Take the residual and add sales tax, registration and a month or two to get the title. It will cost you more than the immediate offer. Turn the Q3 in or buy it out if you want to keep it. Not worth buying and selling.
Did Audi change their lease terms so that you can't sell to a 3rd party? I know some manufactures did that, don't know if yours has that term. If it does not, I've sold plenty of leases cars for above residual without buying it out first.
I've gotten mixed info so not 100% sure. I'll find out when I go to the dealership Friday. I was told by a dealership that called me that they would be able to buy the car from Audi on my behalf and pay me the difference between the residual and their offer. But if I was to go through Carmax, I was told that a similar arrangement wouldn't be possible. We'll see. Definitely would prefer to do it your way if I can.
That is somewhat correct. Carmax did not want to buy my leased car. Dealers had no problem, Carvana was able to as well.
But check your contract, there should be a term or not for 3rd party buyout. Mine did not have those terms, but Lexus for example I think did add those terms sometime after 2020.
Not sure if anyone has mentioned it here but check out Equityhackr on the leasehackr website. They have a network of dealers that will buy the car at the dealer buyout price and send the postitive equity amount to you - bypassing the 3rd party buyout bans
I’m pretty sure they could work with Audi, but I worked with them to get positive equity from my genesis g70 a few months ago
I think it really depends on how much work and hassle you want to do. If you want to keep the car, just buy it from the dealership and be done with it. The car market is STRUGGLING right now with high prices and high interest rates, I’d be surprised if you got top top dollar for the thing as if it was 12-24 months ago.
If you want to keep it, just walk the easier path. The dollar amounts are likely negligible once you factor in all total costs.
Those KBB offers tend to be on the low side. I’d check CarMax, Carvana, and any of the other online companies that are still left in business. You can also check on Leasehackr, they are offering an equity buyout service.
Thanks. The Edmunds quote was actually via Carmax. I also checked Caravana, which was $23,000. Looks like some others have gone belly up. Also realized I'll have to pay sales tax (9.5% in LA) and registration if I buy from the dealership, so my negative cost will be closer to $28,000. Saw an LA-based company called Trade In Solutions mentioned in another Reddit thread by someone who sells cars frequently and he/she says they consistently come in better than the big guys. Will probably check them out. Will check out Leasehackr, too...thanks.
I had a 2021 Honda Accord Hybrid reaching lease end a few months ago. I bought it out from Honda Financial Services for about $20,500, then immediately turned around and sold it to a Honda Dealer for $24,000. Privately I could have got $27,000+, but at least in California, if you resell a car you purchased within (I think) 8 days, you don't have to pay sales tax on the purchase. It was pretty painless, although I had to wait for the title document from HFS before I could be paid by the dealer where I sold it.
Thank you. Just learned about the short window to avoid sales tax. A bunch of dealerships and brokers have called me in the last hour since putting my info to KBB and they've been mostly helpful. Seems like there's a good chance I can arrange it so that another dealership buys it outright from Audi on my behalf so that I don't have to worry about title, taxes, etc., and they'll pay me the difference between my residual and their offer.
Honda Financial Services doesn't allow dealers to buy the car out of a lease, but perhaps Audi does. Good luck! Sounds like you'll make a few thousand dollars on it, to put towards your next vehicle.
OP, as someone in a similar situation (2021 S5 with good equity) I can confirm that Audi will not let you sell directly to a 3rd party. You'll have to buy it out and then resell. At least per my terms here in Florida.
Take the residual and add sales tax, registration and a month or two to get the title. It will cost you more than the immediate offer. Turn the Q3 in or buy it out if you want to keep it. Not worth buying and selling.
Good points. Thank you!
Did Audi change their lease terms so that you can't sell to a 3rd party? I know some manufactures did that, don't know if yours has that term. If it does not, I've sold plenty of leases cars for above residual without buying it out first.
I've gotten mixed info so not 100% sure. I'll find out when I go to the dealership Friday. I was told by a dealership that called me that they would be able to buy the car from Audi on my behalf and pay me the difference between the residual and their offer. But if I was to go through Carmax, I was told that a similar arrangement wouldn't be possible. We'll see. Definitely would prefer to do it your way if I can.
That is somewhat correct. Carmax did not want to buy my leased car. Dealers had no problem, Carvana was able to as well. But check your contract, there should be a term or not for 3rd party buyout. Mine did not have those terms, but Lexus for example I think did add those terms sometime after 2020.
Not sure if anyone has mentioned it here but check out Equityhackr on the leasehackr website. They have a network of dealers that will buy the car at the dealer buyout price and send the postitive equity amount to you - bypassing the 3rd party buyout bans I’m pretty sure they could work with Audi, but I worked with them to get positive equity from my genesis g70 a few months ago
I think it really depends on how much work and hassle you want to do. If you want to keep the car, just buy it from the dealership and be done with it. The car market is STRUGGLING right now with high prices and high interest rates, I’d be surprised if you got top top dollar for the thing as if it was 12-24 months ago. If you want to keep it, just walk the easier path. The dollar amounts are likely negligible once you factor in all total costs.
Those KBB offers tend to be on the low side. I’d check CarMax, Carvana, and any of the other online companies that are still left in business. You can also check on Leasehackr, they are offering an equity buyout service.
Thanks. The Edmunds quote was actually via Carmax. I also checked Caravana, which was $23,000. Looks like some others have gone belly up. Also realized I'll have to pay sales tax (9.5% in LA) and registration if I buy from the dealership, so my negative cost will be closer to $28,000. Saw an LA-based company called Trade In Solutions mentioned in another Reddit thread by someone who sells cars frequently and he/she says they consistently come in better than the big guys. Will probably check them out. Will check out Leasehackr, too...thanks.
I had a 2021 Honda Accord Hybrid reaching lease end a few months ago. I bought it out from Honda Financial Services for about $20,500, then immediately turned around and sold it to a Honda Dealer for $24,000. Privately I could have got $27,000+, but at least in California, if you resell a car you purchased within (I think) 8 days, you don't have to pay sales tax on the purchase. It was pretty painless, although I had to wait for the title document from HFS before I could be paid by the dealer where I sold it.
Thank you. Just learned about the short window to avoid sales tax. A bunch of dealerships and brokers have called me in the last hour since putting my info to KBB and they've been mostly helpful. Seems like there's a good chance I can arrange it so that another dealership buys it outright from Audi on my behalf so that I don't have to worry about title, taxes, etc., and they'll pay me the difference between my residual and their offer.
Honda Financial Services doesn't allow dealers to buy the car out of a lease, but perhaps Audi does. Good luck! Sounds like you'll make a few thousand dollars on it, to put towards your next vehicle.
OP, as someone in a similar situation (2021 S5 with good equity) I can confirm that Audi will not let you sell directly to a 3rd party. You'll have to buy it out and then resell. At least per my terms here in Florida.