What options does one have when they reach the end of a car lease but cannot find a good deal at the time of it's end?
Like, do you extend the lease? Return the vehicle and try aiming for a different dealership?
Buy a used car maybe? I've never bought a new car as they're pretty out-of-reach cost wise and I say this as someone who works in automotive development.
The used market isn't as good as it used to be but you can still get more for your money than you can with a new car
I'm in the process of buying a new (to me), as my mid 90's volvo simply isn't big enough for the entire household (runs great though!).
And after looking at various cars, their prices, and the market in general, I have to seriously question how worth it a factory-fresh car is. A couple of years, and you get the same car for half the price.
Sure, there might be hidden faults, but with a reputable dealer this shouldn't be a problem: One of my local dealers sell used cars with warranty as if it was new.
You look for the cheapest used car that you can.
Leases are really only designed for businesses so that the business can write off value and depreciation early in their balance sheets for tax purposes. Financially they don’t work out great for your average consumer.
Consumers can’t write off those monthly and yearly expenses like a business does.
Won’t a lease have the buyout structure built in? That’s the selling point, the total ownership costs are known at the time of purchase.
You can buy the car and sell it yourself if you’re not getting a good deal, but the “vehicle as a subscription service” aspect of leasing is to avoid that hassle.
I think my lease agreement has a buy in built in. But I don't want the vehicle. It's a Kia Sportage, it was not my choice in the beginning to have this vehicle. I wanted a Seltos but my shitty dealership at the time didn't have it in inventory and I was caught in a rock and a hard place to be forced into this lease agreement.
So I want to turn it in but my worry is, what if the dealership in my current location, doesn't have what I want? It's bigger, yeah. They retired the Rio model back in 2023 and have a K3 model for affordability that might come to America next year, but who knows when.
Obviously my options is to find a new dealership if everything with Kia falls through, but I also don't want to extend this lease. I need a vehicle to get to places which is why I asked this question. Because I doubt they'll let me drive it further to explore more options if they aren't getting more payments from it.
Got until August for all of this shit to come together. Hopefully they'll have a Seltos or a K3 I can finance. Kia's SUV models don't attract me a bit and their new Sportage model is even less impressive.
Not sure I understand the problem. Turn the lease back in and buy/lease what you want. The two don’t need to be tied together.
Leases end with you either buying it out with a used car loan, or turn it in and optionally get a new car.
Since you can’t find any good deals on new cars, sounds like you want option 1.
You play the hand you have.
Depending on your personal attachment to that car, your personal interest in a different car, your financial capacity, the ability to extend your lease is just another card you can play.
What is a "good deal" anyway? What are you seeking? Something pragmatic like equivalent reliability to your current car but for equal or less cost of ownership?
You can usually purchase the car you were leasing for an amount that was agreed upon when you started the lease.
Don't lease cars if you can't afford it. Part of that is being able to afford this uncertainty.
I'm sure it's frustrating being stuck in a lease that you don't want. I think the first step would be to contact the dealership and see if they have that Seltos in stock yet.
Most dealerships will go out of their way to avoid losing a good customer, and it sounds like you have a history with them already. I'd be surprised if they were unable to work with you.
Older cars can definitely come with their own problems, but I've had good experience with Japanese models holding up under less than ideal conditions. Sometimes you'll get a car that knocks because the previous owner didn't use the correct fuel, for example, but I've seen these issues resolve themselves once the right octane was used. Sometimes the issues aren't permanent, but get a third party to look it over if you decide to go that route.
You can sell the buyout option to a place like Carvana or something.
If you don't live in the rust belt, find you a GM W-body with a 3.8 V6. Pontiac Grand Prix, Buick regal, Chevy Impala, maybe more I don't remember. Cheap to buy, reliable drivetrain, plentiful and cheap parts. Get a double-DIN radio unit with Android Auto/apple car play for that touch of modern convenience, it's super easy to replace yourself even if you aren't super handy. Just look underneath and make sure the rockers aren't rusty (rockers are the part of the car directly underneath the doors, you need to look at them from below the car to see them because there is usually a plastic cover over them).
Going from a 1-2 year old car to a 10-30 year old car is going to be awful.
It is. I don't ever want to be in a situation of handling a car with liable baggage. 10-30 old cars will have a lot of issues going regardless if the body of the vehicle is maintained. If you live in states where they're strict on inspections, you can expect to fail one or another at somepoint. The money piling up to maintain a vehicle that's very old and has a chance of breaking down, is about as feasible as maintaining a boat.
It's smarter to have a vehicle for 2 - 6 years at most if you're leasing it. Financing it, do whatever but people need to understand that if that vehicle being financed is not maintained well, good luck trying to sell it.
Use public transit and bicycles.
I think it's ideal if you can. It isn't viable in a lot of US cities due to multiple factors but I am hoping that changes in the future