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Should I buy out my lease?
At the end of a lease you can usually hand the car back or buy it at the price written in the contract. Buying it makes sense when the car is worth more than the all-in buyout cost, or when the charges for handing it back would eat the difference.
Buying it out
The purchase option price, usually the residual value. Your lease must state it.
Your state's rate, which you enter: some states tax a buyout differently, so check.
Your estimate. Get written offers from a few dealers or buyers, and compare listings for the same model, year and mileage.
Handing it back
Charged at turn-in, if your lease has one; ask whether it is ever waived.
Damage beyond the lease's wear standard. Ask your lessor whether it offers an inspection before turn-in.
Paying for the buyout
Or replace it (optional)
A car like yours you would buy instead; taxed and titled the same way.
Enter the buyout price from your lease and what the car is worth.
Before you decide
The price is in your lease. Federal rules (Regulation M) require a lease to say whether you can buy the car and, at the end of the term, at what price. The lease must also state its wear and use standard and how any excess mileage charge is worked out, so the turn-in charges above can be read from it too.
Policies vary, so ask. Whether the lessor charges a purchase option fee, whether a dealer or another buyer can buy the car from the lessor for you, and what the dealer adds on top are set by each lessor. Get the buyout figure and every fee in writing.
You know this car. You know how it has been driven and maintained, which you cannot know about a used car from a stranger. Check how much of the manufacturer's warranty is left; the lease lists the warranties that apply.
Financing. A buyout can be financed like a used-car purchase, and rates vary by lender, so compare offers. To see what a lower rate would save later, use the car loan refinance calculator. For how the original payment was built, see the lease payment calculator.
All four happen in your browser. Your figures are not sent anywhere — the email opens in your own mail app, already filled in.
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