How a Nissan Lease Buyout Works
Tired of leasing your Altima? Ready to own that Kicks? A Nissan lease buyout might be your perfect path to ownership.
Written by Jason Tushinski
Reviewed by Jessica Barrett
If you can’t imagine life without your leased Maxima or Rogue, learning how to buy out your Nissan lease is a great way to keep driving the car you love.
Leasing a car has become incredibly popular, and why wouldn’t it? After all, with a lease, you can drive a new car for a lower monthly payment without dealing with any of the pains associated with vehicle ownership.
But if you decide you want to own your leased vehicle for as long as it's road-worthy, a lease buyout will keep you and your Nissan together for life (or until you ditch it for another car).
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If you’re wondering how a Nissan lease buyout works, you’ve come to the right place!
Jerry
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comparison super app, is here to walk you through how to buy out your Nissan lease, including explaining the first steps you’ll need to take—and how to save on your Nissan insurance costs
along the way.What is a lease buyout?
If you’re thinking about leasing a car for the first time, here’s the lowdown on lease buyouts. A lease buyout allows you to purchase the vehicle you’re leasing for its remaining value, as opposed to returning the car to the dealership once your lease term ends.
Before you sign your lease, the dealer will calculate your vehicle’s residual value based on expected depreciation. This will likely be the amount you’ll need to pay to purchase your vehicle when your lease expires.
There are two primary types of lease buyouts:
- Lease-end buyout: The most common type of buyout—at the end of your lease, you're able to negotiate to buy the car instead of returning it to the dealer and leasing a new one.
- Early lease buyout: You can buy your car outright before your lease is up, but there will be challenges, including possibly paying a penalty for terminating your lease early.
Beware that if your car required a lot of repair work while you drove it, negotiating a fair lease buyout price might be difficult.
How a Nissan lease buyout works
If your lease end date is approaching and you know you want to buy your Nissan, here’s what you should do:
- Check your balance: Click on Check Balance on the My Account screen to see your purchase option price
- Download the proper document: You’ll need to download a payoff letter, which lays out instructions for the payoff process
- Get pre-approval if you need financing: Your dealer may offer you financing to purchase the car outright, but it's recommended to seek out other offers from banks or credit unions
- Visit your Nissan dealer: A lease buyout must be done in person at a Nissan dealership
- Negotiate a lease buyout with your Nissan dealer: Being pre-approved will give you more leverage in getting a better financing offer from your dealer
- Don’t forget about fees: Once you agree to buy your vehicle, you’ll have to pay to transfer the title, DMV registration, as well as insurance
- Assistance: If you need help accessing your payoff quote, visitwww.nissanfinance.comor call (800) 778-4211
And presto—you’re the proud new owner of a Nissan! Since it's yours (and solely your responsibility), make sure you protect it by following the maintenance schedule in your owner’s manual.
Will Nissan finance a lease buyout?
You can approach your Nissan dealer and Nissan Finance in order to finance your lease buyout. However, this might not be the best way to get yourself a steal of a deal. Before accepting any dealer offer, do your due diligence and compare at least three financing offers from other lenders.
You want to look around because dealerships will charge you more than a bank or credit union will, even if it's only a little bit more. As well, banks and credit unions are likely to offer you better overall terms due to lower rates or even an existing relationship. Always compare rates before signing on the dotted line.
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Is a Nissan lease buyout worth it?
If you want to buy the Nissan you’re leasing, doing a lease buyout might sound great. But before doing so, be sure to crunch the numbers and ensure it will work for you.
How to calculate Nissan lease buyout fees
You can always pick up the phone and call Nissan Finance for a payoff quote. But there are easier ways to determine your Nissan lease buyout fees.
The first thing to do is look up your Nissan’s residual value. This should be on your lease agreement, as this figure is typically determined at the beginning of a lease. Once you find this figure, use an online service for an estimate of your vehicle’s actual value.
Once you have both your residual value and your actual value, compare them. In an ideal world, you want your leased Nissan’s actual value to be higher than itsresidual value. If this is the case, that means your Nissan has kept more value than initially anticipated. This will put you in a stronger negotiating position when you go to buy your lease out.
However, if the actual value is lower than the residual value in your lease agreement—due to excessive repairs, an accident or two, etc.—you might want to think twice about buying out your lease, as you’ll have to pay extra to make up the difference between the actual and residual value.
MORE: How to calculate a car lease payment
When it’s better not to buy out a Nissan lease
Buying out your Nissan lease might not be a good plan if:
- Your Nissan has been involved in numerous accidents, has required multiple repairs, or has lost a lot of value since the beginning of the lease
- You’re eyeing a different model or a new model year
- You’re unable to get approved for a decent interest rate
Sometimes, buying out your lease just isn’t in the cards. If so, you still have options.
You can return your leased Nissan and lease another car, or return your leased vehicle and buy a different vehicle. Also, if you wait to buy out your vehicle, you’ll be able to build your credit score so you get a better buyout offer after your next lease.
How to save on Nissan insurance
Finding a financing offer that works for you can be hard work, but protecting your Nissan doesn’t have to be, not with
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