Leasing is a profitable, modern, and convenient financial instrument that allows purchasing a new vehicle without diverting significant funds. But consumers sometimes have to sell a leased car for various reasons:
- An urgent need for money;
- Inability to fulfill obligations on lease payments;
- The vehicle is no longer in use.
Specialists from the Indy Auto Man dealership, Indianapolis, explain the nuts and bolts of such deals and reveal possible options for a leased car owner. Read also about the used car leasing on indyautoman.com.
A Dealership Wants to Buy My Leased Car – Can I Sell It?
In fact, during the entire leasing agreement term, the vehicle is on the balance of the leasing company, i.e., in its possession. This fact deprives you of the opportunity to dispose of the car in full. However, the law does not exclude this opportunity: you can sell a leased car if it is allowed by the contract under special conditions. For example, the client may have to pay the leasing company at least 50% of the car cost before its direct sale.
Options For Getting Rid of Your Lease
Selling a leasing car is not the most difficult transaction. But it can also contain different nuances, controversial situations, and ambiguities. Before making the final decision about the deal, it is always best to consult specialists.
As a rule, there are two options to sell a leased vehicle:
- Close the deal ahead of schedule. A leasing transaction can be closed ahead of time if this does not contradict the leasing agreement. In this case, the client plays by the rules of the leasing company and most often pays material compensation for the early termination of the contract. After that, the car owner is free to sell the car on the secondary market.
- Resell the obligations to a third party. This is also possible by prior agreement with the leasing company. The resale implies that the bond to pay lease payments according to the contract and schedule passes to another person/dealership. At this point, the third party also becomes the conditional owner of the car.
How to Sell a Leased Car to a Dealership
It is the fastest way to sell a leased car. Many dealerships in the US are willing to buy a leased car and offer a good price.
To make such a transaction, the consent of the leasing company, which will be a full participant in the process, is required. The car owner takes the vehicle to the dealership and, after agreeing on the conditions, technical inspection of the car, and providing all the documents, the parties re-register the documents, involving employees from the leasing company.
How to Sell a Leased Car to a Private Party
You can also sell a leased car to a private buyer. The procedure for conducting and concluding a sale transaction is similar to selling to a dealership. However, you have to look for buyers and negotiate with them on your own. In this case, you should collect as much information about the car as possible, which will serve as a strong argument for the buyer. For example, it can be a report containing a detailed description of the vehicle, including the year of manufacture, the number of owners, accidents, mileage, and the presence/absence of restrictions.
As you see, there are several options for selling a leased car. It can even be profitable when the market demand is high, the car is in good condition, the mileage is low, and there is an opportunity to make use of possible equity.
The decision will depend on the car value and the efforts you are willing to put into the deal.
