Are you ready for a new vehicle? Do you feel stuck in your current lease? Are you afraid to make any changes and risk damaging your credit?
Relax! Getting out of a vehicle lease is often much easier than you might think. And in some cases, thanks to rapidly increasing used vehicle prices, you might even have some equity in that lease that you can put towards your next vehicle!
When you are ready to look into trading in your current lease for something different, here are four options that you will want to explore.
Explore Trade-In Options
In many cases, the easiest and most profitable way to get out of an existing lease and into a new vehicle is to work with the same dealer you leased through on a trade-in option. Dealers often have the ability to waive remaining payments and make great deals to get you into a new vehicle from the same manufacturer.
Trade-in options with different dealerships are also a possibility, but you might run into some difficulty getting the same trade-in value on your current vehicle. Of course, the best way to find out is to show up at a dealership and let them start running the numbers.
Buy Out Your Lease
Another option that many people consider for getting out of an existing lease is to buy out the lease from the bank. If you have the cash to do this, it is often the best way to give yourself the most negotiating power with any dealership for your next vehicle.
This is also a great way to eliminate your monthly vehicle payment if you happen to have plenty of savings with no intended plan for it.
Return the Vehicle to the Dealership
Some leases can also be turned in directly to a dealership if you are willing to pay a fee for the privilege of getting out of the lease early. This varies tremendously depending on the manufacturer and the specific dealership, but it never hurts to ask around.
Returning a leased vehicle to a dealership and not having them sell you a new one is difficult, but telling them upfront that you want to return the vehicle first, before considering a new one, can be a great tactic to get their best service.
Transfer the Lease
One final option that might be worth considering is transferring your lease through one of the many lease takeover websites. You’ll have to be very careful to read the fine print here, because you certainly don’t want to be responsible for someone else making those payments on your behalf.
In some cases, you will find people willing to pay a premium for access to the time and mileage you have remaining on your lease, so this can be worth the time it takes to look into it.
No matter what kind of vehicle you drive, how many miles are on it, or what the terms of your lease might state, there is almost always a way to work out a deal if you want to move on to a new vehicle. And as with anything else in the world, having great credit goes a long way towards making every aspect of the process easier.
Don’t be shy to show up and ask questions. The worst any dealership can say is “no,” and most dealerships will go out of their way to avoid that. They’d much rather sell you a new vehicle.
