gladiator25

I'm currently leasing a 2016 Q5 (Premium Plus). The lease ends in 2 months and I have 20,000 miles on the car. The end of lease inspection happened today and there is one large dent that will take $350 to fix. Other than that no problems.
- Residual value - $27,680
- monthly payment - $442 (with tax) for 36 months
- downpayment (including trade-in) - $7,000

I got a call from the dealer and they're offering LPA with the following benefits if I get a new lease on the 2019 Q5
- Audi will pay last 2 months payment
- $1500 loyalty bonus
- no disposition fee
- $2000 in other specials

The dealership is offering a lease with $575 (with tax) monthly on a 36 month lease and $7000 down.
Wondering if it makes sense to get this lease or if I should consider paying the residual value and own the 2016 Q5? Appreciate any suggestions.

choppstixxx

IMO you should never be putting large amounts of money down on any lease. The whole point of a lease is to own a new car for 3 yrs with no maintenance costs and to put as little down as possible. Not to mention you are jumping up $100+ per month and still having to put $7k down, to me that makes no sense. I would honestly buy out the lease, especially because you know who owned it/how it was taken care of if you like the car.

uncleiggy

Also 2019's are said to be problematic, you might want to further investigate on the MKII Forums.

uberwgn

The first thing you need to establish is whether that residual value represents a great value to you or, is the price in line with similar cars with similar mileage/condition. You can't start the decision making process without that piece of information unless it's been a bad car and you know you want to dump it. FWIW, the Audi lease residuals are typically well below FMV meaning it's a good buy, Gladiator.

I agree with Chopstix: putting a bunch of $$$ down on a lease makes no sense. It's counter-intuitive. In an ideal world, a lease should be no money down or as close to it as possible. This probably means shopping for a different marque.

gladiator25

Thanks for your reply. I checked on a few used cars with similar mileage/condition and they're between $29,000 and $32,000 so based upon that my Q5 seems to be a good buy This is my first lease ever, so I wanted to check with the experts here.
Do you know what extras I'll need to pay if I end up keeping my car (title, registration etc.)?

uberwgn

Well, it'll be identical to whatever you pay in your location when purchasing any car: add sales tax, inspection fee, etc., to your list

You can also turn the car back into the dealer, let them CPO it for you and you re-purchase the car from them. (All of this has to be agreed upon up front and some dealers, depending upon your business relationship with them, may tell you they can't/won't do that.)

shokhead

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choppstixxx

+1 uberwgn, specially with how little miles are on the car make sure the dealer CPO's it. Will get you a nice multi-point inspection and a little extra warranty. Again leases really are only worth it if you are putting little to no money down, because you have to remember you are essentially paying on a car for 3 yrs without ever planning on owning it.

uberwgn

Yes, and walking away from some nice equity if you just give the car back to them at end of term.

SCarGuy

OP - where are you located?

In a word, the deal you were quoted, stinks

To gauge whether or not to buy your car, it's prettty simple. Use KBB, etc. Plus your car in with your mileage, your options, and see what the typical retail cost is. The way I've personally gauged it in the past, if I am absolutely in love with the car, and residual is within a couple grand of market, then I consider buying it. As mentioned, add taxes to the cost too.

Not sure where the notion came up that Audi Residuals are below market rates - tends to be the other way around. Every brand, Audi included, pads residuals a bit...it helps move metal per month. Same reason they incentivize some vehicles. I've bought a couple cars off lease, but the only times it ever made financial sense, was, similar to a case like yours, I was well under my contracted mileage. Otherwise, when you add it all up, it usually does not pay.

That much money down makes zero sense to me from a financial standpoint, and puts you at a very risky position. Plus, see my #1 point.....unless the new one is a top tier Prestige (which leases the worst), $7k and that big a jump in payment makes no sense.

How many miles per year did you originally contract for?

The other thing of course to look at, is the tech, features, etc of the new Q5 vs yours. They are remarkably different vehicles. That stuff may, or may not, have a value to you.