Overhaulin'

Can i sell a car that still have a lease on it? is it legal?

i have a lease on a car for about $12,000 the car is worth $21,000 - can i sell the car for cash? will they allow me to sell it for cash?, is it legal? i dont want to break the law how does that process works? thanks

Public Comments

1. you can try to buy the lease out/you cannot sell something that is not yours
2. You can't sell ANY car without first paying off the loan/lease that you currently have. If the proceeds of the sale can generate enough cash to pay off the car in full then you're golden. But you must realize, a lease doesn't cover the entire cost of the car. You may have $12,000 left to pay on the lease but when you're lease is up you will still owe the lender almost 40% of the car's total value. That residual value must be paid in order to legally own the car and give you the rights to sell it. In order to determine if this sale is feasable you need to contact the lender and ask them for the full payoff on the car. How much would it cost to have the title issued to you today.
3. No. A lease means you will never own the vehicle. You are renting the vehicle. You can't sell what isn't yours.
4. Only if you payoff the lease AND buy the car in full concurrently. In other words, you cant sell it until you pay it off. You may be able to use the buyers money but you would likely need all kind of affidavits & such. If the balance of your payments is $12,000 and the payoff is $9000, you have to pay $21,000 before you can sell it or get out from under the payments.
5. A leased car doesn't belong to you. You are only renting on a long-term basis. You cannot sell what you do not own, and you cannot sell a car without a title.
6. So you think if you sell it, you will make $9000? LOL You obviously have no clue as to how a lease works. In a lease, you make payments based on depreciation + interest. So let's say your car depreciates 50% in 3 years. So your payments are based on 50% of your car's total purchase price plus whatever interest. Which means that after you're done paying the $12,000, you would still owe $12,000, if you want to buy it! You never own the car after you finish making payments in a lease, as you would if you finance. How much the car is worth after your lease is listed in your contract under "Residual Value." That's how much IN ADDITION to the lease payments you must make if you want to own the car. But you can certainly sell leased cars. Call the bank and request the "payoff amount" which is how much you have to pay to buy the car outright. You can also trade it in or transfer the contract to someone else.
7. Oh hell no!