[JCMoh]

Hi everyone,
I have a lease on an 18 Sorento SX that is ending soon. The lease is paid off as of today but after researching each charge, I don't know if it's worth turning it back in or to keep it.
I put 9500k down and the agreed-upon price was 41k
The residual value is 23k including OH taxes and fees
By my calculations, if I purchase it then I will have paid 49k when it is completely paid off.
If I do purchase it, should I continue paying until the lease maturity or refinance it asap?
Or would it make more sense to return it?

 

[LordHelmet]

I will be in the same situation in a few years, interested to see opinions. At this point, I'm thinking that if there is nothing wrong with it, and I haven't had any issues, I'll probably just buy it out. I leased thinking that in the next few years an epic PHEV that can tow 5000lbs would come out and that would be better suited to our driving habits, but now I'm thinking that may not end up happening. The new Sorento PHEV has a much lower towing capacity, so doesn't give me much faith that PHEV's will tow....

 

[scosgt]

My wife's car, an Elantra Limited, has a whopping 3400 miles on it with a year to go on the lease. THAT one I will buy, assuming it does not get hit.
My Sorento has low miles, but was smacked while parked to the tune of 9K in repairs. NOT buying that one, do not buy a car with a bad carfax.
I know that does not answer the question, but consider this:
Kia is known for aggressive lease rates, partly because of the high residual value. That means if the value is not met, they eat it, not you.
So the first question is what is the mileage and condition? That has everything to do with value.
The next question is, what is the Kelly Blue Book value for a car with similar miles and condition. If it is thousands more than 23K, grab it, you are buying a quality USED car. With remaining warranty.
IF the local going price for a similar car (NOT asking price, actual selling price) is way below that, just give it back.
The $9500 reduced your monthly payment, so that is already in there.
Remember that in my State at least, you would also have to pay sales tax on the selling price. So for me that would be around $2000
Also, since you did not post the miles or maintenance, it might need tires and brakes and a battery in the near future. That adds to the selling price, because a new car won't have that expense.
Look on your local Craigs List and see what people in your area are asking for a similar car. Then see how long the ad has been up!

 

[scosgt]

Another thing to try:
Go to a local (NOT KIA) dealer and make believe the car is a trade in. Just to find out what they would offer. Do that AFTER you get a price on a new car, so they can not add it back in. In other words, get a price while denying you have a trade in, after they give you a number tell them you own the Sorento and ask what they will give you. That will give you an idea of the real value of the car vs the residual.

 

[Flip86]

Oh boy. Why did you put $9,500 down?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[tom4416]

Make life easy on yourself - check with Carvana to see what they would pay (they often pay quite a bit more than trade) and, if you happen to be near a Carmax, drop by there. They are very professional, not pushy, not trying to sell you something else and I think their offer is good for 7 days for you to make up your mind. Those two values would give you a realistic idea of the trade value of the vehicle. I suspect that if the miles are within the lease allowance (somewhere from 12-18K a year usually), the value will be pretty close to the buyout and so it will boil down to your happiness with the vehicle and how many years you expect to get out of it.

 

[JCMoh]

Oh boy. Why did you put $9,500 down?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Because I'm gullible and highly inexperienced with automobiles, lol.
We actually did a trade-in too. It was a 2012 Sorento base model with 98k miles, clean title. For whatever reason, they marked it as lease cash for $6,230 and then gave a summer cash bonus of $750. We put 3k of actual money down. I thought it would have made the overall price come down but maybe it did, maybe it didn't. I don't know I'm still learning.

 

[JCMoh]

My wife's car, an Elantra Limited, has a whopping 3400 miles on it with a year to go on the lease. THAT one I will buy, assuming it does not get hit.
My Sorento has low miles, but was smacked while parked to the tune of 9K in repairs. NOT buying that one, do not buy a car with a bad carfax.
I know that does not answer the question, but consider this:
Kia is known for aggressive lease rates, partly because of the high residual value. That means if the value is not met, they eat it, not you.
So the first question is what is the mileage and condition? That has everything to do with value.
The next question is, what is the Kelly Blue Book value for a car with similar miles and condition. If it is thousands more than 23K, grab it, you are buying a quality USED car. With remaining warranty.
IF the local going price for a similar car (NOT asking price, actual selling price) is way below that, just give it back.
The $9500 reduced your monthly payment, so that is already in there.
Remember that in my State at least, you would also have to pay sales tax on the selling price. So for me that would be around $2000
Also, since you did not post the miles or maintenance, it might need tires and brakes and a battery in the near future. That adds to the selling price, because a new car won't have that expense.
Look on your local Craigs List and see what people in your area are asking for a similar car. Then see how long the ad has been up!

My mileage right now is 32,308. However, it was a demo that had 4,995 when I took over. I wish I had negotiated that part of the agreement as well because IMO those miles shouldn't be held against me if I didn't put them on.
The overall condition is spectacular. I keep the interior clean year-round minus my Weather Tech floor mats that I purchased instead of the $210 "additional equipment installed" carpeted floor mats that are standard ..
I wash and wax faithfully. I'm not a true car wash buff but I do try my best. I run the back of my hand against it after every wax to feel my job well done, lol. Sooo smooth and shiny

So I have checked with KBB, NADA, and Carvana and they are showing around what the residual is BUT there are a few features that I don't get to check off.
The maintenance such as oil changes is done faithfully every 5k miles and I replace the cabin filter usually every 6 months. The brakes and calipers started going bad/seizing up at the beginning of June 2019 and were replaced on June 11th. My 12 month/12k miles warranty had already expired on May 26, 2019. I haven't needed to replace the brakes yet but I'm sure we will before we turn it in, if we do. The battery too.

Truth is, I wanted to keep it. I planned on keeping it. I absolutely love this thing. Weather Tech mats, I put tint all the way around (top part of the windshield too) remote start added, Bosche Icon blades just last month. But a few weeks ago I was looking over the contract and couldn't figure out how the total payments equaled 26k and that has led me to discover that Ohio taxes are outrageous. I realized I'm being taxed twice if I decide to purchase it. And now I'm here asking experienced men/women what I should do that makes reasonable, financial sense.

 

[JCMoh]

Make life easy on yourself - check with Carvana to see what they would pay (they often pay quite a bit more than trade) and, if you happen to be near a Carmax, drop by there. They are very professional, not pushy, not trying to sell you something else and I think their offer is good for 7 days for you to make up your mind. Those two values would give you a realistic idea of the trade value of the vehicle. I suspect that if the miles are within the lease allowance (somewhere from 12-18K a year usually), the value will be pretty close to the buyout and so it will boil down to your happiness with the vehicle and how many years you expect to get out of it.

You were correct. My miles are within range and Carvana is actually offering what the buyout is with taxes/fees included per KMF. The closest Carmax is in East Cleveland and that's a good 45-minute drive for me.

 

[scosgt]

My mileage right now is 32,308. However, it was a demo that had 4,995 when I took over. I wish I had negotiated that part of the agreement as well because IMO those miles shouldn't be held against me if I didn't put them on.
The overall condition is spectacular. I keep the interior clean year-round minus my Weather Tech floor mats that I purchased instead of the $210 "additional equipment installed" carpeted floor mats that are standard ..
I wash and wax faithfully. I'm not a true car wash buff but I do try my best. I run the back of my hand against it after every wax to feel my job well done, lol. Sooo smooth and shiny

So I have checked with KBB, NADA, and Carvana and they are showing around what the residual is BUT there are a few features that I don't get to check off.
The maintenance such as oil changes is done faithfully every 5k miles and I replace the cabin filter usually every 6 months. The brakes and calipers started going bad/seizing up at the beginning of June 2019 and were replaced on June 11th. My 12 month/12k miles warranty had already expired on May 26, 2019. I haven't needed to replace the brakes yet but I'm sure we will before we turn it in, if we do. The battery too.

Truth is, I wanted to keep it. I planned on keeping it. I absolutely love this thing. Weather Tech mats, I put tint all the way around (top part of the windshield too) remote start added, Bosche Icon blades just last month. But a few weeks ago I was looking over the contract and couldn't figure out how the total payments equaled 26k and that has led me to discover that Ohio taxes are outrageous. I realized I'm being taxed twice if I decide to purchase it. And now I'm here asking experienced men/women what I should do that makes reasonable, financial sense.

So you did not get the 5 year 60K warranty? Give it back. No sense in paying $23K plus tax for a car with no warranty. Sounds like you got took just a bit.

 

[JCMoh]

So you did not get the 5 year 60K warranty? Give it back. No sense in paying $23K plus tax for a car with no warranty. Sounds like you got took just a bit.

I honestly have no idea what we got. My own stupidity, I admit it. But I've learned a valuable lesson from this whole thing.
I cannot find anything in all of the documents we received about any warranty.
There are two "Total Kia Protection Package" stickers. One says anti-theft protection was added for 495.00 and the other one says 3M vehicle protection pkg added for 595.00....I don't know if I have both or neither.


Funny story about the 12/month, 12k miles basic warranty. Lease started 5/26/18
On June 11, 2019, I noticed the car would "shake" when I pressed the brake. I took it to our local NTB (I was closer to them than Kia when it happened) and the guy said the rear calipers were frozen and the rotors were warped. Kia service argued otherwise and blamed my driving habits.
Ended up paying for the rear brake pad kit only, but I just had it at the dealership on May 2, 19 for an oil change and no mention of brakes or anything going bad.. not even the 3 prior times. But funny though, I always received an inspection report for every oil change except May 2, lol

 

[scosgt]

Brakes are almost never a warranty claim. I had it once when the drums were warped and the car had like 1000 miles on it. But at 10K no one is going to cover brakes. I have had brakes wear out in 10K in NYC driving

 

[JCMoh]

Brakes are almost never a warranty claim. I had it once when the drums were warped and the car had like 1000 miles on it. But at 10K no one is going to cover brakes. I have had brakes wear out in 10K in NYC driving

I could see brakes wearing out more quickly in the city as you stop, go, stop, go.
I knew the brakes and rotors weren't covered under warranty but the calipers, yeah (I hope, lol)
I was more upset that they did their inspection the previous month and didn't say anything.
It happened when there were 18k miles on it, 13k of those were me. I now have 32k miles and no issues since.

 

[tom4416]

I'm sorry to say this but it sounds like you got an absolutely horrible deal leasing essentially a used car. Was it titled previously as a "demo"? A demo is nothing more than either the loaner car for when someone has to leave theirs for an extended time for service or it's a senior salesman car that he/she buys at cost, drives a year and then resells for enough to have made it a freebie for the year. What was the money factor on your lease (essentially the interest rate)? How can you not know if you paid extra for various warranties - it should be on your paperwork and you should have gotten information about the warranties and what they cover. Unfortunately, what they are is $595 worth of interior treatment to prevent stains and $495 to etch your VIN number into the windows as the Kia already comes with anti-theft in the SX trim.

I'm really not trying to pick on you. One of my careers was as a professor at a university teaching business and one of my most popular classes was on personal finance which included a couple of weeks teaching negotiating skills so it's kind of in my blood. Get a copy of the "car buying for dummies" book and study it thoroughly. Listen to Dave Ramsey on the radio and take his financial peace university program (I don't agree with him 100% but probably a solid 75%).

IIWM, my decision to buy would be based upon the warranty status. If I still had the full Kia 10/100 warranty (and obviously the 5/60 still), I'd probably buy it out with financing outside the dealership and be done with them. If the warranty is not in place, it becomes a bit more of a challenge and I'd probably pass but wouldn't venture into a car dealership until I had thoroughly educated myself or found a good friend who was skilled at car buying. Heck, at the very lease, use something like Costco's car buying service and don't let the salesman or the finance guy move you one dime off the numbers. Remember, their job is to soak you for absolutely every dollar they can - they are not your friend, they are not concerned about your personal finances and high five each other in the backroom whenever they get a full boat customer - don't ever be that customer again.

 

[joemsj51]

Would not be a smart decision to buy that vehicle. Then seek negotiating help from a friend, relative or online broker when searching for your next ride.

I should have sought-out a Neurologist when I window-shopped in late 2018 for my 2019 vehicle purchase.
I was clearly out of my mind - brain damaged, when picking out our 2019 Hyundai Santa Fe 2.4 GDI. No problems yet mechanically.
But big-time concerns it will end-up bearings-grenaded someday, like many owners are witnessing these days.

 

[JCMoh]

I'm sorry to say this but it sounds like you got an absolutely horrible deal leasing essentially a used car. Was it titled previously as a "demo"? A demo is nothing more than either the loaner car for when someone has to leave theirs for an extended time for service or it's a senior salesman car that he/she buys at cost, drives a year and then resells for enough to have made it a freebie for the year. What was the money factor on your lease (essentially the interest rate)? How can you not know if you paid extra for various warranties - it should be on your paperwork and you should have gotten information about the warranties and what they cover. Unfortunately, what they are is $595 worth of interior treatment to prevent stains and $495 to etch your VIN number into the windows as the Kia already comes with anti-theft in the SX trim.

I'm really not trying to pick on you. One of my careers was as a professor at a university teaching business and one of my most popular classes was on personal finance which included a couple of weeks teaching negotiating skills so it's kind of in my blood. Get a copy of the "car buying for dummies" book and study it thoroughly. Listen to Dave Ramsey on the radio and take his financial peace university program (I don't agree with him 100% but probably a solid 75%).

IIWM, my decision to buy would be based upon the warranty status. If I still had the full Kia 10/100 warranty (and obviously the 5/60 still), I'd probably buy it out with financing outside the dealership and be done with them. If the warranty is not in place, it becomes a bit more of a challenge and I'd probably pass but wouldn't venture into a car dealership until I had thoroughly educated myself or found a good friend who was skilled at car buying. Heck, at the very lease, use something like Costco's car buying service and don't let the salesman or the finance guy move you one dime off the numbers. Remember, their job is to soak you for absolutely every dollar they can - they are not your friend, they are not concerned about your personal finances and high five each other in the backroom whenever they get a full boat customer - don't ever be that customer again.

As much as I don't want to admit it, I don't know anything prior to leasing. I want to run the carfax but I'm scared to see what hasn't been done maintenance wise prior to me.
I keep a thorough folder of everything that has to do with the suv, and there are no papers that have the word warranty on it other than our contract, but thats the fine print on the back.
As for the money factor, where can I find that? I've recently read about it and read my contract 10 different times. I've even tried finding it on my husband's 2019 CRV contract, but nothing. There are no % signs or decimals. I also discovered that Kia process and the Honda process for us are day and night. My husband was provided with a check off list. Mine is blank.
Would I be able to call the KMF and ask them for the warranty information and money factor?

 

[JCMoh]

Would not be a smart decision to buy that vehicle. Then seek negotiating help from a friend, relative or online broker when searching for your next ride.

I should have sought-out a Neurologist when I window-shopped in late 2018 for my 2019 vehicle purchase.
I was clearly out of my mind - brain damaged, when picking out our 2019 Hyundai Santa Fe 2.4 GDI. No problems yet mechanically.
But big-time concerns it will end-up bearings-grenaded someday, like many owners are witnessing these days.

Did you lease or purchase?
Would you take it back if it were possible?

 

[joemsj51]

Did you lease or purchase?
Would you take it back if it were possible?

I have never leased (yet). But I'm considering it, should I decide to rid our family of the 2.4 GDI, with ever expanding issues revolving around recalls and engine failures.
Our 2.0 MPI is fine and a sure keeper. So glad I stayed from TGDIs / turbo engines of South Korea, with that purchase.

 

[SoCalTiger13]

the agreed-upon price was 41k
By my calculations, if I purchase it then I will have paid 49k when it is completely paid off.

Hey I'm just going to throw this out there as another option - I know this is a Kia forum and all but the Tesla Model Y is $50k plus depending on where you live there may be government incentives plus you save a ton of money on fuel and don't really need maintenance (no oil changes and brakes last over 100k) other than tires which in the long-run makes it the same price if not cheaper. Just something to consider if you've ever thought about going the EV route. MY is a little smaller than the Sorento I believe though.

 

[TheSilverFlash]

Buy a new 21 Sorento Hybrid. It is a significant enough redesign to make upgrading definitely worth it in my opinion. 40mpg and 620 miles per tank is awesome!