we are leasing a 2010 Prius (no money down). We love it but we need to get rid of it because we are moving to NYC. At the time of the move we will still have 11 months of payment left. I know we can try to sell it ourselves and transfer the lease. But is there any other options? What is the best way to handle this situation with the dealer and with Toyota?
Sometimes our dealer sends us messages saying they’d take over the lease if we give them the car back right away. Is it for real? Does it really happen?
There are websites like leaseswap that you can transfer the lease to someone else. You have to be careful, not to be left with the paperwork. The dealer would want the next 11 payments or to sell a new one to you. Alternatively, you can price the car at carmax or similar places, see if it is worth to buy the car from the dealer and sell it to them. You need to do some homework on kbb.com and edmunds.com on the prices based on options/miles/condition.
You should also call the dealer and find out what, exactly, would happen if they ‘take over the lease’. Make sure you have it in writing before you actually decide to do it, so you can check all the ‘fine print’.
I’d be willing to pay a bit to get out of the lease and not go the transfer route.
I agree, I don’t mind paying a “fine” to get rid of the lease, instead of dealing with transferring it while I am also moving into a different state. Thanks.
You need to pull out your lease paperwork and read the fine print. Some dealers do offer deals to get leased cars back on the lot to resell, so the offers might be legit. Most often the offers are to get you to trade in the old car and lease on a new car with a new lease. I’ve not heard of a special deal to “buy back” a lease by itself without getting you hooked into another car. But, it is worth a couple of phone calls to find out.
Getting out of a lease early can be tricky and might cost you some fee’s. If the car is popular (and a Prius is such a car) you might be able to work out something with a dealer, or transfer the lease to someone else.
Many people in NYC do have cars. Granted it is expensive to park them if you must have a garage, but there is on street parking in much of the city. Another option is to park the car in NJ or Staten Island if you have friends with some space to spare. That way you can have a car for a few trips out of the city a year without renting a car.
You must contact the company that actually holds the lease contract and explain your dilemma to THEM. Prius cars are hot sellers and bring premium prices on the used car market…The lease company may let you off the hook with little pain if they think they can quickly sell the car and turn a profit on it…But it’s their call, not yours or anyone on this board…Read the fine print in the lease papers dealing with “Early Termination”…They will not move to far off that…