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Leasing question

reily84reily84 Member Posts: 1
edited June 2015 in General
So I am in a bind and need some advice. My 3-year lease is expiring soon, and I am probably going to owe about $2K in over mileage charges. When I leased the car, I lived very close to work so I thought 12K miles per year would be plenty, but my situation changed and now my commute is much longer. I have never been in financial trouble before but my girlfriend recently had a bunch of medical expenses that I helped her pay (she doesn't have insurance). Now I don't know what to do because I am not even going to have the $2K to pay Ford when I turn the car in. Plus there is still the issue of needing a car. I originally planned to buy the leased car, but now it just doesn't make financial sense. So I plan on buying a cheaper car and hopefully financing it with 0 down (luckily my credit score is still strong). But what do I do about the $2K? Would the leasing company let me pay it off in installments? I don't use a credit card bc I feel like I am less likely to overspend with a debit card, but I was thinking maybe I could apply for a credit card and then charge the $2K to that....or am I supposed to pay in cash? I have never leased before so this will be my first time going through the lease-end process. Thanks for any help you can provide.

Comments

  • kyfdxkyfdx Moderator Posts: 257,550
    reily84 said:

    So I am in a bind and need some advice. My 3-year lease is expiring soon, and I am probably going to owe about $2K in over mileage charges. When I leased the car, I lived very close to work so I thought 12K miles per year would be plenty, but my situation changed and now my commute is much longer. I have never been in financial trouble before but my girlfriend recently had a bunch of medical expenses that I helped her pay (she doesn't have insurance). Now I don't know what to do because I am not even going to have the $2K to pay Ford when I turn the car in. Plus there is still the issue of needing a car. I originally planned to buy the leased car, but now it just doesn't make financial sense. So I plan on buying a cheaper car and hopefully financing it with 0 down (luckily my credit score is still strong). But what do I do about the $2K? Would the leasing company let me pay it off in installments? I don't use a credit card bc I feel like I am less likely to overspend with a debit card, but I was thinking maybe I could apply for a credit card and then charge the $2K to that....or am I supposed to pay in cash? I have never leased before so this will be my first time going through the lease-end process. Thanks for any help you can provide.

    I can't tell you what the bank will require as far as payment, but it's doubtful they will take a credit card or installments. From the end of your lease, it will probably be a month before you get the bill for end-of-lease charges, so that gives you a little time. If you want to keep your good credit, it's imperative you find a way to pay this bill.

    When you are in a bind, family and friends is usually the best place to go for help. They won't love you for it, though. It's great that you don't have any credit card debt, but as the old saying goes, "Cash is King".

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  • wheels29wheels29 Member Posts: 34
    I live in Idaho. Do you know which car manufacturer or model is offering the most lease cash at this time? The Kia Optima is offering $3000 lease cash. Are there any other makes or models offering this kind of incentive? I should mention that I am looking at cars with an MSRP below 25K. Ultimately I am trying to find the cheapest lease possible in terms of monthly payment. It's important that the lease deal is zero down with the exception of the first month's payment. I would love to find a zero down $149 lease payment. But I doubt it exists.
  • MichaellMichaell Moderator Posts: 255,824
    wheels29 said:

    I live in Idaho. Do you know which car manufacturer or model is offering the most lease cash at this time? The Kia Optima is offering $3000 lease cash. Are there any other makes or models offering this kind of incentive? I should mention that I am looking at cars with an MSRP below 25K. Ultimately I am trying to find the cheapest lease possible in terms of monthly payment. It's important that the lease deal is zero down with the exception of the first month's payment. I would love to find a zero down $149 lease payment. But I doubt it exists.

    From what I've seen, the $3000 is the most lease cash I've seen on a car that stickers for less than $25,000.

    To get a good lease payment, you want a high residual and a low MF. The Toyota Camry fits the bill ... I know of someone who was offered a payment of under $200/mo for a Camry SE a couple of weeks ago in NJ. The Toyota Corolla and Honda Civic also have aggressive lease programs available, even though there isn't much (if any) lease cash.

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  • wheels29wheels29 Member Posts: 34
    Thanks, Michael. I don't think Camry is being as aggressive as they were last month. But I did get a good quote for the Corolla. The leasing manager said he would lease a Corolla for $202 a month with tax, dealer doc, and lease acquisition included in the payment. A local Kia dealer gave me a number of $197 per month for the Optima, and this payment also includes tax, dealer doc, and acquistion fee. In each deal, all I pay is the first month's payment. So let me ask you.... assuming both lease deals are basically the same costs, does it make the Optima a better deal if the latter's MSRP is $3500 higher? I know if I were buying the car, the higher MSRP would clearly make it a better deal. But since I am leasing, I do not know if the same logic applies. Thank you for your original answer, again.
  • kyfdxkyfdx Moderator Posts: 257,550
    wheels29 said:

    Thanks, Michael. I don't think Camry is being as aggressive as they were last month. But I did get a good quote for the Corolla. The leasing manager said he would lease a Corolla for $202 a month with tax, dealer doc, and lease acquisition included in the payment. A local Kia dealer gave me a number of $197 per month for the Optima, and this payment also includes tax, dealer doc, and acquistion fee. In each deal, all I pay is the first month's payment. So let me ask you.... assuming both lease deals are basically the same costs, does it make the Optima a better deal if the latter's MSRP is $3500 higher? I know if I were buying the car, the higher MSRP would clearly make it a better deal. But since I am leasing, I do not know if the same logic applies. Thank you for your original answer, again.

    I think the same logic applies.. the Optima is a lot more car than the Corolla

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