Lease-Swapping Websites - Feature
Desperately seeking deal: Lease swapping makes great sense in a troubled economy.
BY JAMES TATE
June 2009
Leasing is pretty much a tactful way of saying, “I’m driving a car I can’t afford to buy,” but without having to swallow your pride. It makes for a great show, but when all is said and done, you own nothing. Hence, lease rates are carefully crafted to be attractive in the short term while not enticing enough to deter potential buyers from the benefits of new-car ownership. If you have the means, it’s almost always better to buy as you end up owning the car. But that delicate balance was shaken when automakers (and creditors alike) were making something of a last-ditch attempt to combat a collapsing economy a few years back. Leases were absurdly cheap, and even if your credit was bad, you were in.
But as sweet as leasing was a few years ago, there are even sweeter pickings today. The same slumping economy that brought those great deals has served to cripple many of the drivers who capitalized on them. And when it comes to dumping a suddenly unaffordable monthly burden, there are a couple of new stops that come right before the repo man. Websites such as leasetrader.com and swapalease.com list leased vehicles of owners looking to sell their leases.
Picking up a lease at a scandalously low yesteryear rate has never been easier (or possible). On top of locking in the original rate, you’ll typically benefit from a cash incentive, as opposed to the usual down payment. And you’ve now got the car for less than a full lease term—say, six months—so theoretically, you have a different new(ish) car at least every year, further capitalizing on the big benefit of leasing. Finally, it will almost certainly be easier to return the car at the end of term than to sell a car you’d purchased.
Searching the listings is free, but a membership (about $40 for two months at either website) and an additional fee ($150 at leasetrader.com, varying amounts at swapalease.com) are required in order to transfer a lease agreement. At the time of this writing, we found a black-on-black 2007 BMW 328i for $349 per month on swapalease.com, and that included an allowance of more than 1500 miles for each of the remaining 19 months. Or maybe you want something with a little more oomph, say, a 2007 335i for $500 a month? The one we found in three minutes of searching had every conceivable option and was good for well over 1000 miles a month.
So maybe you should lease your next car. Check that—you should lease someone else’s leased car.
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This story posted by LeaseTrader.com, the automotive service company that lets people transfer out of their Car Leases early. If you're looking to swap a lease or transfer out of your car lease, please visit www.leasetrader.com