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Plans change, things happen, and unexpected events can throw us totally off-course from what we thought we needed in our daily lives. When it comes to the terms of your auto agreement, a lease might have seemed like an apt solution at one point; yet, due to circumstances out of your control, being in a car lease no longer makes sense for you.Fear not, millions of people find themselves in a similar predicament throughout the year, which is why it’s not uncommon to want to learn how to get out of a car lease contract early.It’s no secret that figuring out how to get out of a car lease agreement early can be a costly and lengthy process. But, you have options at your disposal that can make the entire experience more bearable, and we’re here to discuss them with you today. Whether you lost your job and can no longer afford the payments, or you need to outright own your vehicle for whatever reason, it’s time to investigate the alternatives that can put you into a better financial situation. Based on our research, we are going to provide you with 3 potential options below.How to Get Out of a Car Lease Early: 3 Routes1. Terminate the Lease Early: In many arrangements, your leasing company will offer you the ability to terminate your lease prematurely. This means you are free from making the remaining payments on the currently leased vehicle. But, in order to do this, you will have to turn in the car and pay the entire balance that is due, as well as the costs and fees that are probably going to be slapped onto the early termination. Remember that the Consumer Leasing Act does mandate that all of these details are included and available for you to review in the lease you have on record.So, let’s say you go for this option. The company may charge an early termination fee, which is normally the balance between the remaining balance and the credit you will receive from the value of the car. You may also have to pay a disposal fee, transfer fee, and taxes. All of this is disclosed inside of the signed lease.The fastest way to know what this total is going to be is to call up the leasing company and ask them point-blank what the total is going to be. You may also have to pay late fees, parking tickets, or anything else that has been accumulated as part of your leasing account.Since a car’s value typically depreciates more upfront, the earlier you terminate the lease, the higher the cost is going to be on your end. In many cases, the termination cost may be so high, that it makes more sense for you to complete the lease as agreed upon. If you don’t have the financial means to do this, you may need to finance the costs if it’s a life-or-death decision.2. Transfer the Lease: As you can see, terminating the lease may not be the most cost-effective option for you at this time. But you have another option: transferring the lease to a new lessee. In order to engage in this option, it needs to be one that is legal in your state, in accordance with your lease terms, and the party you are transferring the lease to needs to satisfy the requirements set forth by the lender.Don’t be fooled: this option will still come with hidden fees, like the lease transfer fee and other costs that will pop up. You should do your due diligence and ask for a final total from the leasing company before you opt for the early termination. If you are struggling to find a company that you can transfer your lease to, you can consider using a service that connects you to a new lender.3. Buying Out Your Lease: Depending upon the scenario, buying out the car entirely may be one of your best options with early termination. Yes, there are still fees involved; but, it’s worth running the numbers and seeing if an early buyout, along with the associated fees, comes in at a lower amount of what you could get if you go through with selling the car on your own. Or at least, if selling the car thereafter is still a feasible financial option when compared to the other two options listed above.Do note: in order to pursue this solution, you need to have the funds available to pay the early buyout fees. If you don’t, you will need to factor in buyout financing as part of the deal.If the market value of the car ends up being higher than the leasing company predicted it would be, a lease buyout may be the perfect solution for you and your wallet.Bonus: if you are leasing or purchasing another car when you terminate the car lease early, you may be able to roll over the amount you owe on the car you are returning to the amount you are financing for a new car purchase. This will create a higher monthly payment, but it at least will be one singular payment that may be easier for you to manage and pay off.Is it a Good Idea to Get Out of a Car Lease Prematurely?In many cases, you may have no other choice. If you go through all scenarios above and receive quotes, you can compare them and see which one makes sense. If all three options still clock in higher than your monthly leasing payment, you may want to consider financing – or – sticking with your car lease until the contract is terminated.Note: many people buy out their leases to avoid excess mileage fees, especially if you drive more than was agreed upon initially, or because used car values have increased recently, making your current vehicle worth more than the dealer thought it would be several years ago.The worst thing you can do is agree to one of these options without hearing the final monetary amount, first. Don’t be afraid to demand that from your leasing company: it’s a service they owe you as your lessee. Are you ready to get out of a car lease contract early? We hope this article helped.GET A QUOTE IN 60 SECONDS

It can be easy to get caught up in the car leasing gimmicks that are floating around all media and advertising spaces today. Many of these ads will claim that a lease is only $58 per week or $139 bi-weekly. These companies will state that it is easier to get into a new vehicle through a lease than it is by outright buying the vehicle.It may sound wise in nature, yet this is not always the case, and we want to talk about it in this article. In reality, leases are often much more expensive than they advertise and end up costing more than just financing the car in the end. How does this happen? Through the fine print, hidden fees, and extra costs that come with breaking leases or engaging in something that is not included in the confusing contract you sign when you agree to a lease.In order to protect yourself from unknown fees before you sign that dotted line, we’re going to look at some of the hidden penalties you should review in a car lease.Fees at the End of a Car LeaseHidden Interest and Taxes: Interest and taxes are surely applied to your car lease, even if it’s something they leave out of that ‘$58 per week’ marketing ad. When these two elements are factored into the equation, it’s more like $80 per week, and that’s just with the terms provided when financing a car. This can vary based on state, county, and dealership, which is why you should always factor in a lofty sum of money to cover interest rates and taxes.Can I negotiate these lease charges? Although you may be able to negotiate other elements of the lease, you will most likely be unable to negotiate the interest rate, much less the taxes. Be sure to check if there are any tax breaks available in your state for a car lease (note: they are usually not enough to compensate for the high-interest rates that are charged by dealerships today).Administrative Fees (Twice): Dealerships will apply two different administrative fees to your lease as a part of doing business with them. The first fee will come when you initially lease the car. The second fee will come when you return the car after the lease is completed. These fees can be as much as $750 each time, justified as a way to compensate the administrative staff that will have to process the paperwork for the termination of the lease.In most cases, the average consumer is not surprised to see that fee the first time they take the car off of the lot. But, when they see the fee again after they return the car, they are shocked to learn that an extra $1,500 in total was omitted from that monthly payment number when they first inquired about the car lease.Termination Fees: Yes, you will be penalized if you decide to terminate a car lease before the agreed-upon date. You are probably thinking to yourself: but why? Isn’t the dealership receiving the car back in a better condition than if I had kept driving it? Whether you are moving, downsizing, or lost your job, any of these reasons will make it necessary for you to terminate the car lease. And, you have that right to do so, but you will be hit with a termination fee. The fee amount will vary based on the information in the lease you signed. Many people will find they end up paying the full amount of the lease via the termination fee, even if they turn the car in a year early. Be sure to ask the lessee to disclose what this fee is to you if you predict yourself needing to terminate the lease prematurely.Mileage Variations: A general car lease will enable people to drive 12,000 to 15,000 miles per year, give or take. If you go over this mileage count, you will have to pay for it – at 10 to 20 cents per mile. If you do the math, that means you would owe $1,800 on an extra 3,000 miles you drove over the preset amount. Extra mileage is one of the biggest ways a dealership makes a profit off of this lease – they can almost count on you breaking the agreement. If you predict yourself needing to drive a fair amount in the coming years, this is a major reason why a car lease may not make sense for you.Mileage Punishment – Auction Fees: Not only are you going to be slammed with fees per mile that you go over the agreement, but the dealer also reserves the right to tell you that you have to sell the car returned at auction. This means you are responsible to cover the difference between what the car sells for at the auction, and the initial value of the car that was configured based on the pre-defined mileage count. So, let’s say the dealer figured the car would be worth $13,000 after you returned it within the mileage count. If you go over that mileage count and the dealer determines the car is now worth $10,000 at auction, you are required to cover the $3,000 difference that they ‘lost’ as a result of your negligence. As you can see, this gives the dealer way too much wiggle room when it comes to the interpretation of the car’s worth. This is something you will want to hash out with the dealer before signing any paperwork. The Down Payment Omission: And finally, back to that $58 example above: this is a payment amount that is described after the down payment has already been put down on the lease. If you put a $5,000 down payment on the lease, your bi-weekly payment may only be $100 or $200 because you already paid handsomely to drive the vehicle. The moral of the story: that ad-based monetary amount is false.Need help refinancing your vehicle? We recommend you talk with our team first before signing any leasing paperwork. Auto Approve is here to help.GET A QUOTE IN 60 SECONDS