Really need ADVICE: Buy out LEASE? Or Lease New Car again?
 

So, my 3-year lease has to come to an end, but I still really love this car. Usually it'd be a no brainer to by out this car considering the mileage is really low (only 30k on it), but I've been getting some mixed opinions.

Here is my situation:

1)I have 2013 model. Buyout is around 17k+taxes
2) I will most likely (90% chance) be moving in 2-3 years. (Either from Ottawa-->Vancouver , Or Ottawa--> where MBA takes me)
3) I have the Argento. I love it. Not so sure about the new "Steel"
4) I have cosmetic damage on the rear. (Scrape of some sort)
5) Dealers are saying they can let me walk away with no costs since mileage is low (I still think they come out ahead, regardless of cosmetic damage)

I've never had to go through the ordeal of trying to sell off a car before. Some are claiming that in around 5 years my car is gonna be worth only around 5k =/ Which I find hard to believe.

What do you guys think I should do?

Let's say I value peace of mind (warranty) and ability to walk away as long as the hit isn't more than 5k. Is it better to lease again then?

Any input/advice whatsoever will be greatly appreciated!

PoRco

the cost of your lease was 13k for 3 years. roughly

do you want to pay that again for a rental when you can own the car for only 4k more? even if it only sells for 5k you still come out 1k ahead.

the car will probably be around 10k in 5 years anyways.

I say you should buy it out. @ 17k, you won't lose much if you need to sell it in a year or so for a new job anyways. Actually, considering youre payments, you will probably owe less than 15k on the car in a years time and sell it for just as much if not more.

No way! This car is a classic.

This^^^
With one qualifier.
It is impossible at this point to tell what the value will be in 5 years. The future value of these cars depend heavily on model changes in a refresh (if ever there is one), overall availability or even if discontinued. If they drop them the relative scarcity of them in Canada could drive the price through the roof. If they come out with a super duper 300 hp, turbo, AWD version (they wont but if they did) the price could plummet. The actual value will probably be somewhere in between the extremes but is potentially so variable that I would not even consider what it is worth that far down the road in making my decision.

You can buy out the car & purchase an extended warranty since you're probably still in the effective warranty date range. The only time a new lease would be more financially economical is if you were to lease either a cheaper car or a car with a crazy high residual. Don't forget, insurance is usually higher on a leased vehicle too.

If you like the car and aren't cross-shopping anything else, then you should just buy out the car. KBB rates these cars at $18-$19k with 30k miles if you were to sell it private party, so you have to think of it as buying a pre-owned FR-S for $17,XXX. Dealerships will probably be selling these for close to 20k-21k.

Buy if you like it. Loved it.

Sell if you willing to wait 2-3yrs with hopes new FRS 2017-2018 will have a good improvement.

I'd buy one, but not 2013, personally.

Sounds like they're wanting you to "walk away" from the cosmetic damages in an effort to convince you to lease a new vehicle or potentially buy from them. Given that fact, you're no longer upside down on your investment and as you've stated it's still low mileage so I'd buyout the lease. In most cases it's always better to own than rent. Also another thing to take into consideration is the MY. Correct me if I'm wrong, but the 2013s are the first MY of the car so they have more known issues than later models?

I own a MY13 and the only problems its caused me are my own fault (see my rocker panel thread :cry:)

Besides that.. its been nothing but pleasure.

Then again, i keep up with my maintenance religiously on any car i own.

Really appreciate the replies guys! I have more clarity now.

The way I see it now, and please correct me if I'm wrong, is that even if I DO buy it out (and assuming all things remain the same in the market, i.e no turbo and same availability) then I'd be coming out a couple thousand dollars ahead? (I'd be buying it out at 17k+ taxes, this closer to 18.5k)

I forgot to mention, that if I buy it out, I'm definitely gonna be fixing the cosmetic damage on the back (which may ring me 1k$) It's just been bothering me way too much and my heart pains when I see it.

Also, (just as another posted pointed out) if I get the extended warranty for 2k$, that's another additional cost.

Hmm, my total costs are now looking more like 21k for this car. Not bad tbh.

So it's THAT vs a brand new FRS at another 3 year lease!

(Oh btw, I'm getting the 1k student rebate this time , since I just completed my masters.)

Decisions decisions..

http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?p=2342147

Check out this thread on this exact topic.

Yes, I just spoke to the dealer about the warranty! It's around 2.4k for 150k and 4 years (something like that)

Yeap, they're leveraging the cosmetic damage to get me to buy from them. They get gain nothing from me returning the car. It's only toyoto that benefits , if I'm correct . Oh, and you raise a valid point about the 2013 models

Wow! Thanks for this thread.

And yes, I've had tail light issues too. Got that fixed.

Going into first does feel clunky sometimes, especially when I compare this to my friends ford.

This is my first car and first MT, so I dont have much to compare it too!

four years starting from when you bought it? I have five more years left on my warranty and I do not believe it's an extended warranty..7 year, 100K miles

Since the payoff is pretty much what you'd pay if you bought it outright in the first place and you'd be hard pressed to find a cheaper way into the seat of one (used is hovering around that price at the bottom end) my vote is just buy it hassle free, sure you could save a couple bucks if you do some gymnastics but it's probably not worth it.

If you like this one then keep it.

imo this car has already seen it's worst depreciation, I'll be very surprised if it's worth less than $10k 5 years from now, unless like Tcoat says there is a new and improved model that makes this thing completely outdated without increasing the price (extremely unlikely) or there's a major reliability problem uncovered that makes high mileage cars extremely undesirable.