How To Get Out Of A Car Lease Before Your Contract Expires

How To Get Out Of A Car Lease Before Your Contract Expires

When your lease is up, you can simply turn in the keys and lease another car or buy a new one. But how about getting out before the lease ends? Perhaps you can’t afford the sky-high payments on that Lexus RX-7 anymore or need a more fuel efficient car. There is good news and bad news. First, the bad news. A car lease contract is difficult and expensive to terminate early. Simply turning in the keys and walking away from a lease will result in stiff penalties. You credit could be ruined and you could even get sued for breach of contract.

It’s not all doom and gloom though. Actually, there is a number of options available to you. You can sell the car yourself and pay off the balance of the lease. This can be cost effective if the market value of the car is close to the buy-out number. Do not hesitate to exercise this option even at a loss if it happens to be lower than the termination fee. Your best option, though, is to transfer your lease for someone who would buy your lease and take it off your hands. many potential buyers are looking for short-term leases without all the hassle and extra costs. Check with family and friends or use the services of lease- assumption websites, such as LeaseTrader.com to list your car.