Any luck getting Tesla to make lease transfer exceptions?

[Mike K]

My Model 3 reservation is close to coming due and my intent was to have someone assume the lease on my P85D when that happened. I called Tesla to ask about the process and they told me they don't allow it unless there's 12 payments left in the lease. I have 10. So then I asked if they're still allowing customers to extend their leases by 6 months and they are. Great. So being a wiseguy, I ask her if I can extend the lease and then transfer it. No go. She says they won't let you extend the lease until there's just 3 months left.

My question is whether or not anyone has had any luck getting Tesla to transfer their lease with less than 12 months on the contract or am I fighting a brick wall here? I'd really like out of the car so I can get the 3 now. Otherwise my best case scenario is putting one of the cars are Turo and I don't want to do that.

By the way... According to Tesla, they have changed the policy on M3 reservations so that even previous owners take priority over non-owners. That means if you've ever owned a Tesla, even if you don't now, you get priority over non-owners.

 

[whitex]

With 10 months to go, and not even having configured M3, by the time you get your M3 you will have 6-8months left. Why not just terminate the lease? How much can it cost to return it 6 months early? Or, just trade in the car on the M3, they will do the math of whether you have any equity in it and/or how much you owe. Or, sell the car if you think it's worth more than what Tesla will offer it for you. Do the math to figure out what is best (you can get "payoff amount" for a lease any time).

 

[Mike K]

Because the way Tesla structures their leases the only way you can terminate it is by buying out the car. The residual on my P85D is
$83,000 in September. I don't even think it's worth $83,000 now and you don't realize the federal or California rebates in that scenario.

 

[EinSV]

My Model 3 reservation is close to coming due and my intent was to have someone assume the lease on my P85D when that happened. I called Tesla to ask about the process and they told me they don't allow it unless there's 12 payments left in the lease. I have 10. So then I asked if they're still allowing customers to extend their leases by 6 months and they are. Great. So being a wiseguy, I ask her if I can extend the lease and then transfer it. No go. She says they won't let you extend the lease until there's just 3 months left.

My question is whether or not anyone has had any luck getting Tesla to transfer their lease with less than 12 months on the contract or am I fighting a brick wall here? I'd really like out of the car so I can get the 3 now. Otherwise my best case scenario is putting one of the cars are Turo and I don't want to do that.

By the way... According to Tesla, they have changed the policy on M3 reservations so that even previous owners take priority over non-owners. That means if you've ever owned a Tesla, even if you don't now, you get priority over non-owners.

I have seen many Tesla leases posted on leasetrader.com with less than 12 months on the lease -- there is a P90 on there now advertising a 10 month lease. If you haven't already you may want to check with them to see if they have some sort of workaround.

 

[chillaban]

I have seen many Tesla leases posted on leasetrader.com with less than 12 months on the lease -- there is a P90 on there now advertising a 10 month lease. If you haven't already you may want to check with them to see if they have some sort of workaround.

I’ve shopped on LeaseTrader a few times and some of the leases are just adding your name to the existing lease and then both lessees have joint and several liability. Sounds crazy to me.

 

[deaddog]

Based on my recent experience with a Tesla lease transfer I suspect that the answer is no, they will never do a transfer with less than 12 months remaining.

 

[whitex]

Because the way Tesla structures their leases the only way you can terminate it is by buying out the car. The residual on my P85D is
$83,000 in September. I don't even think it's worth $83,000 now and you don't realize the federal or California rebates in that scenario.

Sounds to be like you got a pretty good deal on a lease (by having a high residual, meaning if you trade it in at the end you end up not paying the full depreciation of the car).

 

[Skipdd]

Because the way Tesla structures their leases the only way you can terminate it is by buying out the car. The residual on my P85D is
$83,000 in September. I don't even think it's worth $83,000 now and you don't realize the federal or California rebates in that scenario.

I just ended my lease 5 months early and took delivery of a new S 100D. There was some back and forth because they said they weren't that familiar with people changing out early. I ended up paying the remaining payments + mileage overage (there was no excessive wear and/or damage). The buyout option made no sense as it was $6k more. It turned out well and they were very nice about it.

 

[deaddog]

I just ended my lease 5 months early and took delivery of a new S 100D. There was some back and forth because they said they weren't that familiar with people changing out early. I ended up paying the remaining payments + mileage overage (there was no excessive wear and/or damage). The buyout option made no sense as it was $6k more. It turned out well and they were very nice about it.

To clarify, 5 months before your lease term ended, you paid Tesla 100% of your remaining 5 months of lease payments, plus over mileage fees, gave them the old Tesla back and started a new S100D lease? Did you get any price concession on the new 100d?

 

[whitex]

To clarify, 5 months before your lease term ended, you paid Tesla 100% of your remaining 5 months of lease payments, plus over mileage fees, gave them the old Tesla back and started a new S100D lease? Did you get any price concession on the new 100d?

I know this may sound counter-intuitive, but that can sometimes be a good will offer from the leasing company. If your residual is much higher than market value, standard lease termination would cost you a lot more, so it makes sense to just pay out the remaining payments rather than pay insurance and storage on a car you no longer need. Notice that the leasing company does not have to even let you do that, they can stick to "continue your lease", "buy it out at pay-off price", or "early termination, as pay the difference between payoff price and wholesale price". Those are the only 3 options you are legally entitled to. Any other ones it at their discretion. Note that what you sometimes see when you think you're getting a break on lease termination when getting a newer car, is often simply the dealer eating the extra termination cost in order to make money on the new car - the leasing company (which is independent from the dealer or even car manufacturer) has very little incentive, if any, to give you a break.

 

[Skipdd]

To clarify, 5 months before your lease term ended, you paid Tesla 100% of your remaining 5 months of lease payments, plus over mileage fees, gave them the old Tesla back and started a new S100D lease? Did you get any price concession on the new 100d?

Yes. I took an inventory model that matched exactly what I would have ordered as custom for $4k less (had 95 miles on it).

 

[Skipdd]

I know this may sound counter-intuitive, but that can sometimes be a good will offer from the leasing company. If your residual is much higher than market value, standard lease termination would cost you a lot more, so it makes sense to just pay out the remaining payments rather than pay insurance and storage on a car you no longer need. Notice that the leasing company does not have to even let you do that, they can stick to "continue your lease", "buy it out at pay-off price", or "early termination, as pay the difference between payoff price and wholesale price". Those are the only 3 options you are legally entitled to. Any other ones it at their discretion. Note that what you sometimes see when you think you're getting a break on lease termination when getting a newer car, is often simply the dealer eating the extra termination cost in order to make money on the new car - the leasing company (which is independent from the dealer or even car manufacturer) has very little incentive, if any, to give you a break.

Interesting, that sort of explains why some of their initial information was all about buyout or traditional termination. However, there is actually language in the Tesla lease that limits the amount you can pay to the amount of remaining payments + mileage overage + excess wear. Once I highlighted that, and spoke to someone who seemed more experienced with their leases, the conversation changed. And I think they really wanted the complete transaction - lease close-out, plus purchase of new car (yes leased again). I was prepared to walk if the transaction felt unreasonable and they knew it. Thankfully and gratefully the transaction worked out well for both parties.

 

[Norfolk Enchants]

I just ended my lease 5 months early and took delivery of a new S 100D. There was some back and forth because they said they weren't that familiar with people changing out early. I ended up paying the remaining payments + mileage overage (there was no excessive wear and/or damage). The buyout option made no sense as it was $6k more. It turned out well and they were very nice about it.

I’m sure they were nice about it; they got your full term cash upfront and would be able to flip it with 5 months less age, and sold you a new (depreciation heavy) car to boot!

I would have wanted a deal that took this into account, maybe pay 1 months extra payment, and called that borderline even. Many OEMs will offer early lease termination deals when you take a new car from them.

 

[Skipdd]

I’m sure they were nice about it; they got your full term cash upfront and would be able to flip it with 5 months less age, and sold you a new (depreciation heavy) car to boot!

I would have wanted a deal that took this into account, maybe pay 1 months extra payment, and called that borderline even. Many OEMs will offer early lease termination deals when you take a new car from them.

Yes I am aware that Tesla doesnt offer what most other brands/dealers do. Still within the confines of what Tesla does offer, it was reasonable from my perspective. YMMV

 

[Mike K]

I just ended my lease 5 months early and took delivery of a new S 100D. There was some back and forth because they said they weren't that familiar with people changing out early. I ended up paying the remaining payments + mileage overage (there was no excessive wear and/or damage). The buyout option made no sense as it was $6k more. It turned out well and they were very nice about it.

Yeah I mean, I'm sure that's an option but I'm paying $8,000 for nothing then. I don't have "here's my car and here's my cash" kind of money. ;-)

 

[Skipdd]

Yeah I mean, I'm sure that's an option but I'm paying $8,000 for nothing then. I don't have "here's my car and here's my cash" kind of money. ;-)

I was already 6100 miles over the mileage cap, so, the choices were - (1) leave the car in the garage and buy/lease something else (2) keep driving it and write a bigger mileage overage check ( probably another 7500 miles or 13,600 total) + fully eat the $2100 paid for the extended warranty (3) negotiate the best deal I could for another Tesla. I chose option #3. Of course any Tesla option is an expensive choice. Yes, I know lowest TCO is purchase, but TCO is not the only criterion when making financial decisions..

 

[EinSV]

My Model 3 reservation is close to coming due and my intent was to have someone assume the lease on my P85D when that happened. I called Tesla to ask about the process and they told me they don't allow it unless there's 12 payments left in the lease. I have 10. So then I asked if they're still allowing customers to extend their leases by 6 months and they are. Great. So being a wiseguy, I ask her if I can extend the lease and then transfer it. No go. She says they won't let you extend the lease until there's just 3 months left.

My question is whether or not anyone has had any luck getting Tesla to transfer their lease with less than 12 months on the contract or am I fighting a brick wall here? I'd really like out of the car so I can get the 3 now. Otherwise my best case scenario is putting one of the cars are Turo and I don't want to do that.

By the way... According to Tesla, they have changed the policy on M3 reservations so that even previous owners take priority over non-owners. That means if you've ever owned a Tesla, even if you don't now, you get priority over non-owners.

FWIW I am in the same boat. Emailed Tesla this morning and got a call back this afternoon and am getting the same answer as you. As much as I'd like to get into the Model 3, I am leaning toward just keeping the S through the end of the lease and then getting a Model 3 P or Dual Motor, which was my first choice anyway. Not a big deal since I love the S.

 

[Mike K]

I love my S too. I think the only point of contention for me is that 10 months of payments is nearly $8,000 that could be put towards owning the Model 3 versus leasing the S and I have a buyer for the S. It just seems like a win for everyone involved. I'm sure they have their reasons. I'll probably just end up throwing the 3 on Turo.