Clark Howard's Tips

Getting out of a car lease

June 2, 2008

Clark was recently talking to a radio station manager who was very upset that he routinely trashes auto leasing. As it turned out, leasing was a great idea for this guy. In fact, if you're the kind of person who gets "new car fever" every couple of years, leasing may be the perfect option for you -- especially if you like luxury cars.

Yet auto lease defaults are way up. For most people, they're really just a financial noose around the wallet.

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So what can you do if you're over your head in a lease? You may want to try getting approval for a qualified person to take over your lease. Clark suggests LeaseTrader.com as one website where you can begin your search.

Here's one caveat, though: If you have a giant gas-guzzling SUV, you probably won't find many takers willing to get you out of your lease!

Finally, car buyers may be able to steal a deal on vehicles that are returned to the dealer after being leased. Again, this is especially true when it comes to luxury cars. You may even find that a 3-year old luxury ride that's already been leased once will be a better deal than a brand-new mid-priced model.

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