07.06.06
SmartMoney - Getting Out of a Car Lease
Article: How to Get Out of a Car Lease and Trade the Lease
When Bruce heard about selling her 1987 Porsche 911 Carrera, he couldn’t resist the opportunity to buy it. “I’ve had my eye on it for many years,” says the 54-year-old Milwaukee cardiologist. The only problem: He already had four cars in the garage and one of them, a 2004 Mazda RX8, had nearly two years left on its lease. Understandably, Wilson didn’t want to park the car and have to make payments for the remaining lease term.The article mentions a friend told him about Swap a lease, a web site that facilitates lease transfers by posting ads from drivers who want to get rid of a car leases. While Swap a lease is a good American car lease transfer site, there are others consumers should not neglect as AutoLeaseBreakers.com and Lease Trader. Within a week, he was contacted by an interested driver in Indiana and completed all the paperwork with the leasing company, Wilson drove to O’Hare airport where car keys changed hands. “I was surprised at how easy the whole thing was,” he says. “I was completely unaware that there would be a service that allows you to get out of your lease early. I thought you just had to suffer with your lease until it was over, or pay a huge penalty.”
Terminating a car lease early can be an expensive proposition. Typically, the leasing company will require you to pay all remaining monthly payments, and sometimes even tack on interest or additional fees, according to Tarry Shebesta, vice president of the National Vehicle Leasing Association. That could add up to thousands of dollars to get out of a car lease. But thanks to web sites like Swap a lease, Auto Lease Busters, Auto Lease Breakers and LeaseTrader, consumers willing to get out of their leases early can find others looking to acquire a lease with a shorter term — and forego the hefty penalties. - More from SmartMoney or learn all about car leasing and how to get out of a lease, and transfer a lease.