I am looking into trading in my leased 2006 Infiniti G35 coupe for a 2008 Lexus IS350.

My G35 is on a 3-year lease, ending its second year this month. August of 2009 would be the official 3-year mark. Currently, the monthly payments are $600 or $7,200 a year. Also, the true, trade-in market value of ’06 G35 coupes are about $20,000-$23,000 in my area (KBB). The trade-in value of my car then at a dealership would be: $12,800-$15,800 ($20k, $23k-$7.2k).

There is an IS350 that MSRP’s at $46,000. Assuming I negotiate $2,000-$3,000 off the MSRP (which is a total estimate, not sure how much they go for lately) and the cost drops to $42,000-$43,000. I would then subtract my trade-in value as well, correct?

I know the numbers are broad, but that’s generally how the math is going to be? … or am I missing something?


Sorry for the noob question. Thanks for your help!

 

Payoff on the car is your residual (on your contract) + all remaining payments.

You know what the trade-in would be.

The difference between those is the equity in the car (positive or negative, depending on your situation).

Why are you trading in a lease early? The best option is to finish out the lease.

Also, why the IS350? Why not a G35(37) sedan?

 

Thanks for your reply Mike.

I had a few more questions, if you don't mind...

My residual = ~$22,000
My remaining Payments = $7,200

Total owed on the car, including residual: $29,200

Assuming I get $20,000 for my G35 coupe, I would still be owing $9,200? Does my G35 coupe have no trade-in value?

Also, if I do decide to get a IS350 for $44,000 (MSRP), does the $9,200 get added into the total financing? If that's the case, the car is way out of my budget, lol.

 

Yes, you will still be owing 9200. That will be rolled into the new vehicle. More than likely, the finance company (Toyota financial), will not allow that much to be rolled into the new vehicle, so you WILL need some $$$ out of pocket to reduce it.

It's not the car's depreciation hurting you; it's your remaining payments (as with any other customer that leased).

 

swapalease.com is where I got my car. An incentive of 1200 to 2000 should get someone to take over your lease.

 

What's your current IFS pay off? You might be able to find a private party willing to pay that amount-or close to it. I just bought a 07 G35 sedan that the previous owner was leasing through IFS. I agreed to pay the amount he owed IFS to buy out the lease. He payed them an early termination fee out of his pocket but it wasn't that much. Original MSRP was 37.5k, I paid 27.8k for a 14 month old car.

 

As others have pointed out, your true buyout is all your remaining payments plus the residual.

Also, however, your trade-in value is most likely lower than KBB. KBB is often BS. They are too far behind the market.

In any case, you wouldn't need to roll in the $9200 in your example. You would roll in just the remaining payments of $7200. You then cut Infiniti a check for the remaining payments (or the Lexus dealer does) and give your car back. But, you should call Infiniti finance first and ask what you would need to pay should you turn your car in today. There may be penalties.

You could try the leasetrader option, but again, make sure to check with the finance company first. Some don't allow transfers (Honda and Volvo are 2 that I know of).

Anyway... why do you want to switch? Why take such a huge financial hit to get out of such a great vehicle .... and into a Lexus, of all things!

 

When I ended my BMW lease early it was very different. I called BMW Finance, told them I was grounding my car at a dealer (terminating lease early). I took it to the dealer, signed an odometer statement, and a transfer document, gave them back the keys. I had 9 payments left + a $350 disposition fee (you have to pay this even at lease end), so my total was $5787. I overnighted BMW Financial a check for $5787, the same day they got the check they did a inspection and took full ownership of the car and released me from liability on it.

The Infiniti dealer gave me 3500 to end the lease early, so I was out of pocket $2287 + 350 for a new rim to get out of my lease. Which was a hell of a lot cheaper than staying in the lease. I would have had 15k + miles over my limit had I stayed in it, plus it would have needed new tires by then, and then I still would have needed a down payment for a new car. I actually saved a bundle by taking advantage of the deal Infiniti was giving me.

I'm not sure if its the same on a Infiniti lease, but I just assume most all motor vehicle leases are pretty similar. If you want to get out of that lease you just owe them the remaining payments on the lease, any disposition fee, and any fees for milage over and excess wear. You don't need to pay the residual unless you are trading in the car and the dealer is buying it out of the lease, its far easier and cheaper to just terminate the lease early and pay the remaning payments. All you need to do is pay the reamining payments and terminate the lease early, you don't need to worry about the residual or payoff. You owe what your contract says you signed to, which in my case was 36 payments, I paid the 9 remaining and just terminated the lease early.

 

You are completely correct. However, you are just turning in your lease early, as opposed to trading the car in. Both are valid options, and both should be looked at to see which gives you a lower cost.

In the case of the BMW, the trade-in is much lower, so grounding the vehicle would make more sense.