I leased a '07 Honda Accord from a local dealer in May of '07. Term is for 3 years with 20,000 miles per year. My job requirements have changed since & I am driving much more than I expected when I first leased. It is now Feb '09 & I already have 45,000 miles on it.
My question is: what do I need to know & how do I negotiate rolling this lease now into another vehicle without getting scalped? Is the current downturn in car sales helpful at this point. What can I do??
I suggest you get out of leasing. It just makes these kind of things a lot harder and most of the time it ends up costing more or getting stuck upside-down at the end when you owe them money just to give them the car back.
I don’t know if you can find someone like my neighbor, but he has negotiated a number of car deals for my neighbors. He has the knowledge and experience to get the best deal. Your situation is complicated by the lease.
I agree that leasing is NOT an option for you now.
You can either try to buy it outright after the lease, or see what it’ll take to finance a new/used vehicle after trade in of your current lease
Does your employer pay for the lease? If so, and you didn’t change jobs, then they should pay for any overage. It’s their car, after all. If this is the case, I’d talk to your company and see what they want to do.
Does your job make leasing a tax deduction? If so, leasing may be a viable option. If not, buy something used that you can really afford next time.