Tips for trading a lease:
- See if you can simply sell your lease for more than your current lease buyout amount to
carvana.com,
vroom.com,
carmax.com,
shift.com (west coast mainly) or
algo.com (Tri-state area)
- If your buyout is higher than the offers you're receiving them move to trading the lease
- Browse swapalease.com and leasetrader.com for comparable vehicles to see how much others have listed their 540s for
- Consider adding a one-time incentive to reduce the effective monthly payment (calculated by taking the one-time incentive divided by the remaining months on the lease minus the actual lease monthly payment)
- Give both
swapalease.com and
leasetrader.com a call to see if they have any "Specials" going on at the moment, don't be afraid to mention that you're considering both options so they sweeten the deal
- Once your car is listed, the process typically takes 3 to 4 weeks of back and forth paperwork so be prepared to "hurry-up" and "wait"
- The transfer costs $100 application fee (non-refundable) and $400 for the transfer (refunded if application is denied) and can be paid by either party
- Ensure that you avoid putting yourself in a position where you don't have at least 1 of the 3 (Ownership/Title, Vehicle/Keys, Payment in Full) during the transaction