Anderlecht

Hi.. First time poster here!

I originally leased a '07 Q7 3.6 with 12K miles/yr. A year into my lease, they swapped my car into a brand new '08 Q7 3.6 Premium with extra options that my original car did not have. The sticker was close to $8K more than the original Q7 I leased. Audi USA said that the '08 would be only a substitute of collateral and that only the VIN# changes in the lease agreement, but the lease terms remain the same. I have about 32K miles on the car and am in a dilemma because my lease is up in early next year. The dealer is offering to pay the 2 payments left on the car and offer it as Certified Pre-Owned if I agree to pay extra $2.5K and finance the car. I have $29K left in residual value. What can you Audi gurus suggest in my situation? I have brakes that are squeaking and need replacement and the outer edges of rear tires are balding. Is it a good deal to pay the CPO fee and finance the car and move on? Or is it better to just return it?

Also... if I were to return the car as it is, would they charge me? I have a few scratches on the right rear door and a ding on my right passenger side door from some idiot bumping their door into mine and also the brakes squeaking and the rear tire (outer edges worn) issue.

PLEASE HELP!

Houstonmobilian

Whatever the decision you do, you should bring your car to the nearest Carmax to get a free quote and compare how much your car is really worth now. If it's more than what you owed, you can always sell it to them and get the equity or break even. That way you have no worries about the repairing and etc..

Anderlecht

The nearest Carmax is located in Connecticut, which is about 1 hour from me. I looked at kbb.com to see what the pricing is for my car and they said about $37K. Either way I have about $8K room. Do you think asking the dealer to repair the brakes free of charge is too much to ask when I tell them that I want to buy?

Houstonmobilian

Interesting. You can discuss this with your dealer and see what they say. The bottom line is you know that you have that $8000 room. Worst case scenario, you can go to Carmax and sell the car and no worries.

Or another option would be is to find out the total repair price and add the certified fee and go from there.

GRNMACHINE

Looking forward to outcome whatever you choose to do. Why did they give u a 2008 in place of 2007?? Never heard of that unless it was some kind of lemon law thing. Dealers are hurting right now so u could always ask them to fix the brakes. You have nothing to lose in asking except your temper.

il mio Mugello Q7

I second this comment. For a different reason, I did this when the lease was up on my Infiniti FX prior to leasing my Q7 and Carmax paid me nearing $2K more than what the residual value was on the vehicle, curbed wheels and all!

If eBay Motors is a good indicator of the avg selling prices of '07 Q7s, it looks like I'll be heading to Carmax again in 3 months when my lease on the Q7 is up as I have a residual of $27K and with the Q7 is great condition and just 21K miles, I cant see them quoting me anything less than $30K.

AutoUnionQ7

Dump the lease and switch into a TDI?

Millennium

But would not you need to pay taxes on top of residual when you decide to buy
it from Audi of America? If you do, then your price would be more than $27k
and then there is no sense in selling it to Carmax.

Houstonmobilian

When you sell your car, you don't pay taxes. Basically, you need to know how much the lease payoff is and how much Carmax offered to buy yr car. In his case, he should have some equity left if he decide to sell his car to Carmax and not getting anything. Or else, he can always shop for his next purchase at Carmax to while selling his Q7 there to save on taxes.

Anderlecht

I think I am going to Carmax next week to appraise the car and see how much it is worth. From the looks of it, it seems many of you are suggesting the purchase of the car and then sell it over to Carmax. Let's just hope that the 1 hour plus drive is worth it.

Now the questions are, if I am going to sell it Carmax, is it worth to CPO the car for the extra $2.5K?

Should I request them to fix the brakes and replace the rotors as a condition or should I ask for new tires while I am at it? Or is it pushing it?

Thanks for the replies guys.