Leasing rookie self-inflicted wounds

[ghodge]

I recently leased a 2019 Stinger GTS for 24 months. Previously I have purchased Ford or GM vehicles and received employee discounts through family members. This is my first lease and I committed the cardinal sin of applying the trade-in of my old vehicle as cash up front to lower my lease payment (I'm also paying down a car loan with a 0% rate). Is it still a good idea to do an immediate lease buyout in this case?

Thanks,

George

 

[Travis Wills]

I recently leased a 2019 Stinger GTS for 24 months. Previously I have purchased Ford or GM vehicles and received employee discounts through family members. This is my first lease and I committed the cardinal sin of applying the trade-in of my old vehicle as cash up front to lower my lease payment (I'm also paying down a car loan with a 0% rate). Is it still a good idea to do an immediate lease buyout in this case?

Thanks,

George

The lease has a relatively high interest rate(over 4%). If you buy it out then you avoid that interest. However, if your interest rate for the borrowed money isn’t significantly lower then it may not make sense.

What was the cap cost for your lease?

 

[ghodge]

Thanks for the response Travis. The adjusted capital cost is $30172.69. The residual value is listed as 25038 at the end of the 24 months. I would like to own the vehicle in the end but if it doesn't make sense....

 

[MerlintheMad]

My leasing rookie self-inflicted "wounds" included three months of payments before I realized the advantage of buyout. But I still avoided well over $5K in lease rent. We paid cash for the buyout so there was no question that it was the right thing to do. Paying off a loan to buyout is problematic, as @Travis Wills already said. But if you avoid 22 plus months of lease rent? I'd still look into the buyout.

 

[ghodge]

I'll have to run the numbers to see how feasible it is. I can get 3.29% from my credit union. The Stinger is even so good that I'm slightly considering putting my Fiesta ST up for sale to put toward the credit union loan.