Is it worth it to buy out a lease?

[Anonymous]

I am at the end of my car's lease (I know, I know, terrible idea). And starting to think about what to do for a car when the lease is up.

Is it ever worth it to buy out the lease? Has anyone done that and felt it was a good idea?

On the one hand, you know everything there is to know about the car. And in my case, my commute is not that long so I only have 20,000 miles on the car after having it for 3 years. Plus, I really like the car.

On the flip side, I once tried to buy out a car I leased and the monthly payment ended up being more than I was paying monthly on the lease - so higher payments and several more years of paying on it.

In a totally different direction - I'm also thinking about just buying a car thats a couple years old, paying that off and then not having a payment for a while. However, when I've tried to do this in the past, the car ends up starting to have real problems just about at the time I'm finishing paying for it. It's really frustrating!

If you were going to buy a non-new car and want to enjoy driving it for a long while, what kind of car/suv would you get?

[Anonymous]

You need to first figure out if the residual value is more or less than the fair market value. At that point it's simply a matter of running finance numbers if you are going to finance the purchase.

[Anonymous]

What you are describing is not really buying out a lease. Buying it out would be if you decided to purchase the car 2 years into a 3 year lease. Anyway, it all depends on the residual value, which is on your lease documents somewhere. If it's like most leases, you have the first option to buy it for that value. If it's below the current market value of the car, then it's likely a good deal. If it's above, why would you?

[Anonymous]

Lease payments will always be less than purchase payments, duh. I would buy (not lease) a used car you can afford, preferably a Toyota or honda.

[Anonymous]

My ex did this. Interest rate was so high that it was cheaper to get a brand new car with 0% interest.

[Anonymous]

The numbers usually don't work out. When I turned in my last lease, the blue book value was much lower than the purchase after lease price in my lease contract. I would either lease again - not always a bad deal or buy a used car that is a couple of years old.

[Anonymous]

It can sometimes make sense if you have significantly underrun the miles. If you leased for a total of 45K miles and only put 30K on, then the buyout price may be good. Of course, you already then overpaid on the lease...

[Anonymous]

Leasing is generally a bad idea. But to answer your other question, just get a lightly usef Honda, Toyota or Subaru and it will last you many years. I have an 11 year old Acura and very few issues so far.

[Anonymous]

OP here

I agree, it will probably be smarter long term to buy a lightly used car.

With kid activities and gear, I really need an SUV.

How do the Lexus SUVs hold up long term. If I tried to find one 2-3 years old?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here

I agree, it will probably be smarter long term to buy a lightly used car.

With kid activities and gear, I really need an SUV.

How do the Lexus SUVs hold up long term. If I tried to find one 2-3 years old?

5 yr old, 80K miles GX460 here. Love it. No troubles at all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here

I agree, it will probably be smarter long term to buy a lightly used car.

With kid activities and gear, I really need an SUV.

How do the Lexus SUVs hold up long term. If I tried to find one 2-3 years old?

Unless you are paying cash, buy a Honda or a Toyota. If you had to lease your last car because you couldn't afford the regular payments, you cannot afford a Lexus, even a 2-3 year old one. Don't be Big Hat No Cattle, or in DCUM lingo "ghetto rich."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here

I agree, it will probably be smarter long term to buy a lightly used car.

With kid activities and gear, I really need an SUV.

How do the Lexus SUVs hold up long term. If I tried to find one 2-3 years old?

Unless you are paying cash, buy a Honda or a Toyota. If you had to lease your last car because you couldn't afford the regular payments, you cannot afford a Lexus, even a 2-3 year old one. Don't be Big Hat No Cattle, or in DCUM lingo "ghetto rich."

Hey Judgey.....Sorry, but I didn't lease my car because I couldn't afford the regular payments. I like leasing and getting a new car every 3 years. That said, it's not smart financially, so I want to go back to buying.

My problem is that the last time I bought a used car (2 years old), by the time the payments were finished the car was having a million problems and I didn't want to deal with it (part of why I liked leasing - low maintenance).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here

I agree, it will probably be smarter long term to buy a lightly used car.

With kid activities and gear, I really need an SUV.

How do the Lexus SUVs hold up long term. If I tried to find one 2-3 years old?

5 yr old, 80K miles GX460 here. Love it. No troubles at all.

This is helpful. Thanks!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here

I agree, it will probably be smarter long term to buy a lightly used car.

With kid activities and gear, I really need an SUV.

How do the Lexus SUVs hold up long term. If I tried to find one 2-3 years old?

5 yr old, 80K miles GX460 here. Love it. No troubles at all.

This is helpful. Thanks!

PP here, I should say I am pretty anal regarding maintenance, so I typically do not have issues with any type of car.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here

I agree, it will probably be smarter long term to buy a lightly used car.

With kid activities and gear, I really need an SUV.

How do the Lexus SUVs hold up long term. If I tried to find one 2-3 years old?

Unless you are paying cash, buy a Honda or a Toyota. If you had to lease your last car because you couldn't afford the regular payments, you cannot afford a Lexus, even a 2-3 year old one. Don't be Big Hat No Cattle, or in DCUM lingo "ghetto rich."

Hey Judgey.....Sorry, but I didn't lease my car because I couldn't afford the regular payments. I like leasing and getting a new car every 3 years. That said, it's not smart financially, so I want to go back to buying.

My problem is that the last time I bought a used car (2 years old), by the time the payments were finished the car was having a million problems and I didn't want to deal with it (part of why I liked leasing - low maintenance).

I don't think anyone should finance any car, except maybe the very first out-of-college car, and even then something basic like a Civic. After that, pay cash or its out of your price range.