1994-2002 [Subscribe to Daily Digest] |
If you enjoy the car, and it's in good condition and well-maintained, better to put the $6,000 towards buying it at the end of the lease. You should consider making an offer at or below low Blue Book about a month prior to the end of the lease (presuming that low book is below the buy-out price in the lease). I hesitate to advise you to be deceitful, but when you make that offer, the lessor will likely ask you what the present mileage is on the car - the reason is that they want to factor in the excess mileage they are due in considering whether to accept your offer. If at all possible, you want to keep that factor out of the picture when trying to reach a deal. (I don't know whether you've had all or any recent maintenance done at your Saab dealer - wonder whether the dealer network info about your car's service history, including the mileage at each service, is available to Saab's lease/finance subsidiary, which could impair your ability to keep the mileage out of the equation). I once had a BMW that, near the end of the 5 year lease was about 6-8,000 miles over the total lease mileage. Near the end of the lease, I contacted the bank lessor, made an offer at low book, indicated the mileage was about 1,500 below the max allowed miles, and got the deal done relatively easily, saving myself about $2,000 off the lease buy-out price. If the lessor knows they are due $6,000 for excess mileage, they will factor that into their decision as to taking the car back. That $6,000 can soften the blow to the lessor of selling the car at auction quite a bit. Plus, I suspect, the lessor can likely also ding you for excess wear and tear, tires (if the tread is worn much), etc. on top of the excess mileage, after you turn the vehicle back.
Recommendation: if you enjoy your Saab, if it's been well-maintained and is in good condition, make your best deal with the lessor, trying to keep the excess mileage out of the equation, and continue enjoying your car. (You may want to have a reliable independent shop do a pre-purchase inspection on your car, just to re-assure yourself that there aren't any lurking problems). You'll likely be much happier and safer than in a $4,000 anything.
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