aptekcom

Hey everyone,
Looking for some advice...
The specs:
2007 GS350 2WD (all options except ML) - Current Miles - 41,000
Originally leased for 39 months, 48,500 miles - lease maturity date - 11/06/2010
I am driving about 1400 miles / month right now, so, if i wait until November, i will have about 54,000 miles, about 6000 miles over at .25 / mile = $1500.
Current Lease is at $795 / month in Texas inc sales tax, etc.
Right now, both the pay off and trade in value are almost identical (within a few hundred dollars), so shouldn't i trade the car in the next couple of months, and avoid the $800 / month for the next 10 months, and the overage on the mileage fee, or am I missing something? I have no intention of buying the car out at the end of the lease anyways. I figured with the current state of the economy, there should be some good deals on new cars right now anyways...
If I go this route, i have a couple of friends interested in my car, so can I just buy it out and sell it to them? Are there any fees with doing any of this?

Then, if all works out, the next question is what to get next??? I love my Lexus, but I think its time for a change...MB E class, BMW 5-series, Audi A6, Cadillac CTS, etc??

Thanks in advance!

sflguy4u2

If it was me I would work a deal with the dealer for another GS. I ha ve leased 10 Lexus' and have never kept them until the end of the lease. The cars you mention looking at will not compare..believe me...I have looked. MB E class new style is proving to be big disappointment to even MB drivers. No power...lousy ride.....BMW 5 series is nice but they are changing styling for 2011 and the current style will lose value if you purchase now. Audi 6 rides horrible and CTS is cheap looking inside. Not a great ride either. Go see your dealer...business is lousy and you can make a deal.

R.DUB

Your contract will define whether or not there is a charge to buy-out the lease. It's a safe guess that you'll have to pay for anything outside of the contract.

You're also right that there are some good deals out there now.

I suggest comparing specs on all of the cars you are considering. Look at performance, options, whatever influences your decision. I just got an off-lease AWD 350 after comparing several the new E class, 5 series and A4/S4. Anyway, you have some quality rides that you mentioned but be cautious and compare apples to apples. Just like GS models, there are many differences from year to year of the same cars. Try edmunds, wikipedia, autotrader, etc, and good luck!

R.DUB

sflguy4u2 put it well. A coworker of mine has a new Eclass, and not only is it SLOW, it does not have HID, nav, or many other options that were standard on my 98GS400! Audi does not hold value very well in the MidWest but this may be a plus if you buy used. Check out a GS450H. With what you are paying per month, you have a ton of options!

aptekcom

Well, I agree that the lexua would be the way to go, but I've had a 99 rx, 2001 rx, 2004 rx, and now this 07 gs. Plus, we have an 06 sienna limited, so I just think its time for a change. I would be leasingg the next car too, not buying.
Does the idea of trading it in now make the most sense though? Does anyone know if there are additional fees besides the payoff amount? I am also interested in the new infinit m.

Modeler

It's very easy to get out of the lease by paying whatever the payoff value is. The question is, can you sell the car for not much less than the payoff value. Do you already have trade-in quotes or are you speculating that you'd be able to get close to pay off?

aptekcom

Well, i am basing my trade-in value on Kelley Blue Book for my area and options, and choosing trade-in and good condition (not excellent)...
Until I take it somewhere, i wont know the truth..i have found that to be fairly close in most cases.

R.DUB

read your lease agreement and look on autotrader and ebay (specifically, the buy it now listings).
this is more accurate than kbb.com, but kbb is a good site, just a bit high in most all markets

Modeler

Like another poster noted, KBB is just one data point. I found it to be highly inflated for my 2007 GS450h. Look at Edmunds as well, but most importantly, get real quotes from real dealerships. If you have CarMax in your area, take it there. I have sold three vehicles to CarMax in the past. They have consistently offered thousands of dollars more than any dealer to me.

aptekcom

Well, thanks for the does of reality guys. I took your advice and compared the price of my car on Edmunds along with KBB. The price difference is about $2500, which breaks my idea completely. So much for trying to outsmart the car finance gods! Oh well, i will wait until i get closer to November, and closer to my allotment of miles, and then decide what to do. In the meantime, off to the dealer to get the brakes redone and a nice detail job to make it feel brand new to me again!!
If i get a few minutes one day, i still may run over to CarMax just to see what they say, but I think I will be disappointed, but hey, at least I will know the truth!
Thanks again!

Modeler

Sounds like you do have a CarMax nearby. I would highly recommend you take a drive there now instead of spending money on detailing. Typically CarMax trade-ins are quite high for good cars like GS. And they would take care of all the paperwork with the Lexus lease payoff.

jjscsix

I agree with this - although I respect that if you don't want another Lexus that is your business.

I just came out of an 08 CTS and the difference in the cars is night and day, unless you want the "V". The Lexus is so much more refined its hard to believe they have nearly identical list prices when comparably equipped. To me, the Lexus feels like it should cost $10,000 more than the CTS.

Rattletale

That thing is Hideous. It's like they are trying too hard. MB should go back to an updated look of the 88-94 E -class.