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Read time: 4 minutes
Hi there, lessee. Curious about a lease buyout? Hopefully you don’t drive a Tesla.
Lease End loves buyouts, and not just because they’re our “thing.” They can be a great choice for lessees. Accessing your equity, qualifying for lower monthly payments, and scoring a good deal on a reliable used vehicle? It’s a no-brainer — and leasing companies know that. 
In 2022, when leased vehicle equity was drastically outpacing vehicle market value, some leasing companies and dealerships started to limit lease buyouts. Most either gave up or have since lifted the restrictions. But not Tesla.
Why?
Table of Contents:
What is a lease buyout?
Why does Tesla restrict buyouts?
What are my rights as a lessee?
How do I buy out?
What is a lease buyout?
Before we discuss Tesla’s motivations, let’s start with the basics.
Throughout a vehicle lease, the leasing company holds on to the car’s title, meaning they’re the legal owner. A lease buyout allows the lessee to purchase the vehicle from the leasing company and keep the car. (Want to learn more? Read here.)
If this purchase is financed with a lease buyout loan, the ex-lessee will just keep driving and making monthly payments on the vehicle. No more mileage restrictions, no more wear-and-tear fees, and no lease-end inspection.
Why does Tesla restrict buyouts?
In 2022, Tesla announced that drivers would no longer be able to purchase any leased vehicle delivered after April 15th of that year. And by “announced,” we mean they subtly changed the language on their lease-end-options page — largely leaving any affected lessees to discover and navigate the policy change themselves.
Lease End loves the drivers that work with us. We spend all day, every day thinking about how to make lease buyouts easier for you and anyone else with a lease.
Our team is made up of real people in Utah and Idaho. We've worked with every state DMV and every manufacturer we can. We care about our customers, so we've done the dirty work for you. Un-lease your car from the comfort of your home with the help of lease-end advisors who really care. (See what others have to say about Lease End, here.)
What’s so lucrative about leased cars?
Dealerships love returned leased cars. They’re three-year-old vehicles with a closely tracked maintenance history, driven by people terrified of mileage-overage fees or damage charges.
A used car in good condition may as well be made of gold these days. When dealerships get a car back at the end of a lease term, they can sell that car at a significant profit.
That’s all reason enough for dealerships to want your vehicle back. With Tesla’s high demand and specialized parts? They probably felt they had even more incentive than other leasing companies to restrict buyouts.
Imagine: Tesla, with Buyouts
Customers can lease a vehicle for a few years with a lower monthly payment than they’d likely pay to finance. The driver has already put a lot of equity, money, and time into the car and doesn’t need to switch cars entirely if they decide that they’re ready to purchase an electric vehicle (EV) at lease-end.
If the customer likes the vehicle, the car is in good shape, and the vehicle has retained a competitive market value (which is common for Teslas), buying out the car is a great deal. For the driver.
This also means that Tesla can’t re-sell the vehicle or mark it up. With their used vehicles afloat in the market or up for re-sale by consumers, Tesla has less control over “their” inventory and market prices. If someone can get a good deal on a bought-out Tesla, why go back to the Tesla dealership to get into another lease or buy a new car?
The Reality: Tesla, without Buyouts
Tesla retains control of their inventory and pricing. Customers who might have leased for the lower monthly payments, hoping to buy out and maintain lower monthly costs (through someone like Lease End) are now forced to keep leasing endlessly or make a purchase. Lessees are unable to build equity in their leased vehicles, too – turning Tesla’s leasing program into something like a more complicated, more expensive car rental service.
What are my rights as a lessee?
If you don’t drive a Tesla, first off – congrats on your lease-purchase option!
As long as your Lease Agreement allows for it, you can buy out your leased car. You should also be able to buy it out based on a locked-in residual value.
The equity you’ve been building in the car? It belongs to you, and you can access that with a buyout. And once you purchase the car, it’s all yours. No mileage restrictions, maintenance restrictions, or wear-and-tear restrictions.
How do I buy out?
Ready to stick it to your Tesla-driving neighbors? Buy out your EV (or any other car….except a Tesla) with Lease End and escape the leasing cycle.
These are some of the benefits of a buyout with Lease End.
- Owning a vehicle (and the right to re-sell, if you want)
- Continued coverage with Ally
- Skipping the dealership hassle (we’ll talk to them for you)
- No mileage limit
- No cosmetic restrictions (beyond local laws or restrictions)
- No maintenance restrictions
- No wear-and-tear inspection
- No DMV trip
- No shopping around for auto loans
- No down payment
- No loan payment for 45 days
Plus, the average monthly payment for a lease buyout through Lease End is $481.59. Compare that to the national average new monthly car loan payment in Q1 2024 for borrowers with the best credit: $723.
Vehicle prices rose during the pandemic and just haven’t let up – especially on used vehicles. If you’re leasing and ready to keep a good thing going with the car you already drive, consider a lease buyout. No turnover, no dealership upselling, and you may even lower your monthly car payment.
Learn more at leaseend.com, speak with a lease-end expert at (888) 307-5197, or get started below.
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