade it in. You would have to call the lease company to find out what amount you would have to pay to buy out - then you can compare that to what you should get on a trade-in.

And now - I want to know why you leased if you are going to put that many miles a year on the car? Thats a TON

 

I'm not sure how other leasing companies work but with American Honda you have a couple of options:

1. Trade the car in on another car - doesn't matter if the lease is up or not
2. Buy the car at the end of the lease.

You don't get penalized for mileage, only if you turn the car in. I leased a 2002 RSX Type S for 3 years with 12K a year. I had 22K on it when I traded it in on another vehicle in just over one year and there was no penalty.

 

You leased the car...what's done is done. What you need now is to get out of it with the least possible consequences. I know you said you'd never drive an out-of-warranty car, but here's an option (somewhat off the wall, but hey, I'm feeling creative at the moment)...Buy a $1,000 daily driver, some old Toyota or Honda and park the TL for most trips until its mileage gets in line with the lease specs. Then, finish out your lease and take it back. Now, BUY a new TL. No more mileage limitations. Now, I'm not sure of your car/household situation, but if you only have one car, adding a 2nd gets you multi-car discount on insurance, and it could actually be cheaper for you to insure a daily driver and a TL than just the TL (I know it is for me).

 

Always lease a car with 15k a yr with a term of no more than 36 months.after 2 years its easy to get rid of.Before 2 tears even if financed you will eat the depreciation.

 

Thanks for the comments guys..

I leased because it's a company car (my company), and owning outright simply isn't an option (for tax purposes, liability purposes, etc.). Also, though I appreciate the idea, buying a cheap daily driver isn't an option either -- I got the TL because I drive a lot for business, and the TL's simply the perfect vehicle for what I do.

Guess the answer is just to wait as long as possible (to get more in line with the depreciation curve) and suck it up.

 

Good luck!

 

Whatever tax benefits you might get from leasing are going to be negated by the miles you've driven on your lease. You're going to get screwed on the lease. As for liability, hogwash......you must have a bad lawyer. Owning a car isn't going to cause any liability problems provided you have sufficient insurance. I think you've been getting terrible advice regarding leasing vs. owning your car!!

 

I own part of a family buisness and have a mdx and tsx( trading in for new tl in may). And i own both of them. Whoever does your taxes is screwing you man. If you buy the car you get to depreciate for 5 years. Lease you can only benefit the expense of the monthly payment. You want to reduce your taxes by owning. Just my . I'm not trying to be mean just trying to help. I mean unless your already deducting too much and your ratios are screwed up and are afraid of flagging an audit with the IRS. But we own 8 cars and we are ok.

 

i would give your dealer a shot, i had a 01 navigator, leased brand new, it was due in early summer and i was about 8k over already, so i took a trip to my local ford and found a 03 navi(new body) n wanted it, they offer me to wash out of my old lease, they took over the payments voided the mileage n put me into the 03, now i dont know as far as for acura, i my self put 16k in 7 months on my lease, i was thinkin of trading, buti was like to hell with it, i gave the car to my mother, who does barley any mileage, i have a 15k/yr on the lease, so hopefully by the end of the lease it will be almost even, but once any new styling does come out i will try to do a trade if they dont agree i will simply walk out, but hey u can always get into an "accident" and wash out, thats if you have gap insurance which i think honda requires.

 

Of course Ford did that...Considering Ford's condition then (and now), it was a smart business decision. If you had kept driving it, they would've gotten a car with even more mileage in a year. They could much more easily move it a year earlier with a little more mileage than normal than a year later with a lot more. Plus, instead of having you on the hook for lease payments for only one more year, they got you for three. Ford is in the crapper (has been for a while). Once the buzz of the new Mustang is gone in a year, they're done.

 

The long and the short of it is the leasing and car companies are in business to make money. The best way to not give them less cash and keep more of your own is to buy a car and run it into the ground. That is, of course you do not get a bad model that is a money pit... then it makes sense to get rid of it...

An earlier post said they would never want to drive a car without a warranty again.. well.
If you lease a 34000 car and there is a payoff figure for higher mileage or conditions, you could end up pushing the lease higher and higher. You might end up leasing a lesser model to get it lower and lower.