Anyone ever return a lease early?

Robz26 · 08-09-2013, 09:58 AM

I'm assuming you sometimes have the option to return your lease early if you have equity in the car / if used prices rally much more than your residual.

I have a dilemma. A job assignment might cause me to move abroad in November for an extended period of time. My perfect M3 was leased in March 2012 on a 36 month, 10k mile lease.

It's a fully loaded 2012 Jet Black on Black E93 -- DCT with every option. My residual is $51,940.35 and I'm paying $1k/month on the lease.

Any advice? Is there a chance the dealership will take it back early? Should I consider a lease swap online?

Thanks,
Rob

mosx · 08-09-2013, 10:02 AM

Most leasing companies want the lease fulfilled, so they will let you out of the lease as long as you pay them all remaning payments up front. So if you have 24 payments left, at $1000 each they're going to want $24,000 to let you out of the lease.

slicer · 08-09-2013, 11:21 AM

Think of your lease like a loan. The buyout amount (outstanding loan amount) changes every month as more payments are made; just like a loan's outstanding balance. The residual amount is the same as the buyout amount after the last payment is made. Contact the leasing company to determine your current buyout amount. Go to your dealer of choice and ask them how much they would pay to buy your car. If they would pay an amount that exceeds your current buyout amount, then you have equity. If they offer you less then you would have to cover the difference.

Alternatively you can find a buyer for your car and apply the same financial concept. The trick is to do the sale through a dealership if you find a third party buyer. Selling the car to a third party without utilizing a dealer will result in double taxing. Technically you would need to buy the car from the leasing company first (and pay taxes on that purchase amount), then sell it to your buyer (who will again pay sales tax). A dealer can conduct the first transaction without tax. I have done this multiple times. Example - lease buyout is $30,000, find a third party buyer for $35,000, have the BMW dealer conduct the transaction, dealer charges a fee of $500, dealer writes me a check for $4500.

A third option is to have someone take over your lease. I believe BMW charges a $500 fee to run the credit and perform the transfer. You will of course want to be sure that you are fully released from the lease liability.

slicer · 08-09-2013, 11:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mosx

Most leasing companies want the lease fulfilled, so they will let you out of the lease as long as you pay them all remaning payments up front. So if you have 24 payments left, at $1000 each they're going to want $24,000 to let you out of the lease.

There are much better ways to get out of a lease. See my post above.

Transfer · 08-09-2013, 03:00 PM

Lease takeovers are sticky and time consuming but can be done. You can always check with your local dealer and see if they'll buy the car out from you. This could give you the least out of pocket cost vs just paying out the lease. Let's say your current value for dealer trade in is $60k but your buyout on the lease is $68k (residual plus remaining payments is what they would have to pay), then you're out of pocket $8k. Good luck finding a dealer to take the car off your hands for no cash out of your pocket but it could happen.

2sak2furious · 08-09-2013, 03:49 PM

I had that issue with my MB C63.

Someone may have already suggested selling at a dealer. A quick way is to go down to your local CarMax. They will appraise the car on the spot without hassling you to buy a car from them. They will give a print out of their amount: if its more than your payoff then they will mail you a check, if its even you walk away without any more payments to worry about, and if its less than your payoff - you have to pay the difference.

You could see if a BMW dealership wants to take it back but my feeling is they will really try to lowball you.

Trying to end the relationship with BMW financial directly will prob be too expensive.

Having someone assume your lease thru swap a lease or leasetrader.com might be an option but I don't have any personal experience with that.

Good luck

dt34 · 08-09-2013, 04:20 PM

I took over a lease on an M coupe a few years back. Was an easy process done through BMW.

I am in Michigan and the car was in L.A. Did all the paperwork over email and snail mail and flew out and picked the car up. I found the car on one of the BMW forums in the classifieds, might want to give that a shot.

08-09-2013, 09:58 AM	#1
Robz26 Private 7 Rep 61 Posts Drives: 2012 E93 M3 Join Date: Aug 2012 Location: New York, NY iTrader: (0)	Anyone ever return a lease early? I'm assuming you sometimes have the option to return your lease early if you have equity in the car / if used prices rally much more than your residual. I have a dilemma. A job assignment might cause me to move abroad in November for an extended period of time. My perfect M3 was leased in March 2012 on a 36 month, 10k mile lease. It's a fully loaded 2012 Jet Black on Black E93 -- DCT with every option. My residual is $51,940.35 and I'm paying $1k/month on the lease. Any advice? Is there a chance the dealership will take it back early? Should I consider a lease swap online? Thanks, Rob
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08-09-2013, 10:02 AM	#2
mosx The mod bug has bitten. 22 Rep 565 Posts Drives: 2008 M3 Sedan Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: North Texas iTrader: (1) Garage List 2008 BMW M3 [0.00]	Most leasing companies want the lease fulfilled, so they will let you out of the lease as long as you pay them all remaning payments up front. So if you have 24 payments left, at $1000 each they're going to want $24,000 to let you out of the lease.
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08-09-2013, 11:21 AM	#3
slicer Major General 2745 Rep 6,734 Posts Drives: 'E46 M3 Race Car, '23 X7 Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Wisconsin - Instagram - @slicer_m iTrader: (39)	Think of your lease like a loan. The buyout amount (outstanding loan amount) changes every month as more payments are made; just like a loan's outstanding balance. The residual amount is the same as the buyout amount after the last payment is made. Contact the leasing company to determine your current buyout amount. Go to your dealer of choice and ask them how much they would pay to buy your car. If they would pay an amount that exceeds your current buyout amount, then you have equity. If they offer you less then you would have to cover the difference. Alternatively you can find a buyer for your car and apply the same financial concept. The trick is to do the sale through a dealership if you find a third party buyer. Selling the car to a third party without utilizing a dealer will result in double taxing. Technically you would need to buy the car from the leasing company first (and pay taxes on that purchase amount), then sell it to your buyer (who will again pay sales tax). A dealer can conduct the first transaction without tax. I have done this multiple times. Example - lease buyout is $30,000, find a third party buyer for $35,000, have the BMW dealer conduct the transaction, dealer charges a fee of $500, dealer writes me a check for $4500. A third option is to have someone take over your lease. I believe BMW charges a $500 fee to run the credit and perform the transfer. You will of course want to be sure that you are fully released from the lease liability. __________________ '23 X7 '04 M3 - Fall Line Motorsports Built Race Car - S65 swap, Dry Sump, Bosch Stand-Alone ECU, Drenth Sequential Trans, MCS 3-Way, Flossmann Wide Body, Brembo Motorsports Brakes, Drexler LSD, BBS E88 Etc. INSTAGRAM - @Slicer_M Last edited by slicer; 08-09-2013 at 11:31 AM..
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08-09-2013, 03:00 PM	#5
Transfer Major General 5260 Rep 5,874 Posts Drives: Bronco Wildtrak, Tesla MYP Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Issaquah, WA iTrader: (1)	Lease takeovers are sticky and time consuming but can be done. You can always check with your local dealer and see if they'll buy the car out from you. This could give you the least out of pocket cost vs just paying out the lease. Let's say your current value for dealer trade in is $60k but your buyout on the lease is $68k (residual plus remaining payments is what they would have to pay), then you're out of pocket $8k. Good luck finding a dealer to take the car off your hands for no cash out of your pocket but it could happen.
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08-09-2013, 03:49 PM	#6
2sak2furious Private 7 Rep 65 Posts Drives: 2019 i8 coupe Join Date: Jul 2013 Location: Southern Cal iTrader: (0)	I had that issue with my MB C63. Someone may have already suggested selling at a dealer. A quick way is to go down to your local CarMax. They will appraise the car on the spot without hassling you to buy a car from them. They will give a print out of their amount: if its more than your payoff then they will mail you a check, if its even you walk away without any more payments to worry about, and if its less than your payoff - you have to pay the difference. You could see if a BMW dealership wants to take it back but my feeling is they will really try to lowball you. Trying to end the relationship with BMW financial directly will prob be too expensive. Having someone assume your lease thru swap a lease or leasetrader.com might be an option but I don't have any personal experience with that. Good luck __________________ 2012 Mercedes Benz C63 Coupe SE1 gone 2013 BMW M5 :gone 2015 BMW i3 REx Giga gone 2015 BMW X5M gone 2013 Porsche Panamera Turbo
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08-09-2013, 04:20 PM	#7
dt34 Private 50 Rep 83 Posts Drives: Maserati Gran Turismo MC, i3 Join Date: Jul 2013 Location: Grand Rapids MI iTrader: (0)	I took over a lease on an M coupe a few years back. Was an easy process done through BMW. I am in Michigan and the car was in L.A. Did all the paperwork over email and snail mail and flew out and picked the car up. I found the car on one of the BMW forums in the classifieds, might want to give that a shot.
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