A 2023 Toyota Camry, similar to the vehicle reportedly driven 223,000 miles during a three-year lease | Image by CarProThere are leased cars, and then there’s whatever this was. Lots of Car Pro Show listeners sent this story to me, and I can see why. I’ve certainly never heard one quite like this.According to a report from the website The Drive, a Wisconsin rideshare driver turned in a three-year Toyota Camry lease after piling an astonishing 223,000 miles on the odometer. That’s not a typo. The driver averaged more than 74,000 miles per year, or roughly 200-plus miles every single day.If you’ve ever leased a vehicle, you already know why this story caught fire online. Most leases are written for 10,000 to 15,000 miles annually. Even “high mileage” leases generally top out around 20,000 miles a year. Go over that limit, and you normally pay a penalty for every extra mile, often 20 to 30 cents each.AdvertisementAdvertisementDo the math on this Camry and the mileage penalties alone could’ve been enough to buy another nice used car.But here’s where the story gets interesting.According to The Drive story, the customer avoided what could have been a crushing over-mileage bill by exercising the lease buyout option at the end of the term. The dealer reportedly offered to purchase the Camry back for slightly less than the residual value, and the customer simply wrote a check for the difference and walked away.That’s not a loophole exactly, but it is a reminder that lease contracts can work differently than many consumers think. I’ve told thousands of people that if they buy their leased car, miles, wear and tear, broken glass, wreck damage, hail, none of it matters!AdvertisementAdvertisementAt the end of most leases, you typically have three choices: turn the vehicle in, buy it yourself for the predetermined residual value, or sometimes trade it. In this case, buying the car and then selling it back apparently made far more financial sense than paying mileage penalties directly.And honestly, there’s another part of this story that impressed me.The vehicle in question was a Toyota Camry SE, not a heavy-duty pickup, not a diesel workhorse, and certainly not some million-mile legend from the 1980s. Just a midsize family sedan doing rideshare duty day after day after day. Yet it apparently survived 223,000 miles in only three years well enough to still have value. That says something about modern reliability, especially when it comes to Toyota sedans that are often used for Uber and Lyft service. It also says a lot about Toyota resale value and the super strong used car market right now.Now before anybody gets ideas, let me save you some trouble: this is not a strategy I’d recommend. Ever.AdvertisementAdvertisementLease agreements are carefully written documents, and mileage penalties are real. Most people who drive that far over their limits would be staring at a financial disaster at lease-end. Used vehicle values, residual calculations, and dealer buyout offers all have to line up perfectly for something like this to work out.Besides, driving 223,000 miles in three years sounds exhausting. That’s enough seat time to memorize every Buc-ee’s billboard between Dallas and Nashville.Still, there’s a broader takeaway here for consumers.People lease because they like lower monthly payments, warranty coverage, and getting a newer vehicle every few years. But many drivers never fully understand the lease-end options available to them, including the possibility of buying the vehicle outright if the numbers make sense. Don’t forget, I have a whole leasing section on my FAQ page.AdvertisementAdvertisementDuring the pandemic, thousands of consumers actually made money at lease-end because used car prices skyrocketed above residual values. That unusual market created positive equity in leased vehicles, something that historically was fairly rare, but I am still seeing it today. Worst case, most people coming out of leases right now are at breakeven.This Camry story is an extreme example, but it highlights an important truth: before turning in any leased vehicle, always compare the residual buyout price against the actual market value. You may discover your leased vehicle is worth more than you think.And one more thing.If you’re putting 75,000 miles a year on a car, leasing probably isn’t your best option anyway. At that point, you don’t need a lease. You need a fuel card, a chiropractor, and a good mechanic.Jerry Reynolds is the host of The Car Pro Show, president of the Car Pro Radio Network, and is heard locally on WBAP and KRLD. A former Ford dealer, he now helps consumers navigate the car-buying and ownership process. Read more at CarPro.com.
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