Lease Swap

Has anyone here ever taken over someone elses lease. I checked out a couple of sites that specialize in lease swaps and saw some real good deals on 996s. The only downside that I can see is that when you live in a tax hell State like MD, I'm certain that they will make me pay the full State sales tax even on an abbreviated lease.

I used Swapalease to get out of the lease of my 2001. It had just under a year left when I bought my 2004, it was pretty painless and I think the person that assumed my lease got a good deal, was able to get into a 911 for a short period of time, and saved some money. Make sure they are throwing in incentives, remember you're doing them a favor, and in my experience the shorter the lease term the more attractive. Why would you take over a lease with 30 months left on it?? Rob

I got rid of my leased Boxster S through leasetrader.com (about 22 months left on the lease). I offered a healthy incentive (couple or 3 grand), which made mine one of the better deals listed. I got very few inquiries - the guy who took it was the first, and I think it was a month or more before I had another inquiry. "But this makes it a buyer's market" and some good deals can be had. I transferred a Chase lease and on that end, I have to say Chase was extraordinarily screwed up and they took forever - with a super qualified guy to take over, it still took something like 7-8 weeks to complete the deal, and enormous frustration with Chase's repeated mistakes and nonsense. However, Chase does allow transfers and does let the transferor off the hook, so that is a plus. Not every leasing company does allow a transfer. There are some older threads a year or so ago with more information, so do a search. State tax rules vary and it is more costly in some states, though not Kalifornia, which only imposes tax on each lease payment. While it can be a slow and frustrating process, there are some really good deals and often its a cheap way to lease a car for a short period of time. Get something with plenty of warranty left and a good PPI, and its definitely worth it.

I had the same experience with Chase... it took FOREVER, it was so painful I think it took at least 2 months to transfer the lease, I almost lost the deal because of it. And, actually Chase doesn't do this anymore. Rob

Before you said: "I used Swapalease to get out of the lease of my 2001. It had just under a year left when I bought my 2004, it was pretty painless..." So which is it, painful or painless? I was looking help someone that is transferring from overseas here for just 1 year get into a swap lease, but I am trying to find out how painful it is....? If it take 2 months to do the paperwork, does that mean the guy can't drive your car for those 2 months and you are still paying for those 2 months? If so, taking over a car with 12 months left means that for 1/6 of the entire ownership period, you are s.o.l....

That's with Chase, hopefully others are better. But yes, you are still paying until the deal is done and IMO its not safe to release the car until the lease is assigned and in the new guy's name. I had already bought my 04 Targa and not only had to pay a couple extra months lease payments, but spent a couple hundred a month to park the damn thing at my office. But I had 22 months to go and the payoff was WAY more than the car was worth (as in a $15K loss had I just bought the car from Chase and sold or traded it. Rob said Chase doesn't do transfers anymore, which wouldn't surprise me (I raised hell with their general counsel, who was a friend of a friend) and may have stirred things up. I don't believe Porsche Financial allows transfers either. Check with your lessor first before you start anything.

Thanks for the info guys. We are ready to dump a Volvo S60 lease. We have 11 months to go and we leased with Wells Fargo, which, after speaking with them on the phone, seem to make this an easy process. They assured transfer within 10 working days. We'll see...

Rob - Thanks. You were the guy who made me aware of this option on one of your earlier posts. As a buyer of the lease, the attraction is that there are many low mileage 996s with attractive lease rates, so a buyer has the opportunity of drivng the car for around a year and a half before making a commitment to buy. Unfortunately in MD the sobs will probably make me pay the full 5% sales tax even if I take on an abbreviated 18 month lease. The only differance between the tax collectors in this State and crooks is that most crooks wear masks when they rob you. I'll make some calls on Monday to the DMV to confirm the inevitable.

Sorry you are confused. Dealing with Chase was painful, finding a buyer for my car was easy.