More car leasers move out of U.S.
About 3 out of 4 are giving up higher-end luxury brands such as BMW and Mercedes, says LeaseTrader.
The most popular destinations for Californians are Mexico, Brazil, the Pan-Asian countries and the Caribbean.
Last year we wrote about Californians giving up their car leases and leaving the state. The two most common reasons then were a job loss or mortgage issues.
John Sternal, LeaseTrader spokesman, said the company started seeing a few people trading their leases to leave the country in early 2007, before the Great Recession started. But it was a small number – about 2.7 percent of the leases traded nationwide.
“We thought it would last about six months,” he said. “We figured people may want to get out of their lease, but to leave the country is pretty drastic.”
Sternal said that rather than being a temporary phenomenon, the trend has grown.
“The number of people in 2011 has really taken off,” he said. LeaseTrader expects about 6.2 percent of its clients nationwide to be trading in leases to move overseas. Sternal said he talked to one couple who decided to move to Latin America.
“They said, ‘We need to just get out of the country so we're going to Costa Rica to ride it out,'” Sternal said.
Nationwide, the most popular foreign destinations are Israel and the U.K. Sternal noted two of LeaseTrader's biggest markets are metropolitan New York and South Florida, which have large Jewish populations, which would account for Israel.
“And a lot of other people have ties to the London,” he said.
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