RDD

I have a fully loaded 2007 A4 2.0T S-Line (not Ti pkg) whose lease will be up at the end of Feb 2010. 3yrs/45k miles and I will definitely be right at 45k or just under but not over b/c I have another car. The residual is $23,8xx. I am already seeing '07 A4 S-Lines selling for even lower than this so I'm gonna guess the residual on mine will be way too high.

Unless Audi offers me a stellar deal near lease end I think the only sensible thing to do would be to walk away. I thought about keeping it because I already have it tinted, APR'd, V1 hardwired and a laser jammer put in (I can remove the V1 hardwire and laser jammer and put it into my next car).

Is it safe to say I will be walking away from this car come next year?

Alkivar

A lot of this comes down to the economy IMO: if it keeps getting worse, i'd expect used car private sale prices will continue to drop, which means if it were me I'd definately be walking away. Audi is one of the few manufacturers that isn't dealing with a large decline in sales, so they aren't likely to be real receptive to renegotiation.

AofC_RR

Wait till within the last 90 days of the lease and I promise you that you can get it for less than residual. And if you can't then you still have time to do some shopping for a new one.

greywolf1699

Yeah, when you get close to the end date the deals will start flying. Wait it out and do some research on other times while you wait.

KillerDolphin

unless you plan on keeping it, why do modifications to a car that belongs to a dealer?

by the end of your lease, how much money would you have thrown away and never see again? think about it.

maybe next time around, you should finance a used car, if you can afford to. then you could do mods and after your monthly payments are finally over you will feel like you have something to show for yourself.

-KillerDolphin

RDD

Only irreversible mods are tint and APR which comes out to maybe $700. Not a big deal for 3 years and 45k miles worth of driving really. I wouldn't enjoy the car near as much without doing what I did to it. =)

newdriver5

I agree, say its 1000 bucks for chip/tints/test pipe etc. 27 bucks a month extra on a 3 yr lease for a completely different peforming/sounding/looking car. No brainer IMO!

KillerDolphin

you forgot to read the portion on throwing your money down the toilet for leasing a car and acting like you own something when you actually dont.

it's a no brainer... i'm just trying to give some advice.

Stl4

financing a used car = still not owning, the bank does. Leasing is just another way of financing. Leasing has its advantages in certain situations.

To the OP: yeah wait 90-120 days before its up and see if AoA will negotiate. I don't think they or dealerships want any more inventory than they already have. On the other hand its such a buyers market right now so you can walk away and get into something else new or used.

RDD

Take it one step further, why buy an Audi? All cars depreciate whether you buy or lease anyways. In the end, we all spend money on what we want.