bigmixx

Hello everyone. Need some advice on whether I should turn in my lease early, trade it in, or wait until it matures. I'm moving away from Lexus and looking at getting some American Muscle for my next car. Enjoyed the Lexus but I want something with more HP and I can't afford a GS-F so I'm somewhat forced to move on to a different brand. I'll definitely be coming back to Lexus down the line that's for sure. Currently leasing a 2015 GS F-Sport. Here are the numbers:

9 Payments left @ $537/month ($4836)
Payoff is - $36,300
Residual - $32,500? (Not 100% sure)
Trade Value - $28k - $31k (Other dealer offers)

I did a 3/36 with 45,000 miles. I'm currently under by about 20,000 miles. When I leased it I was driving back and forth to work everyday and needed the miles but I now work from home so I rarely drive the car now. No excessive wear and tear except for a little curb rash on the one of the wheels & 2 door dings on the passenger side. One on the rear quarter panel and one on the passenger door. Both smaller than a dime but noticeable.

So, what is my best option? Can I turn it in early and possibly negotiate the remaining payments? I know I could trade it in towards my next vehicle but I'd be carrying over around $5-$6k in negative equity. Just keep it and turn it in with possible 15,000 miles under? Are those miles worth anything to the dealer where I leased it? Will I have to make all 9 payments no matter what if I want to walk away?

Thanks for your help in advance.

DallasDave

iTrader: (1)

Hopefully someone else will have more positive news for you, because my experiences with leasing is you are stuck making the payments even if turned in early. There is no way around it..unless (as you stated) you traded-in the Lexus for another Lexus. Even then they wouldn't normally allow you to do so with nine months left. We leased three consecutive Lexus (RX units) from 2000 to 2009. Each time they allowed us to trade-in the cars about 1-2 months early...that's it.

It sounds like you have already been bitten by the new car bug...that's too bad as there is no cheap way to get out from under your lease. If I were in your shoes, I'd live with my trustworthy GS for another nine months while I saved for a big down payment on my new muscle car (hopefully you're getting a Demon)!

joedaddy1

iTrader: (1)

if you are set on the muscle car, you are going to have to take a loss.
Let's try to lessen the blow.. Sell your car to a private party for $35k.
see if you can get ~$34k as trade-on on your new car.
Sure the selling dealer will make up for it somehow..
end the end of the day, if you are okay with losing about $4k.. go for the new ride.

JDR76

You can trade it in early at any point. I was about a year early on both my Tacoma lease and my IS350 lease. I was able to do that because the trade-in value was more than the residual plus remaining payments. Even if you are negative, you can trade it in for another car (doesn't have to be a Lexus) but you'll have to pay that difference out of pocket.

You cannot just turn it in early. So you'd really need to trade it for something else, buy it out, or keep it for the duration of the lease.

bigmixx

Thanks for the info. Not really the new car bug. I enjoy my GS but I've never owned a sports car so just want something a little more agressive. Not getting a Demon. If I could afford one of those I'd be getting a GS-F lol. I am looking at a Hellcat tho. Trying to take advantage of the good discounts on leftover 2016 models. I fear they will dry up by the time my lease is up in April so just wondering if I could lessen the blow a little bit.

Davenlei

iTrader: (1)

Dealer will not give you anything for the low miles. I turned in a lease with 20% less miles driven than the allocation on my lease agreement. They would not give me anything for it.
Actually they wanted to charge me for two new tires. I told them if they really want to change me for the tires, I will take the car back home, put it on jack stands and run it for a couple days and use up all the miles. If they take the car back and not charge me, they will have a low mile car they can make more money on. In the end, I did not pay for new tires and they got a low mile car.

dchar

Here's another idea...why not transfer the lease using sites like Swap A Lease or Lease Trader?