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NY Times: Car Leases Can Be the Most Binding of Contracts

5102 Views 33 Replies 9 Participants Last post by  Got volt?, 
K
Must read for anyone planning to lease. NY Times has a tiered access policy. The first 10 articles each month are free: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/28/a...ses-can-be-the-most-binding-of-contracts.html

KNS
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Got volt? said:
Guess you guys and the author never heard of Swapalease.
Got rid of 2 leases in the past 8 months using Swapalease, first my 2014 volt so I could get a 2016 volt.
Then I got rid of my moms 2015 Prius for her last month, after she had a stroke last summer and can no longer drive.
Of course the caveat is you have to have a decent lease to begin with to make the payment attractive enough that someone would want to take it over. (No one is going to take over a $500/month payment on a volt)
You guys are lucky to have forward thinkers on here to show you there are other ways than what the doom and gloom naysayers are preaching.
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I'm about to use the service (heard it is better than leasetrader) to swap my '17 Volt lease. I think I'll be able to find a MD'er (sorta sucks GMF only allows in-state lease transfers) willing to take over my '17 that has a $261 final monthly payment. :)

Just have to make sure my Bolt is delivered to be before I post my Volt!

EDIT: oh, if you can comment on your swapalease experiences, (interactions with interested parties, timeline from submitting the request for the transfer until it officially was processed, etc...) it'd be appreciated! Thanks!
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G
The volt was through us bank and they are kind of tough on the credit check for the interested party. My payment was $249/month and I had at least 8 people trying to take over the lease but ultimately only 1 was approved. Since Swapalease works directly with us bank the paperwork was very fast and all done online in less than 2 weeks.

The Prius on the other hand was through Toyota financial and they seem much more lenient on the credit check but everything had to be done by mail and took a total of five weeks.
The payment on the Prius was only $199/month and the first person that looked at it wanted it, was approved and took it.
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Got volt? said:
The volt was through us bank and they are kind of tough on the credit check for the interested party. My payment was $249/month and I had at least 8 people trying to take over the lease but ultimately only 1 was approved. Since Swapalease works directly with us bank the paperwork was very fast and all done online in less than 2 weeks.

The Prius on the other hand was through Toyota financial and they seem much more lenient on the credit check but everything had to be done by mail and took a total of five weeks.
The payment on the Prius was only $199/month and the first person that looked at it wanted it, was approved and took it.
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Cool, thanks. Fortunately lease rates for the '17 Volt haven't really changed much since June, and I was able to cash in on a ton of incentives ($1k private offer, $500 farm bureau, $900 GM card bonus earnings). Even rolling $800 of negative equity into the lease, as well as full MD tax and fees, my MSRP $35k Siren Red Volt final monthly payment is still cheaper than even the pre-tax/fees national lease offer for a base Volt.

Sounds like I should go with the cheapest swapalease option, as I should have no problem finding a swapper. :)
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G
Yes at $261 per month you should have no problem, and it would be the top listing because they show the lowest price first!
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Got volt? said:
Yes at $261 per month you should have no problem, and it would be the top listing because they show the lowest price first!
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How soon after your cars were listed did you get contacted by potential swappers? Did you have to chip any money in to sweeten the deal? Also, any of the swappers bring up the $395 termination fee as an issue? Sorry for peppering you with all these questions!
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G
I started getting responses almost immediately.
I did not have to chip in to sweeten the deal but I have seen other listings, with higher monthly payments, offer an incentive to effectively lower the remaining monthly payments.
It always comes down to how good of a deal you got when you initially signed your lease.
Low monthly payments with a decent amount of miles left will always make it easier
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Got volt? said:
I started getting responses almost immediately.
I did not have to chip in to sweeten the deal but I have seen other listings, with higher monthly payments, offer an incentive to effectively lower the remaining monthly payments.
It always comes down to how good of a deal you got when you initially signed your lease.
Low monthly payments with a decent amount of miles left will always make it easier
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Whelp, my swapalease listing is now live! 2017 Siren Red LT for anyone interested that is in MD.
http://www.swapalease.com/lease/details/2017-Chevrolet-Volt.aspx?salid=999559

I will be out of my "ironclad binding lease contract" by next January. :p
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bro1999 said:
Whelp, my swapalease listing is now live! 2017 Siren Red LT for anyone interested that is in MD.
http://www.swapalease.com/lease/details/2017-Chevrolet-Volt.aspx?salid=999559

I will be out of my "ironclad binding lease contract" by next January. :p
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And you still have your license!!!
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Bacardi said:
And you still have your license!!!
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Yup!

I will have made 6 lease payments by the time the Volt is swapped. So 261 x 6 = $1,566.
I received a $2,300 check from Maryland as a EV rebate (no strings like the CA rebate has).
So I will have profited almost $800 when it's all said and done leasing a Volt for 7 months. Damn these horrible lease deals! Lol
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G
And the only other 17 with a lower payment than yours is already "swap pending" so yours should go quick.
And it looks great too.
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K
bro1999 said:
...I will be out of my "ironclad binding lease contract" by next January. :p
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Are you sure? It is my understanding is that if the person who takes over the lease fails to pay the monthly rental or for assessed damages at the end of the lease, then the leasing company will come knocking on your door pdq.

KNS
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kns said:
Are you sure? It is my understanding is that if the person who takes over the lease fails to pay the monthly rental or for assessed damages at the end of the lease, then the leasing company will come knocking on your door pdq.

KNS
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Nope, clean break for GM Financial leases transferred to another party. I hear some other leasing companies don't cut the string 100% on transfers though. I want to say Nissan comes to mind.
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kns said:
Are you sure? It is my understanding is that if the person who takes over the lease fails to pay the monthly rental or for assessed damages at the end of the lease, then the leasing company will come knocking on your door pdq.

KNS
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It's called a contingent liability...You can buy an additional third party insurance for the lenders that have that...List of all lenders here:

http://www.leasetrader.com/car/lease/info/help/leasing/terms/Leasing_Companies.aspx

It appears that a lot of lenders who used to have them no longer has them; but as you point out, if you think you'd ever be in a position that transferring makes sense, ensure you lender doesn't have a contingent liability...
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kns said:
Are you sure? It is my understanding is that if the person who takes over the lease fails to pay the monthly rental or for assessed damages at the end of the lease, then the leasing company will come knocking on your door pdq.

KNS
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Is that like "many people are saying"

I can speak for Toyota financial and US Bank, and both of those, total liability transfers to the party taking over the lease which is why they have such tough criteria to qualify for the person taking over the contract
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