Several people recently have bought their Clarity at the end of their lease for several thousand less than they are currently going for on the used market. I think at least one person wasn't planning to keep the car but bought it at the end of the lease specifically so that they could turn around and sell it for a profit. However whatever the motive, it seems like everyone who went to their dealer first to initiate the buyout received a runaround and misinformation like being told erroneously that Honda is no longer allowing buying out the Clarity at the end of the lease. When they instead skipped the dealer and contacted Honda finance directly they had no problem and everything went smoothly. In fact if I remember correctly, one person sold their Clarity to a Honda dealer who was willing to pay more than the residual, Honda finance arranged for it to all be done in one transaction, i.e. lease closeout, sale to the Honda dealer, and cash in their pocket in one relatively easy transaction. Apparently that specific method only works if selling the car to a Honda dealer.
Of course that is all just background for your question, as I have not heard of anyone recently buying out their Clarity lease early. But as with the previous examples I would suggest don't bother contacting your dealer but instead contact Honda finance and see what your options are. Whether there is any benefit to buying it out early if you are planning to keep the car, I don't know. I think usually people buy out their lease early because they plan to sell or trade the car.
