Overhaulin'

Should I opt out of my lease and buy a used car to save money?

I'm considering leaving my full time job and going back to school and need to save as much money a month as possible. I currently lease an Audi for $468/ month w/ about 18 months left. For all you finance experts out there, would it make more sense to stay in my current lease, or opt out of my lease (going thru swaplease), and buy a used car for around 8 or 9k in cash? My thought process is it would save me on monthly payments (although I know I could keep the 9k I would be putting to a used car and just pay my monthly payments from that savings account and maybe earn a tad bit of interest). I also would probably keep the used car at least 2 years, so after my current lease is up in 18 months, I would still need to get into a different car. So, if I got into a similar lease, @468/month, in 2 years, I owuld have spent $11,232 (plus would be in a lease for 2+ more years) vs. purchasing a $9k car now and being able to keep it 2 plus years... Even though in reality, I'll probably want something else in 2 years if I buy a used car today. So what makes more sense??

Public Comments

1. Right now you are right at break even. The question is, what else can you do with your cash? If you have the cash flow, and the Audi is in good condition, it may be smarter to keep it. There is no guarantee a $9000 car is going to be reliable or in good condition. Expect to spend $500-1000 on reconditioning, like tires or brakes. So your real cost is more like $10k, using your numbers. The only number that matters is $8424, your Audi pymt x 18 months. Beyond that, it's all speculation. Who knows what car you will want 24 months from now. No point in wasting bandwidth on the topic. Of course, you can buy a much cheaper car, a beater that will get you by for now. That's really the only way to make your strategy pay off.
2. It is generally very difficult to get out of your lease contract. I tried to do that once when I had 1 year left on it but I was told by the bank that I still had to cover the next 12 months as a one lump sum payment minus interest. I had to stick with the lease until the end. In your case, it almost makes sense just to keep the lease and then after 18 months figure out what to do next. Even if you are able to return the car with minimum penalty, you still don't know how reliable a used car going to be. You may end up paying for repairs and maintenance on that used car more than you want. Good luck
3. Make sure you do some research on swapping out your lease. Audi Financial (or whoever you leased from) may require the new lessee to be qualified before swapping the lease. Folks who lease off these type of websites are looking for deals. I doubt there will be much interest in someone assuming your full monthly payment. This may mean you will have to reduce the payment tot he new person but still pay Audi the remaining amount. If you simply want to terminate the lease, you are still on the hook for the remainder of the payments plus any fees. That would total about $8400...and you would still need to get another car. your best bet is to keep the Audi and finish the lease. It's going to cost you $8400 anyway so you may as well enjoy the car.
4. It will probably take some time to get someone to assume your lease, so i think you will break even. It may seem like a smart thing to do right now since money will probably be tight, but it would probably be wiser to stick with your lease until its done. Keep in mind that getting into cars requires that you pay new licensing fees, bank fees, etc, so a $9k car may easily run you $10k+ after all is said and done. So it's a wash in my opinion. Just stick with it and ride it out until you turn in your car.
5. Hallo, if you are sure you will need something better in 2 years, then it makes more sense to stick to the lease deals for now and see it through. On the other there are some great car lease swap deals, for instance on carleasedepot.com Take a look and decide on the best move.