Top tips when looking to swap your car lease

A car lease in a nutshell is a way to pay for driving a car and not owning one. It’s this subtle detail that differentiates a car lease from a car loan you take to purchase the same auto vehicle. With the help of a car lease, you are basically “renting” out a vehicle of your choice for a certain period or number of miles.

You have to make monthly payments, just like you do if you take an auto vehicle loan, to the car dealership for which the dealer will continue allowing you to use the car as long as you make timely payments.

Generally, car leases are cheaper than straight-up owning a car or taking out a loan for the ownership of a car. But this convenience comes at a cost. You need to have a good credit score to get a good lease value for the car you like.

And even if you don’t own the car when you lease it, your lease payment history will still appear on your credit score.

According to data from Experian, individuals taking out a lease for a new car had an average credit score of 733, whereas FICO estimates a credit score of 670 and above to be good. So it shows that you need to have a pretty good score to lease out a new vehicle.

Also, if you cancel a lease early, you end up paying extra due to an early termination fee clause. It is because when you take out a lease, you’re agreeing to pay the amount for a certain period, and if you decide against it, you will get charged extra. The lease agreement you signed mentions how much money you owe in case you decide to terminate your lease early.

But there is still a lot you can do if you don’t feel like paying the remainder of your lease fees. You can always swap a lease with a lease buyer. In a lease swap, the lease buyer makes a payment to you (the lease seller) for the amount you have paid until now.

In exchange, the lease buyer gets your vehicle for the remainder of the lease. But now you will be free from making any more lease payments and the lease buyer gets to keep a new vehicle for a fraction of its actual cost. So it’s a win-win for both parties.

But before we get too excited, we need to keep in mind a few rules that will make your next lease swap as smooth as possible.

1. Get All Calculations Upfront

The very first thing that you should do when looking to trade your car lease is to review all your calculations upfront. This includes looking through your lease contract. Go over them once again, but thoroughly, and see if it’s worth doing a trade.

The general rule of thumb is that if there are a few months remaining in your lease then it’s just better to wait it out and bear the brunt. Also, check with your leasing company if they haven’t put any time limit or other conditions that may prevent you from swapping your lease with a few months remaining.

Also consider the fees associated with a lease trade or swap, such as a one-time transfer fee. So do keep in mind these conditions when you are about to consider a lease swap.

2. Check The Condition Of Your Car

You will need to check the condition of your car too before you can put it up for a lease exchange. Hopefully, it will be in good shape by the time you decide to swap it out. On the other hand, if your car has been in a few accidents, it could hit your wallet pretty hard.

If your vehicle has a lot of damage such as dents, broken parts, paint chips, oil leaks, burns or stains, worn tires, or other physical issues, the value you get for your lease swap over might be less than you were hoping for because the lease company may hit you with a charge at the end of the lease for excessive wear and tear.

You may also have to pay fines for not taking care of your vehicle according to the suggested maintenance schedule

3. Do A Test Drive

Before you take over a car lease or sell your lease, both the buyer and seller should go for a test drive and ensure everything is in running order, literally. This way if the buyer has any questions regarding the driving experience, you can answer beforehand and remove any doubts.

This way you both will be more likely to agree upon a price that suits you so you can sell your lease in a timely manner. So if the vehicle doesn’t check all your boxes, you can reject the offer right there and then.

But if you don’t do a test drive and find you don’t have enough legroom or the vehicle can’t accommodate sufficient passengers, you will be kicking yourself down the line while stuck with a vehicle whose lease payments need to be paid still.

4. Understand the Current Lease Agreement

Understand your lease agreement according to the state you are in because each state has its own tax system on the way it charges car leases. Depending on your current state laws, you may have to pay tax when you take over a car lease.

In some states, the sales tax must be paid upfront at the start of the lease. While other states allow the tax to be paid as part of the monthly lease payment. And if you take over the lease of someone who is not a part of your state, you may still have to pay taxes as per your state’s requirements.

So to be better prepared, research your state laws, and figure out if you have to pay sales tax and how much it will add to the total cost when you go for a lease transfer. This will prevent any unexpected surprises.

5. Know Your Credit Score

Check your credit score because this will have a massive impact on the final price you have to pay when you take over a lease. Many credit card and auto loan companies offer credit scores to all their customers on a monthly basis. The score is usually listed on your monthly statement or can be found by logging in to your account online.

As a rule, your credit score needs to be anywhere between 620 and 660 to get good offers on the car lease.

6. Know Your Early Termination Fee

Check with your leasing company if they will add an early termination fee if you decide to swap out your lease. Usually, lease companies do not charge any fee on a lease exchange, however, they do charge a lease transfer fee which will still save you a tonne of money.

As long as it’s legal in your state, your lease company has allowed it under your lease term, and the buyer you’re transferring the lease to meets your lender’s credit requirements, you should have no problem swapping a lease even if there are a few payments left on it.

Using Car Lease Swap Websites Can Help

Whether your circumstances have changed or you simply want a different car, lease swap platforms can save you money and ensure you’re driving a vehicle that suits your current

needs and preferences. So before you decide to break your lease or commit to a new one, consider exploring car lease swap websites to find the perfect ride and keep your finances in check.

The platform I recommend is QuitaLease.com. It is a lease-swapping website that connects users wanting to get a fair deal when swapping their lease terms. The website offers free advice to both the seller and the buyer lease owner about their perspective offers and solutions regarding their trades.

The process is quite simple as QuitaLease.com has simplified its modus operandi. Simply go to the lease transfer section of the website, sign up as a user (which is free by the way), and post the ad. This ad will be visible to hundreds of thousands of users.

These buyers will contact you through the platform’s built-in messaging feature. Once you have found the right buyer on the website, the support team can also help you with the remainder of the operation to close the deal.

When a person wishes to take over a lease, they send an application to the leasing firm. The leasing business then assesses the applicant’s credit history and credit score.

If the paperwork gets through, both parties sign the lease transfer/takeover. The lease transfer procedure is deemed complete after the signed paperwork is returned to the leasing firm.

Transferring a lease has many added perks. For you, you could avoid the termination fee and move on to a new vehicle. For the buyer, they will enjoy waived-off upfront charges. All in all, both parties end up saving money.

QuitaLease.com focuses on connecting with sellers who offer such perks as part of their contract. Also, the website prioritizes individuals who have a good track record of lease exchanges.

Swapping A Lease Doesn’t Have To Be Confusing

If you are looking to swap a lease but have no idea where to start, this guide, along with the tips should help you out immensely. And if you are searching for a reliable lease swap platform, you don’t have to look any further than QuitaLease. It offers the best selection of car lease takeovers with no hidden costs and has a powerful search engine that lets you finetune so you get exactly what you are looking for.