Does Tesla accept leased vehicles on trade?

[Coldones]

I was planning on trading in my leased vehicle and paying the difference out of pocket between the payoff quote and the trade in value they offered. My Owner Advisor at the local Tesla store said this would be no problem. However, I just received a call from my Inside Sales Advisor telling me they don't accept lease trade ins.

So has anyone traded in a leased vehicle to Tesla?

 

[Lloyd]

You can buy out any remainder on the lease, then you own it and then trade it in. Likely you are better off financially selling it yourself.

 

[Coldones]

I just found the following question on the Tesla website FAQ's:

Can I still trade in my vehicle even though I am still in a lease?

You can trade-in your vehicle before your lease or loan has matured. Tesla will calculate and compare the payoff amount, early termination penalty (if applicable) and will add whichever is lower to the new Motor Vehicle Purchase Agreement. You will not need to pay off lease or loan in full prior to trading in that vehicle.

It appears my Inside Sales Advisor was incorrect in stating they don't accept lease trade-ins.

 

[brobinson]

I just found the following question on the Tesla website FAQ's:

Can I still trade in my vehicle even though I am still in a lease?

You can trade-in your vehicle before your lease or loan has matured. Tesla will calculate and compare the payoff amount, early termination penalty (if applicable) and will add whichever is lower to the new Motor Vehicle Purchase Agreement. You will not need to pay off lease or loan in full prior to trading in that vehicle.

It appears my Inside Sales Advisor was incorrect in stating they don't accept lease trade-ins.

Are you sure that isn't related to Tesla leases? I don't see why they would take in a lease on any other car.

 

[Coldones]

Are you sure that isn't related to Tesla leases? I don't see why they would take in a lease on any other car.

The Inside Sales Advisor called back and confirmed that I can trade in my lease. It's obvious they're scrambling to get these orders going and there's probably some new folks still trying to figure out how things work.

 

[cgrubbe]

Assuming you're not talking about trading in a Tesla lease and that you've got no equity, based on your statement about paying off the difference between payoff (assuming that you really mean buy out) and trade in, why wouldn't you just return your leased vehicle to which ever company you leased from and start fresh with the Tesla?

 

[Coldones]

Assuming you're not talking about trading in a Tesla lease and that you've got no equity, based on your statement about paying off the difference between payoff (assuming that you really mean buy out) and trade in, why wouldn't you just return your leased vehicle to which ever company you leased from and start fresh with the Tesla?

The difference between the Tesla trade-in value and the payoff/buyout quote is significantly less than paying all of the remaining payments due on the lease.

 

[TT97]

The difference between the Tesla trade-in value and the payoff/buyout quote is significantly less than paying all of the remaining payments due on the lease.

That is not always the case - it really depends on how many payments remaining and how close the finance company determined the residual value when starting the lease.

I was leasing a MB C300 before my Tesla. Towards the end of the lease, the trade in value of the car was about $10k less than the buy-out price - it would have been much cheaper to just continue paying the lease than trading in (I think some manufacturers intentionally use higher residuals to lower lease payments and up-sell customers).

 

[Dana1]

I just found the following question on the Tesla website FAQ's:

Can I still trade in my vehicle even though I am still in a lease?

You can trade-in your vehicle before your lease or loan has matured. Tesla will calculate and compare the payoff amount, early termination penalty (if applicable) and will add whichever is lower to the new Motor Vehicle Purchase Agreement. You will not need to pay off lease or loan in full prior to trading in that vehicle.

It appears my Inside Sales Advisor was incorrect in stating they don't accept lease trade-ins.

Yikes, even Leasetrader or similar is better than that. At that point keep the car as a backup.

 

[Coldones]

Yikes, even Leasetrader or similar is better than that. At that point keep the car as a backup.

Unfortunately with Nissan when you do a "swap lease," the original lessee becomes the co-lessee until the lease agreement is completed. So if the person you assigned the lease over to defaults on the lease agreement, the co-lessee will still be responsible.

 

[Dana1]

Unfortunately with Nissan when you do a "swap lease," the original lessee becomes the co-lessee until the lease agreement is completed. So if the person you assigned the lease over to defaults on the lease agreement, the co-lessee will still be responsible.

Yuck, sorry.