Sunday, January 10, 2010

What Happens When My Car Lease Is Up?

Leasing a car is a way that you can get the car you really want at a payment you can afford. After the lease is up, you have to decide what to do with your car. At this point, you must deal with the dealer to explore your options.

Extend the Lease

    One option that you have at the end of a car lease is to extend the agreement. Most car leases last for about three years originally. If you get to the end of that three years and you decide that you really like the car, you can ask the dealer about extending the lease agreement. You might be able to get another 2 to 3 years to use the car with this type of arrangement.

Buying the Car

    Another option that you may have is to purchase the car that you just finished leasing. When you set up the original lease agreement with the dealer, the dealer gave you the buy-out price at the end of the lease. This was calculated by taking the original value of the vehicle and subtracting the amount of value lost during the lease. You can then pay that amount and buy the car, or you could try to negotiate a new price with the dealer.

Turn in the Car

    Perhaps the easiest solution to pursue is to turn in the car. At the end of the lease, you can simply drive it back to the dealer, hand over the keys and then leave. If you take this approach, you will then have to find another car to drive, but you are no longer obligated to the car or the dealership in any way. If you do not really like the car, this is probably your best approach.

Charges

    At the end of the lease, you may be subject to some fees and charges from the dealership. If the car has a lot of wear and tear on it, you might have charges for damage. If the car is over the annual mileage limit, you can also have charges on a per mile basis. Before you take the car back to the dealership, you may want to have it detailed so that it looks nice. This could lessen the chances of getting any wear and tear charges.

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