Hey everyone, I need some advice!
I leased a car for the first time in 2016 after trading in my old 2010 Ford Fusion with 180k miles on it. First, I went in not really looking to actually buy but then the guy recommended leasing at $260/mo which was only $60 more than my other car payment so I figured hey, not too bad. My dad said he's done leasing before and encouraged me to do it so I decided to go for it. I'm really regretting it now.
Life changes and I ended up having to drive my leased vehicle across the country to Arizona from the midwest adding major mileage to my lease. My lease is up in February and I'm about 2,200 miles away from my lease cap which is 36,244. In order to avoid excessive fees I'm trying to figure out the best way I can do this. Since I live in Phoenix which doesn't have a good public transport system that works for me and everything is spread out so damn far, I have to drive when I want to do something. I can ride my bike to work because I'm 10 minutes away but at 110 degrees it's not an ideal situation. Luckily my work is like 3 miles away but my gym which I go to regularly is 7 miles away. There and back each day is 14 miles and that has been chipping away.
My lease is currently $0.15 every additional mile. To purchase the vehicle at the end of the lease is $13,882.40. I can't remember exactly what the early return on the lease penalty is.
So what I'm trying to figure out is which option will be best between these three:
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Purchase another vehicle and stop driving my leased car considering I'm never going to lease again. My new vehicle would also ideally be something closer to a Ford Escape or similar because I would like to bring a mountain bike around or go paddle boarding or kayaking. The new car would have to be about 13k or less. Preferably less because I'm not willing to pay more than I'm paying right now per month.
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Drive as little as humanly possible and see how close to February I can get and then trade in the car and pay the early penalty and get a different car. Again, 13k or less and just ride it til it dies.
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Suck it up, pay the excessive mileage fee and return the vehicle.
Bonus option: Just do a purchase option plan for the leased car and just stick with it. I really like the car a lot, I'd just like something with some more flexibility.
I feel really dumb and I'm trying not to think too short sightedly but I'm also kind of an impulsive person so I'm looking for some wisdom.
July 23, 2018 at 08:52PM
