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Step 1
Before starting to negotiate a lease buyout, determine whether you want to purchase your leased vehicle.
This depends greatly on how satisfied you are with the car and how confident you are about the future maintenance costs. If you decide you do want to try to buy the car, you already have leverage toward getting a good price simply because you are the current lessee. -
Step 2
Determine the price you want to negotiate.
When lessees choose not to purchase the leased vehicle, the dealership can expect to sale the car (now a used car) for the average retail value less 20% (because it was a leased vehicle the value is diminished). Therefore, if your lease buyout offer is anywhere between 1 to 19% off the average retail value, you stand a great chance of getting the car for your price. To determine the average retail value of your car try Kelley Blue Book (see link in additional resources). If you are unsure how to use Kelley Blue Book, see the link titled "how to look up Kelley Blue Book value" for guidance. -
Step 3
Determine the timing for negotiation on the lease buyout.
Around 3 months prior to your lease expiration, make your initial offer. Your initial offer should be slightly low but in the ballpark. Try using the average retail value less 25%.
Around 1 month prior to the lease expiration make your second offer. However, this time use the average retail value less 20%. Remember this is the average selling price of the vehicle if you don't complete the lease buyout. Now you've got their attention.
If they don't go for the previous offer, when you are 14 to 11 days out from the lease expiration make your final FIRM offer of an average retail value less 15%.
Within two weeks of the lease expiration is the "sweet spot", where the dealership is most likely to make a deal. If you're feeling bold, hold the 20% under value right up to the lease date and see if the dealership folds or gives you a price better than 15% under, which was the baseline in the first scenario.
