Overhaulin'

Should I buy my lease car or give it back to them? After, should I get a new car in lease or buy a new car?

I'm leasing a car and that is almost over. I got one more month to go. I put couple thousands miles over. What should I do? What could be better for me? Should I keep my car that I have in lease or get new one in lease? Or, should I just give my leased car back and buy the new one? Thank you!

Public Comments

1. Do not buy back the car. Usually its extremely overpriced. And buy your next vehicle.
2. Usually I would say to keep the car you have if you are happy with it. But now, car companies like GM claim that they are losing their shirts on leasebacks. People can turn their cars back in and buy one just like it for less than the buy out price for their leased car. This might apply to your case. If you do decide to get a new car and you intend to keep it for a long time and put on a lot of miles.... then buy it. If you see yourself looking for another new one in 2-3 years, .....then lease it
3. How much are you being charged for over mileage? It's usually between 12 and 15 cents. If you are 3000 miles over that's a charge of $360 to $450. It's better to turn the car in and pay for the mileage. Don't buy it. All car companies are taking a bath on their lease turn-ins. They can't sell them at the auctions for close to what they anticipated they would be worth. Your buy out price will be very near the residual, or the price they anticipated it would be worth at the end of your lease. So by buying your own lease turn-in, you'll be in a negative equity situation right from the start. You'll be paying a lot more for the car than its worth. As far as your new car is concerned, leases are no longer the bargain they used to be. Chrysler doesn't lease any of its cars anymore. Which says a lot about its resale value. But a lease can still offer benefits over ownership if you drive 15,000 a year or less. A lease still takes a lower down payment to get into a car. On a 3 year lease you'll drive the car while it's still under warranty. Anything happens to it, no problem, just call roadside assistance. They'll tow it to the nearest dealer and the repairs are charged to the manufacturer. Carefree driving. And once the lease is up, you don't have to worry about trading it in or selling it yourself. Just send it back and get another new car. I find it so amusing when people declare they'd rather own a car than lease one. They talk about car ownership as if it were the smartest investment to make. But cars are NOT an investment. They're a liability. It loses money as soon as you drive it off the lot and continues to lose value every 3 months from then on. And unless you pay cash for a car, you don't own it. The lender does, for up to 72 months until you pay off the note. Then the car will be worth maybe 15% of its original price. And you've paid over the original price with finance charges added on. You've thrown away a lot of money. I always ask people who trash leases, "A realtor shows you a house. She says you can buy it for $200,000. When you finally pay it off, you'll have spent $350,000 in payments, taxes and insurance. And the house will only be worth $30,000 when you get the title. Are you going to buy the house?" No way. It's a terrible liability. And so is a car! If you drive 15,000 miles a year or less, want years of carefree driving and a new car every 3 years, lease it. Let the lessor take the depreciation hit when it sells the car at auction.