Warning: this post involves a leased car. I've read these forums enough to know that many people believe leases (and borrowing in general) to be evil and that I am somehow being punished for not paying cash for a used car. Feel free to think that, but my initial choice was a good one, and I can afford to pay out the rest of my lease. If you read my story below, you will see that my situation if somewhat unique.

I have 18 months left on my leased Acura TSX. Completely out of the blue, I was offered a fantastic position at a great company in NYC. The job includes a heavily subsidized apartment in Manhattan, so I no longer need a car. I drive a lot for work (my current job) so I have a 20,000/yr lease, thus my lease payments are expensive relative to a "regular" lease: I pay $519 a month.

OK, that is the background to my question, now the main event: has anyone actually completed a transaction on swapalease, or other lease transfer company? How did it go for you? The reviews that I can find online are not very informative.

In particular:
How did the transaction work? Does swapalease just provide your name to someone and then you and the other person work out the contract?

I imagine I won't be able to get someone to pay the entire monthly payment. Is there a system for prepaying X dollars against the lease so that it can be advertised at a lower rate?

Thanks in advance for any help.

nobody is going to want to assume a lease on a two-year-old Acura TSX for $519/mo. when they can get lease a new BMW for less.

ruhl0029 said:Warning: this post involves a leased car. I've read these forums enough to know that many people believe leases (and borrowing in general) to be evil and that I am somehow being punished for not paying cash for a used car. Feel free to think that, but my initial choice was a good one, and I can afford to pay out the rest of my lease. If you read my story below, you will see that my situation if somewhat unique.


I have 18 months left on my leased Acura TSX. Completely out of the blue, I was offered a fantastic position at a great company in NYC. The job includes a heavily subsidized apartment in Manhattan, so I no longer need a car. I drive a lot for work (my current job) so I have a 20,000/yr lease, thus my lease payments are expensive relative to a "regular" lease: I pay $519 a month.

OK, that is the background to my question, now the main event: has anyone actually completed a transaction on swapalease, or other lease transfer company? How did it go for you? The reviews that I can find online are not very informative.

In particular:
How did the transaction work? Does swapalease just provide your name to someone and then you and the other person work out the contract?

I imagine I won't be able to get someone to pay the entire monthly payment. Is there a system for prepaying X dollars against the lease so that it can be advertised at a lower rate?

Thanks in advance for any help.

I did one meaning someone took over a lease for me.

A few things to know:

1) Make sure your bank releases you from liability. Chase was mine and I was released from all liability. Some banks do not release you so that if the person who takes over your lease does not pay then you are on the hook. If this is the case then forget the whole thing.

2) You need to make sure that you are the lowest priced lease for your type of car or you will not get any bites. Mine took 3 days for someone to want to take over because I got a ridiculous deal and my car was close to $300/month cheaper than anyone else's. You may have to pony up an incentive to lower your payments meaning you have to throw in $3000 or so for someone to take it over.

3) Be prepared to pay all transfer fees (~$200) because the buyer will expect you 2. I did. I could have fought this but I wanted to get rid of the car.

Any other specific questions I would be glad to answer.

For the record, the car was a black Mercedes CLK430 convertible fully loaded (every option), with the amg package for $699/month andh 15,000 miles per year. I had extra miles which made it around 18,000 miles per year. I initially leased it for 0$ down and $699/month and I used leasetrader.com

yea...that sounds like an amazing deal for a lease.

mikef07: thanks for the information, that is exactly the kind of feedback I was hoping for: relevant, detailed, and concise.

Obviously I would like to give up as little as possible, but since I'm not trying to get out of my lease to get another car, every dollar I can get someone else to pay is one that I don't have to. The worst-case scenario has me on the hook for the 18 monthly payments, plus storage and insurance. I'm more than willing to eat some of this to unload the car. The probability of me moving to the one city in the U.S. that precludes having a car was about 0.05 percent. To be honest, this is a great job, so I'm willing to pay some costs to make the move.

What service did you use?

ruhl0029 said:ArbolLoco said:nobody is going to want to assume a lease on a two-year-old Acura TSX for $519/mo. when they can get lease a new BMW for less.

Thanks for your input. The second-to last-line of my post goes exactly to this point. I'm willing to subsidize the person who takes over the lease.I don't think subsidize is the right word... I think "almost entirely pay for" is the correct language. my wife's TSX lease was less than $300/mo.

even at 20k your lease terms aren't exactly "optimal". I'm thinking around the $300/mo range tops.

I sold a lease on Swapalease and it went perfectly. I highly recommend them.

Kinda OT...this is sad and hilarious

http://washingtondc.craigslist.org/mld/car/676773483.html ($1,826/month for a lease?!?)
http://washingtondc.craigslist.org/mld/car/677255961.html

Perspective from the other side of the transaction:
Both of my cars were lease transfers from original buyers.
I used lease trader for my 2005 toyota highlander and swapalease for my 2006 bmw 325
I preferred sellers closer to where i lived --- so i could test drive, inspect and obtain the car more efficiently and cheaply. Also i did the paperwork directly with the seller rather than leasetrader or swapalease to avoid any delays
I only chose cars that had lots of photos on them. Im assuming that thats considered best practices when posting online
I got a "benefit" of $3500 and $1500 from the sellers for taking over their leases. I pay about $350 and $450 after discount for my two low mileage cars.
I would not rate my transaction as the most cost effective transaction but it was relatively painless for me. The cars have been great for the 1-2 yrs i have had them ... but that reflects more on the seller than the websites.

Let me know if you have any specific questions that i can help you with.

vcxzfdsa said:
What does leasetrader.com charge? Any other costs and fees involved?

Why don't you check the website yourself and let us know!