Selling a Leased Car

Dear Miss Mota Mouth,

My lease on my car is not up yet and I would like to sell this car and pay off the lease. It has really low mileage so I think that I can get a good price for it but how will the buyer get the title?

Bruce N, Los Angeles, CA

Dear Leasing in LA,

The first step to losing your lease is going to be for you to call the leasing company/dealer and find out what the pay off is on the car. You want to be prepared when you sell the car that you could be upside down, or in other words, owe more on the car than the price you may get for it.

Once your buyer has decided to become the new owner, it is probably best to both go to the leasing company to complete the transaction. If they do not live locally the dealer that holds the title can take care of the transfer without both of you needing to be there by sending paperwork by FedEx. The buyer can pay the company directly and you can pay the difference if you did unfortunately end upside down in what you owe.

For a fee, the dealership company can then do the taxes, title transfer and registration which will release of any liabilities and set you free!

Finally, during the advertisement of the car, it is a good idea to be upfront with the buyer about the state of the title so that they will not be surprised at the end of the sale. You expect honesty from people so they should be able to expect that from you. It means both sides win!

Best of luck,

M

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