I reached the end of my lease in April and extended for 6 months thinking I would buy a new car but wait a bit for the shortage to improve. I don't love my leased car, but it only has 20K miles on it for a 36K lease.
However, I have been to about 3 dealerships so far. Twice I went in and couldn't get anyone's attention and stood there for 20 minutes before leaving. Another dealer told me they had the car on the lot but then did not when I got there. Further, they didn't even have a similar model for me to test drive.
I am thinking of just buying the leased car (I think it gets valued as a trade in at 6-8 K above the buyout price). I am not happy with the car, but it holds value well and the thought of buying a car in this environment is discouraging. I had thought the shortage would be over in a few months. Now...not so sure....thoughts? Thanks!
One of our leases ends next month and we also extended until Christmas. Things may change for the better by then.
One of our leases ends next month and we also extended until Christmas. Things may change for the better by then.
That was my thought as well. But from what I have read, I am not sure anything will be that much better in October. Further, some dealerships have realized that they like forcing customers to order rather than keeping inventory. I guess I thought that if I buy the leased car, I can just be patient and then trade it in when things do improve. If I knew the experience would be better in October, I would simply wait. But if it isn't, I wouldn't want to buy the leased car then after paying 4 more months of payments without reducing the residual price.
Funny that in my last experience, my biggest fear was salespeople hounding me for weeks after a test drive!
Seems like you will make $$$ based on the residual value you got on the vehicle a few years ago when the market was much different.
Supply and demand - you are in an advantageous position regardless of if you love the car or not.
So instead of trading it in to the dealer -- buy the car and then sell it. Then you take that profit and go get a new car.
If you're going to buy it out - do so now instead of extending the lease.
So instead of trading it in to the dealer -- buy the car and then sell it. Then you take that profit and go get a new car.
Doesn’t matter when there isn’t anything to buy.
I work at a Chevy dealership. We are being told customers will be ordering cars and waiting 4-12 weeks for them until mid 2023 at least.
Extend your lease as long as you can. Order a car and you’ll have deal with the increase in cost. It’s unfortunate but it is what it is.
If you're going to buy it out - do so now instead of extending the lease.
THIS
If you’re going to buy the car, it doesn’t matter when you do it as long as the lease is up. Residual doesn’t change. Once you extend the lease, NYS adds additional tax so be prepared for that.
Buy it and wait for a good opportunity to trade it in for something you want. Only good option IMO.
Quote:
his residual value is $6-8k less than the KBB value.
So instead of trading it in to the dealer -- buy the car and then sell it. Then you take that profit and go get a new car.
Doesn’t matter when there isn’t anything to buy.
I work at a Chevy dealership. We are being told customers will be ordering cars and waiting 4-12 weeks for them until mid 2023 at least.
Extend your lease as long as you can. Order a car and you’ll have deal with the increase in cost. It’s unfortunate but it is what it is.
Went in to my honda service last week....Walked around and had nothing on the showroom. Chatted with a sales guy where he said they only had 1 new vehicle on the lot (Pilot).....the trucks coming in delivering...80% already sold, what's left over, sells in 1-2 weeks. BMW similar scenario.
I shopped around the Tesla website, earliest delivery was around April-June 2023.
Slim picking in the new car market unless one wants to wait for an order. I'd buy out and then drive it till ya find the car ya really want (test drive the shit out of them), then trade in. I wouldn't expect any great deals in this market, though they can be had if one haggles enough.
Tough call for the OP. Good luck.
just something to keep in mind.
I wouldn't buy a car I didn't like just because it appreciated in value unless I had no other options.
How bad can the car be? If it runs well and you just don’t like it it’s just a numbers game IMO - buy it and pocket value you established and trade it in for something you really want when the timing is right.
Nobody has inventory and from what I am seeing and hearing(I'm in the business), it's not expected to correct anytime soon. In fact, the recession thats on the horizon will probably only extend it as nobody is making enough cars to bring the supply up.
I'm in a similar situation, just without the value on my leased car(infiniti's never hold their value well).
I would like to just order a new car and wait...but I have heard some of the wait times can extend fairly long. Further, once you give a deposit, the dealer has even more leverage. How do I know what they will offer for a trade once the car comes in? Plus...it's hard to even arrange a test drive right now. Terrible market for buyers.
I would like to just order a new car and wait...but I have heard some of the wait times can extend fairly long. Further, once you give a deposit, the dealer has even more leverage. How do I know what they will offer for a trade once the car comes in? Plus...it's hard to even arrange a test drive right now. Terrible market for buyers.
I have customers test drive newer used models so they can at least get a sense of the size and features. It’s not ideal but it helps.
I don’t know how other dealerships are doing deposits, but ours are 100% refundable. You’re back to square one, but you have your $500. Depending on the car, GMs wait times are 4-12 weeks depending on the model. It’s not terrible. Sometimes you’re not even ordering a car. If you can deal with a popular model with packages you like, the dealership may already have some on order to cut your wait time.
I don't think the dealership had any leverage for 2 reasons:
1. My deposit was $500 and while I'm not some kind of Rockefeller, I'm also not making decisions to avoid losing $500 if it came to it
2. I ordered the vehicle to spec, who is to say the way I wanted it configured is how anyone else does - I didn't get some wacky color or unique stuff, but it definitely wasn't a standard bland generic version either
In fact, dealers may even tell you that they "lock in" the price of the new car based on todays incentives, but they are lying. Very few manufacturers will lock in prices depending on todays rates and incentives so you run the risk of the programs getting even worse.