Leased Car, selling to CarMax

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Baltneu

Well-known member
Joined
Oct 7, 2018
Messages
296
I have 6 months left on my lease. CarMax and Carvana will give me more than the payoff amount.

I read that Carvana does not buy Nissan leases out.

I spoke to the CarMax people twice in East Haven, CT and they assure me that they can do it.

Spoke to the Nissan dealer, they say I cannot only buy from them, I don’t totally trust their answer.

Question: Anyone have real life experience selling NISSAN leased vehicle to CarMax (not Carvana)?

Thanks.
 
Bottom line: The Lease Company, not the dealership, holds the Title to your leased Leaf. Therefore, as long as the Lease Company gets their money's worth out of the transaction, according to agreed upon lease-return payoff amount or the car turned in to them, that is all you have to worry about. Dealership is not a player here. Not in the game!

Since the dealership the Leaf came from actually sold the new car to an agency (the lessor who owns the title all along), the Leaf technically has nothing to do with the dealership once it was sold to the title holder. You can return a leased Nissan to any Nissan dealership as a customer convenience, nothing more, and the lessor (title holder) has to come and claim the car after it's turned in. Or, the payoff amount $$ must be in the Lessor's pocket, not the dealership. Lessor owns the car after all. Simple as that. Dealership does not own the car.


I've sold to CarMax 2 years ago. I sold a '15 Ford C-Max Hybrid to carMax. Not a lease. They gave me slightly better than a trade-in value. I did lose a bit, but it saved me time, very quick and easy, professional operation. I'm having a hard time believing that CarMax can beat the payoff amount on a used Leaf lease-return. Used Leafs are cheap these days due to advancing battery tech and cheap new Leafs.

CarMax gets you a check quick, and I think they can cut 2 checks to you: One to pay off the Lease, and one to you for the residual. Sounds like a good deal Ask CarMax about the 2 checks thing. In reality, they are transferring ownership from the Lease Company (Nissan or a surrogate here) to CarMax. You never appear on any title. It's a little strange because you are getting a bonus but never own the car, I guess kind of like a broker's sales commission in a way.

Call one CarMax, and if you don't get a clear answer or they put you on hold forever, then call another location in your same state, somebody can figure it out there. They are Experts in this, they do it all the time.

Write back here and let me know how it went. I just turned in an '18 Equinox on a 3 year lease late in '20, and now I wonder if I should have attempted something like you are doing. I seem to remember the payoff (really used-car purchase amount) was higher than I thought the car was worth on the open market, so I doubt it would have worked for me.
 
Question out of curiosity:

How are outstanding lease payments dealt with if a customer wants to buy the car from the leasing company ?
Always included, always excluded, or a matter for negotiation ?
 
SageBrush said:
Question out of curiosity:

How are outstanding lease payments dealt with if a customer wants to buy the car from the leasing company ?
Always included, always excluded, or a matter for negotiation ?

A lease is really a car loan in disguise. The lease company owns the car. They let you borrow it according to the contract.
Outstanding lease payments don't matter as long as the Lease Company gets their car back plus expenses & profit. They can and usually do calculate at any time what the Leasee (driver) can pay them to buy the car from them, or return the car plus "fees".
The driver can take the deal or keep making lease payments.
 
SageBrush said:
Question out of curiosity:

How are outstanding lease payments dealt with if a customer wants to buy the car from the leasing company ?
Always included, always excluded, or a matter for negotiation ?

Always included. You signed a commitment to make those payments. An early termination would require residual value plus outstanding payments. Minus any interest on the balance. However, There may be some room to negotiate if the car has a value lower than the residual value. If the lessor finds they may be upside down in the car at the end of the lease there is your opening.

On the flip side if the car is a desirable model they may feel they can do better to let the lease run out and sell the car for additional profit.

No simple answer to your question. Best course of action is to continue making the lease payments till the end, then negotiate. Look carefully at your lease. There may be a provision for a fixed buyout at the end.
 
You can always buyout lease on the Nissan.
You go to NissanFinance website and it gives you buyout price and you can print a letter with details.
Buyout price is $15,568
Carmax offering $17,400 (22,500 miles on 2018 SL)
Called them twice and they say they buyout Nissan leases all the time.
I was told they payoff lease and you walk out with difference in a check.
Have appt with Carmax on 4/1 to do deal.
Will report back.
 
My point is the Lease Company doesn't car what happens, really, as long as they can show a profit. Period.
Also, they know many drivers of their cars lost their job or went to jail or something else even worse, which means they default on the loan and you will drop the Leaf or car in their lap and run away (with bad credit, but that part doesn't matter to the lease co.)

They don't want you to run away!

They want to talk about it, and maybe get you to pay them a little plus turn the car in early for them to sell, because they are afraid you're about to abandon the lease & they would lose money on their whole deal.

------- You paying them a little when turning the car in early is really in exchange for you keeping your good credit.
 
Baltneu said:
You can always buyout lease on the Nissan.

Buyout price is $15,568
Carmax offering $17,400 (22,500 miles on 2018 SL)
Interesting, thanks.

How much is your residual, and your monthly payment ?

I'm presuming these numbers add up, but perhaps not ?
 
SageBrush said:
Baltneu said:
You can always buyout lease on the Nissan.

Buyout price is $15,568
Carmax offering $17,400 (22,500 miles on 2018 SL)
Interesting, thanks.

How much is your residual, and your monthly payment ?

I'm presuming these numbers add up, but perhaps not ?

6 payments left on lease
I pay $447 per month.
That includes $8 per month for the extended warranty on the tires.
The residual is what ever it is at a particular time, payment in full by 4/14 is as stated above, $15,568
 
Baltneu said:
SageBrush said:
Baltneu said:
You can always buyout lease on the Nissan.

Buyout price is $15,568
Carmax offering $17,400 (22,500 miles on 2018 SL)
Interesting, thanks.

How much is your residual, and your monthly payment ?

I'm presuming these numbers add up, but perhaps not ?

6 payments left on lease
I pay $447 per month.
That includes $8 per month for the extended warranty on the tires.
The residual is what ever it is at a particular time, payment in full by 4/14 is as stated above, $15,568

Huh. I thought 'residual' (as stated at lease inception) is the value of the car at lease end, and the cost to buy the car at lease end.
 
SageBrush said:
Baltneu said:
SageBrush said:
Interesting, thanks.

How much is your residual, and your monthly payment ?

I'm presuming these numbers add up, but perhaps not ?

6 payments left on lease
I pay $447 per month.
That includes $8 per month for the extended warranty on the tires.
The residual is what ever it is at a particular time, payment in full by 4/14 is as stated above, $15,568

Huh. I thought 'residual' (as stated at lease inception) is the value of the car at lease end, and the cost to buy the car at lease end.

The residual at lease end is $13,190.30
 
Good facts. CarMax does need about $1800 margin between what they buy a car for and what they sell it for on their lot. Smart to check to see if the residual is lower or higher, as it was just a guess years earlier about what the used car would be worth on lease-return.

On this Leaf in this thread, the driver makes out great: Sell it to CarMax and pocket the diff.

I never even questioned it with an '18 Equinox I lease-returned a few months ago, although in my case I think the KBB value matched up well to residual.
 
So you are in it for $447 x 36 payments = $16,092 and CarMax is offering you $17,400 ...

How much did you put down originally? I'm curious what the original "sale" price was on this lease...

It would seem that your total cost on the lease is pretty minimal, you seem to have done very well out of it. We definitely don't get deals like this where I live.
 
alozzy said:
So you are in it for $447 x 36 payments = $16,092 and CarMax is offering you $17,400 ...

How much did you put down originally? I'm curious what the original "sale" price was on this lease...

It would seem that your total cost on the lease is pretty minimal, you seem to have done very well out of it. We definitely don't get deals like this where I live.

I would have to look at the lease agreement to see what I paid. It was a loaded SL.
I put $0 down. Payoff is $15,568.63

I looked at CarMax selling my car, realizing they need to make about $1800+ on the deal (the difference between what they paid me and what they sell it for). My offer is $17,400, their website shows my car, comparable model and mileage selling for about $19,5K to $20K. Their asking prices are higher than their competition (Carvana, etc). They must get it if they are paying me that money.

As I stated earlier in this thread, the part I am nervous about is their ability to actually do this deal, that is to pay off my Leaf to Nissan Finance. Carvana says they don’t deal with leases with Nissan. I spoke to the people at this CarMax I am going to (twice) and they said they pay off Nissan leases every day! One dealer told me it could only be done thru a Nissan dealer, but we tend not to believe a lot of their lies. If I went thru the dealer, and he sent me an invoice to do it, it is padded with all sorts of stuff, plus I have to pay state sales tax to get the title, then turn around to sell it, and to boot, he said the Title and Registration in my state is done now all thru the mail so it would take 60-90 days to get the Title. In that case, I wont do it.

My appt with CarMax is Thursday, April 1. I will report back. Hope it is not an April Fools joke.
 
alozzy said:
So you are in it for $447 x 36 payments = $16,092 and CarMax is offering you $17,400 ...

How much did you put down originally? I'm curious what the original "sale" price was on this lease...

It would seem that your total cost on the lease is pretty minimal, you seem to have done very well out of it. We definitely don't get deals like this where I live.
The way you are adding things up does not make sense to me.

$16,092 (plus any day #1 costs) is for use of vehicle for 36 months
$17,400 is to buy the car from Nissan + some money to OP
 
Sometimes the stars align and you can make out getting rid of a newer car.

I just got an offer from Carvana to buy my 2019 F-150 for almost $10,000 more than I paid for it new in December 2019.

After dealer discount, factory holiday discount, rebates and a $3,000 PCO I paid $23.8k for a $44.5k truck. Carvana offered $33.3k today.
 
SageBrush said:
alozzy said:
So you are in it for $447 x 36 payments = $16,092 and CarMax is offering you $17,400 ...

How much did you put down originally? I'm curious what the original "sale" price was on this lease...

It would seem that your total cost on the lease is pretty minimal, you seem to have done very well out of it. We definitely don't get deals like this where I live.
The way you are adding things up does not make sense to me.

$16,092 (plus any day #1 costs) is for use of vehicle for 36 months
$17,400 is to buy the car from Nissan + some money to OP

I absolutely agree, it doesn't make sense to me either. The OP is saying that, to date, he's paid a grand total of $16,092. He claims that CarMax is giving him a check for $17,400. He doesn't even own the car, so it makes no sense to me at all why he gets that check - it should never go through his hands.

Obviously, this can't be right, but I honestly don't really care as there's no way he essentially pays nothing to use a new car for three years.

No need to post back though, this doesn't pass the common sense test. I don't need to understand the minutiae to know that for all but a few edge cases, leases are a rip-off
 
Let me explain it again:

I have a 36 month lease, paying $447 per month, 6 months left on lease, so for 30 months have paid $13,410.
In October when lease is up I can walk away.
However, Nissan Finance gives me buy price now for $15, 568.
CarMax has given me written offer for buying the car now for $17,400.
I walk away with a check for $1,832.
That is all there is to it, no more.
I can get out early and have some equity.

The only issue here is will CarMax who said on 2 phone calls say they can buy the lease out, will they really be able to do it? That is all I posted about. Other people have muddied this post with their own stuff.

I have appt on 4/1 with CarMax, will report back. How is that? OK
 
alozzy said:
I absolutely agree, it doesn't make sense to me either. The OP is saying that, to date, he's paid a grand total of $16,092. He claims that CarMax is giving him a check for $17,400. He doesn't even own the car, so it makes no sense to me at all why he gets that check - it should never go through his hands.

Obviously, this can't be right, but I honestly don't really care as there's no way he essentially pays nothing to use a new car for three years.
Now I understand your issue. Ignore the bureaucracy and jump to the bottom line: CarMax gets for car for ~ 15.5k to Nissan and ~ 1.5k to OP.

The best part of this deal from OP's POV is getting out of his lease early at Carmax's expense

--
I remember calculating back in the day when the 40 kWh LEAFs were new and fresh that people were paying ~ $450 a month inclusive. That lead to current low residual values. Certainly better for Nissan, and maybe better for the CarMax's of the world if they do not overpay. My *opinion* is that Carmax overpaid on this deal because they agreed to swallow the rest of the lease and because they gave OP cash. If they had paid $13k at lease end they would be in a position to profit nicely.

Think about this arithmetic: The revenue that went to Nissan included
1. 7,500 federal tax credit
2. 450*36 lease payments
3. 13,100 end of lease car purchase

That is almost $37k, so darn close to MSRP with free financing thrown in.

OP enabled this 'happy ending' by paying $450 for 30 months, so yeah, I'm in your camp when it comes to leases. Contrary examples exist but this thread I think reflects what is common.
 
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