One aspect of life never changes - things change. This is especially true when it comes to circumstances and situations. What seems like the perfect solution today could turn out to be a major impediment tomorrow.
This is why experts caution car buyers to shop very carefully. Shoppers are advised to do everything possible to make sure the car serves their needs now and into the future. Of course, none of us has a crystal-clear picture of the future and again - things change.
If this happens when you have a lease, can you sell your leased car?
Yes, As a Matter of Fact You Can
Every lease has a payoff amount. This is the figure the leasing company would accept from you to pay off the contract and walk away from it. This number is usually included on your monthly statement. You can also get it from the customer service department or find it online in your account information.
Here's the first place it gets tricky though.
You need that payoff amount to be equal or less than what you'll get for the car when you sell it. This means you'll need to go to a site like Kelley Blue Book to find out what cars like yours are currently going for in your area. If it's more than you owe, you're golden. If it's less - and you really need to get out of the lease - you'll have to sell it for what you can get and make up the difference out of your own pocket.
What Makes Selling a Leased Car Complicated
As you were learning how to lease a car, you may have run across the fact that you don't own the car; the leasing company does. This means you won't have access to the title to transfer it to your buyer right away.
Given all the shady stuff that goes on around selling cars, the likelihood of a buyer being cool with giving you the money to pay off your lease and waiting to get the title is going to be a bit on the slim side.
For this reason, your best play is to find someone with whom you have a personal relationship to buy the car. Of course, this also violates one of the first rules of selling a car - never do so to a person you know personally. However, given it's a leased car, it's probably pretty new and still under warranty, so their risk is mitigated considerably.
Either way, you're going to have to find a buyer willing to accept some risk.
The Mechanics of the Deal
Once you've located that purchaser and agreed with them upon a price, you'll have that person mail a cashier's check for the buyout amount to the leasing company. When the check clears, the leasing company will send the title to the car to you.
(See where people might get a bit antsy about the transaction here?)
Once you have that document in hand, you can have the buyer meet you at the DMV, where you will transfer the title. We strongly suggest doing this at the DMV so all of the forms can be filed on the spot and you'll be released of liability right then and there.
The last thing you need is for the buyer to get into an accident with the car, total it and leave you holding the bag for the damages they inflict because you're still the legal owner of the car.
Yes, you can sell your leased car.
However it is a lot less straightforward than selling a car you own, as you'll have to find a buyer willing to wait to get the title to a car you don't currently own, after said title has been transferred to you and then to them in turn.
If you followed all of that, you can see it isn't easy - but it is possible.
