Tips on Buying Cars: getting out of a lease, getting out of a lease, personal vehicles


Question
hi jeff,
my son who is 26 yrs old just leased a car in april of this year. he lost his previous job a month later but, now has a job which enables him a company car. i spoke with his boss who is a friend of the family. he tells me he needs to try and get rid of it because it would make no sense to have this car when he can use the company vehicle. his payment is 370.00 monthly. i'm not sure how long the lease is for. what can he do if anything, to get rid of this car he can't really afford now. he also had a previous repo which he is still paying on. anything you suggest will be appreciated.

worried mom

Answer
I've been leasing my own personal vehicles on and off since 1983, and leased hundreds of cars to customers during my 20 years in the car business.  The only real disadvantage to leasing is that there's no inexpensive way to get out of the lease contract early, ESPECIALLY if you try to do it within the first two years of the lease.  The first thing a "worried mom" should do is to ask if her son's new employer would be willing to provide a monthly car car allowance in lieu of the company car.  That way, your son still receives an automotive benefit from the company, and he doesn't have to face the frightfully-expensive prospect of getting out of his lease early.  Yes, there are companies that claim they can get you out of the lease by finding someone else to take over the payments, but these are either scams, or leave your son still responsible for making the payments.  If your son does decide to go that route, please run the program by me first before he signs anything.