Quick question:

When choosing to get extra miles on the 2008 CTS and going from 10k miles/year to 15k miles/year, the residual changes from approx. 61% to 58% as far as I have seen.

In addition to this, do you ALSO have to pay for those extra miles? I believe I was quoted 15 or 20 cents per mile. Do I pay that as an added cost in the lease, and get the lower residual...so I take a double hit on the payments?

The residual does not change, you just pay an extra 15 cents a mile if you pay them up front.

Oooops, just read your post again. I was basing my statement off a standard 15k a year lease. Yes, the residual is different between 15k a year, and the 10k. The 10k is a low mileage lease. If you go to 15k a year, you pay the higher residual, but not extra mileage charge unless you go over 15k.

More miles per year means you pay more for the lease (i.e., you are using up more of the value of the car). The more miles on the car, the less the car is worth in market (residual) value of the car. So most all of the time a 10k/yr lease vs. a 15k/yr lease will mean the residual is less for the higher mileage lease. You don't "pay the residual" unless you buy the car outright at the end of the lease. But obviously the residual number is a number that can be played with by the dealer/manufacturer, and not only an estimate of the value of the car at the end of the lease, so it's good to compare.

My lease is an 18k/yr lease, which is really a 15k/yr lease with an additional 3k mi/yr added on. The added on miles are 5 cents/mi cheaper when "included" with the lease payment than they are if I paid them at the end at turn-in time. Since my mileage is very consistently 18k/yr (mainly commuting), I'm comfortable with this arrangement.

My lease is an 18k/yr lease, which is really a 15k/yr lease with an additional 3k mi/yr added on. The added on miles are 5 cents/mi cheaper when "included" with the lease payment than they are if I paid them at the end at turn-in time. Since my mileage is very consistently 18k/yr (mainly commuting), I'm comfortable with this arrangement.

Do you mind sharing how much the extra 3K mi/yr cost?

Also, what do you think of buying the car outright at the end of the lease? Is that always more expensive than if you had just financed the car in the first place?

Buying the car outright at Lease end you prob will be paying sticker price. If that doesnt bother you and the car is low mileage and super condtn it is not a bad option.

Buying the car outright at Lease end you prob will be paying sticker price. If that doesnt bother you and the car is low mileage and super condtn it is not a bad option.

Sorry, I've never leased and even after reading all the posts and web sites about it, it's still pretty confusing.

So...hypothetically, with a 36-month lease at 18K mi/yr (that would be 54K on the odometer at lease end), will the residual value be what the dealership will sell the car to me for? If so, depending on what that is, it could be awfully high for a car with 54K miles, right?

That will be a big decision because I will have no trade-in...

There's a lot of confusion out there about leasing. Just to clear a few things up:

The residual percentage is set in stone by the manufacturer for a set period of time. It cannot be changed by the Dealer or Mfgr. during that period, regardless of what many "experts" claim. The amount shown on the contract on the line labled "Residual Value" is the amount you will have to pay (plus taxes and fees) if you choose to purchase at lease end. If anyone tells you that the figure is negotiable at the end, don't believe them- it's not. The residual is almost always more than the car will actually be worth at that time, so I can't really recommend buying at lease end.

Leasing is best for people who want to drive a car during the best time of its life (the first few years), then drop it for something else when the warranty runs out or it starts needing service. If you plan on owning it longer than 3 years, take advantage of the 3.9% financing for 60 months currently offered. The payments may be a little higher, but you'll own the car at the end for less total money than leasing and buying it out.

Tony is abslolutley right. I leased two Saabs before I bought my CTS. The dealer has no say whatsoever in the residual price. As a matter of fact, the dealer cannot even put the car on his own used car lot, it has to go back to GM which then puts up for sale at the auto auctions. If you aren't going to turn your car in at the end of the lease term and lease another one, it is best to buy instead of lease. And remember you pay taxes on the initail lease of the car, then you pay taxes on the lease payments (it is figured in) and then you will pay taxes again at the end of the term if you buy it. In the end if you purchase the car at the end of the lease term it almost always costs more all in than if you had purchsed outright in the first place.

You buyout price at lease end is specified in the lease contract.



Sorry, I've never leased and even after reading all the posts and web sites about it, it's still pretty confusing.

So...hypothetically, with a 36-month lease at 18K mi/yr (that would be 54K on the odometer at lease end), will the residual value be what the dealership will sell the car to me for? If so, depending on what that is, it could be awfully high for a car with 54K miles, right?

That will be a big decision because I will have no trade-in...