Hey everyone!!
This might be a long-ish post, so I'm sorry in advance. I need all the advice I can get on whether or not I should buy out my jeep or not.
Here's the story:
I have a 2016 Saraha Unlimited that I leased starting in July 2016. My lease is up this October (2019). I went into the lease with the mindset of buying it at the end, so I ran up the miles. I was allowed 39,000 miles and I am well over that amount. It's July 2019 and I'm at 47,800 miles. My dealership charges 25 cents for every mile over the limit. About a year or two into the lease, my jeep started to have some issues but the dealership fixed everything and I haven't had any problems since then (knock on wood). My parents are worried that once I buy it and something goes wrong, I'll have to pay it all on my own because it won't be under the warranty anymore.
I installed a grille guard, led headlights, led tail lights, and remote start. I also have a bike rack and roof racks for a Thule. I just got new brakes and I get oil changes every 3,000-5,000 miles. I've been talking to a guy who owns and operates a custom jeep shop down the shore and he suggested that I have my mechanic take a look at it and get a transmission and differential service done as well as paying attention to the side tanks on the radiator because they can sometimes start to weep antifreeze. He also told me that Jeeps don't have as many problems as people say they do. I do know that I need new tires if I decide to buy it.
Right now, my options are buying it out or turning it in and paying penalties (I also have a few scratches on the bumper, a small dent on the hood, and a few scratches on the roof). If I turn it in, my parents really want me to get a brand new Jeep, but I know that 1) they're expensive and I don't want to spend money like that (you can save money by buying a 3-5 year old vehicle), 2) none of my current headlights or roof racks will fit on the new body, and 3) I don't like the way the all new jeeps look. I can't afford to finance a brand new jeep because I'd be paying over $600 a month and I don't want to lease again because now I'm in a hole that I can't seem to get out of. I leased my first jeep back in 2013 but it was a 2 door. I went over on the miles for that one too, but since we leased from the same dealership, they waived the fees. I don't like the idea of basically renting a car and having to watch the miles. I take a lot of road trips and out of all our friends, I have one of the biggest cars to pack all of our stuff into.
At the end of my lease, I will owe around $30,000. My mechanic suggested looking on cars.com or at dealerships to try and find a 2016-2018 Sahara Unlimited for around the same price but with a lower mileage. After doing the math, I'm driving around 16,000 miles per year and I read that wranglers last around 150,000 miles. At that rate, I'll only get around 6.5 more years with it before it craps out on me. I don't want to finally pay it off then have it break down on me within a year or two. If I can find a wrangler for around the same price and say 25,000-30,000 miles, then I'd probably be able to get around 7.5 more years with it as opposed to 6.5. The only thing is, would that be worth it? Would it be worth it to switch into a used wrangler with less miles even though I'd have to pay the penalties to turn my current jeep in? Would the difference in mileage make the penalty cost worth it?
I'm so confused and stuck on what to do so any and all advice is greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance!!
This might be a long-ish post, so I'm sorry in advance. I need all the advice I can get on whether or not I should buy out my jeep or not.
Here's the story:
I have a 2016 Saraha Unlimited that I leased starting in July 2016. My lease is up this October (2019). I went into the lease with the mindset of buying it at the end, so I ran up the miles. I was allowed 39,000 miles and I am well over that amount. It's July 2019 and I'm at 47,800 miles. My dealership charges 25 cents for every mile over the limit. About a year or two into the lease, my jeep started to have some issues but the dealership fixed everything and I haven't had any problems since then (knock on wood). My parents are worried that once I buy it and something goes wrong, I'll have to pay it all on my own because it won't be under the warranty anymore.
I installed a grille guard, led headlights, led tail lights, and remote start. I also have a bike rack and roof racks for a Thule. I just got new brakes and I get oil changes every 3,000-5,000 miles. I've been talking to a guy who owns and operates a custom jeep shop down the shore and he suggested that I have my mechanic take a look at it and get a transmission and differential service done as well as paying attention to the side tanks on the radiator because they can sometimes start to weep antifreeze. He also told me that Jeeps don't have as many problems as people say they do. I do know that I need new tires if I decide to buy it.
Right now, my options are buying it out or turning it in and paying penalties (I also have a few scratches on the bumper, a small dent on the hood, and a few scratches on the roof). If I turn it in, my parents really want me to get a brand new Jeep, but I know that 1) they're expensive and I don't want to spend money like that (you can save money by buying a 3-5 year old vehicle), 2) none of my current headlights or roof racks will fit on the new body, and 3) I don't like the way the all new jeeps look. I can't afford to finance a brand new jeep because I'd be paying over $600 a month and I don't want to lease again because now I'm in a hole that I can't seem to get out of. I leased my first jeep back in 2013 but it was a 2 door. I went over on the miles for that one too, but since we leased from the same dealership, they waived the fees. I don't like the idea of basically renting a car and having to watch the miles. I take a lot of road trips and out of all our friends, I have one of the biggest cars to pack all of our stuff into.
At the end of my lease, I will owe around $30,000. My mechanic suggested looking on cars.com or at dealerships to try and find a 2016-2018 Sahara Unlimited for around the same price but with a lower mileage. After doing the math, I'm driving around 16,000 miles per year and I read that wranglers last around 150,000 miles. At that rate, I'll only get around 6.5 more years with it before it craps out on me. I don't want to finally pay it off then have it break down on me within a year or two. If I can find a wrangler for around the same price and say 25,000-30,000 miles, then I'd probably be able to get around 7.5 more years with it as opposed to 6.5. The only thing is, would that be worth it? Would it be worth it to switch into a used wrangler with less miles even though I'd have to pay the penalties to turn my current jeep in? Would the difference in mileage make the penalty cost worth it?
I'm so confused and stuck on what to do so any and all advice is greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance!!