Lease is up. What to do?

The lease on my 2002 C2 is up this month. I ordered the car and bought it new in 5/02. The car is in great shape with very low miles and no mechanical issues. I have the options of dumping the car, refinancing this car with the leasing company, and buying the car outright. I am leaning toward buying the car with my home equity line of credit since the rate on the line is low, tax duductible, etc. Is the residual/ payoff amount on the lease negotiable? If so, with whom do I negotiate? Any other things I should be considering in this situation?

your first step should be to determine the FMV of the car using a source like kbb.com or edmunds.com. You enter the mileage, condition, options, zip code, etc. and it give values. You can even vary the results with dealer trade-in, private party sales, etc. Step 2 is to compare these values with your local market to make sure that it looks right. Step 3 is to compare this against the residual on the lease to properly ascertain if you are getting a "good" deal. The residual is usually only negotiated at the start of the lease since it is one of the factors in determining your lease payment. Step 4 is to drive a new 997 and compare your lease/purchase costs against the "financing" of your 2002 996. You'll find that there have been some nice upgrades in the 997, but find out what it will cost you. More than likely, you will find that the book value is less than the residual (upside/down in value). You will need to then determine if it's worth paying more than "fair value" for this car. Also, factor in the lease payments (prinicpal only) plus your buy out and compare it against the initial purchase price of the car. Ultimately, the choice is yours. I agree with the HELOC for the purchase, but keep in mind that you are using equity in an appreciating asset to purchase one that depreciates. Good luck and have fun making a decision. Steve 2003 996

No, usually the residual is not negotiable. You can ask your leasing company, but I would be very surprised if they negotiated at all.

if it is with the manufacturer the residual is usually not negotiable. if it is with a bank like chase etc. you have some wiggle room because they dont want to have to sell the car etc. plus if the residual is "high" they are already in for a loss, so they may want to cut it by negoitiating with you.

Which value should I look at on Edmonds and Kelly Blue Book? Trade-in? Private party? SRP?

did u look at your lease contact yet? if you find that magic number, i am sure many ppl on this board will love to buy the car from you for that number.

Agreed with Tom on this one. The leasing company doesn't want the car back especially if they're upside-down on the residual, so they'll be somewhat flexible on the buyout price. When my brother turned in his '00 Boxster after the lease was up, the bank called back to negotiate a lower buyout price for him, even though he had no intention of keeping the car.

well thought out and written steve!

I leased my Volvo wagon from Rusnak Volvo and I negotiated the sale price at the end. They told me that they just back a transporter up to the lot and the leased vehicles just go to a wholesaler if they aren't bought.