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Email template to ask for a lease buyout quote on your leased car

Your lease is ending, or you have decided you would rather keep the car than turn it in, and you want to know what buying it costs. A lease buyout is the purchase of the car you have been leasing, at the price set in your lease contract plus whatever fees and taxes apply. The number in your contract is the residual value, the amount the leasing company predicted the car would be worth at lease end. If used cars are selling for more than that, buying your own car is a bargain. The catch is that a dealer handling the buyout may add a purchase-option fee, a documentation fee, or extras that were never in your contract. Asking for the full figure in writing lets you see every line before you agree to anything.

Before you send

  • Your lease contract, with the residual value, the purchase-option fee if one is listed, and the lease-end date. Have your account number ready.
  • Whether you want to buy directly from the leasing company or through a dealer. Some leasing companies require you to go through a dealer; check your contract or call them first.
  • How you will pay: cash, a loan from your bank or credit union (often cheaper than dealer financing for a lease buyout), or the dealer's financing.
  • A quick check of what your car is worth today from a free online estimator or a couple of dealer offers, so you know whether the buyout is a good deal.
  • Your zip code, since sales tax on the buyout depends on your state and in some states you may have already paid tax on part of the car's value during the lease.
Subject Lease buyout quote, [year make model], account [account number] 
Hi [leasing company or dealer name],

I'm leasing a [year make model], VIN [VIN], under account number [account number]. The lease ends on [lease-end date] and I'd like to buy the car.

Could you send me a written buyout quote with the total I'd pay, broken down into:

- The current payoff or residual amount
- Any purchase-option fee or other fees from my lease agreement
- Documentation or processing fees, if any
- Sales tax and title and registration for zip code [your zip code]

Please also let me know how long the quote is good for and whether I can complete the purchase directly with you or need to go through a dealer. I plan to pay with [cash / a loan from my own lender / financing through you], and I'd like to finish this before [date].

Thanks,
[Your name]
[Your phone number]

Everything in brackets is yours to fill in. Keep the rest as it is or change the tone to match how you write.

After you send

  • The leasing company's payoff letter is the number that matters. If a dealer's quote is higher than that plus tax and registration, ask what each extra line is for and whether it is in your lease contract.
  • A dealer may say the buyout is "not available" or push you toward a new lease instead. Ask them to confirm that in writing, then contact the leasing company directly.
  • Compare the buyout total with your car's current market value. If the car is worth more, buying and even reselling it can make sense. If it is worth much less, turning it in may be the better move.
  • If the quote arrives with an extended warranty, protection package or financing you did not ask for, reply asking for the buyout total with those removed.

Or don't send it yourself

Forward the job to myagent@standinfor.me and let StandIn run the whole thread.

StandIn is an email assistant that handles conversations with businesses for you. You write it one email saying what you need. It writes to the business, waits for the answer, follows up when they go quiet, pushes back on the number when it should, and brings the results back to your inbox for you to decide. You don't need to install an app or sign up. The first email you send is already the start of the task.

Hand this to StandIn opens an email to myagent@standinfor.me with the job already written out

To myagent@standinfor.me Subject Get me a buyout quote on my leased car 
Hi StandIn,

I'd like you to get a full, written lease buyout quote on my car and tell me whether it's a good deal.

The car: [year make model, VIN].
The lease: [leasing company, account number, lease-end date, residual value and purchase-option fee from my contract].
Who to contact: [leasing company email / the dealer I leased from].
My zip code: [zip code].
How I'll pay: [cash / my own lender / dealer financing].
When I want this done: [date].

Get the payoff letter from the leasing company and the buyout quote from the dealer, compare them line by line, question any fee that isn't in my contract, and tell me the final number and whether it beats what the car is worth today.

Thanks,
[Your name]

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