One thing you learn as you get older is that there’s no such things as an “easy way out.” Although, when it comes to ending your car lease early, you may have a few options. Depending on your circumstances, there are a few creative ways you can end your car lease early without hurting your bank account.

Car dealers, and their manufacturers are always looking for two things: ways to make money, and how to sell more cars.

If your lease isn’t due for another few months, but you really want to get into a new car, the odds are that a dealer is going to put their best foot forward to help you make that a reality. Why? Because they’ll make money selling the new lease, and they’ll sell another car. Both of those things benefit the dealer.

Although, this positive attitude needs to be taken with a grain of salt. Your current lease agreement is a legally binding document.

Getting a good deal on a car is all about leverage. If your lease isn’t due for 3 months, and you have a legally binding contract that says you’ll make the remaining payments, you don’t have too much leverage. With all this being said, there are some creative ways you can approach this situation. Let’s get into the weeds of how you can end your car lease early.

Will they “forgive” my payments?

The short answer is “no.” The long answer is “probably.” Why do I say that? Because a lot of factors are in play.

First, how many monthly payments do you have left on your current lease? If you have less than three, the odds are high that the dealer and the leasing company will work with you to forgive your remaining lease obligations in exchange for getting into a new car (although there are caveats to this that we’ll cover below). On the other end of the spectrum, if you have six, eight, or twelve payments left on your lease, it is less likely that the dealer will have any interest in helping you out. Why would they? You’ve got a whole year’s worth of payments to continue making, and with each check you write, they make money.

Take a look at your original lease agreement and locate the termination date of the lease (the date you would return the car if you completed the lease). You can typically also find this information in your online payment portal. This date is the most important thing for you to keep in mind, and it’s the date that the dealership and the leasing company will be referring to when they consider how “friendly” they’ll be in forgiving your remaining lease payments.

Will they “forgive” payments? An intro to lease pull-ahead programs

To end your car lease early without penalty, you’ll want to research lease pull-ahead programs. Car lease pull-ahead programs are specific incentive programs that leasing companies create to entice prospective customers to lease a new vehicle. A lease pull-ahead program is your best option for ending a car lease early.

Leasing companies generally do not readily provide this information. Instead, each month the captive finance company (Toyota Financial Services, for example) will send it’s dealerships a list of new and ongoing incentive programs for customers.

These lists are huge, complex, and not particularly easy to understand. Within these monthly guidelines, dealers may find pull-ahead programs that are intended to incentivize customers to buy new cars. Keep in mind that incentive programs are different for each region within the United States. Two dealerships may have two very different incentive programs in any given month. This is partly why you don’t see lease pull-ahead programs advertised nationwide.

You can try and find this information online, although your best bet is to call your local dealership, or the leasing company itself.

Ending your lease early is possible, but not guaranteed

At the end of the day, if you’re looking to end your car lease early you need to recognize that you have a legal obligation to fulfill the contract you signed. With that being said, you know that dealers and leasing companies want to lease you a new car, and you can use that to your advantage to ask for incentives and programs to help offset the remaining payments you have on your current lease.

In need of some assistance from auto lease experts? Learn how The CarEdge Team can help!