Buy out my lease, or do something else?

I guess if you've maxed out the retirement accounts, then that extra money might as well be spent any way you want.

I like having no car payments. I have no issue driving a 10 year old truck.

If you like the truck and have no issue driving it for a bunch more years, you might as well buy it.

You could always finance the buyout thru your own bank and leave the bulk of that buyout cash in a high yield. The HYA interest could make a nice dent in the monthly payment.

Those of us with stellar credit can usually get pretty decent interest rates.

 

If you have a company car, and a bronco, and an expedition… I’d say you have no need to buy it out. I would consider the sale of the Bronco if you decide to keep the Tacoma but that’s just my $0.02.

 

I can't judge. I have too many as well.

 

I was able to catch them in Chicago a few years back, great show!

 

Ben Weasel was my idol through adolescence lol You should join us in the song title game thread. Need more people who aren’t exclusively top 50 listeners
Now back to adulting and trucks…

 

I’ll check it out!

 

In some states, like Virginia, the lessee pays sales tax on the entire cap cost of the vehicle, not just on the sum of the payments.
And if the lessee opts to purchase the vehicle at end of lease, they will again pay sales tax on the residual value.

 

I'd probably sell it and get a Toyota or something before it depreciates even more

 

Yep Virginia sucks.

 

Edit: I guess that's why they call it a commonwealth. Everyone contributes.

 

You get taxed 2x? That seems rather odd

 

It's a change of ownership.
Sales tax due on full value of each transaction.

PLUS annual personal property tax due on market value of the vehicle, regardless if owned or leased.

AND the value of a trade-in does not reduce the taxable amount on the initial purchase.

 

seems like you made the right decision in 2021 when you leased. I did the same thing you did and now you have $4-5k in equity in your lease. everyone has a different situation. Hats off to ya!

 

Exactly, so many people think leasing is dumb without even understanding leasing. If OP had financed it for 60 months in 2021 they would've paid out ~$29,000 in payments if they financed the entire amount. Their situation is completely different, people need to stop shoving their financial beliefs on others.

 

Leases are great for some. My mom leased a few years ago, she drives under 5K a year but needed something AWD fast and needs max reliability being a dialysis patient. She was waffling about buying it after the lease and I told her to do it even if she just flips it after.

 

I am also looking at the new TLC, I would probably flip for the standard/mid trim level though. Problem is I love my Taco and I already have a few things done to it. It's basically a room thing for us though. By the time we put even 1 person in the back and our dobie, the back seat area is instantly a crowded place. the TLC would mean our dobie could ride in the back cargo area, leaving the back seat completely usable. Sure, our dog could ride in the bed of the taco, when its not raining, but that is not ideal. Rainy days we have to pile into my wife's Kia or my VW if we plan to have human passengers. Those 2 cars though the rear hatch area is kind of crowded for him, and he is only 11 months, so he is still going to grow a little more. Ultimately I am viewing the TLC as a viable "everyone goes" vehicle, and if we need room for passengers, the back seat is available. It also means room for the second dobie in the cargo area once we get her. The upside to this dilemma is my VW is almost paid off, so if I wanted to just get a TLC I could. Was kind of looking forward to getting rid of that monthly obligation, but I see more pro's than con's to getting a TLC. Hope there isn't a huge markup on them.

1. Buy TLC straight up- no trade when VW is paid off next June.
2. Trade Taco for TLC ? I don't like this option
3. Trade Kia for TLC ? Wife loves this car, bought it from my mom and it's wife's daily.
4 Trading VW is not an option, keeping that car. Too much $ into it and too much fun to drive.

 

It’s worse than that. There is also mom’s 2007 Toyota Solara convertible with 36K miles that occupies a space in my garage, she only drove it 300 miles last year. The 2001 Ford Expedition is the truck that my 82 year old folks drive when they live with us for 4 months in the summer. We have five cars in the driveway and three drivers, my dad stopped driving in late 2022. I’ve been suggesting for a long time that we get down to my work truck, Bronco, and Tacoma. My folks like the Expedition and mom will probably specify she be buried in the Solara, so we’re at a stalemate and some battles aren’t winnable. The Solara, Expedition, and Bronco have never been driven in salt. The leased Tacoma has been our “winter beater” the last 3 winters.

Selling my Bronco does make the most sense, I don’t drive it enough to justify the depreciation but it’s paid for and I enjoy it. I basically have it modded the way I want it. My wife also enjoys driving the Bronco and would be fine driving it if the Tacoma went away, but I’d rather keep it out of the salt.

This is along the lines of my thinking. At the time I would’ve been taking a 60 month loan at 3% on the Tacoma, so I was looking at a payment of $780 to buy with $4K down (9.3% sales tax in Flagstaff, $500 doc fee, license fees in AZ aren’t cheap). I’d would’ve paid $32K including $2837 in interest after three years. I would currently have about $16K in equity in my current truck compared to the lease at close to a wash. My lease payments are $279 per month with $4K down for 39 months, so I’ve paid $14K to date rather than $32K to purchase. The math looks like basically a wash to me for lease than buy vs just buy up front, but I have retained $18K in my pocket to date to use as I see fit. I’ll owe more on the truck now, but theoretically will be paying with cheaper inflated dollars.

I did buy the extended warranty today for $1360. We have 30 days to cancel and get 100% back, but speaking to my wife today she does want to keep the Tacoma and is happy driving it long term. I’ll get under it when we get back from AZ and see what the frame looks like and address any areas of concern, then it will get the first coat of fluid film or equivalent.

 

I'd sell all cars, buy the taco and sell it... (assuming you do have some equity).

I'd use the work truck and I'd buy an ev to be fueled by the electricity you are giving away to the utility... (and save all the wasted insurance $$ too...)

I'd also buy the old LC to replace the Bronco. (No competition there!)

But that would be me...

 

Sounds like maybe you need a full time lot porter and detailer with all those cars OP.

 

I’m not giving anything away to the utility. The excess solar production builds credits with the utility at near the retail rate, there is no limit and the credits never expire. The credits can be transferred to up to seven other meters in the same utility zone. Eventually I plan on adding a second electric service for my shop that those credits can pay for. The work truck is monitored for off hours use, so I need to maintain a personal vehicle. I’ll get another EV eventually, but my Ford Lightning experiment in 2022 was unsatisfactory so I sold it.

We can agree to disagree on the old LC vs the modern Bronco. The Bronco drives far better and has all the modern tech, dual lockers, front sway bar disconnect, etc. I do love the 100 and 200 series but it’s not what I want right now. If I were building another rig I’d probably do something Cummins powered, a boosted 5.9 and 40” tires sounds fun. The 1958 is appealing, we’ll see if I fit in one when they arrive.