I bought a 2010 Prius last year and was curious if anyone had experiences or advice on buying it from Toyota Financial at the end of the lease? I figure at the end of the lease, I'll ask Toyota Financial for a buy-out quote (I assume it might be higher or lower than the previously calculated residual value), then compare that cost to what a similar year car would cost on craigslist. If it's a good deal, I'll buy it. Otherwise, I'll check out the other options.
That final figure is negotiable. We negotiated the buy-out on an Avalon a few years ago and bought it for less than the residual. A lot will depend on the market at the time you want to buy it. If the residual is lower than the average retail of the vehicle, they won't drop because they can sell the vehicle after you turn it in. If the residual is much higher than what the car is worth, you have negotiating power because they won't want a vehicle they can't sell, i.e. it's worth more to them to sell to you for a little below residual than have you turn it in and take a considerable loss when it goes to auction...
If tfs is the lender, they do not negotiate residuals. Other banks and lenders might, but tfs will not.
This was a 97 Avalon, so it very well could have been leased someplace other than TFS, that was quite awhile ago. I just remember we were able to negotiate a lower buy-out on the car at the end of the lease...
Back in the mid to late 90's it would have been Bank of America or wells fargo, as tfs didn't jump on the leasing bandwagon in any aggressive way till 2000ish.
Getting older means you have a historical perspective per se, but sadly you also end up with a lot less patience for stupidity!!!!
