Selling a leased car or transferring the lease

Dear all,

Last September I bought a BMW using a 3 year leasing program. However I might have to move to the US for work beginning of next year. I have called the dealership and asked if I could pay some extra money to own the car. Their answer was NO. Is it possible then that I sell it to someone else? Is the "leasing program" transferrable?

Looking forward to your opinion. Thanks!!

Hell, no.

I have a leased car too and I have heard that a lease can be transferred. You have to find someone who wants to take over your lease, you have to agree on a price (maybe you have to subsidize some of his future payments), and then your dealer or the Bank (BMW FS perhaps in this case) will do a credit check of the person who is taking it over, then you both do an inspection together (or he basically agrees that he has got the car from you in good shape so is responsible for all future damages) and then it is done I think.

I have seen some TT ads for lease takeover before.

Looks like some are trying to do this in e-bay:

http://cgi.ebay.de/BMW-E90-318i-Limousine-...tem230180699352

and

http://cgi.ebay.de/OPEL-TIGRA-TWIN-TOP-1-4...tem260170112566

If the lease is no longer tenable, as would be the case if you are unexpectedly moving abroad, then it can be cancelled. There may be quite a penalty to do this, especially in the first year when the car loses most of its' initial value. The lease contract should specify these penalties. It would certainly be cheaper for you to transfer the lease. This should be possible with the agreement of the leasing company (not the dealer!). There may be a small charge to transfer and of course, the lessor would want to check the credit status of the new lessee before agreeing to the contract. If you made a downpayment at the beginning of the lease, then the you could negotiate a pro-rata payment with the new owner. It would be in his/her interest to check in detail the state of the car before taking it over in case there is any damage which may prejudice its' return at the end of the lease. It may be the dealer could help (at a cost) to evaluate this.