A different car purchasing question

[sam_gordon]

Have you looked online to see what the value is specific to her car? She can print out the "offer" and bring it with her. Say, the offer is 4K more than what her buyback is. They might offer to split the equity and credit her 2K towards a new lease or purchase. Win-win for a few minutes effort.

If the dealer says no, she can sell the car online (there are several large companies that do this) and get a check when it is picked up and use to the proceeds to pay off the lease and keep the profit. She can then go to the dealer and either buy or lease another car.

We've done both. Why would you ask for opinions, if saving a few thousand dollars isn't the goal?

Where did you get "saving a few thousand dollars" as the goal?

I don't know the trim of the car she has. I just know she said she doesn't need "all the bells and whistles" that are on it. So getting an accurate value is going to be difficult.

And I'm still trying to understand what you're suggesting... buy out the lease, then sell the car and hope the amount it's sold for covers the amount of the buyout? Her lease doesn't expire until July. Not sure an offer given now will make much of a difference.

 

[sam_gordon]

If the title is set up as transfer upon death the title should be able to be transferred with the presentation of the accompanying death certificate to the department of motor vehicles. The car would never be part of the estate. It's the same as any other payable or transferable upon death asset.

I thought the title was in the dealership's name with a lease.

 

[thanxfornoticin]

If the dealer says no, she can sell the car online (there are several large companies that do this) and get a check when it is picked up and use to the proceeds to pay off the lease and keep the profit. She can then go to the dealer and either buy or lease another car.

That's not how leases work. The bank/lease company holds the title, and the person paying for the lease can't sell the car while it's being leased.

 

[sam_gordon]

Well, maybe you and your sister need to step in with some advice, assuming your sister is of the same mindset as you. I was my mom's only child and she rarely did anything regarding her house or car without consulting me. She didn't always take my advice.......she didn't buy the Cadillac like I suggested. But after driving Buicks for 16years, she came to love driving and parking a much smaller car.

But I don't even know what MY advice is. Hence the thread.

 

[sam_gordon]

I was just going to say this! My MIL passed away a few months ago. She was 83; a widow since 2017; still lived independently in the home she and her husband built 50+ years ago; drove somewhere several times a week (she lived in the middle of nowhere so it was a 5-10 mile drive to get to her doctors, grocery store, etc. so it wasn't like she was just driving a few blocks); and still volunteered at several places. Her death was sudden and unexpected (massive heart attack about an hour after returning home from a social event). At the funeral, we had *several* people mention that her driving the last 6+ months had been bad. Her friends said they had stopped letting her drive them anywhere several months before her death. They said she just wasn't alert enough and would run red lights, pull out in front of people, and often drift across the center line. Now, we have no idea why these friends didn't mention this to any of her kids. She lived in a very small town where everyone knows everyone and they definitely knew how to get in touch with at least 3 of the kids. She had children living 2, 5, and 10 miles away from her, and someone checked in with her by phone/text or in person every day. Yet none of them ever thought about having her drive them anywhere to make sure her driving skills were still at a safe level. We were all really thankful that she didn't cause an accident at any time and that her heart attack happened while she was in her home and not while she was driving.

So, OP, my suggestion is that before your mom leases or purchases a car, either you or your sister should pay her a visit and figure out an inconspicuous way to have her drive you somewhere while you're there. Another thing to consider is if her (hopefully) future move has her moving to another state, she might have to provide medical documentation that she is still capable of driving (it varies by state) before getting her driver's license in that state. Would a doctor support her continuing to drive? I know it's really tough to have this type of a conversation with an aging parent, but it really does need to happen. My siblings and I had to do this with my mom when she was in her early 80's. She didn't want to give up driving. We didn't think she should be driving at all (she had several health issues) but she didn't agree. We compromised (short of taking her keys) and said she could drive to the grocery store and drug store (both just a few blocks away and all on streets that were 35 mph or lower -- most were 25 mph) but one of us would drive her to any doctor appointments as her doctors were all 5-8 miles away and required highway driving. She was fine with that, but after a few months (and 4 months before she passed away) she said she didn't think she should be driving at all and gave her keys to my sister. We're sure *something* happened that made her change her mind. There were no dents or scratches on the car so it was either a near miss or maybe a situation where she couldn't remember where she was going or how to get there. Whatever it was, we're thankful no one else was involved.

First, I'm sorry for your loss.

I do respect the thought. I'm not seeing how it would work in our situation though. Whenever family is in town, the family member will drive Mom's car. It would be very weird saying "Mom, you drive".

I'm pretty sure when she goes out with friends, they drive (or she meets them there).

 

[easyas123]

I say, at 82 - let your Mother get whatever car she wants.
Is it safe? Is she a capable driver who should be on the road? Can she or you afford it? If those questions come up as a yes then I'd humor her and help her get the 'new' car she wants. Why not at this point?
Just my 2 cents.

 

[sam_gordon]

I say, at 82 - let your Mother get whatever car she wants.
Is it safe? Is she a capable driver who should be on the road? Can she or you afford it? If those questions come up as a yes then I'd humor her and help her get the 'new' car she wants. Why not at this point?
Just my 2 cents.

And that's what I usually do. The only reason this time is different is she asked for my opinion. If it's me, I'm buying out the lease and running the car until it dies.

However, there are definite positives to leasing/buying a new car for her.

 

[thanxfornoticin]

And that's what I usually do. The only reason this time is different is she asked for my opinion. If it's me, I'm buying out the lease and running the car until it dies.

However, there are definite positives to leasing/buying a new car for her.

Sorry - you've been getting a lot of commentary here. But one more thing to consider. If you assist with another 3-year lease, which she seems to be comfortable with - you then have an end date in 2028 where she's not going to have a car again - and then she might be ready for the conversation about not owning a car any longer. If she buys a car, she has no obvious reason to stop driving....

Again, sorry. But you've asked for opinions!!

 

[cabanafrau]

I thought the title was in the dealership's name with a lease.

My comments were in regard's to another posters comments regarding a vehicle that was purchased, not leased, but left in limbo when the owner passed and family lived in a different state. It was impossible getting insurance in decedent's home state and a transfer to family's state of residence required a time period of months before things could be transferred and insurance obtained.

Obviously you cannot pass on title of a car you do not own.

 

[sam_gordon]

Sorry - you've been getting a lot of commentary here. But one more thing to consider. If you assist with another 3-year lease, which she seems to be comfortable with - you then have an end date in 2028 where she's not going to have a car again - and then she might be ready for the conversation about not owning a car any longer. If she buys a car, she has no obvious reason to stop driving....

Again, sorry. But you've asked for opinions!!

That's a good point.

I'm sort of now leaning toward her leasing another vehicle. Gets her a new car in the size she wants and presumably in the payments she wants. The lease payments would be less than a loan (assuming), so even if the estate has to payout the remainder of the lease, it would be less than the remainder of the loan.

 

[_19disnA]

Some of the prior remarks are getting jumbled when someone jumps into the middle of an existing conversation. You can't sell a car you don't own (regardless of being a lease or something you financed). The title only becomes yours once the vehicle has been paid off, regardless of how you chose to pay for it. Rules may also vary by state so whether you can even pre-arrange to 'assign' a title to someone else after the person's death is something you should check with that state's DMV. Some states probably don't look favorably at what amounts to a scheme to avoid paying an inheritance tax.

I would suspect most things someone owns become part of their estate when they die and the will is the main document dealing with the distribution of their possessions.

 

[cabanafrau]

I would suspect most things someone owns become part of their estate when they die and the will is the main document dealing with the distribution of their possessions.

Actually a great deal of assets bypasses probate without a will -- most often this is seen with spouses, but people also specifically deed homes and other real property specifically to move it to the possession of their desired beneficiary when they pass, bank accounts are titled jointly or payable upon death all the time, 401ks and IRAs have beneficiaries, etc.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

I wouldn't lease another vehicle at her age because of the length of the lease and the uncertainty surrounding both her driving abilities in the next several years and truthfully life.

I don't remember what age my grandmother's car was removed from her possession due to her driving abilities but it was before the age the OP's mom was. It was after she crashed into a school bus after getting lost and ending up way way way out of where she should be in a not so nice part of the metro. It unfortunately can happen more suddenly than we'd like.

The lease term paperwork might spell out what occurs in the death of the lessee, after all you could die in an auto accident. I haven't checked ours TBH but there was a decent amount of paperwork we had. We only leased in 2023 because the interest rates were not logical to purchase a vehicle at the time.

That would only leave the option of buying out the lease or purchasing a different used vehicle (more because there were slight issues with the existing car in terms of comfort).

 

[VandVsmama]

OK. Can you explain why?

Because after she dies, it's going to be royal hassle for whoever is the executor of her estate.

Because if the car is still in a lease OR if the car has a loan on it, you can't just change the title of the car to somebody else. The lease has to be paid out or the loan has to be paid off out of whatever remains in her estate.

AND since that essentially would be a debt that has to be paid, the debt will need to be paid off before any cash or other assets are distributed to people listed in her will and/or estate documents.

If it's a vehicle she owns outright, then the process after she dies becomes a lot simpler.

Plus...
You should consider the possibility that what will you do when she becomes infirmed enough that she can no longer drive? The lease payments will need to continue. Even though she won't be driving.

 

[unrequited23]

I've been out of the car market since 2019, so I might have no sense of pricing these days...but if she were planning on buying out the lease for 24K, I assume your mom has the money on hand to do so. I would turn in the leased car and use the 24K to buy a used car in cash that suits her needs.

 

[sam_gordon]

I've been out of the car market since 2019, so I might have no sense of pricing these days...but if she were planning on buying out the lease for 24K, I assume your mom has the money on hand to do so. I would turn in the leased car and use the 24K to buy a used car in cash that suits her needs.

I think she would do a loan for the $24k, not purchase it with cash on hand.

This is one reason I don't like leases. You've spent all that money for 'x' years and have nothing to show for it. If you buy a car, even with a loan, you have some equity to work with to get your next vehicle.

 

[PollyannaMom]

If I were your mom, I would probably buy out the lease rather than learn a new vehicle. (And a higher vehicle is actually easier for my 80-ish Dad to get in and out of than a lower, smaller one.)

But if she's used to leasing, used to getting a new car every three years, and really wants something smaller, I'd say lease again.

 

[MICKIMINI]

Where did you get "saving a few thousand dollars" as the goal?

I don't know the trim of the car she has. I just know she said she doesn't need "all the bells and whistles" that are on it. So getting an accurate value is going to be difficult.

And I'm still trying to understand what you're suggesting... buy out the lease, then sell the car and hope the amount it's sold for covers the amount of the buyout? Her lease doesn't expire until July. Not sure an offer given now will make much of a difference.

Go to carvana.com and you can put in her vin # or license plate # and get an offer. There are plenty of other sites online. The information is what you want. Is the car worth more than the buyback? If so, she can bring the offer (print it out) to the dealer and see if they will match it (give her the difference towards new lease). Checking now will give her and you preliminary information for July. With new tariffs on cars, steel and aluminum potentially coming it will be smart to check again a month before the lease is up.

Just going to the dealer and handing over the keys and getting another lease with (potentially) money on the table every three years is unfortunate. It sounds like this happened three years ago when used car prices were wildly over buyback prices. I'd hate for her to lose money this time.

Good luck.

 

[MICKIMINI]

That's not how leases work. The bank/lease company holds the title, and the person paying for the lease can't sell the car while it's being leased.

Yes, I've done it before. You arrange with the lease bank. I made several thousand each time.

 

[sam_gordon]

Go to carvana.com and you can put in her vin # or license plate # and get an offer. There are plenty of other sites online. The information is what you want. Is the car worth more than the buyback? If so, she can bring the offer (print it out) to the dealer and see if they will match it (give her the difference towards new lease). Checking now will give her and you preliminary information for July. With new tariffs on cars, steel and aluminum potentially coming it will be smart to check again a month before the lease is up.

Just going to the dealer and handing over the keys and getting another lease with (potentially) money on the table every three years is unfortunate. It sounds like this happened three years ago when used car prices were wildly over buyback prices. I'd hate for her to lose money this time.

Good luck.

Thank you! That's the kind of information I'm looking for.