the residual price is simply the most you would have to pay if you decide to purchase the vehicle at the end of the lease. in some cases, the residual is higher than the market value of the vehicle. this is true for most crossfires since depreciation has been larger than expected. the lessor will not likely be able to resell the crossfire for the residual price of $21K in this case. if the lessee wants to keep the car he/she should negotiate purchase of the car based on the present market value of the vehicle. chances are that the lessor will only be able to sell the car at a retail location for $19-20K. rather than recondition the vehicle (may require new tires, etc.) and bear other costs of selling, the lessor should benefit financially from simply allowing the lessee to purchase the car at a price close to what might be yielded in a resale.

if you like the car you should definitely try to negotiate a new "residual". it might be possible to buy the crossfire for around $18K or so which would be a great deal considering you know the history of the vehicle.

even though i didn't lease i would like to hear if anyone is successful in getting a lower price to buy their crossfire than the residual. i think the lessors will bend over backwards to sell to lessees because there will otherwise be another glut of crossfires on the market since many leases will be ending this summer and fall (based on the $299/mo lease special that more than half of all crossfire buyers were taking advantage of at that time).