This article states that a 2 year old car sells for 10% more than its new version despite having older technology and higher mileage:
My car lease expires in a few months. Just for kicks, I entered the details into CarMax to see what it would pay for it. I am shocked to see that they will buy my car for more than $10,000 than the pay-off/residual value to buy the car at the end of the lease.
As far as I can tell, used car prices are still through the roof, and in looking at new cars, I am seeing very few discounts, and at least one manufacturer charging several thousand over MSRP (Kia).
But getting a $10,000 profit on the sale of the leased car is awfully tempting.
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It may be more than just tempting --it may be necessary and / or it may be a wise business decision.
Congratulations ! Your car lease may prove to be your best investment this year.
CBS News did a story last night on a young man who sold is Dodge Challenger (8 cylinder) for almost $10,000 more than he paid for it. Other details were not shared.
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I think youâre right. It seems almost too good to be true, but we just sold our minivan to get our Tesla Model Y. We got SEVERAL thousand more for the minivan than we were offered 2 years ago and about 15,000 miles later. So I have recent real-world experience on how crazy things are, plus all these stories on the news etc.
After the holidays, I am seriously going to pursue this. The car Iâm thinking about can be factory-ordered, and I donât mind waiting to get a new leased car (at no discount). But $10,000 profit on a quick sale to CarMax is a no-brainer. Iâve also heard that CarMax is very good at honoring prices and my car is in fine condition and has low miles.
The trick is lining up a new vehicle at a decent (but no bargain) price, since I donât think there are any discounts. But I think I may have solved that with the factory order. Interestingly, the dealer offered me $1000 off of MSRP if I did the order today, but I am way too busy at the moment, and too many other things going on. But early January 2022 is a distinct possibility.
Iâve been in the same boat, though my potential profit on my current lease is not that high, lol. Your best bet will likely be to trade in your leased car and buy something from the same dealership so you can use that equity to pay down a new car. Many lease financing companies will not let you sell your lease to a third party.
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I only have a few months left on the lease. Even if I paid those few months, bought the car and immediately sold it to CarMax, Iâd still clear well over $8000. I do have a trip coming up where I would like to use my current car since it is many, many miles under what I paid for. But that will be over in February.
Wouldnât the manufacturer of my current car just treat it as an end-of-lease termination, extinguishing my rights to whatever equity I would have if I bought it and then sold to whomever I wanted?
At the end of the lease, you typically have the option of returning the vehicle or buying it for the pre-set amount.
If the pre-set buyout price is lower than what you can easily sell it for, it makes sense to buy the vehicle (and then sell it if that is what you want to do).
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We have a third carâŠa 10 year old Subaru Outback with about 120,000 miles on it. Itâs an manual transmission and we really like itâŠ.
Wonder if it has any resale value??
Try it on CarMax. You just need your licence plate number or VIN and your actual mileage, along with answering questions about the condition of your car.
You will get an offer good for a week immediately.
There are several other online services doing the same.
I would think folks would want an Outback, regardless of the mileage. You can also just check to see the private sales figures in your area.
Someone ALWAYS wants your car!
Not if you tell them you want to sell them the lease and use the equity towards a new car. You may not have to pay taxes on the lease sale that way. If you buy your leased vehicle for the residual value at the end of the lease and sell it to Carmax, you will may taxes, some fees and perhaps a large inspection fee. But yea, Carmax could still be a better play depending on what the dealership will offer you.
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Ok. Thanks. That makes sense, and itâs something I hadnât thought of.
The CarMax route is fine, but it will involve a lot of paperwork etc, along with hassle. If I can use the current value of the car to bring down future lease payments, thatâs fine too.
Will consider both!
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I just sold my 2008 stick shift Honda Fit to Carmax in October. I drove in, received a value in about 20 minutes good for about 5 days. Over the weekend I tried to top that value with a Craigs List sale, could not do so, and took it in to walk out with my check half an hour later. There would have been a tax advantage if I had traded it in, but the Car Max offer made selling to them more advantageous.
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I sold a car to CarMax a year ago and recently helped my dad sell his at a different CarMax location. Both transactions were very good and easy.
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Just saw this:
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Most dealerships & other used car buyers that buy for resale want vehicles with 60,000 miles or less. However, these are unusual times, but once over 100,000 miles, the car will âbe taken to auctionâ by most dealers. This means that the individual seller is unlikely to reap a windfall.
ActuallyâŠwe bought it from a dealer with 110,000 miles on itâŠbut it was only 4 years old. We donât use it muchâŠbut itâs nice to have one four wheel drive for those snowy days.
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For anybody curious about Truecar. com, I put my phone # in today, my curiosity got the best of me. I am a digital member of Consumer Reports, and reached TrueCar through CRâs car finding tool. I got several phone calls, emails, texts from I think three different dealerships in town (San Antonio, TX). I am looking for a Toyota RAV4 Limited, Hybrid.
Has anybody gone through the Costco Auto program recently?
I have, twice in the last 5 years. They are excellent, but I think their hands are tied given the current situation with low new car inventory. We got great deals both times.
For the two cars we sourced through them, they were first-rate. They are, however, bending over backwards to make sure their customers know that it was very difficult to get anything like the deals you could get with them pre-pandemic, much less a car at all.
Indeed, I have a current deal pending through Costco. IMHO, their program is superb.
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I test drove a Mazda CX-5 a few years ago. It felt like it was in the wrong gear the entire time. I was so puzzled and automatically nixed it. Apparently they build SUVâs like this these days⊠I heard similar reports from people with a Hyundai SUV, and you had to go to the sport model of that car to get one that felt like it shifted normal.
My ex owned a CR-V. It drove fine, but got broken into twice. (the first time, the Car stereo was stolen and the second time the entire SUV was actually stolen a year or two later. The cops found it completely gutted a few weeks later (Even missing its seats). I had bought him a new stereo and new speakers sometime after the stereo was stolen, and I donât think it even made it a year before the whole car walked away. Iâm not sure if they are âeasyâ to break into or just popular to break into. Just sharing. They smashed a window to get to the stereo. I have no clue how they stole the whole vehicle.
Unfortunately,this New York Times article is behind a pay wall, but some readers may have access.
https://nytimes.com/2021/12/22/business/economy/car-chip-shortage-pandemic.html
Many from Texas metro areas have flown to other states to purchase & to pick-up a new car, truck, or SUV.
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