Hi Moms, I am 22 months into a 36 month car lease. I will reach my mileage limit in about 6 weeks. I am trying to figure out if it would be better to keep the car until the lease is up and just pay the 15cents a mile penalty which I calculate will be about $2000 or if I should turn the car in and pay the penalties. Does anyone have any experience with turning in a car lease early? I know I am going to have to pay $$$$ either way but I am trying to make the best financial decision. I have never leased before and do not plan to do it again....lesson learned. Please let me know of any experience that you might have with car leases and breaking them!
We don't lease, we pay cash.......however hubby had a company car from his place of work one year and when they took the car back to the place where it was leased they too got raked over the coals. I think the leasing companies have so many tricks up their sleeves, it does not matter how tightly you follow the rules they are going to get you.
Sorry if I offended anyone. Just my opinion.
Susan
I've never had a lease, but I used to work at a car dealership and even the salesmen would talk about how bad leases were to the consumers. I can't contribute any personal experiences but I wish you luck in whatever you choose to do.
One extra thing. Go to ripoffreport.com and plug in the name of the company you are leasing the car from. See if there are complaints from people who have leased from there just to get an idea of how they treat their leasing customers. Go there with an open mind though because some people's complaints on there for some companies are just downright silly, but most are genuine complaints.
I have had friends that have turned in their lease car over the mileage limit but just leased or bought another car at the same dealership. Normally they just waive the fee if they can get your repeat business. Another thing you could do is go ahead and purchase the car at the end of your lease and then the mileage wouldn't matter. Good luck!
Sell the car! And stay out of leases ("fleeces"... b/c you always end up getting fleeced) I'm trying to get out of mine in a short while & I've learned my lesson on several points- 1) If I lease b/c I can't afford regular payments, I can not afford this item, and "no" I do not ever DESERVE an item I have to make payments on while it goes down in value each & every day; 2) If I am leasing b/c I like the idea of getting a NEW CAR every few years (even if the "old" one works perfectly fine), my priorities are really messed up. My value has nothing to do w/ the cost of the car I drive; 3) I can save up real hard cash & pay for a car that will do all that I need it to do for far less than a NEW CAR, and THINK OF ALL THE MONEY I CAN SAVE UP BY NEVER EVER HAVING A CAR PAYMENT AGAIN! JOY! JOY! JOY! And I can save money & have a budget & never feel the pressure of monthly payments again.
SO SELL THE CAR! You may have to pay a little extra to cover the difference between what you were able to sell it for PRIVATELY & what you owe, but think of all the money you'll save by getting rid of the payment. Get an inexpensive car that will do the trick- starting out, you may need a small loan that you can get rid of in a year or two. After that,drive it till the wheels fall off! We in the US have got to get out of "consumer" consumption mode & back to bedrock values... OK I'm done preaching tonight! Want to learn more? www.daveramsey.com
D. ;)
I have never leased, I always buy and try to pay cash. But my brother did break his lease and they raked him over the coals.
If you google "break my car lease" you will find tons of services, guides and information.
Good luck!
My husband and I only lease cars. My advice is to find out what the pay off amount is and see if you can trade it in for a new car. My husband's lease was not up on his last car and we traded it in for a new car. The dealership negotiated the payoff down and he only ended up rolling $1500 into the new lease. And always ask for more mileage. They normally come standard with 12k a year but we always up to 15k. Good luck.
There are more options than returning the car. If you lease the vehicle, you technically only finance a portion of that car depending on who your lease is through. Your best bet would be to find out how much you currently owe on the vehicle and see about trading or selling the car. Depending on what kind of vehicle you leased, you may be suprised about the balance. If you are interested in leasing, it is best to lease something that has a good resale value such as Honda, Toyota, etc...It is also an option to see what the balance is and finance it through your bank if you think you are wanting to keep the car. Good luck!
