My brother has a Z4 3.0. 2004, I think. Love that SMG transmission.... NOT.

He traded in a 2001 328i to reduce the payments on the lease.

It is now almost April. Lease is up in July. Mileage allowed is 45K. He's at 26K... no kidding.... and he has 2 other cars he can drive, so there's flexibility on where the mileage can end up, depending on what we choose to do... Here are the options, I think.

1) Do nothing. Turn the car back in with 10-15K of miles left on it, but try as much as possible to drive the miles up.

2) Try to extend the lease, knowing he already has 2 other cars, and the payments will be higher because the down payment has already worn off.

3) Turn the car back in, then in a separate transaction a week later, buy the car back, paying the CPO premium, but hopefully less than the buyback option since the residuals are hopelessly inflated. In which case, he'll go into mileage consevation mode.

4) Use the buyback option and sell it to a private party for a profit. Again, mileage conservation starting now. (possible?)

Any other options?

Thanks.

 

If the residual is hopelessly inflated how can he make a profit by buying it back and selling it to a private party?

 

Well, the hope is that the miles are low so that the residual actually makes sense. But I agree... not a great option.