On average, the average 3-year old leased car is worth 31.5% more than its residual value.
That works out to roughly $7,019 more than indicated on the lease contract.
There was a time when the math didn’t add up. Leasing a new car to then buy it would typically end up costing far more than simply initially financing it. The times, they are weird and changing. If you drive a Volkswagen Tiguan or Dodge Charger, for example, your payday might be just around the bend.
The current new and used market has been turned on its ear because of pandemic-related complications. For some, the situation has caused many headaches due to production and delivery delays while, for others, the news might be very good.
iSeeCars has analyzed nearly 10 million used car sales and come up with the following list of vehicles that are worth considerably more than the indicated end-of-lease buy-back amount.
On average, they’ve discovered that the average 3-year-old used car is worth 31.5% or $7,019 more than its residual value estimated at the beginning of its leasing term. Curious to see if your ride’s on the list? Here are the top 15 potential money-makers:
| Leased Cars to Buy Back and Sell for the Highest Profit – iSeeCars Study | |||
| Rank | Vehicle | $ Market Value Increase Over Predicted Value | % Market Value Increase Over Predicted Value |
| 1 | Volkswagen Tiguan | $8,677 | 61.3% |
| 2 | Dodge Charger | $11,806 | 55.9% |
| 3 | Chevrolet Camaro | $12,346 | 52.9% |
| 4 | Nissan Altima | $6,228 | 49.4% |
| 5 | Volkswagen Passat | $6,400 | 49.3% |
| 6 | Chrysler 300 | $8,084 | 49.2% |
| 7 | Nissan LEAF | $6,167 | 48.3% |
| 8 | Chevrolet Malibu | $6,392 | 48.2% |
| 9 | Hyundai Elantra | $5,319 | 47.9% |
| 10 | Mazda MAZDA6 | $7,193 | 46.8% |
| 11 | Kia Forte | $4,913 | 46.7% |
| 12 | Jeep Compass | $7,163 | 46.4% |
| 13 | Jeep Cherokee | $7,418 | 46.3% |
| 14 | Nissan Versa | $3,961 | 46.1% |
| 15 | Ford Expedition | $15,830 | 45.8% |
| Overall Average | $7,019 | 31.5% | |
