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Car Forum / BMW Cars / June 2005

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BMW lease transfer

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driz - 22 Jun 2005 21:08 GMT
Hi,
If any of you have experience doing lease transfers can you share it
with me please? I have a 11 month old 325i, leased from BMW financial
services. I've got 2 yrs and 32K miles left. But there are some changes
in my lifestyle that require me to end the lease.

I checked the websites www.leasetrader.com and www.swapalease.com . Has
anyone done any business with them and can share your experiences?

Also, i hear (from an old 1999 posting) that according to the BMW
financial's terms, the original lessee is responsible for any payment
and damages to the car even after the lease transfer. Is this really
true?

thank you.
-Driz
Somebody - 22 Jun 2005 21:34 GMT
> Hi,
> If any of you have experience doing lease transfers can you share it
[quoted text clipped - 12 lines]
> thank you.
> -Driz

My lease trasnfer experience is GM but same rules should apply.  Get the
buyout price for your lease.  Advertise the car privately.  If you can get
more than the buyout price for it, the dealer sells it to your party at the
price you negotiated and cuts you a cheque for the difference.  If you get
less, you must top it up to the difference to complete the sale.  Title
passes from the dealer (finance company) that holds it, to the new buyer.
It's never in your name.

-Russ.
Ross Garrett - 22 Jun 2005 22:38 GMT
>> Hi,
>> If any of you have experience doing lease transfers can you share it
[quoted text clipped - 21 lines]
> passes from the dealer (finance company) that holds it, to the new buyer.
> It's never in your name.

That's not a lease transfer though. That is a sale that pays off the lease.
I think this man is wanting to transfer the lease for the remainder of
payments and miles agreed upon in the original lease.

To the OP, yes....if an actual lease transfer takes place BMWFS does hold
you responsible for the damage and payment responsibilities. All car makers
*offer* the same terms. Bottom line, these are very much like the old
non-qualifying assumable FHA/VA mortgage used to be. You hold legacy
exposure unless you pay off the original lease.

I don't know what your situation is, but you might want to consider the
buyout Russ is talking about. There are times when the lease exposure can be
covered by a private party purchase. I just depends on the values the car
you have is carrying in your community.
driz - 23 Jun 2005 03:22 GMT
> >> Hi,
> >> If any of you have experience doing lease transfers can you share it
[quoted text clipped - 31 lines]
> non-qualifying assumable FHA/VA mortgage used to be. You hold legacy
> exposure unless you pay off the original lease.

Thanks for your post. Yes, I am trying to end my lease prematurely by
transfering the car to someone else.. who will continue paying the
lease that i had taken 1 yr back.

I had called up BMW FS after posting this message. The lady I spoke to
told me that once the transfer takes place (it takes about 30 days) my
name will be taken off the car and, then on, I will not be responsible
for any fault the new owner of the car -- whether it is damage he/she
causes to the car or any payment he/she misses. Is there any fine print
I am missing here? What exactly is legacy exposure?

> I don't know what your situation is, but you might want to consider the
> buyout Russ is talking about. There are times when the lease exposure can be
> covered by a private party purchase. I just depends on the values the car
> you have is carrying in your community.
Ross Garrett - 23 Jun 2005 16:31 GMT
> I had called up BMW FS after posting this message. The lady I spoke to
> told me that once the transfer takes place (it takes about 30 days) my
> name will be taken off the car and, then on, I will not be responsible
> for any fault the new owner of the car -- whether it is damage he/she
> causes to the car or any payment he/she misses. Is there any fine print
> I am missing here? What exactly is legacy exposure?

You aren't missing fine print, but be careful of what sounds good but is not
explained fully. It is seldom that BMWFS will transfer the lease to someone
else without maintaining your signature as collateral. You would have to
find someone whose credit-worthiness is, at a minimum,equal to yours for
this to happen. And as things go in this world that person is probably
already in leases or loans for cars. Remember, your payment amount is very
similar to what this credit-worthy person could get on a *new* car. So it
isn't a slam dunk that someone who would qualify for a clear lease transfer
is going to want to make the same payment amount for a used car. Therefor
many lease transfers are to people who don't have the best qualifications.
It isn't as clean-cut as it seems.

The rate of default on lease transfers, just like used car loans, is quite
high compared to original leases, and for that reason BMWFS, and most
finance arms, keep a lot of ammo in the file. And in that effort when
someone who has "close-to" qualifications for the lease applies to BMWFS,
they make the lease transfer but cover their exposure by keeping you on as
secondary collateral.

Think about it. Someone who fully qualifies to assume your lease without you
staying on it, is also fully qualified to secure a lease on a new car. And
because this is a lease there isn't any monetary incentive, on a monthly
basis, to go used rather than new. The bottom line is that most lease
transfers are to the secondary market, and for that market most finance arms
require you to stay on as a signer.
Drew Dalgleish - 23 Jun 2005 16:54 GMT
>> I had called up BMW FS after posting this message. The lady I spoke to
>> told me that once the transfer takes place (it takes about 30 days) my
[quoted text clipped - 28 lines]
>transfers are to the secondary market, and for that market most finance arms
>require you to stay on as a signer.

That's assuming that Driz orrigionally had no trade in or down
payment. The savings to a new leasee could be quite substantial.
driz - 23 Jun 2005 18:17 GMT
> > I had called up BMW FS after posting this message. The lady I spoke to
> > told me that once the transfer takes place (it takes about 30 days) my
> > name will be taken off the car and, then on, I will not be responsible
> > for any fault the new owner of the car -- whether it is damage he/she
> > causes to the car or any payment he/she misses. Is there any fine print
> > I am missing here? What exactly is legacy exposure?

Thanks Ross.

> You aren't missing fine print, but be careful of what sounds good but is not
> explained fully. It is seldom that BMWFS will transfer the lease to someone
[quoted text clipped - 7 lines]
> many lease transfers are to people who don't have the best qualifications.
> It isn't as clean-cut as it seems.

>From most of the postings I see in leasetrader.com, the cars up there
for 'lease transfer' are with low monthly payments. For instance,
someone may have paid a 7K upfront and paying $250 monthly and want to
get out of the lease when he has 12 months to go. The buyer has all
reasons to take up the lease because he need only pay $250x12 to enjoy
the cool car. My point is, the buyer doesn't have to be a person with
not-so-good financial qualifications..

> The rate of default on lease transfers, just like used car loans, is quite
> high compared to original leases, and for that reason BMWFS, and most
> finance arms, keep a lot of ammo in the file. And in that effort when
> someone who has "close-to" qualifications for the lease applies to BMWFS,
> they make the lease transfer but cover their exposure by keeping you on as
> secondary collateral.

In the case of BMWFS, the process apparantly is:
Buyer (i.e., the person who is going to take over the lease) submits a
credit application to BMWFS; if it gets approved then the transfer
process begins. Your argument would hold if BMWFS decides to be lenient
on the credit check of the buyer .. but what does it stand to gain?

If i decide to do this lease transfer, would it be sifficient to make
sure that I am not in the lease transfer agreement as a collateral for
anything??

> Think about it. Someone who fully qualifies to assume your lease without you
> staying on it, is also fully qualified to secure a lease on a new car. And
> because this is a lease there isn't any monetary incentive, on a monthly
> basis, to go used rather than new. The bottom line is that most lease
> transfers are to the secondary market, and for that market most finance arms
> require you to stay on as a signer.

See my point above. The buyer may just want to enjoy the Porche
experience for 9 months before settling on a family car like Volvo or
Passat. A lease transfer from someone who paid a big downpayment is an
ideal option for him/her.

I am still confused. Has anyone gone through the process of lease
transfer out there?
Somebody - 24 Jun 2005 21:53 GMT
> > > I had called up BMW FS after posting this message. The lady I spoke to
> > > told me that once the transfer takes place (it takes about 30 days) my
[quoted text clipped - 56 lines]
> I am still confused. Has anyone gone through the process of lease
> transfer out there?

Why not just sell it?  Are you very far offside the lease km?  Are you
upside down on the car residual?  Give us some numbers to work with.

-Russ.
Somebody - 23 Jun 2005 03:48 GMT
> >> Hi,
> >> If any of you have experience doing lease transfers can you share it
[quoted text clipped - 36 lines]
> covered by a private party purchase. I just depends on the values the car
> you have is carrying in your community.

Right -- buyout seems a much better option.  The creditworthiness of
somebody that can only handle a transferred lease rather than the debt of
the whole residual should be carefully considered.

-Russ.
 
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