Hey everyone, new to CL but the community has been a pretty good source of info.
A little background....I had a Camry for 14 years before I decided to change cars. The Camry was still good, just thought it was time.
In any case, as much as I wanted to get into a new GS, it did not make sense financially. As much as I love german vehicles, the stigma of
lack of reliability is always with me. So, rather than buy, I decided to lease a 2017 Audi A4 back in May. It's a gorgeous car and checked all the right
boxes for me at the time.

Looking at it now, I still love the car, but can't shake the feeling that when the lease is up, I am going to start this process all over again, where as if I
got a reliable Japanese car to start, I would probably buy it back and keep it for a long time like I did my Camry.

So, my question is....having only leased my 2017 A4 for less than a year, would it be wise to trade it in for a CPO GS? I was told that it would be best
to lease the car for about 2 years before making a more like this, something to do with the fact that I did not pay enough into the vehicle which I did not
really understand. So I wanted to seek the advice of this community. Do I start approaching Lexus dealers now to see if they would be wiling to trade?

Lastly, when it comes to used vehicles. Is there a time in which I should wait for it to be a good model year to buy? ie If I try to pick up a 2016 used now, does the model year
need to be 3-4 years old in order to take less of depreciation?

Any help would be much appreicated

 

So you want to jump out of your lease now for something else because you know you're going to have to shop for another vehicle if you waited out the lease? Lol dude... Just enjoy your A4 and worry about car shopping when you're in the second half of your lease. That's the point in leasing, always getting a new car every few years. And you're afraid of having to do it again? Just makes no sense. Then again, I think people that buy out their lease are buffoons.

 

Enjoy it until it's over, not before. For me, I've leased many cars but decided to purchase my GS. Like your Camry, I may keep it for awhile because it's been less of a headache to own than my Euro leases.

 

I think you should consider riding-out the lease on your Audi since its a brand new car. By the time your lease is up with the Audi,the new 5GS should be making its way into the dealerships. The release of the next gen GS will drop prices of the 4GS significantly and you will be able to score a great deal.

 

Lol...if you put it that way it does sound weird...but what I meant to say is that rather than put the money I saved towards the remainder of the lease onto a car that I don't intend to keep, why not just cut my losses and use that same money to buy a used car outright. That way, I won't have any payments and have a paid for vehicle that is reliable.

 

Sounds like this may have been a good strategy to use when you were shopping for the Audi? Good luck with your decision.

 

Your new GS payments will probably end up pretty steep. Negative equity from the Audi. You will owe your remaining lease payments plus the residual value, and then compare to the appraised value of the Audi. Doesn't usually come out well.....

 

Pretty sure the cost of getting out of the Audi lease will make this an expensive endeavor, rather than a cost saver.

 

Pretty sure your audi is upside down by at least $7-8000. Really wise choice 🤣.

 

From a different perspective, the '17 A4 is a great all-around car that ticks all the boxes. I had a '13 GS F Sport (which I loved) and the A4 is every bit as good if not better. Why you would want to end your lease is beyond me.

 

Agreed, makes no sense to do this. Enjoy the Audi, and decide what to do at the end of the lease.

 

Yes, you will end up in an upside down situation pretty bad, I wouldn't do it.

 

Have you tried Leasetrader ? You should check it out. http://www.leasetrader.com