Hi hackrs,
Question for you all. I realize there may be no good answer or even nothing to do at all.
I am currently in a lease for another 17 months. On pace with the mileage, that’s not an issue at all.
Is the best way to get out of the lease to use a lease swap service? Too many months left to get pulled ahead without getting killed.
I realize I’m probably “stuck” (I like my car so it’s not an issue), but curious if the hackrs have any tips I haven’t thought of yet.
There are plenty of ways to get out of a lease who is the Captive bank on the lease? Get your payoff from them get quotes from Vroom, Carvana, Algo, Carmax, Ect.
In order to end your lease early, you would either a) have someone else assume your lease or b) have someone buyout the lease.
Lease Assumption:
Many brands will allow you to transfer out of your lease and assign it to someone else after paying a lease transfer fee and submitting required documentation. Those brands include BMW, Lexus etc.
Some brands will not allow lease transfers at all such as Honda, Mazda, Volvo, Jaguar, Hyundai etc.
A select few brands, such as Audi or Infiniti, allow lease transfers, but keep the original leasee liable. It is generally not recommended to do a transfer as you would remain liable for the car after transfer.
There are some other restrictions that can affect your ability to do a transfer such as remaining months on the lease and regional restrictions. It is best to check with your leasing company by calling them directly.
Once you decide you want to transfer out of your lease, you can post your car for free under LH’s private transfer section:
Alternatively, you can list your car for a fee with www.swapalease.com or www.leasetrader.com which are two large lease transfer marketplaces that have a large user base of people actively looking to assume leases.
Lease Buyout:
You can have a third party buyout the car. In order to do that, you would call your leasing company and get the current “dealer payoff quote” which is the amount of money needed right now to payoff your car which will satisfy your lease agreement. Once you have that number you can take your car to your local Carmax and see what they would offer to buy your car. If the amount is near or above your dealer payoff quote, then you can sell it to them and you would be out of the lease. Alternatively, you can get an online quote from vroom.com or carvana.com who will give you an instant online offer. If you accept the offer, they would come and pick up the car from you and pay you on the spot. Ideally you would get a quote from all sources as they may vary significantly. For more information, please see forum discussions:
For additional information, make sure to check out Leasehacking 101: How to End Your Lease Early
Thank you both!
What brand of car is it, and what finance company was used for the lease?
Cadillac/GM Financial
In that case it’s fairly easy, provided your monthly payment is attractive. Post it here and/or on Swapalease. You have 5 months left to transfer it (GMF doesn’t allow transfers in the first 6 months or last 12 months) and the person assuming the lease must live in the same state as you. I believe there is a $495 transfer fee.
Thanks! Appreciate it.