Short Term Car Leasing

A lease for 12 months or less is considered a short term lease.

When you take over a lease, there is no down payment.

There are lots of lease takeover services on the internet.

What is short term car leasing?

A lease that is for 12 months or less is considered a short term lease. Short term leases are most suitable for those not ready to make a long term commitment or who just need a vehicle for a set period of time for school, work, travel, etc. Car dealerships have a minimum of 12-24 month lease terms, therefore short term leases are usually lease takeovers. A lease takeover is when one person arranges to take over a lease from another person who wants out of their existing lease. The new lessee takes over the monthly payments and other responsibilities for the remaining months of the original lease.

Short term leases are a great way to have a low monthly lease payment with no down payment. It is one of the best ways to get into a relatively new car that's still under warranty, at a lower cost. The process of a lease takeover is one that involves the original lease company making the necessary paperwork and contract changes to switch the lease over to the new lessee. At the end of the lease term, the new lessee is responsible for returning the vehicle to the lease company or purchasing the vehicle. If the vehicle is returned, the new lessee can still be charged for damages or extra mileage just as the original lessee would have if they had kept the vehicle.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of short term leasing?

Advantages:

There is usually no down payment.
There is more flexibility, you can choose find a lease for the number of months or years that suit your needs.
If you don't like the vehicle, you'll know the lease will soon be over and then you can choose a different vehicle next time.

Disadvantages:

The mileage limit may be stricter and you will have to pay for extra miles.
Since it's not a brand new car, it may not be in perfect condition.
You will still need to maintain the vehicle and pay for any damages.

Where can you find a short term lease?

A short term lease of a few weeks is best done through a car rental company. If you need a car for at least a few months to a year, then a lease takeover is better. You can sometimes find short term lease offers in newspaper classifieds or magazines. If you happen to find a lease in this way, remember it's not legal until the lease company approves and changes the contract. You can't just take over the payments.

The easiest way to find a short term lease is through a company that matches up people wanting to get out of their lease early with people wanting to takeover a lease. You can find lots of these companies on the internet, such as Swapalease.com and LeaseTrader.com. There are also longer term leases available through these services. They list and display vehicles for which lease transfers are being offered. In many cases these can be very good deals, especially when the original lease deal was good to begin with. In the current bad economy, many people are offering up their leased vehicles. If you decide to take over one of the leases you find on such a website, the company will help arrange and complete the deal. Some lease companies may charge a small application or transfer fee.

Published on Monday, December 08, 2008 - Email to a friend

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