In this conversation, Leasehackr member @Bumboola poses an interesting, and very real, question:

My fiancé’s Subaru Crosstrek lease is closing in on 42k miles, and she has about $9-10k equity in it. She really likes the Kia Telluride, and with about $5k down at MSRP, a balloon loan on the Telluride comes to about $300/mo for 24 months. Then after that, she’d sell it and move on.

The kicker, she needs it by mid-August and after two months and about 30 dealers, the lowest added dealer mark-up (ADM) I found was $1,000 (none available), and the next lowest was $2,000.

The Hyundai Palisade is a bit easier to find at MSRP, but the balloon is about $50/mo more, which is no big deal, but she doesn’t like it as much.

My question for you all is which would you choose and why? Both cars are nice and have great standard features, but with an eye towards resale in 24 months I feel like the Telluride edges out. Is it worth paying $2k over MSRP for it?

The three-row Kia Telluride and Hyundai Palisade SUVs are mechanical twins built on the same platform, differentiated primarily by exterior and interior styling.

Reviewers, and the general buying public, generally prefer the Telluride over the mechanically identical Palisade, and as a result, the Kia commands a higher market price than the Hyundai, both new and used.

Which SUV would you rather buy in this situation?

Are you so opposed to paying an added dealer mark-up (ADM) that you’d rather go for the less popular Hyundai? Or would you pay over sticker price (MSRP) for the Kia, in the hopes that it will likely be worth more at resale?