My lease is about to expire. Should I buy out the lease?

Question

I am at the end of a 5 year lease for a 2003 Sienna with 60,000 miles on it. The lease is up in early March, so I will be over the miles by roughly 5,000. The buy-out is $9,500 plus $500 handling, plus sales tax. The bank has called and asked if I am going to buy the vehicle. I told them that I would not buy it unless they offered me a deal on the buyout price. Huntington Bank said that they do not negiotate, they have insurance on the loan, so they will not loose money at auction. Anybody have experience with Huntington? Is this true about them having insurance on the loan? I was hoping to get the vehicle for $7,000. Any thoughts?

Answer 1

The big benefit of modern 'closed-end' leases is that the day you drive the vehicle off the lot and take it home, you know exactly how much it will take to buy the vehicle when the lease expires. In the old days of 'open-end' leases, that figure was a mystery until the lease expired, and typically customers were shocked to learn that the finance company wanted much more than the car was worth if the customer desired to purchase it. This is one thing that really gave leasing a bad rep in the public eye.
You apparently signed a colsed end lease, and the amount of the buyout should be on the original lease agreement. As for the miles, you will owe no penalty if you buy out the lease, but if you give the van back, they will charge you for every single mile over your lease allowance.

My advice: That van is a great deal at $9500. If you don't have the cash, get a loan and purchase it. OR... go to your Toyota dealer and trade it in and lease another new Sienna. Toyota usually has great incentives for returning lessors.

Answer 2

OK first things first. The bank will probably not negotiate with you on the price. They are correct about the insurance. The loan insurers and banks set residual values at the point of purchase. If the car cannot be sold before auction, the bank collects on the insurance policy. So basically, there is no incentive for them to negotiate. They also do not have to since you signed a contract with a stated value on it. That is in there for both of your protection.

However, at 9,500 this is still a great value. Retail on it is 12,000. Trade in is 9,900. The value is for you is added since when and if you turn in the car, you will need to pay anywhere from $500 to $1000 to cover the mileage. If you buy it, you do not pay the mileage. If you want this car long term, I would buy it. If you do not want the car, you could also buy it and sell it for more than you paid.

Answer 3

It's true that many lease companies and banks have residual insurance, which means they have no reason to negotiate the buyout price. Most likely the buyout price is higher than prices for similar vehicles on the used car market but the benefit is that you know the history of this car, you know how it's been taken care of, and you know its condition. That may be better than taking a chance on another cheaper car.

Answer 4

You can not negotiate the buyout of the vehicle. you signed a contract that has a residual value on it of what you would purchase the vechile for at the end of the lease. It is up to you if you want to purchase the vechile or buy a new one. Even 9500 seems like a good deal.

Answer 5

I'm not sure if the price is that negotible. You could have negotiated the price of the vehicle before you bought it and that would make the price have gone down since you only paying a portion of what the car is worth. I would call your leasing company.

Answer 6

I took a quick look at edmunds.com and it looks like you are being completely unreasonable if want to get that car for $7000. Even $9500 is a steal.

Answer 7

Not a chance they will negotiate.