Tips on Buying Cars: Just got company car, need to get rid of one of our cars, mileage limit, mile lease

Question
Hi Jeff,

I just read your response to another reader about trading in two cars for one.  My husband and I are in the same dilemma, as I just took a job where I will be provided a company car.  However, ours is a little different, in that one of our cars is leased and we have already gone way over the "allowed" miles on it. The other car is financed.  Our main concern is just trying to reduce our monthly payment to one note.  What would you advise?  Thanks for your time and help.

Answer
It sounds like you'd prefer to get out of the lease vehicle early, but that could prove to be expensive. If you're already "waay" over the total allowed mileage limit, then you're "waaaaaaaaaay" over the miles you're allowed at this point. If you read the lease contract, you'll see that you're REALLY allowed so many miles per month; the total miles allowed only comes into play at the end of the lease. Let's say you've got a 36-month/ 36,000-mile lease, you're 20 months into the lease, and you're already at 45,000 miles. You're not 9,000 miles over (45,000 less the total 36,000 allowed), but 25,000 miles over.  You're allowed 1,000 miles per month if you turn it in early, so you'd have to be at 20,000 miles right now to turn it in without incurring a mileage penalty. My advice: park the lease car, sell the other car if you don't owe more than it's worth, pick up the cheapest used car you can find, and drive that until the lease runs out.  Yes, you'll have to still pay a mileage penalty, but hopefully it will be less, and you pay for miles whether you lease or buy. What do I mean by that? Simple: a dealer looks at 2 identical 2003 Ford Taurus that are being traded in. The only difference is that one has 20,000 miles, and the other has 60,000 on the odometer.  Which customer is going to get the better trade-in value? The one with 20,000 miles, of course. Don't think that just because you leased the car is why the mileage is costing you money; it's just a pill that's more bitter to swallow because the cost is spelled out in a lease contract and the numbers are so final. But we ALL pay for mileage, whether we lease or buy.