I am trying to decide whether or not to buy out my lease on my 2000 SE.
How much of a difference is there in the 2003?

 

I just sold my 2000 SE and got a 2003SE. There is a huge difference in performance. Depending on whether you get the Ti package or not, the interior is basically the same. If you can get a 03 at a good price, it's worth it. If not, maybe better to trick the 2K out.

 

What is your buyout amount?

Unless your mileage is way over or you're going to pay HUGE wear/tear fees, the depreciation of the Max over the last 2-3yrs. has been horrible. Therefore, I'D DUMP IT IN A HEARTBEAT.

Most likely your buyout amount is hyperinflated according to what 2000 prices "thought" your Maxima would be worth in 3yrs., which was WAY WAY too high due to the serious depreciation we've had(ala newly redesigned Altima and 3.5L Maxima). Basically, your Maxima is MOST LIKELY worth LESS than your Buy Out and you would be better off letting it go and getting something new.

I sure wish I would have leased! Then I wouldn't have lost $10K+ in 2yrs., Nissan would have.

 

The buy out on the ***** is 14,600 but that is not until May!
The car as of now has 30,000 mi!

 

sell it or trade it in for a 2k2 or 2k3

 

what was the price on your 2K3 SE? and how much did you sell your 2K SE for? curious because i might do the same...

 

I paid 27K(w/Security+) for the 2K3, Loaded with everything they had to offer with the exception of Navigation System. The sticker price with all the trimmings had 31K and some change on it. My saleswoman also threw in a Tint voucher up to $175.00, and Nissan Car Care Kit. I sold the 2K to a guy from Charlotte for 17K. It had 43K miles, new tires, and no mods.

 

ok so as of May you are going to have 36K miles on it. The buy out of $14,600 does not sound really bad, but do you get to loose your downpayment for lease or any other fees (like "processing") involved? I would have kept your car if it is truly trouble-free, or you have many mods that would be a pain to remove/sell. Otherwise, why do you want to get stuck for another 3 years in a car with the same interior?

 

14,600 is pretty high for a residual. I have a 3 yr lease on my 2k2 and my residual at the end is 10,900. I would investigate further. The main theory is never purchase the vehicle for the residual after the lease.

 

What was your lease downpayment, and how much are your monthly payments and the lease term? That should explain the low residual.

 

My lease payment is 500 per month, 18,000 miles per year, 554.13 down at lease inception. Money factor of 1.1%. I had my lease pre- negotiated before walking into the dealership.

 

You can't compare your lease residual to dml000's because your car will depreciate much faster due to 18k/year. Current 36 month leases on Maxima are under $400. Here's a quote from a lease pro at Edmunds: "This month, Nissan is advertising a 36 month lease on the 2003 Maxima SE w/automatic transmission for $339 per month with $1,660 down and 12,000 miles per year. If you were to lease a 2003 Nissan Maxima SE with automatic transmission (MSRP: $26,189 / Cap Cost: TMV of $24,064 - $500 lease cash = $23,564) through Nissan Motor Acceptance Corp. this month for 39 months with 12,000 miles per year, your zero down, pre-tax monthly lease payment should be right around $343.

You should never want to have a low residual value when you are negotiating a lease, in fact quite the opposite. When the time comes to dispose of the vehicle, if you want to keep the car you may be able to renegotiate the residual value with the financial institution.

 

Regardless of what my residual is. Even if my car has only 45,000 miles at the end of the lease my residual is still more than what the car is worth. My Maxima in the state of Maryland is only worth $18,495 via Kelly Blue Book trade, which I might add is generally inflated at the values of their vehicle trade and retail figures. If my car was to be totalled at this moment in time I might be lucky to receive 15-16,000 for the car. Leasing is the best option no matter what. The majority of new car buyers do not keep their cars much longer than 4 years, and put on the average of 60,000 miles for that span of time. Just investigate and try to receive the best deal possible. Go and lease a 2k3 Maxima for 3 more years and enjoy.

 

Those that lease for $339/mo with $1500 down, over 36 months pay $13704, and $500/mo with $550 downpayment comes out $18550.

The guy who pays $500 month for a lease, you have been owned a big time! Check this out: at the end of the term you have 54,000 miles on your SE, and you paid 18500 for a car that you can buy for $25000. At the end of term, this car is worth about 12-13 grand. If you drive 18K miles a year, in 5 years your car will have 90K miles on it and you can sell it for about 8 grand. More that that, with $500
monthly payments, you could pay the car off in 50 months as opposed to 60.

To sum it up, in your situation, if you bought vs. leased you would've saved 10 months worth of payments, and on the "residual value"..where you are actually left with the car you can sell vs. left with nothing. You are loosing at least 10 grand.

 

I have a 2001 AE, I believe the residual is about $17K, I may see if they would let me get it that now.

Another cost of buying a car is the extended warrenty. A new car will cost ~$26K loaded - nav, 6-sp. that's about 8 - 9K diff, then when the depreciation hits that one wham, here we go again, it depends on how you/I want to spend $$$. I have thought about buying a used 02/03 Max instead of new, this way I get out of the "lease new, cannot keep it, so I lease new" overtime, I have just paid for 3 or 4 cars and have nothing to show for it.

That's why I was (may still) dump nissan and get a used GS430/400 and call it quits.

 

Paying 500 per month on a 3 year lease is a lot better than 585-630 on a purchase over 5 or 6 years. 3 years 500 bucks and I don't have to worry about depreciation. I am cool with that.

 

I guess I'm looking at it after 11 years, if I would have bought, I would own two cars now and could, still afford to buy/lease a Z or whatever. Instead, I'm in another lease.

I've had (wife included): 4 Maximas, 3 Trucks(2 Nissan, 1 Ram Sport ), 2 Sentras, Intrepid , 1 Jeep Grand.

Over time lease will burn you, unless you have major $$$ and aren't ever concerned about hitting hard times.

My new plan is to Own my core transportation, and lease my toys, Z, ...

 

Wow, you are an accountant to boot! Let's see, if I take the minimum #s from the above post, it comes to $585*60=$35100! Who pays that for a Maxima?

 

i have a max2k gxe.
mine is at $339 for 39months. 12,000miles a year. back then, i didn't know how much i'll be driving, but it's already over 40,000 and i still have 10 months left on it. by the time it gets there, mileage will go well over 50k, should i just take the buyout option and sell it right away, or trade in? what you guys think?

 

I have seen quite a few posts in the past where org members are paying 600 plus per month on a purchase for a 2k2 Maxima. Loaded up SE with Navi, and leather and other options on top of that. Back in late July or early August of 2001 a lot of dealers weren't letting these cars for the lot for less than a grand in back of MSRP. There are plenty of people who have paid over $29,000 for a Maxima at the time of purchase.

 

Try and sell the car first. I would figure out how much would be owed in mileage currently and at the end of the lease. NMAC might just work something out if you choose to purchase or lease another Nissan product. Honda hooked us up when our 2000 Acura Integra was turned off of a lease in and was 1600 miles over.

 

Trade it before the term is up, even if it is 2 months before. With the incentives now on remaining 02's it might be a good time to do it.

 

i don't really know how these things work. my dad gave me the car. anywayz, can i trade it in now if i wanted to? like i said, i still have 10months remaining.

 

Sure, lease cars have payoffs just like purchased cars do. Call your lean holder and get the payoff or buyout. Then see what a dealer would give you on trade. If you owe 15 but the car is worth 13 then they will pay it off but put the 2k you still owe on a new car.

Your best bet is to find a 2k2 still lingering around a dealership and work a deal on that. The are most likely going to sell it below invoice due to the fact that it is over a year old currently.

 

Anyone who isn't getting an insanely low APR on the finance. You need to calculate interest charges into the 29k$ buying price.

 

I'm paying $399/month for 36 months (15k miles/year). I paid $2k down (included fees and first payment, but ZERO security deposit). 2k3 SE 6-speed with everythign but NAV. I THINK teh residual was put at $16,xxx
Payements Down payment Residual Total cost if I buy-out
($399 * 35) + $2000 + $16,xxx = $32,xxx

or i coudl be completely wrong.

 

Fairly safe to say you are not.

I bring your attention to the recent posts which show how to really use MATH to figure things out.

There are a variety of things that over the course of time can easily account for that total at the end of 5 years...

-any down?
-warranty, etc. rolled into the purchase price?
-as has been said APR?
-TTL rolled into purchase
-etc., etc.

 

Anyone who isn't getting an insanely low APR on the finance. You need to calculate interest charges into the 29k$ buying price.

 

You and I are in exactly the same boat, dml000. And I intend to purchase my Maxima in May. It's too much of a pain to undo everything I've done to my car and nothing I've got will fit on a 2K2 or 2K3 Maxima. I've also taken very good care of my car. So I'm planning on keeping it for awhile longer.

 

so, you mean i should traded in for used 2k2 or a new? i don't really think i can afford a new one as for now but trading it for 2k2 would be nice. so what happens to the rest of the lease i had left? (about 10months).