So you experienced leasers, I'm curious what if any negotiating power I will have upon returning a car way under allotted mileage and virtually no wear and tear? Example - lease terms were 12K miles a year, I will be turning in the vehicle with less than 15K miles total after 3 years. Assuming I were to lease another vehicle from the same manufacturer should this give me some push/pull? Or do the dealers typically not care and only look at the residuals?

 

Well, what was the vehicle. That actually matters. If its a Ford Fiesta...its not like its a super hot item on the lots. If its a Toyota Highlander...those things are HUGE on the secondary market.

Also, take the car to carmax. See if you have any equity in it...if you do, sell it them or use that as leveraging power in a new lease or purchase.

 

Guessing it's the Civic...

Those also have pretty big resale value so I'd do the Carmax thing for starters and see if you can make some money off of it.

 

Ah, didn't know what cars he had.

So, yeah take it to carmax and if they say they'll give you $14k for your car, and your buy out is $12k...you now have $2k of equity. You can either sell it carmax or use that $2k as leverage towards another lease.

 

Thanks for the idea - it will actually be both the RDX and the Charger when their time is up - the better half and I have started some long term planning. The civic is owned outright, hoping it doesn't need replacement for at least 10 years and at that point its the daughter's problem We like the RDX, but both like the idea of getting an SUV/CUV that the dealer isn't an hour away for warranty issues. The RDX is our 4th Acura from the same dealer, but the first lease. They've already told me at 24 months they will put me in an identical RDX and lower the monthly payment. Going to be hard to walk away from a deal like that. The Charger is my first Dodge - not sure what to expect.

 

With the Charger it depends on the trim/options.

The one Dodge that really holds its value is the Challenger. It was actually ranked one of the top 15 for that by a recent publication, don't remember which one. Charger, not sure. I know when my lease is up on my wife's Cherokee I will probably end up turning it in outright...or selling for what will probably be a small loss as we are over miles, 3rd lease and first time that happened. So, probably no more American leases for me. Unless something happens with the value in the next year and I can break even.

 

Check on this, but I think Acura let's you roll over your unused miles into their next lease.

 

With the Cherokee, you'll almost certainly be turning it in right away. No way you'll be able to break even unless you are a LOT under on the mileage lol.

 

Option 1:
Unless yours is a Hellcat, chances are you will be upside down. But it does not hurt to take it to Carmax like other said to get a quote.

Option 2:
While i have heard some people, very few have gotten a reimbursement check for the unused mileage. But 99% of the time, you will only pay (excessive wear/tear) and never get anything back.

Typically, the manufacture will mail you some kind of incentive or pull ahead program that says: they will give you $xxxx amount of any excessive wear and tear item or you can return the car in 3 or 4 months earlier if you get another Dodge. You might want to call Dodge, NOT DEALER if you are still interested in getting another Dodge.


I have only seen Honda and some Lexus can pull off the "making $$ on a lease" thing. or unless you got a huge discount that other people did not get (ex. you got 10k off and others only get $5k off MSRP) then maybe your discount can offset some of the depreciation. But you won't know until you get a quote from Carmax... find out how much is "buy it now" price and go compare.

 

My parents have done it on 3 Lexus

I didn't "make money" but I leveraged a prius into a highlander, and the highlander into the Jeep. The prius still had a year left on the lease, and the highlander had 6 months. Both cars were worth more to the dealer than most.

The Jeep, not so much, but I knew that when I made the deal.

 

yah it could happen. But whenever there is a trade in involved, lease or financed does not matter, the situation gets tricky. There are too many opportunities for the dealer to play around with the numbers to make it seem like a good deal on the trade in or the new car.

Not saying you didn't get a good deal or anything but i personally always avoid trading in cars or i would just throw them a curve ball after the new car's numbers are finalized, then i will tell them about the trade in without affecting the numbers on the new car.

 

I always say I don't have a trade in until all the numbers for the car I'm buying are finalized. Though I've only traded in one car in my life, it's super easy to sell on Craigslist and you get much more money out of the deal.

 

This was my friends experience when he turned in his Volkswagen CC. I think it's even in the lease contract that they won't pay you for mileage underutilization (or whatever lawyer-speak they use).

 

Yup it is there. that is why when you lease, it is always smarter to get lower 10k or 12k miles and buy more if needed or there are other ways to waive the excessive mileage.

But if you buy 15k and you only use 10k, well too bad sucker!

 

mileage is one of the variables. Bottom line, if a private party or dealer is willing to pay more than your buyout price, that's money in your pocket. I was able to get a check for $2k from a lexus dealer to take me out of my lease prior to expiration.