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When your lease is up, you can simply turn in the keys and lease another car or buy a new one. But how about getting out before the lease ends?

Maybe you can’t afford the sky-high payments on that silky Jaguar JX V6 model anymore or you’ve just had a baby and you need a larger and more  spacious vehicle?

Unfortunately getting out of a lease is not as easy as getting in! A  leasing contract is difficult and expensive to terminate early. Simply  turning in the keys and walking away from a lease can result in stiff  penalties. You credit could be ruined and you could even get sued for  breach of contract.

It’s not all doom and gloom though. Actually, there is a number of options available to you. You can sell the car yourself and pay off the bank. This can be cost effective if the market value of the car is close to the buy-out number.

Do not hesitate to exercise this option even at a loss if it happens to be lower than the termination fee.

Your best option, though, is to transfer your lease for someone who would “assume it” and take it off your hands. There is a whole set of potential  buyers looking for short-term leases without all the hassle and extra  costs. Check with family and friends or use the services of lease-assumption websites, like swapalease.com, to list your car. Make sure you  check the credit worthiness of the new lessee and provide the car in good condition.

Despite aggressive low-interest financing, cash-back offers and other purchasing incentives offered by leading auto-makers to buyers, leasing numbers keep increasing steadily over the years. Leasing is not only anattractive financial proposition to most auto-consumers, but also a lifestyle and preference choice.

Benefit Number 1: Keeping up with the latest trends Leasing is sometimes more of a personal and lifestyle choice than a  financial one. Many people are not comfortable with the idea of owning a  vehicle over a long period of time. They’d rather keep up with the latest trends of the industry and drive the latest models every two to three  years.

Leasing a car gives you the convenience of having the latest technology and safety innovation, such as an electronic stability system, DVD entertainment systems and advanced stereo equipment. If you are willing to forego ownership for the latest set of wheels, than leasing is your best option.

Benefit Number 2: Purchasing Flexibility

Leasing also offers purchasing flexibility: it allows you to defer the purchasing decision while using the car. You don’t have to haggle with your mechanic over repair expenses, deal with hefty maintenance bills or worry about a depreciating asset. Provided you can keep the vehicle in good condition and stay within the contracted mileage allowance, you’re effectively getting a test drive for the length of your lease. At the end of your lease, you can purchase the vehicle or simply turn in the keys and walk away. No questions asked.

Benefit Number 3: Cash Flow

Leasing offers many short-term benefits. It reduces your initial cash outlay as you do not have to pay the large down payment required for car ownership. You only pay for the depreciation on the car – only the part you will use during your lease, not the entire vehicle. This results in lower monthly payments and frees even more cash. This cash can be put to use more intelligently elsewhere than the questionable investment of owning adepreciating asset. If you are self-employed or use your car for your job,  then you can write off your leasing payment as a business expense.

Benefit Number 4: Negotiating Leverage

Although it may seem a little unorthodox in this industry, almost  everything about leasing is negotiable. If you know all the fees involved,  you can lower your monthly payments, negotiate the purchase price of the  vehicle at the end of the lease and contract additional miles on top of  your mileage limit. You can also do some shopping around and compare deals  from different auto-insurers to get the cheapest GAP insurance for your  lease.

Mention auto-leasing and most people will automatically assume a low-monthly payment. There is actually more than what meets the eye, and a number of fees are involved at various stages of the lease process.

At the beginning of the lease, you have to pay a refundable security deposit, typically equivalent to one monthly payment, to safeguard against non-payment and any incidental damage done to the car at the end of the lease. You are also required to pay an administrative charge, called acquisition fee. Other fees include licenses, registration, title and any state or local taxes.

During your lease, and you expected to honour your monthly payment obligations. Any failure to do so will result in late-payment charges.

You have to pay any traffic tickets, emission and safety inspections and ongoing maintenance costs.  Ending your lease early will result in substantial early termination charges.

At the end of the lease, expect to pay any excess mileage costs, charged at 10 to 20 p a mile. Any incidental damage done to the car, and deemed to be above normal, will result in excess tear-and-wear charges. Finally, if you choose not to purchase the vehicle, then you have to pay a disposition fee.