The EV Lease LOOPHOLE: Save up to $6,500 on a RAV4 Prime or other EV's
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 9 ก.พ. 2025
- In this video I discuss how to save up to $7,500 using the EV Lease Loophole.
Reddit Lease Buyout Retrospective - / lease_buyout_retrospec...
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This is brilliant! Just found out today a RAV4 Prime is being delivered to dealer for us. Will be buying one within the week. Planning on car loan but intrigued by this. Not sure you mentioned it, but I believe sales tax would have to be paid on both sales (the lease and the buyout) so that would eat into potential savings doing this. But will definitely look into this if we can save some $$$.
That's a common misconception. But good luck. So happy you've found one. It's a great car. We love it.
@@GoldenK9Campers Is the misconception about paying two sales taxes? I had read somewhere you have to pay two sales taxes but that doesn't make sense. Sounds like we would just pay one sales tax, when we do the lease buyout. If this all works out, I'll keep you posted! Thanks for spreading the word!
@@gkclevinner7461 When you do the lease, you don't pay sales tax, as sales tax is rolled into your regular lease payment. When you payoff the lease, typically you pay sales tax when you register your car, in some states Toyota Financial Services collects the sales tax when you do the buyout.
This worked for me, saved the $6,500 on a '24 Prime SE (Oregon). Talked to two different dealers about this strategy, both acted like they'd never heard of it and tried to discourage pursuing it. I realize now they had no incentive to support it, so no point in asking them about it. But I took the leap and it was surprisingly easy with no complications, just called Toyota a few days after leasing and the rest was as described, completed in 30 days. Thank you so much Darrell!
Ah, that's awesome. Congrats to you !!
Can you please disclose which dealership you purchased from?
Kendall Toyota in Eugene, OR
Got the lease buyout paperwork from Toyota. Cost of car after one lease payment of $725 is $40,350. Estimated amount I saved over buying the car new which I was about to do is $5,700 . That's not chump change. Very much appreciate knowing about this! Thanks for letting peeps know!
Thanks so much for sharing. So glad I could help. Very gratifying. Have fun with the Prime.. it's a great car !!
Can you request for this before leasing the car?
@@HDMOVIECREATOR2012 Possibly. I didn't say anything about it to the dealer for fear of them thwarting it. I'm guessing they don't like losing their leasees since they don't make as much money when you do the buyout
@@gkclevinner7461 Did you have to pay taxes twice since you have to do the lease and then buyout? And, is the lease price going to be pretty much the buyout price?
Thanks!
@@HDMOVIECREATOR2012 You only pay the sales tax once, when you do the buyout. The lease price was pretty close to the buyout price.
what a nice dude sharing all these details with everyone!
It's so gratifying when i'm able to help folks save some money. Especially when they also get such a great car. We luv r prime !! Thanks dude!!
Thanks for this and your other videos. I just exercised the purchase option for my lease following the guidance you provided. I did this in 6 days after taking delivery of the Rav Prime. It saved me almost $6,000. I live in Arizona, but drove to San Diego, primarily due to availability of the car I wanted.
That's so awesome. Thanks for sharing your experience. The Prime is such a great automobile. Have fun with it. Sport mode in Auto/EV is best !!
Leased a white r4p se today. No moonroof and just a few add-ons attached which is a rare thing around here. Probably one of the last of this type I'm guessing. 6038 cap reduction for 40694 total cost. Lease was almost identical to the op of the reddit thread linked to here. Will report back once everything is finalized. Much appreciation for the this yt post which was how I found out about this great way to save some dough on a car I was about to buy!
You wont find many without the moonroof. Definitely lots of additional headroom.. score!! Yes, would love to hear how the lease payoff goes. Thanks so much for posting.
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Did it in MA and it worked well. Saved me at least $4,500 vs going with purchase option. Since we have vehicle taxes here in MA it is not as advantageous as some other states as you don't get a 'credit' on sales taxes when trading in a vehicle going with the immediate lease buyout. I would mention that some people have said you can 'pay down' lease up front taking money off the total capitalized cost of the lease and thereby reducing your tax liability when you buy it out. While you may be able to do that, it is highly risky before you actually own the vehicle as you could theoretically lose a portion or all of the down payment money if the car gets totaled as you don't own the car, the dealer does. So when you put money down to reduce the capitalized cost, you are basically paying down THE DEALER'S vehicle, not yours! One possible thing to be aware of. Similarly any other downpayment you pay on a lease would not be returned to you if you total the car. Also, you would not be able to make a down payment that exceeds the total value of the lease anyways, which is typically about 35-45% of the value of the MSRP of vehicle for a 36 month lease.
Great job. Thanks for sharing the advice on paying down the capitalized cost. Definitely not worth it!! Enjoy your PHEV.
People have asked about down payments on leases. An argument I've heard for minimizing the down payment is that if something catastrophic happens to the car (totaled, stolen) right away you want to have your personal equity in the car be as little as possible.
No benefit at all in a down payment if you're planning on buying out the lease.
We are in the process of buying ours out right now.
Good luck!! Definite way to go!! You’ll love the car!!😊
@GoldenK9Campers thanks. We do so far.. got it with premium package at 2500 under msrp. Sent buyout check today. Thanks for video!
@@Selahree Awesome !! Sounds like you made a great deal. Congrats. You'll love it!!
Thank you very much for the info and the video. After waiting for 2 years, a blue-print colored rav4 prime arrived. My closest dealer gets only 2 rav4s a year. I was debating whether purchasing or leasing the vehicle. The residual price in Michigan is $30,389. The dealer added all possible options, including the running boards and protection films, so the total cost of the car (w/o tax) is $54,266. I never thought of the early lease buyout. I will ask the dealer if it is possible option for me and who (the dealer or TFS) will be in charge of it. Thanks, again.
Your dealer won't want you to do this and might even lie (see other comments about this on the video). Good luck though. The blueprint is an awesome color for sure!!
Great info, I maybe doing this, how do we know what the Out the door price will be if we plan to get the lease discount and buyback the car right away. What I'm asking as I sit with the dealer and lease the car how do I make sure I'm seeing what the out the door price will be if I buy the car right after doing the lease?
Your dealer won't tell you the OTD price on a lease buyout and will tell you not to do this. It's in there best interest for you to not do it, as they don't get credit for finance/lease if you buy it out within 90 days. I go over what your lease buyout costs should be in the video, but ultimately you won't know the exact number until you get your buyout cost from Toyota Financial Services. Good luck.
@ I already mentioned it to the sales person at the dealership upfront, I'm waiting for the car to come in, so that's why I haven't completed the deal, but I left a deposit. They have been helpful with the process the salesman and he did say that they've done this before where people are doing it and buying it out right away so maybe they get a smaller commission, but they still must get a commission on the sale I assume.
@@jimcarbone7816 That's cool. You must have a good salesman. Good luck !! A number of folks have succesfully done this and have commented about it on this video. It'll save ya some bucks. And it's a great car. Love our's..
Cool to know. Will have to check if the lease deal is available in Illinois.
Good luck.
Thank you for the instructional video. Is there a reason why the process needs to complete with in certain number of days? Would it be okay to inform the dealer that you intent to buy out?
It's beneficial to complete as soon as possible to avoid additional rent payments for the car. If you let the dealer know you intend to do this, they will try to talk you out of it, or at least delay buying out for 90 days so they get credit for the lease.
@@GoldenK9Campers Thank you 🙏🏼 We wonder if all paper is signed for the lease and the vehicle hasn’t arrived home, can we still process the lease to buy-out process. Seems like objective is asap before 90 days. We also hope the lease cash offer will extend beyond 09.30.2024.
@@Stream-t8g I don't see why not. You need to wait until your information is in the TFS website, but when that is complete you should be abel to start the process.
Interesting observation. Rav4 Prime XSE are either sold out or cheapest available is priced at $53,000 at states with the lease cash program. States without lease cash program have on stock for about $48,000.
@@Stream-t8g Looks like Toyota Dealers might have caught on. That sucks.
I'm dealing with the A1 Toyota where you bought yours. Got one on hold but they are playing dumb when it comes to the lease. If they are right and I owe all 36 payments, it's more expensive than cash. At what point in the leasing deal to I get proof that a buyout can be executed at any point for the residual + depreciation + tax?
Yeah, not until you execute the lease and call TFS to get the buyout number. I'd recommend you perhaps message some folks on the reddit group I provided to get some reassurance. I haven't done it myself, was only providing information from the group. It is a little scary but a number of folks have sucessfully done this. I wish dealers were more transparent, but they really don't want you to do this until after 3 months, or they lose their commission from the lease.
@@GoldenK9Campers That sounds about right. I saw on another leasing loophole video that the dealer gave the buyer and additional $800 off to keep the lease for 3 months to avoid the chargeback. I borrowed your breakdown of Residual + Depreciation + tax to see if the dealer will comment on that but I feel they are discouraging the lease option. Maybe I should have thrown them a bone and offered to keep it a minimum number of months for a discount.
That sure would be interesting to hear their response.@@icydeadppl25
Sales guy still insists all payments due. Due to hammer things out with the sales manager tomorrow. Fingers crossed he shows me a leasing contract with no penalties.
@@GoldenK9Campers So I decided despite their objections to just do the straightforward lease. They were too busy to get it solved Thursday but I flew out anyway on Friday and Frank my sales person had everything setup. When I finally got in the sales office they waived the first payment and returned my $500 deposit. Same price and terms I was quoted/expecting. Spent the weekend enjoying the drive home and now I'm looking into the buyout. Will update to let you know how that goes.
Should I visit my DMV before exercising the purchase option, after, or both?? Thanks!
You should get temporary tags to drive it off the lot. Think they are usually for 30 days. To register your car you will need the title, and a couple of other documents I discuss in the video. If you don't get it done in time you might need to visit your DMV to get a movement permit, or talk to the dealer you leased it from to get an extension on the tag.
Hi again, it's now 6 days from when I bought my Rav4 Prime (Thank you). I called TFS and they provided me with a buyout amount, but without the sales tax, registration, etc fees. They told me to go to my DMV, I live in California. Is this normal? I looked into the Reddit you provided and the guy said he made a mistake of not including the sales tax in the cashier check to TFS. Please help, thank you!
All states are different. I’d just pay the sales tax at the dmv.. good luck!!
what state did you buy yours from? I'm in Utah and had contacted some CO dealers who said they were ONLY selling new Rav4P to CO residents and would not sell to out of state :/
That sucks.. I'd call some larger dealers in Colorado. I know Mountain States Toyota was selling out of state. They may have a waiting list though. Your best bet is California though probably. I bought mine from connecticut.. from Las Vegas.. this was when they were really hard to find.
My boss is in Utah and he just purchased from a Colorado dealer.
Should I put a down payment on the lease or just put my big down payment during the buyout? Please help, thank you!
I would not do a down payment. Just do the lease buyout.
Interesting concept. Did your dealer (contract writer) know you were planning on buying out the leas in a month or do you recommend not mentioning it? Great info, thanks!!
Really no need to mention it, as they'll just try and talk you out of it. They don't get a commission on the lease unless you make payments for at least 3 months.
I live in California, does this only apply to my California dealers?
Nope. California does have good availability of Prime's though. Check in markets outside of main population centers.
@@GoldenK9Campers They still lack of Prime. I checked 10 dealerships, they dont have the one I want
@@mafreymfc30 Don't be afraid to travel to get the one you want. Be patient.
@@GoldenK9Campers I checked with the dealership. I live in Bay Aea. They said they have lease and buy out too. ( save $6500) but they recommend to do 3 months and buy out. I have a question, since they will be $6,500 off. How much should I still negotiate the price with them ?
@@mafreymfc30 They're wanting you to wait 3 months so they get the commission. If you do it earlier, they don't get it. I mean, it doesn't affect you all that much, but you'll still lose out on your rent payment for that time you won't recover. You could use that as a negotiating tactic. Although, after you purchase thru a lease.. you can just do what you want with the buyout as the dealer is out of the picture. Good luck with your decision.
In the northeast, they are everywhere….i even got one discounted at $4k off msrp
Yep.. as I mentioned.. I heard they were even discounting XSE's with the Premium Package. With the discount and the lease incentive.. that's a nice bargain.
Thank you for the detailed breakdown! Is there any advantage or disadvantage to trading-in your current vehicle when you sign the initial lease agreement?
No real advantage or disadvantage. It will reduce your capitalized costs similar to a down payment. It just depends on what sort of deal you get when trading in your car. Most folks advocate selling yourself, but that can be a hassle. I'd shop your car around.. see what sort of deal you can get on the prime with whoever you are planning to purchase from, and then have them give you what they would give you on a trade-in. Then check with carvana, KBB, others to see what they will offer you. When I sold my 2017 Honda Accord, I went to multiple dealers, and ended up getting about 2,500 dollars more than the initial offer by just spending a couple of days shopping it around.
@@GoldenK9Campers Got it, thanks for the quick response!
@@summitapproach You bet. Good Luck. The Prime is absolutely awesome !!
I am planning to get one,Will you not pay the remaining lease amount + residual value when you buy out early? Can you please clarify
You pay the residual value + depreciation and taxes. Here's the point in the video where I talk about the buyout - th-cam.com/video/ygPJMF6e97c/w-d-xo.htmlsi=YAnd-iQ-bKso19Iz&t=1145
@@GoldenK9Campers Thank you so much.Appreciate your reply!!!!
@@anandajothimuttayane6042 should we do buyout only with cash or can we finance with some bank for buyout ?
Hey sir, I’m thinking of doing this with the Prius prime 4500 lease cash offer. The problem is I live in Florida. If I go out of state to buy it. Would I have to go into Florida dealer since I’m a resident of Florida in order to purchase outright? Or could I work with TFS?
My understanding, is if you buy from Florida and use South East Toyota Financial Services, then you are required to visit the dealer to do the buyout. If you buy from another state that doesn't use South East TFS, then you shouldn't have to visit the dealer. I would determine where you're going to purchase and then give TFS a call just to make sure.
I bought RAV4 Prime in Calif. and made 3 payments within 30 days after setting up account online with Toyota Financial Services.
Leased, received $ 6,500 off capitalized cost as mentioned in video!
When you buy out remaining amount so you own car, took 45 days from Toyota Financial to get pink slip.
You pay tax on sale when you go to DMV with pink slip you get from Toyota.
Then you have succeeded.
You own Car!!
Purchase was made in California.
Contact your insurance company immediately to advise them the car is now owned by you, no longer leased by/from Toyota!
You can add additional insurance coverage to have car replaced should accident cause car to be totaled!
Thanks for sharing your experience !!
Thank you for sharing. Could I ask if you negotiate the price as well since you get $6,500 off from lease and buy out ? And could I ask how much the final price ? I am looking for RAV4 Prime XSE with premium package. I live in Bay Area. They dont really have Pearl white color I want
Did you get GAP when you drove away from the dealer the day you signed the lease?
Does the down payment from the lease counts towards the buyout?
The larger the down payment, the larger the capatlized cost reduction which will in turn reduce the buyout amount.
Does anyone know if you add a trade in as part of this method if it’s possible to trade in your current car on the lease buyout step as opposed to the initial lease? I believe the tax savings would be greater but I haven’t been able to figure out if this is possible.
the lease buyout step is basically sending cash to Toyota Financial Services. So of course you can sell your car, or sell it to the dealer after you've done the deal. But that's about it as far as I can tell.
Does this lease and then buyout your own car put 2 owners history in Carfax?
I don't believe so. It's like you're just paying off a loan.
@@GoldenK9Campers Thank you, you are a life and money saver!
@@GoldenK9Campers do they subtract the lease cash discount before tax or after tax/sales/total? Thank you so much!
@@HDMOVIECREATOR2012 The cash discount comes off the capital cost, so before taxes.
At least in Colorado they're now calling this "lease cash".
Cool.. Thanks for sharing.
Shoot I live in Florida. I guess it doesn’t make a lot of sense if I have to go to the dealer. They’ll screw me over on the financing.
If you buy out the financing doesn't really matter.. but yeah, you won't save as much beacause of where you live.
Hey have you also got a LOOPHOLE for buying apartment buildings with no money down? 😂😂😂
Sorry.. Don't have a channel for that.. yet..
Now the Colorado dealer requires you to lease for at least 6 months before the buyout. Is this still a deal?
How can they enforce that. After you lease, you deal directly with TFS, not the dealer. Do you have to sign anything saying you won't buyout for 6 months? I'd go to a different dealer.
@@GoldenK9Campers I heard somewhere that mid-2024 things changed and you have to do the buying out through the (or, at least, a) dealership, not directly from TFS. This comment is the first I've heard of the 6 month requirement, though. I sure hope that's not true, since I'm just about to do the lease-with-intent-to-quickly-buy plan here in Colorado.
@@rogerscott529 Oh shoot.. just recommended you check out my lease loophole video. I hadn't heard things have changed. Let me know how it goes. Good luck.
@@GoldenK9Campers I texted the guy at the dealership asking if their leases have an early termination penalty. I'll let you know what I hear back. It better be "no", or I may have to restart my search.
@@GoldenK9Campers At least the dealership I'm working with (AutoNation Arapahoe) doesn't charge an early termination fee on their leases. The salesperson told me that one of his coworkers just bought out his lease after only 2-3 payments. That's a relief!
It sounds like Toyota is so greedy. They are stealing another 1000 dollars from the customers.
Good for them though allowing this to customers. Not all manufacturers do.
They're not obligated to pass a dime on to customers.
@@rogerscott529 agreed.
Um
So, and, basically, um, what's the point.
"Wheel and deal"?
What does this mean? What do I tell the guy? "I want to wheel and deal"? And then they just hand me a discount?
Gotta shop aroiund dude. If someone is not willing to play ball, just go to another dealer. It's a super tough time in the auto industry now. Toyota is still doing well, but there area deals to be had. Just be patient and look around.
These are not available, give me a break. Huge wait times.
They are available. You just have to look at different states. I could find one in 10 minutes.
Not true. I came across this channel because he had accurate buying advice after the google tracker died in 2022. I found 10 in stock in New Haven Connecticut where he bought his. It's on hold and we are negotiating right now.
Not true. They are VERY available in my state (MA) and I just leased one. There were 5 (XSE)’s available and a few SE’s. I live in a state that offers the lease incentive so I was able to lease a brand new (2024) Prime XSE and my lease payment as compared to the ‘21 R4P Hybrid Limited I traded back is a few dollars different. Excellent deal and pain free.
@@adeleferguson663 Thanks for backing me up. Silly Trolls. Congrats on the new ride.. you're gonna love it !
They can be. Depends where you are. Got mine in 1 month I Seattle. Lucked out really.
Sorry you lost me at calling a RAV4 beautiful. They certainly are not
I like mine. Beauty is subjective for sure. You should watch my GTR videos maybe.
They certainly are more than just beautiful
@@onurguven35 Couldn't agree more.
If Rav4 were not beautiful, they wouldn't be the best selling car in America for consecutive years!
@@djaztec97the F series is the best selling car in the US.
Safe to say that buyers like the longevity, reliability, dependability, and strong resale values.
Toyota also sold lots of Prius’s and they were (and still are) hideous.
I’m not saying the RAV4 isn’t a good car (it clearly is!) I’m just saying imo that is far from “beautiful”. Toyota just isn’t known for designing beautiful cars - even across the whole Japanese market they are more known for ‘purposeful’ and quirky car designs than beautiful.
Mazda are doing the best with their designs at the moment, out of the Japanese brands.