Dear Terry,
I recently traded in my 2006 BMW 530i, which I was purchasing, for a 328i, which was a lease. I needed to show lower debt-to-income ratio in order to buy a home. I’m having terrible anxiety because I know I made a mistake. Is there any way to get out of the lease?
—
Joseph Llanos
Dear Joseph,
You can get out of a lease, but it will likely be costly. Most lease companies will give you a payoff amount that will allow you to walk away, but I suspect in the case of your BMW it may involve thousands of dollars — something you can’t afford if you’re buying a house.
Another route is to check out the Web sites that will try to find someone to take over your lease, like
LeaseTrader.com and
SwapaLease.com.
Good luck.
If you have a question for Terry, e-mail him at
Driving for Dollars.
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