Some of the regular readers of this blog have been very helpful in giving me suggestions and feedback on my post about us shopping for a new car when we drove a Nissan Altima Coup
and really liked it. One of the comments was from a fellow who goes by the name of Cold Flame and he suggested I look into buying out the lease on Ashley’s Mini Cooper and selling it privately. That had never occurred to me, because prior to financing then buying the Mazda Protégé 5, my previous two cars were leased Chevy Cavaliers – which of course have very poor re-sale value, so I always gave them back to the dealership. I was surprised to learn that our buy-out on Ashley’s Mini Cooper is only $14K, and a quick search of the online Auto Trader tells me that 2004 Mini Coopers with more mileage than hers are selling for $20K to $22K! So this might be a way to make a quick $5-6K, which makes that $37K Nissan Altima Coup a more affordable $31K. I love learning new things, so thanks Cold Flame
2 thoughts on “Selling a Leased Car: Thar’s Gold in Them Thar Hills!”
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Cold Fire = Cold Flame; but nonetheless, glad to have helped you =)
If you price your Mini slightly below market, it should result in a quick sale as well, thus negating the “hassles” that can go with selling a used car. Yes, it will involve you likely having to finance that $14k for a week or two, but I’d say that $5-6k is well worth it, wouldn’t you?
As well, another option is to negotiate the price of your new car without mention of a trade-in…. then, just before you sign the paperwork, you spring the trade-in on them. They don’t appreciate it usually, and will most certainly give you less than what the Mini is worth, so I don’t suggest it. However, you can usually get a far better deal on the new car as opposed to if you had gone in and said, “I want that new car and I’m going to trade my ’04 Mini Cooper in on it!”. Just a thought to ponder as well. =)
Hah. Whoops – I’ve corrected that. Thanks for the advice!