Rosa

I recently found out the A4 model is changing in 01. I've always wanted the A4 but could'nt afford it. I have a better job now & I love the current A4, & I always told myself that when I was doing better I would get one, but I have 2 yrs left in my lease of a Chevy Malibu. How do I get out so I can become a proud AUDI owner? Any suggestion would be greatlty appreciated.
Rosa

Philip M

Unfortunately, the value of the car is usually less than the payout value of the lease, so you will lose some doing this, but you'll do better than just giving the car back and copping all the penalties.

You may also want to explore the idea of trading it when you lease/buy your A4. I'd be surprised if this works out better than selling it, but with the Y2k model year coming in and 99.5's sitting on the lot, you never know what kind of deal you might get. It could mean slightly higher payments on your A4, but could save a large chunk of change on this end.

Hope this helps.

Philip M.
99.5 1.8tms

manny

trade it would be the better answer coz if you break out of the lease you will end paying more

phred

Leases are designed with all kinds of boobytraps if you try to get out early. And with a Malibu, there is not going to be anyone on the used car market dying to pay you enough to pay off your lease and the penalties that will kick in. Your friendly Audi dealer would LOVE to take your lease and make it his lease, but all these penalties will just be rolled into your new lease and you'll be even more upside down than usual.

Most experts I've read agree that, once you're in a lease, stay in, especially since yours just started. And don't get into a lease if you don't think you will be staying. My $.02 worth.

Greg W

What you need to do is find out exactly what the payoff on your lease is. You can usually do this by calling the customer service number that appears on your billing statement. My leasing company has an automated system that gives the the exact payoff balance, similar to the system used by credit card companies for their information number. It's all computerized, so you don't need to talk to anyone.
Next, you need to make a reasonable assessment of what your vehicle is worth. Can you get someone to purchase it for the payoff amount of the lease? If so, that is an option that will get you out of the lease clean. Or, will the dealer give you anywhere close to the payoff amount in trade? Probably not, but it never hurts to see.
Finally, you need to find out whether the lease payoff amount quoted to you includes any additional fees or penalties. This could increase the cost slightly.

In all, it is always possible to get out of your lease early-- the question is how much will it end up costing you. You conceivably could get out for nothing, assuming the car is worth the lease payoff amount.

Just food for thought.

Greg

ChuckH

...it will work with your situation, but here's the deal:

I had a leased '93 Honda Civic EX Coupe. I disliked the car for several reasons after two years, and found a used Audi 90Q that I fell in love with. In my case, I was able to negotiate a trade which allowed the Audi dealer to pay off my lease, plus have $1000 left over to use toward my downpayment on the Audi. By doing this, you avoid early return, mileage, damage, or an other kind of penalties you might have accrued in the time you've been leasing.

In my case, it's important to note that Hondas have very good resale, and that my Civic was in pristine condition (read; better than showroom condition), so I got a really good trade offer on it. Depending on what factors are relevant for your Malibu, your situation may be different. It wouldn't hurt to look into it. You should be able to get a total payoff balance from your leasing company, and then try and negotiate a trade, keeping your payoff in mind.

Hope this helps, and good luck! :-)

Charles

RTM

Lexus Financial Services leases, for one, have no penalties (or at least didn't a few years ago) for early lease buyout. The amount left owing was calculated exactly like a mortgage payoff - just the amount you owe based on your payments already made and "interest" accumulated. Very simple and easy.

Of course, you are correct that typically you will owe more on the car than it is worth at any point in the lease except right at the end. (And that depends on how realistic the residual value was).