Getting out of a car lease

[Hylan85]

Hey all,
I'm currently driving a BMW 535xi which I leased back in March of 09. I want out of the lease and was curious, have any of you ever tried getting out of a car lease? If so, how did it go? Has anyone used http://www.leasetrader.com either successfully or unsuccessfully? Anyone interested in taking it over and want more info?

Let me know what your experiences, if any have been, I'm tired of paying for this damn thing.

 

[Ty Atkinson]

About the only way i see you getting out of the lease is finding a buyer for the car and financing the rest either out of pocket or with the bank.
Finding someone to take over a lease is not a easy task, nor would i hold my breath on the hope of finding someone.

First step will be doing some research on car value vs buyout amount of the car.

 

[Wolfie]

You'll want to check your paperwork to make sure your company is amicable to a transfer to begin with.

If you just wanted out, good faith contact and/or a qualifying hardship probably doesn't hurt. I used to work with a man facing honest financial difficulties. He agreed to pay a portion of his remaining lease in exchange for an amicable voluntary repossession shown on his credit report simply as settled in full. So, it'll probably still cost you, but not as much and riding it out.

 

[{tpc}]

The only experiences I have is with those who don't pay. This what the firm my wife works for, does. They find the people, repo the cars, file various lawsuits against them. I don't suggest this route.

Maybe you could go into the dealership where you got it, turn it in early and "downgrade"? Like maybe talk them into selling you a 3 series (selling...not leasing), if they let you turn this one in early? Just a thought.

All I know is that with leases you basically sign a contract and are responsible for all the payments including any costs for going over miles or damage, etc. This is why they are hard to get out of, because who wants to turn a car in a year early but still have to pay all those payments? Unless you can find an early turn in deal, or find someone to take over the payments (like using the link you provided) your pretty much stuck I think. Plus, like was mentioned, you probably can't just let anyone take over the payments, because their credit worthyness probably has to be determined by bmw or whomever you make the payments to.

 

[cookie_1978]

I think leasing cars is great, unless you want to get out of your lease early.

My advice, figure a way to stick it out.

 

[Napa_Smokes]

I got out of a lease early by trading the car into a different dealer who bought out the car lease as they where eager to sell me a car. Most car dealers where willing to work something out for the car I had leased as they seemed to want it on their lots and wanted to sell me a new car. Granted this was about 8 years ago so who knows what they are doing now.

 

[Hylan85]

Thanks for the replies.

To those of you saying to stay in the lease by whatever means necessary, I'm lucky the issue isn't a financial one, it's simply a preference. When I leased the car, I was easily doing 15-18,000 miles a year. However, I've since gotten a job in NYC and commute on the express bus everyday, my mileage has gone down significantly and I can't justify the cost of the car anymore. I will stay in it if I have to, however, if I can get out of it, that will be preferred.

I actually was asking around and found someone who successfully got out of their lease using Lease Trader. I spoke to an associate there today, and he made me pretty comfortable with the deal, I also confirmed what he said with BMW Financial regarding transferring a lease, so it seems at this point to be no BS for those of you who are curious. I guess I'm lucky that BMW allows you to fully transfer out of the lease, pending credit approval of the new lessee.