SimpsonTide985

Hey guys,

So the lease on my S3 runs out in September and I'm CONSIDERING purchasing my leased vehicle due to the fact that I estimate that I'll be at 51,000 miles by then where I was contracted only for 22,500. (I've changed my place of residence, so my miles have skyrocketed).


According to Audi, the residual amount shows $28,260.60. ($44,125 was the final price on the lease in September 2016)


Let's say I want to do a 5 yr/60 month finance. $3000 down.

My only question is, what's the strategy in negotiating the purchase price and getting the best interest rates on the car? I've been told not to go directly to the dealer, but more detail and instruction would be greatly appreciated if anyone has experience with this.

For more information about my vehicle, see my review from 2016!
https://www.audiworld.com/forums/aud...-week-2907103/

arU4ic

Well lots of questions, but based on what you've said...

If you call Audi Finance they will tell you to go to the dealer. Depending on the dealer, they will tell you to call Audi Financial (or maybe help you) - ping-ponging you back and forth. But BOTH can help you buy it - however, the dealer will handle registration fees and put the taxes into the loan. I'd go with the dealer.

However, it's likely that neither will negotiate the price, particularly with high miles, they have very little incentive to help you out.

For interest, your best bet, IMO, is to use a credit union and just pay the car off/ buy it, but Audi Finance offers some decent interest rate, especially if you have good credit and payment history with them.

IF you don't want to buy, at least try and trade it in, maybe the dealership needs it for the used inventory and/or can bury the over-milage into the loan on the new car.

SimpsonTide985

Yeah, my dealer already offered a trade in deal. I can turn in the car at any point. They'll waive 2 of my payments and add in $750 to lessen the mileage penalty.

The thing is, I have no desire in getting a new loan on a brand new Audi at this time. I've done the calculations and it's much more than I'm willing to pay over a period of 5 years.


The next best alternative would be to turn the car in early, eat all the remaining payments and just pick up something clean and used for $20k before my mileage penalty grows larger.

arU4ic

Yup. Been there for sure. If you like/love the car - buy it - I am 99% sure I'll be buying my S3 - I don't want anything else right now - I'm waiting for more e-tron models in the coming year (and hopefully they'll change the name - e-tron, really?) - love my S3.

qiphlow

The car's price is specified in the lease agreement, so you might not be able to negotiate that part of it. The dealer would probably be the easiest "one-stop" place to get everything done. If you call Audi finance, they'll be able to tell you how much money they want to pay off the vehicle and release the title--you could then take that number to the bank/credit union/loan shark of your choice and see what you can do about the terms of the loan.

msmall143

you can also sell the car privately or trade it in for any other car. Your not limited to audi. Payoff is the payoff, doesnt matter its a lease.

ntstambo2

I doubt you'll find anything as good as your current car for 20k. The cheapest S3's that I saw were around $30k for a CPO. I looked for months for good deal on an S3 or RS3 before I found my car (2018 S3 demo car). Good used S3's and RS3s are harder to come by. And you have to be careful, even with CPO'd cars. I came across 4, maybe 5 in my search that had been in some type of accident. They're not supposed to CPO them unless it's a minor fender bender without airbag deployment or a tow. People know this and pay for their own tow out of pocket to avoid it showing up. You know your own car and won't be under any pressure to settle for something either. I'd get the extended warranty if it's not already too late and Audicare so you're worry free. Personally, I've never been impressed with Audi's leases and found them to be impractical for high mileage drivers like myself.

buci1er

you don’t have to finance the car with Audi, depending on the region of the country there’s a lot of good rate specials being thrown around. You can DM me at any time for some help with this whole process