What One Should Know About Lease Buyouts

By Lisa Phillips


At the end of a car lease, there are two options that one will have. They can return the car to the company that leased it or there is the option of purchasing it. The purchase of leased cars is not the same as buying new cars or used cars with which you had no previous connection. With leased cars, you will have information about its history because you have been driving it. In addition to that, there are financial considerations which are unique to lease buyouts.

When there is a decision to buy a car after leasing, one should know what they will cost. In addition to that, there are several tools to help in figuring out what end of lease fees should be. In many cases, all information regarding purchase options are contained in the agreement. One would however need to consider various aspects before they can make a decision to purchase.

As is the case in all decisions which involve purchase of cars, the price will be one of the first considerations. Lease agreements in most cases specify the amount the car will be sold for when the period lapses. The price will be same as residual value of that vehicle. Residual value is that value that the company is expecting it to depreciate by during the period it was leased.

Since there is requirement to pay fees for depreciation of leased vehicles, a company gets to calculate residual value when it comes to determination of what the monthly payments of a lease will be. That amount is never equal to market value of a vehicle after the period ends. By comparing the market and residual values, one is able to tell whether the deal to purchase is worth taking or not.

When purchasing leased cars, the higher its market value, the better it is. It is obvious that if market is higher than residual value, it means one is getting a great deal. The fees paid at end of lease could make the buyout a good deal even in instances when purchase price does not look very attractive. For instance, if leased value is slightly less than residual value, it will still be a good idea to purchase it if end of lease fees is high.

The other advantage of buying leased cars is that one gets to buy a vehicle which is them that has bought. They are assured of the condition. The decision to purchase should be shelved when leased market value is much lesser than what the market value is. Such a deal would not be good.

There usually are no rules which determine whether one should or should not purchase leased vehicles. Every buyout is unique and different, which means there will be different qualitative and quantitative analysis. If a car falls within a few hundred dollars of the residual value, it would imply the deal is good.

One should understand that there might be a purchasing option charge or fee. The fee is charged by a company in case the client chooses to purchase. It ensures they do not incur losses owing to the fact that they are doing the sale at a lesser worth.




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