I got in on an e-tron deal during July when things were hot. Unfortunately, due to divorce and having to sell a house, I also need to get rid of the e-tron (new apartment doesn’t have charger). Looking for feedback on the following:
Buy out the remainder of the lease and then sell. Not sure where to sell?
Transfer lease? I have an inquiry into Audi Financial to determine if this is an option.
Other… I may have a friend who can take over and just pay me monthly.
In addition to the above:
What are other SUVs (need gas, not EV) that are in this range and leasing well?
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, Mercedes, 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
Do you have an EA charging station nearby? Charge at work? Personally, I do have NEMA 14-50 plug at home, but I have used 3 times since getting my eTrons. I’ve been using my EA credits.
You will probably eat $ if you were get out of your lease now and being kept on it as liabile would be a no-go for me personally.
The closest station is ~10 miles. I had a 220 installed at home so I could charge nightly. Love the car, but it’s only practical if I can plug it in at home.
Just to add on to this, in addition to vroom and Carvana, check SHIFT as well. You never know who will give you the best value on a given vehicle until you check all 3 (plus perhaps Carmax and others).
Also as max_g said, Audi will keep you liable, so you may want to see about having your friend take over your lease (but do a formal transfer, don’t just do it under the table).
Don’t forget that Audi has different payout amounts for 3rd party banks. You’ll need to buy out the lease and then resell to vroom to get that value. I’d have a long conversation with your divorce attorney before purchasing and selling a 5 figure item.
Good point. Was curious about the sequence of buy-out and then sell to Vroom procedures. Assuming they don’t tack, on any additional fees and the payout is exactly as quoted.
