Suneet

Does anyone have experience getting a short term lease on a car? I need to get a car for 9-12 months-- doesn't really matter what it is as long as it's not junk.

What is the best way to find one? I've been looking on Craigslist, as well as swapalease and LeaseTrader, but these sites make you sign up and pay a fee, so I want to see if others have had experience with them before dishing out $100 or whatever the fee is.

KillaIS250

iTrader: (1)

If your going to lease its better to take over a lease, you avoid having to put any money down, you won't have to try and find/deal with a dealer to get a 12 month lease and usually when people are trying to get out of a lease they will give some sort of incentive to take the car off their hands (small amount of cash usually). Just if you go this route, remember that you may be responsible for damages or excessive wear when you turn the car in so check the care carefully.

Or if you don't mind, find a good use car that's cheap. Buy it straight out and then sell it when your done. You'll probably spend at least $5000 in 12 months on lease payments at minimum anyways. Just buy a car for that much and sell it when your done, you'll get some of the difference back. Even if you sell it for half of what you paid to sell it quick, its something back. And you don't have to worry about having to pay for dings and things like you would with a lease. Don't need full coverage insurance either like you will with a lease. Something to think about

SaintNexus

You can find used Toyota's for under $1,000. If you need the car for less than a year, I say do it. You can probably sell it afterwards for half the cost too.

rominl

iTrader: (4)

you don't need to pay and sign up if you want to take over a lease on swapalease, do you? i thought only the parties who want to post their cars have to pay

blacksc400

iTrader: (4)

Might as well get a used car for a year, and sell it for a little loss if it's a Honda/Toyota.

scgt652

You should check out Hertz's Multi Month Rental Program. The rates are lower than if you rent on a daily or weekly basis. However, don't expect to get a Lexus for only $399 a month.

Fizzboy7

No reason to lease when you can buy a car for such a short period of time. Leases are not really advantageous until about 2-3 years of payments.

CleanSC

Actually chances are if you buy smart/get a good deal, you'll make some money off the used car if not break even.

As for lease trading sites, I unloaded a MINI Cooper S on Leasetrader that I had leased. I think it was the buyer that had to pay the fees but much is negotiable. The car was fully modded so I actually got the buyer to pay me almost $2K.

Assuming somone's lease is complicated and you assume various responsibilities. Depending on the brand of car, the risks are very different as each leasing company has different rules for it. Some even charge you $500 just to transfer the lease. So read up and be informed.

A used car is the quickest and easiest way. Dump it at Carmax if it needs to go quick when you're done. Always check it has a clean carfax before buying or unloading can be difficult.