Greetings. I have a quandary. My ailing parents’ new leased Chevy Cruze has 10 months left on its lease, and I have the opportunity to put 18,000 miles on it before turning it in next spring, simply for the cost of insurance and gas. My trusty 2013 Volvo S60 has only $45,000 miles on it. It needs 4 new tires and has a “parking lot scrape” on the rear bumper that will cost a few hundred to repair as well. A dealer who I trust has offered me $10,200 cash for the Volvo now. That would leave me with no car after the lease period, so I would be starting over. The residual cost for the Chevy Cruze is unreasonable, so back it will go. SHOULD I SELL THE VOLVO OR PUT IT IN MOTHBALLS? Is depreciation a large component here? Also I will need to buy those 4 Michelins! All opinions are welcome! Thanks!
I would say take the offer and put the funds in a 18 month CD and the use it for a down payment on another vehicle. You will not get that much for it later.
Edit: I missed the 10 month part. Still , only the OP knows how much faith they have in the Volvo . And if parking is not an issue just take turns driving the vehicles and no storage involved.
Thanks for your advice. Please note that I will need a vehicle in 10 months. I currently have no monthly payment (Volvo is paid off).
If you like the Volvo and intend to KEEP it, then save up for a set of tires (they don’t have to be Michelins) while you are driving the Chevy. Yes, the car will depreciate over 10 months but, so what? You will have the car at the end of that time and NO car payments.
Ten months isn’t long. Change the oil and fill the tank with fresh gas. Add Stabil to the gas to keep it fresh. You can run the car once a month or so. Run the car at least 30 or 40 minutes to fully warm it up though. Use a trickle charger on the battery to keep it charged.
Ed B.
I guess I would take the deal provided you would plan on getting rid of the Volvo anyway. If you planned to keep the Volvo for a few more years, then just park it.
Your Volvo is still undergoing depreciation. It is losing value. I’m with Volvo. Ditch it and start fresh after the lease runs out on the Cruze.
Depreciation slows a lot after 3-4 years. You have lower than average miles on your 5 year old Volvo, so it has been depreciating a bit less than average. Before you decide anything, decide whether you like the Volvo well enough to keep it and maintain it.
If the rear bumper cover is damaged, you may be able to buy one already painted on line and install it for far less than having yours repaired and repainted. When that’s done and it has new tires, it may serve you very well.
And what risk are you and your parents taking on for you to drive their leased car, which you and they do not want to keep? Is there a provision for them to turn in the car before the lease period is up? Even if there is a penalty it may simplify the whole situation and be worth it. Or, if the penalty is letting the car sit safe and sound for 10 months of non-use, how bad is that?
The price of new cars does nothing but go up. So if you sell the Volvo, in 10 months you’ll be facing a big price tag for a new car. Add to that the new car monthly payments, and higher registration and insurance fees. If you want a new car anyway, or you just don’t like the Volvo, sell it. Otherwise imo the Volvo’s a keeper.
I agree. The prices for new cars will be going up because of tariffs even if nothing else happens. And the price of used cars has been going up already. Higher prices for new cars will support higher prices for used.
The only inhibiting factor on price increases is that real wages (taking into account inflation compared to pay increases) have fallen recently despite the high employment numbers. The dealer who offers cash now is aware of this. You will be in a worse position in 10 months than you are in now.
If you have a used car you like and are OK with keeping for the foreseeable future, it’s probably worth holding on to.
I forgot about the tariffs. Good point, that makes the argument for keeping the Volvo even better.
Will you be putting 18k miles on it, or is that how many more miles you are allowed to put on it before the lease runs out? Have you considered selling your Volvo yourself? You should be able to get a bit more money out of it that way.
Mothball the volvo, drive the cruze, find the buyout price in case you like the cruze, otherwise turn the cruze in and drive the volvo at the end of lease. Tire cost is tire cost, part of owning a car, it may be minor to future volvo repairs.
All good points; thank you. Truth is, I wouldn’t put more than 3,000 miles on the Cruze. Maybe just keep Volvo going and somehow mothball the Cruze until the lease is up?
If the Cruze is parked under cover for 10 months, that protects it from most hazards that might complicate the end-of-lease settlement.
If it’s certain nobody will be driving it during that time, your parents can cancel their liability and collision insurance and maybe just keep the part that covers things like a garage fire.
Do you like the Volvo enough to commit to keeping it beyond 10 months? A bought and paid for car you like and want is worth something.
No they can’t . If they do and the leasing company finds out , which they will , they will put a policy on the vehicle and bill your parents at a much higher rate then they have now.
Maybe. A close reading of the lease contract is called for here.
I vote that you drive the Cruze, park the Volvo but try to use it all day once every three weeks or so. If you use it that much there’s nothing much you need to do. A battery trickle charger will keep the battery happy, if that’s an issue.
Dealers are business people. If you sell the car to that dealer, where are you going to buy a new car in 10 months? Maybe that dealership? Hmmmm.
If it was me, Mr. Cheapskate, I’d keep the Volvo, build up the cash for the tires, get them done and whatever else you know it needs, and keep on smiling.
I just don’t understand why the first thing that comes up is to cancel insurance on a little used car. Depending on the car I pay about $250 every 6 months. To open yourself up to potential losses for that kind of money seems a little short sighted.
Now the other thing to think about is take the $10,000 and put it in a good low cost mutual fund and that will take care of any inflation issues or depreciation. Its also a lot easier to buy a new car without a trade. But if you like the Volvo, you can keep it, but you’ll need to part with it at some point.
Sell the Volvo now for $10,000 and buy a similar vehicle in ten months for $14,000 plus sales tax, document fee etc. Doesn’t seem like depreciation is much of a factor here.