A friend of mine and I got into a heated discussion last night about leasing and I figured you guys could help me out. The question was this: If I'm leasing a car and, for whatever reason, decide I don't want the car any more, and just stop making payments, what happens?? I know that if you're buying a car and stop making payments, the finance company repossesses the car. What happens if you're leasing; is it repossessed and a fee is charged, or what??



Thanks for any help.......

 

you'll majorly F$% up your credit. if that's worth it to you, go ahead. good luck financing another car.

 

plus, a lot of lease agreements actually have stipulations which would make you liable for the entire amount. meaning they could haul you into court and get the entire amount out of you (or send it through collections)


either way, your credit is f#$%ed beyond belief

 

Oh well since it's a lease they just let you have the car, the don't bother with coming to get it. And you get extra points on your credit for taking such good care of the car.

 

http://www.reallifedebt.com/vehicle-leasing-buying.html

" Default - If you fail to make a lease payment you may lose your security deposit and may be responsible for all other payments due under the lease. Additional costs for defaulting on payments can include the lessor's legal fees and costs for repossessing the vehicle."

"Early termination - can be very expensive! You may be responsible for substantial penalties or all payments under the lease. You will not be able to simply return the car and stop making payments. Read the early termination clause thoroughly and make certain that you understand it. Before you sign a lease agreement consider carefully what it may mean to you in the future."

 

Thanks for the input, guys; that's what I tried to tell the guy but he wouldn't believe me. I guess if it was as easy to get out of a lease as he thought, you could just lease a car for a few months then turn it in, with no penalty other than what your payments were, any time you wanted. On second thought, that would be pretty cool.......