Buying our C-max during or after our lease

[fordfan82]

The wife and I like our C-max so much that we are highly considering buying it either during or after the lease. Has anyone here gone through the buying process after a lease? We have 2 leases and like the cars but we've got to the point where we only want to eventually have one payment.

A used car salesman at our dealership said that you go see them to buy the car.

[fotomoto]

I don't lease so I'm not really educated on the finer points but isn't there an stated value in the contract?  Sorta' similar to a balloon payment?  

[bro1999]

The wife and I like our C-max so much that we are highly considering buying it either during or after the lease. Has anyone here gone through the buying process after a lease? We have 2 leases and like the cars but we've got to the point where we only want to eventually have one payment.

A used car salesman at our dealership said that you go see them to buy the car.

 

I've never purchased a leased car end-of-lease, but there should be a buyout price, or residual price in your leasing contract. That is the price the leasing company wants if you want to purchase at lease end (any additional fees should also be listed in the contract). If you wanted to buy it out early (not sure why you would do that), your buyout price should be the sum of your remaining monthly payments + the buyout price. It possibly might be a little cheaper due to a little less interest being charged..

Edited August 4, 2014 by bro1999

[Wnuk]

Wait till the end of your lease to purchase. There will be a clear purchase price in your lease agreement. You will still be responsible for your state sales tax on the buyout price. It's a rather simple & quick process done by your dealer.

[hybridbear]

The wife and I like our C-max so much that we are highly considering buying it either during or after the lease. Has anyone here gone through the buying process after a lease? We have 2 leases and like the cars but we've got to the point where we only want to eventually have one payment.

A used car salesman at our dealership said that you go see them to buy the car.

One cautionary note. Do the math on the total cost of your payments if you buy the car at the end of the lease. It usually is not a very good deal. Look at the numbers carefully. You might be better off turning in the C-Max at the end of the lease & buying a new one.

[bro1999]

One cautionary note. Do the math on the total cost of your payments if you buy the car at the end of the lease. It usually is not a very good deal. Look at the numbers carefully. You might be better off turning in the C-Max at the end of the lease & buying a new one.

 

I was certain that leasing was always worse than buying, if you bought out the leased vehicle upon lease end.

I looked at the numbers of my C-Max Energi lease ($38.6k MSRP, 24 month lease) and the buyout price is $20,900. Total lease payments are $8,200, so total out of pocket price at buyout would be about $29.5k inclusive of all taxes/fees.

 

If I had purchased outright, I would have been able to receive about $7k off MSRP, so out the door price would have been $31.6k plus ~2k in taxes/fees, so $33.6k total. Subtract the $4k fed tax credit, and I get $29.6k....or pretty much exactly the same as what leasing costs + buyout price would be.

[fordfan82]

We will pay $14,328 in lease payments over the course of 3 years. Our lease buyout is somewhere in the the 14,000 range. Figure even if we go 6 more years and buy it our payment should be cheaper and we can put money towards it and pay it off faster than 6 years. The wife wants to eventually buy one of our leased cars. Yeah it is nice to have new cars every 2-3 years but would be nice to only have one car payment.

[mlsstl]

Leasing an auto versus purchasing it represents two fundamentally different financial perspectives about cars. Think of it as a cash-flow versus capital investment issue.

Leasing a car offers early cash flow advantages with the lower monthly payment, and generally your sales tax is paid monthly rather in one big lump. However, you end up with a never-ending payment. If you look at cars in the same way that you think of your cable TV or cell phone bill -- a monthly expense that is simply "there" and always will be -- and you don't mind a new down payment of a couple of grand every three years or so, then it makes sense to lease, especially if you like brand new cars on a regular basis.

However, leasing is a much worse deal if you look at long term costs. As others have noted, at the end of the lease you have nothing to show for all of your payments -- the car belongs to someone else and is either returned to them or finally purchased. A purchased car belongs to you at the end of the payments and the majority of cars on the market can be driven for several more years with little in the way of repair headache and expense and then still have some trade value.

Which is best for an individual depends on each person's circumstances and wants. There is no universal "good" or "bad" answer that applies to everyone.

[wamba2000]

Fordfan, I just went through this with another vehicle.

Couple things to check out:  

1. The residual ( buy-out) value was set when the lease was first done, using the estimate of expected value at end of the term.  Given that the Cmax has taken some lumps, you may find that the residual is higher than what the market value is of your vehicle.  You can check Edmunds.com to find what the value is projected given your location, mileage, equipment, etc.

2.  If you find yourself with a buyout greater than market value, wait until 30 days or so before lease end, then offer Ford (or whoever holds the lease) what you think market value is.  Also get them to waive any disposition fees etc. that might be part of your original deal.  (of course if you are lucky enough to owe less tha market value, you can buy it out or buy, then sell on your own and pocket any profit.)

3. Manufacturers and their Finance people want you to turn that vehicle every 3 years, expecting that they will get a good used car to sell and you will pay another upfront cost to do a new lease.

 

As one of the other board members wrote, if you plan to keep the car long term, buying is likely better.  If you want a new car every three years, leasing helps that process and may save you $

 

Last point:  be wary of the "Excess wear and Tear" insurance offered, unless you are hard on your vehicles.  I am fighting with the insurance company that holds this coverage, they have dragged their feet for a month, and the latest is that they sent the funds ( all of $160 reconditioning fee) to the Automaker's finance arm, rather than me, the claimant.  I already paid the fee as well as lease end $.....Their mode is to avoid paying as long as possible.  Avoid!