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Lease Buyout Data Methodology
Published 9/29/26
When we publish a number about lease buyouts, whether it's a typical payoff amount, how much equity drivers have at lease end, or how buyout costs differ by state, you should know exactly where it came from. This page explains the sources behind our reports, how we handle that data, and why we're in a position to report on lease buyouts in the first place.
Why Lease End Can Speak to Lease Buyout Data
Lease buyouts are all we do. Since we started Lease End, we've helped drivers complete more than 65,000 lease buyouts across all 50 states. Along the way, we've worked with almost every leasing company, every major manufacturer's finance arm, and every state DMV.
That volume matters, but what matters more is where we sit in the transaction. Most sources that report on car leasing see one slice of it: a dealer sees the sale, a lender sees the loan, a valuation guide sees market prices. We handle the whole buyout from start to finish, including:
- The payoff: requesting and verifying the official payoff amount from the leasing company
- The vehicle's value: comparing that payoff to what the car is worth on today's market
- The financing: securing a loan through our lending partners, including Ally Bank, Capital One, and TD Bank
- Taxes and fees: calculating sales tax, title, and registration costs, which vary by state
- Title and registration: processing paperwork with the DMV so the car is legally in the driver's name
Because we see every one of those steps, our data reflects what lease buyouts cost in practice, not estimates of what they might cost.
Where Our Data Comes From
1. Completed Lease End buyout transactions
Our primary source is our own transaction records. Every buyout we complete produces verified data points: the leasing company, vehicle year, make, and model, the payoff amount, the vehicle's market value at the time of purchase, loan terms, and state-level taxes and fees. When a report says "Lease End data," this is what it refers to.
2. Lender payoff quotes
Payoff amounts come directly from the leasing companies holding the lease, not from customer estimates or contract math. A payoff quote reflects the residual value plus any remaining payments, fees, and adjustments the lender applies, so it's the most accurate record of what a driver must pay to buy their car.
3. Vehicle valuation guides
To measure equity (the difference between what a car is worth and what's owed on it), we compare payoff amounts against recognized industry valuation sources such as Kelley Blue Book, J.D. Power, and Black Book. These guides track wholesale and retail pricing across millions of vehicle sales.
4. Public and third-party industry data
When a report needs market-wide context, like overall used car prices, lease volume, or auto loan rates, we draw on public and third-party sources such as Experian, Cox Automotive, and government data. We cite these sources by name wherever they appear in a report, so you can tell our internal data apart from outside data.
How We Prepare the Data
Raw transaction data isn't useful until it's cleaned and put in context. Before we publish, we:
- Anonymize everything. We strip names, addresses, VINs, and account details before any analysis. We only publish aggregated figures, never individual transactions.
- Use completed transactions. Unless a report says otherwise, we base figures on buyouts that closed, not quotes or applications that didn't finish.
- State the time frame. Payoffs, vehicle values, and interest rates change constantly, so every report lists the date range it covers.
- Choose the right measure. A handful of high-value vehicles can skew an average, so we use medians where they give a truer picture and note which measure we used.
- Require a meaningful sample. We don't publish a breakdown (such as a single state or leasing company) unless there are enough transactions behind it to be reliable.
- Review before release. Our team checks figures against source records before a report goes live.
Data Security and Privacy
Lease End is SOC 2 compliant, which means independent auditors have reviewed how we store, access, and protect customer information. The data behind our reports is handled under those same controls. Nothing we publish can be traced back to an individual customer.
Limits of Our Data
We want our data to be useful, which means being clear about what it does and doesn't represent:
- It reflects drivers who bought out their lease through Lease End, not every lease buyout in the U.S.
- Valuation guides are estimates. A specific car's value can differ based on condition, mileage, options, and local demand.
- Payoff amounts change daily as payments are made and interest or fees accrue. Our figures are historical, not a quote for your vehicle.
- Market conditions shift. A figure from one year may not hold the next, which is why we date every report.
If you want to know what your own buyout would look like, the most accurate number is your current payoff quote compared against your car's value today. We can pull that for you in a few minutes.
Citing Our Data
Journalists, researchers, and publishers are welcome to reference our reports. Please credit "Lease End" and link to the original report page. For custom data requests, clarification on a specific figure, or interview requests, contact our team at press@leaseend.com.
Susan Lake
August 23, 2026
Buying out my lease on my own had me…
Buying out my lease, on my own, had me going through many hurdles and obstacles. The leaseholder, Genesis Finance, said I had to get the buyout information from a dealer. The dealer provided me with a written buyout that my bank found unacceptable, plus I would have to deal with all the motor vehicle department transactions, so I decided to try Lease End. Amazing within a couple of hours everything was done barely lifting a finger to send photos of our driver's license, insurance card, and registration. They arranged the financing with a lender well known to me, as I already have some banking relationships with, at a rate better than I was entertaining from my credit union. They got all the information directly from Genesis finance and handled all the motor vehicle paperwork. All I had to do was Auto sign the loan agreement online. The service was outstanding everyone that I dealt with, which were few, were amazing, confident, courteous, friendly and efficient. What an incredible experience couldn't ask for more. Everything taken care of just like that. I still have trouble believing it was so easy.