Since when did leasing a car add up to money in your pocket? Well, since COVID, apparently, because if you leased a vehicle from the 2019 model year, it's now worth an average of $7K more than automakers projected it would be worth back then.
According to an Edmunds market analysis, the average leased 2019 vehicle is worth $7,208 more today than the residual value in the lease — and in case you didn't know, the residual value is the price that you have a right to buy the car for at the end of the lease. So, if your lease is about to expire, you can buy the car and likely resell it at a handsome profit. And even if you've got months left on your lease, you might be able to get a lease buyout that still leaves you comfortably in the black.
Top 25 leased cars: Residual value vs. trade-in value
Here are the top 25 leased vehicles from the 2019 model year that have higher trade-in values now than residual values. The vehicles are ordered by the percent difference between today's trade-in value and the original residual value.
Leased Vehicles With the Greatest Difference in 2022 Trade-in Value vs. Original Estimated Residual Value
(2019 model year, sorted by Difference in Percent)