I have a 2010 white Series III with Navigation. Buy out is 12,300 plus tax, I have 66,000 miles. I can get a new Series Fourwith 18,000 mile lease for 403 through a car broker. Not sure which to do. I drive about 20,000 per year right now. Thoughts?
Buy it, double the miles and then dump it, you probably will get 6k when you sell it. If you keep up the maintenance, it should last ok. I will admit it's more of a gamble, but considerably cheaper than that new lease.
There isn't that much different about the III with navigation vs IV, the leather would be the only noticeable difference in terms of equipment. The cars are basically the same, a few cosmetic differences in the front and back end of the car. The car really is carried over from 2010. At $403 a month, this car is costing $4836 a year, In 2 1/2 years you'll reach the $12,300 purchase price of the 2010. You also mentioned you only drive 20k per year (which seems high since you only have 66k on the 2010), so even after 2 1/2 years, your car should still be right around 100k miles. With all that said, I would probably buy out the 2010 for $12,300. Drive it for 2 years until it gets to about 100k miles and then think about selling it for a new 2016 model (this is a new body style). You will also be able to recoup some of your $12300 if you sold the car in 2016 for about 40% of the car's initial value (optimistic $10,000)
"Maybe" one thing to factor in, is believe it or not we are getting closer and closer to the release of the Gen 4 Prius. How interested in at all would you be in that upgrade? If your interest is minimal or really non-existent, and you are happy with what you have been driving? Then I might be inclined to buy simply buy out the vehicle with the intention of owning it many more years. If you think you might want to upgrade in 2-3 years, then I might go with the flexibility another lease would offer.
Buy it out for sure. No more limiting yourself on miles per year. Freedom to tinker more with the car. Cheaper insurance. And after you finish paying it off, you can actually keep the car with no monthly payments instead of returning the car and beginning monthly payments again.
If you ever heard of Dave Ramsey a financial author and radio host, he has always said that you should never lease a vehicle under any circumstance. It's a very high money maker for the dealership and they always make more on leases than selling a vehicle to an individual.
