DrGP

Leasing in general has many benefits. You don't have to put down a down payment. Although you can do such to lower the monthly lease rate. But it is not advisable to put down a large down payment since you can lose that money if the car is totaled early in the lease term.

Your monthly payment will be lower than if you finance.

Your car will not be out of warranty during the term of the lease unless you are leasing longer than 3 1/2 yrs and putting over 12k miles per year on the car.

At lease end you have options. 1) You can buy the car if the residual is equal or less then the value of the car.

2) you can give the car back and get something new. No need to worry about a trade in

3) you can buy the car and re sell it at a profit if your residual is significantly lower than the value of the car.

Essentially, with a lease, you are paying only a percentage of the car that you use, not the entire price of the car.

It works for some, like me, but not for others. One of the down sides of leasing is it can be difficult to get out of a lease before the end of the lease term. But it can be done. Sometimes it will not be cost effective to the original leasor

ctdw

I have used both LeaseTrader and Swapalease. Both have worked for me and ultimately was able to transfer three leases early. I have only done it with leases that let me be removed from the lease completely and would caution anyone doing a transfer where they are still liable for the payment (like with AFS). Per the previous post, it could create an issue for your credit and is risky.

I no longer lease since I tend to replace my car every two years and don't want to be locked into any loan or lease term.

neunelf

None of these companies, BMW, Audi Porsche will let you get off of the lease, why should they? It's not in their interest to let you off, it gives them security.

Second, I tried one of these online lease companies once, as I found a 911 C4s that was very interesting, and as soon as I signed up it miraculously had already been sold. So if you're a purchaser watch out they seem to throw some tasty lures out there to get people to sign up!

S4forlife

Thanks, I seriously never considered that. Now I know.

carguyrob

For someone considering leasing, but unfamiliar with it, there is one other thing to watch out for. The attractiveness of leasing is usually ruined by the upfront and end-of-lease fees. The bank will usually charge a pretty substantial fee for the lease at the beginning and then charge you a fee at the end to inspect and turn in the car. They are usually more than willing to waive that final fee as long as you lease another car. That's their way of keeping you in the leasing cycle car after car.

Leasing makes the most sense for people that can write off some or all of their lease payment expense in their business. It really isn't the best idea for someone that is trying to drive way more car than they can afford to purchase (with or without a loan).

3PedalMINI

Thats not true. I called BMW Financial about this because i am seriously thinking about dumping the mini to get the new TTrs. They confirmed that BMW will completely remove me from any liability of the new lessee. I know audi is not as friendly that way.

I was also told that if i wanted to purchase a new BMW that was greater then the cost of my monthly payment that usually in most cases I will be relieved of the lease without penalty.

The kicker with dumping my mini on lease trader is that the person that will be taking over the payments *Must* have greater credit then the original lessee. This poses a problem since my credit is in the 800s. I doubt that there are ALOT of people looking at minis with credit greater then 800

UltraAudi

Couldn't help but notice your Illinois license plate. Illinois = One of the least friendliest lease states.

ctdw

The last BMW transfer I did, they completely removed me from the original lease. I also transferred a GMAC lease and was completely removed. Some do it, some don't. The lease trading sites actually have a list that shows you which ones do and don't remove you.