A Lease is a Final Contract – or is It?

A lease for a car is a flexible finance tool that allows people the use of a car but not the ownership. When the lease is finished, you turn in the car. This can be a great arrangement for people that like to always have a new car every couple of years. It can also be a great arrangement for businesses that don’t want the hassle of depreciating their automotive assets.

But once entered into a lease, it seems like you have to honor that lease for the life of the contract. You are stuck if whether you like the car or not. However, you may not be as stuck as you think you are and you may have the ability to get out of the lease.

As an aside understand that a lease is a form of loan and as such, is negotiable. Many people simply don’t realize that fact. You should always ask what the rate on the lease is. If a dealer tells you there is no rate and that it is simply a monthly payment (this is one of their tricks, by the way), you may be better off seeking another dealer for the deal.

If you are reading this article, though, it’s likely that you have already entered into a lease so negotiating the rate has already been done. But you are not necessarily stuck. Essentially, you can find someone else that wants to enter in a lease but doesn’t want to go through the hassle of working with a dealer or leasing company. There are people that want a much shorter period or do not want to put any money down to enter the lease. They effectively take over the lease payment from you and you are no longer responsible. You are free from your obligation.

You may be wondering why people would want to terminate their leases. The biggest reasons are that people lose their jobs or they get relocated. But there are other reasons that may occur as well such as a person just didn’t like the type of car that they leased and do not want to wait until the end of the leasing period. Some people just want the privilege of driving an exotic car but cannot afford to own it outright.

Now, before you start making phone calls and signing papers, there are some details that you have to know about. If you contact the dealer directly and tell them that you want out of your lease they’ll remind you that your agreement requires you to complete the lease until termination and that there are termination fees, etc. So clearly you want to stay away from that option. You could inquire about the ramifications with them but don’t expect much. I think dealers are mixed up when they stand firm on these terms as they more than likely lose you as a future customer. But that ‘s another issue entirely.

What you need is a company that handles all the intricacies of finding people that want to get out of leases and others that want to get in. A company such as this will remove the burden of trying to find a credit worthy counter party and will handle the details for you. In my resource section, I have included a link to one of the largest companies that handle this kind of transaction. So if you want to exit your lease or enter into one without the hassle of going through a dealer, you are one click away from recognizing that goal.

James is a writer for the web and blogs.

Please note: I have removed the link that was here due to the FTC’s new and sketchy guidelines about what constitutes an endorsement. I apologize if you are reading this and it left you a bit puzzled. But there are too many unknowns in these new guidelines to take a chance.