omaralt

i recently leased a GS350 (in april 2013) and after a few months decided it wasnt for me. after multiple dealerships offered me $40K on trade in (pay off was $46K) i decided I was going to lease transfer it myself. i searched on this forum and didnt find much so i decided to write this to help somebody else out who decides to go this route.

1- find somebody to assume your lease. there are multiple websites (swapalease, leasetrader, etc). i decided to start out only on craigslist. i put a free ad and within a week i had multiple people interested.

2- its a good idea before you even find somebody to call LFS and request the lease transfer paperwork. it takes about a week or so (arrives from Iowa, i'm in FL). request at least two copies. my first copy went to somebody who decided they changed their mind, so i had to wait another week for the second set; annoying. they told me the process takes 6-8 weeks.

3- the paperwork involves two sections, one for you and one for the other person. your portion is simple. hers involved a credit application. she was excited and decided to overnight everything and include a fedex account number with pre paid overnight return shipping. that really makes it quicker.

4- her credit got approved. congrats; you've overcome the biggest hurdle. they now send back (overnight in our case) another packet to me. this also includes two parts; me and her. my part was simple; odometer reading, signing a few papers, etc. hers included a $200 lease transfer fee, DL copy, proof of insurance, and a few more things. she overnighted it again

5- they now receive the paperwork and we got assigned an agent (Linda, she was awesome). within 48 hrs i was no longer on the account. she told me it'll take another few days for the title to transfer over (not sure what she means) but i'm no longer on the account and can officially give her the keys.

the entire process took us 2 weeks. this is with everything sent overnight and the other party very excited and filling out paperwork ASAP and sending it out next morning. so while they'll tell you it'll take 6-8 weeks it can take considerably less time. also for some reason they send everything to you. even her paperwork, which is annoying. that means every time i received paperwork we had to meet up so i can give her her portion. i wish they just sent her portion to her and mine to me.

either way, this is the process. if anybody has any specific questions let me know. i do think it could be a lot easier and quicker; why not have everything electronic? electronic credit report, etc? but overall pretty easy, and nice of lexus to allow this

Stew4HD

Thanks for the write up!

bean006

Wow, thanks for the info. This is definitely a good info to know.

I'll save your writing on my personal desktop for future reference.

Thanks!

elusive

iTrader: (2)

That doesnt sound bad at all, but the key here is that you found a great buyer. The quicker (basically same day) and sometimes better alternative, depending on how much you're offered, is to sell it to Carmax. That's what I did with my previous car and it was quick/easy.

jtrue28

Although, as he stated, selling the car would leave him upside down. In this scenario, he's free and clear, and basically got the $46K that he "owed".

Good work OP!

omaralt

no prob

no prob

i didnt even bother taking it to carmax, as i saw that my trade in value on KBB in excellent condition was like $43K. i was not willing to pay anything to get out of the car; i was find driving it for the remaining 21 months. i realized the only way to walk away clean was to transfer the lease. you'll almost never not have negative equity in a lease situation; except maybe towards the very end

exactly, glad i could be of some help

jlarami

I'm looking to get out of my 2010 ES lease 18 months early. A lease transfer seems to be a good option, however my dealer advised that Lexus leases, although transferable, do not relieve the original lessee of any obligations, and I'm not willing to put the car into anyone elses hands if I'm still responsible for the payments, damage to the car, etc.

Is this true ? I know that other luxury brands, like BMW, permit lease transfers with no obligation to the original lessee..

Why not Lexus ?

Is there any way to protect oneself in this situation. Perhaps some type of extended insurance policy ?

elusive

iTrader: (2)

According to swapalease, that's not true. You can always contact Lexus Financial to confirm.
http://www.swapalease.com/help/lease...px?leaseco=196

omaralt

your dealer is 100% wrong. call lexus financial and deal with them. your dealer has nothing to do with the process and is not involved whatsoever. this is between you, lexus financial, and the new owner. it is a slow process but once it's completed it's 100% out of your name and you have nothing to do with it anymore

BkRed350

Nice write up

Armeeze

Thanks for sharing this info. It's very helpful as I'm about to start down the path of finding someone to take over the lease of my 2014 CT200h.

nicatictic

armeeze, where in cali are you? I'm looking to get into a ct200h.

jnguyen87

iTrader: (2)

Im curious though, unless you had some super sweet lease deal, what benefit would this person have taking over your lease instead of going into a dealership and starting a brand new one?

nicatictic

Sure, the benefit for me is a shorter lease term. I doubt financial services will ever offer leases for fewer than 24 months which means there will always be a lease transfer market.

Armeeze

nicatictic - I'm currently in Orange County, but moving to San Francisco this weekend. DM me if you're in that area.

jnguyen87 - Ditto what nicatictic said