Lease Buy Out - Opinion Needed

[lr6469]

I am planning to buy out my IS250AWD at the end of the lease. The dealer (Lexus of Ann Arbor) wants to charge $500 for title transfer / admin fee. I called Lexus Financial and it appears that if I set up my own financing (or cut a check) then I do not need to go through the dealer. Anybody has experience with that?

Also, my buy out price is $20k for a November 2007 IS250AWD with 27,000 miles in great conditions. Looking at autotrader and other websites the car with that mileage is going for $25k. This buy out seems a good deal. Opinions?

[SW03ES]

Sounds like a pretty fair deal to me too, unlike those IS' on AutoTrader too you know the service history and history of yours...

[pj8708]

Sounds like a pretty fair deal to me too, unlike those IS' on AutoTrader too you know the service history and history of yours...

It does sounds like a good price and going to another lender might get you a better rate. Doesn't cost to check it out. Just a thought to pass on. Over the years I have leased several cars but have never bought out the lease at the end. When looking at the original "Purchase Price" of the vehicle that went into the lease calculations, and figuring the depreciation of the car over the miles alloted, and taking into account the resale value of the car, plus interest and the final buyout price listed on the lease, it just never made good business sense. It always was more expensive to purchase the leased car through a buyout than to turn it in and buy another. However, there is always the factor that you love the car your in and if the payments are right it is simpler to stay with what you know. It's only money and we do like nice cars!

Paul

[CJ Hall]

$500 to process some paperwork, never heard that from any dealer. The Ann Arbor dealership has experienced a large amount of turnover, they should be placed on a watch list. I had a bad experience with the service department, and I'll never go back to the Ann Arbor dealership.

[LEX-SV]

Sounds like a reasonable deal to me at $20K, especially since you know the history of car and potential for problems.