How to Transfer a Leased Vehicle

Step 1: See if you are allowed to transfer your lease.
Place a call to the bank that you are leasing through to make sure that it allows lease assumptions.  Some banks, like Honda Finance do not.

Step 2: Find someone who is interested in assuming your lease.
This is the tricky part.  Unless you got an absolutely amazing deal on your vehicle, made a large down payment (which is never a good idea), or have a very short period of time left on your lease it may be difficult for you to find someone who is willing to assume your lease.  This is because it often turns out that anyone who is interested in your vehicle could just go out and lease a brand new one with a very similar monthly payment on their own.  The best way to find someone to assume your lease is to visit web sites that facilitate such transactions, such as swapalease.com or leasetrader.com.  Of course, it never hurts to ask friends if they know anyone who might be interested in your vehicle.

Step 3: Sweeten the pot if necessary.
If you have a really difficult time finding an interested party, you may ultimately have to subsidize your deal with a cash payment to make it attractive enough for someone to assume.

Step 4: Have the interested party apply for the transfer.
Once you have found someone who wants to assume your lease, contact your bank and have them complete a credit application.  Every bank has different processes and fees that are associated with the transfer process so you will have to contact them for the details.  Banks' transfer fees range from as low as $35 to as much as $595.

Step 5: Finalize the transfer.
If they are approved by your bank, sign the papers that the bank you are leasing through will provide you and the lessee to be with, physically give them your vehicle, and the transaction is complete.  At lease-end they are on their own in terms of returning your vehicle and having to pay any excess wear and tear and excess mileage penalty.