Hey there, here is a non mechanical question for the group. Does anyone know anything about options to buy coming off leases? It looks like I have am "ahead" on my lease payments, that is my buy options is probably 4-5k less than the used car price, so I want to be able to sell my 2004 G35 6MT and maybe upgrade to the 07. The only thing I don't get is how sales tax works? If I do the option to buy and then immediately resell, does the sales tax get paid twice? If I have to pay sales tax to resell the car, then I would lose most of the value. Is my best bet with the dealer giving me a credit towards a new purchase? Thanks.

 

This may or may not help you, but you can actually sell the car without buying it yourself. Get your buyout and then sell it yourself. You would then have to turn over what you owe to the bank and sales tax would only be paid once.
Lips

 

the buyer of your car would have to pay the sales tax to the DMV in order to register the car, its not your problem to pay it...

 

you will get taxed twice.....i went through this the last time i sold my lease...the only way you can get away with it is call a dealer up and tell them your scenario...they do some paperwork and it will run you about 500 dollars and you will not have to pay the salestax twice.

GL however you opt to do it.

 

Trade the car in for your 07...the dealer should give you the best deal on the trade IF there is in fact any equity built on the car.

Talk to the dealer and see what deal they will give you.

Rick

 

Hey all, just a recap on this and some more info:

If you have a lease and your buy out is, say $22k and the car is worth $28K you can;

1. keep it. you buy it yourself and pay the sales tax. Ultimately, this is what I did.
2. ASSIGN the buy out. this is great, but timing is key. In my lease I would have been allowed to assign the option to someone else. So the way this would work is a couple of months before the lease is up, you would advertise the car. Let's say the buyer agrees on $27K, he would give the leasing company $22 plus sales tax and give you $5k. But this one takes planning, and I did nto get on it.
3. Trade it in. I was looking at going to the 2007 Sedan 6MT, but because my car had been in an accident the dealer was taking about $7k off the value! Carfax reports are a geat idea but they have crappy info - my is great with no frame damage and new parts, but the one line on the carfax is all that matters. Anyway, so no equity from the dealer.
4. What not to do. Do not buy the car in your name with the intention of selling it soon. Then you will pay sales tax and title transfer, just to go sell it again right away. Make sure you do #2.

See ya,