shivamerlin

Hey Guys,

The lease on my wife's 2012 Q5 is up next month so we visited our local Audi dealer to get some numbers.

Currently we are looking into either completely paying off the lease at the price that was set in the lease contract (residual value), or we are financing a portion of the amount depending on the interest rates. The local dealer offered us 3.9% interest no matter if we do a 24, 36 or 48 month finance. The one thing that's bugging us is that they are charging us a $599 doc fee.
We will also get the certified which they quoted us for $500 for the inspection and $1,350 for the certification.

I just wanted to see if any of you guys have experience with a lease buyout as I feel like the doc fee is a little high. What do you guys think?

Thanks for your suggestions.

DrGP

I believe you should be able to get a better rate at your local credit union . BTW, Audi is offering a 1.9% financing on all Certified vehicles. Up to 60 months. I would want to know why they are not offering that to you. Check out Audiusa.com for details. I believe there is a $500 lease turn in fee. Not sure that is applicable if you buy the car before lease end. I certainly would not pay $599 especially if they are not offering you 1.9% financing which I would insist on. They are ripping you off.

CharlieG

I've always just purchased mine directly from Audi Financial Services ... there's no need to involve your local dealer at all. I've never been charged a "doc" fee either. It's basically just the buyout price plus local taxes and that's it. You can add an extended warranty if you like ... they'll be happy to discuss options with you.

DrGP

Yes, but they will not certify your car. I believe that is the point of getting the dealer involved.

roadkillrob

+1 and most dealers these days have a standard doc fee for pushing the paperwork, doing the plates etc - it is the same amount of work as it would be if you just came in and bought a car. If you go directly through the leasing company, you can cut that out, but you have to do your own paperwork and figure out the financing registration etc and then it won't be CPO'd and typically the extended warranty more expensive than the CPO, but if you add in the doc fee savings, you could be able to get an extended for about the same price, maybe with more time or miles - worth checking out to compare.

Also just bought a CPO audi last month and the 60month interest rate was 2.25% - 3.9% is pretty high unless your credit is a bit slow.

CharlieG

Exactly ... by the time you add in the additional dealer markup/fees, I very much doubt things are all too different. DMV is easy enough with a lease buy out ... basically just provide proof that you've paid the sales tax and you pay a title fee (typically around $50 in NY) and you're out the door (that may not be the same in other states so YMMV). Since the car is already registered in your name, there's no additional registration fees.

uberwgn

You don't have to pay the doc fee, but you may have to go to another dealer that's willing to do the CPO process for you and charge a lower doc fee.

Maybe you offer them $250.

shivamerlin

Thank you, that's what I am going to do. The service at my dealership is outstanding but the buying experience lately has not been great that's why I bought my last two S4's out of state.

Georgia United Credit Union is offering a 1.69% interest rate up to 60 month and I don't think that our credit score is the reason why Audi has only offered us 3.9% my wife's credit score is well above 760.

PhilNotHill

!.69% sounds like a great rate. We got 1.48% APR for 48 months at JPM Chase provided we have an account (we do) and auto debit (what I want anyway). This is for our new RS5. No idea what used rates are. But 1.69% sounds fantastic.

Leasing has never made sense to me. Borrowing or paying cash has always been a better deal for ME. But I am just a dumb retired banker. What do I know?

Best

uberwgn

Shiva, assuming they're buying your car from the lease company and re-selling it to you, they're buying at a value somewhat lower than your stated residual. It's probably several thousand dollars less. I gather they're re-selling the car to you at your residual value (from the original lease contract) and then adding the $2,000 for the cost of the CPO. And adding the $600 fee...

If you take a step back, decide whether you want the car at this price which may not be duplicated elsewhere, it's likely a very good deal to you.