It is possible to end your vehicle lease early. While some options may not be the most favorable to you, you can end your lease and avoid having to pay any excess charges, or at least purchase or lease a new car again. There are even ways to get out of your lease early without penalty.
Lease-End Options
You can terminate your lease early if you pay every payment due, in addition to bank-determined penalty fees, which you can find out more about by contacting your bank. You can find out the purchase price of your car and sell it or trade it in to a dealer for a new car for at least the amount owed to the bank, if not more --- any extra profit is yours to keep, or you can come up with the difference to pay back the bank. Your bank may even offer a "pull-ahead" program, which allows you to get out of your lease free of fees or payments in the event that you lease or buy a new car and use the same bank.
Equity
To sell or trade your vehicle to a dealership for the amount you owe, you should have some equity in your vehicle, or at least enough equity to equal your lease buyout amount. This is most likely to happen at the end of the lease term, as payments are cheaper than they'd usually be for a finance, which creates equity faster. Even if your equity and payoff amount equal out, you can benefit from tax savings as well. For example, certain states allow you to deduct the trade-in value from the new car selling price before you're taxed; this can save you thousands of dollars.
Considerations
Good to excellent credit is required for a lease, and also to lease again. If you qualify for a pull-ahead program, which allows you to end your lease in the event you purchase or lease a new car, your credit must have remained in good standing during the time of your lease. Unfortunately, this doesn't mean payments must be satisfactory with only your lease but with all other bills and credit as well. You may not be able to lease again or have difficulty financing because of credit issues that arose during the years of your lease.
Time Frame
If you qualify for a bank-approved pull-ahead program, it may change before you can take advantage of the offer. If you receive mail or notification of an opportunity to get out of your lease payment penalty-free, make sure you check the date that the offer is good for. If you're upside down on your lease and have chosen to trade in your car using an advertised dealer allowance --- meaning you can take advantage of thousands off of the new car to help cover negative equity --- find out how long the offer is good for. A pull-ahead program can offer the opportunity to end your lease up to a year ahead of time, and dealer incentives often change monthly.
Other Options
If you really want out of your lease and none of the traditional options interest you, check with your leasing bank to find out if lease transfer is an option. Certain banks don't allow this, and fees may apply, depending on your lender. Also, your bank may require that you stay on the lease contract with the assuming party, making you liable for charges incurred at the end of the lease. However, this option may work well for you. Check the LeaseTrader and Swapalease websites to see if this option could work for you.
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