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Painful Auto Lease

Seriously Upside-Down

Upside-Down Car Loan - or - Rid-a-Car

Can't Make Car Payments

Monthly Payment Blues

I am currently leasing a two year old Dodge Ram 1500 that has 35,000 miles on it. I can no longer afford the monthly payments and want to get out of the lease. It was a five-year lease and I am currently 2 1/2 years into it. Is there any way to get out of the lease without having to pay the balance of the payments? Any suggestions would be helpful.
Chris

Getting Out of a Car Lease: Several Options to Consider

There are a couple of different types of leases out there, such as open end and closed end. A closed end has a fixed buy out at the end of the lease, where an open end can be adjusted to market value.

Find out your lease payoff. Tell them you are thinking about buying out your lease. Some companies will negotiate the lease end value or buy out price. Check into your personal financing options. You may be able to afford your payments on a purchase and not on the lease. The other possibility is to sell the vehicle yourself at or above the lease buy out price. That would get you out of the entire thing.

There is one other option. Check with the lease company and see if you can transfer the vehicle and lease to someone else. This isn't common and you may need a friendly dealer to help you. There are a lot of variables, but hopefully, this will give you a start of some places to look for assistance.
Heather in MN

Getting Out of a Car Lease: Subleaser Wanted

I took over a friend's auto lease when she bought a new car. You could advertise or post. This is good if someone is contemplating buying a new car and wants a little breathing room until they decide. The dealership charges a small fee to arrange this. Be sure you are in agreement about who pays what when it is time to turn the car in at the end of lease. Your subleaser has the option to buy the car at a reduced price at the end of lease, so this is an enticement.
Noni

Getting Out of a Car Lease: Start the Negotiations

We found ourselves halfway through a car lease when we decided leasing just wasn't doing us any good and we wanted to actually own a less expensive car. Paying it off wasn't an option. Who has $20,000 cash, right? So we went to the dealer asking about trading it in so we could purchase a new car. After half a day of haggling, they just weren't giving us what we thought was a good deal. So we drove down the street and ended up purchasing a car with a lower monthly payment and very little out of pocket. The dealer took our lease car and paid off the lease while selling us a brand new car that we could afford. If you need the car but not the high payment, try negotiating for a new, smaller car with a smaller monthly payment.
Deb

Getting Out of a Car Lease: Post Vehicle

Post your vehicle on leasetrader.com or swapalease.com. There are thousands of people (including myself) that would love to take over your car lease and payments. I am on my second vehicle acquired this way. The fees to post your vehicle are manageable and you can negotiate with the acquirer in many ways.
Stephen

Another Sales Option

consider listing on leasetrade.com. Their marketplace seems better than the others.
M

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