Taking over a lease

Although I've never pulled the trigger on taking over a lease, I've always looked in that arena when in need of a "new" vehicle. Swapalease has been around for 15+ years and seems to explain the assumption process very well. I also have found that the listers are very good about answering questions. I don't have much experience with Lease Trader except searching listings. For example, I have been trying to locate a RAV4 for my wife and find that Swapalease comes up with 2 pages of cars while Lease Trader yields none.

Here are some of my other thoughts on this process (in no particular order):

* Compared to years ago, it is very difficult to obtain the residual price of a car on the site without asking. Since I'm open to leasing and buying the car later, this is important to me. However, in recent years, monthly lease payments are abnormally low resulting in relatively high residual values that frequently already exceed today's market price, meaning my strategy of leasing and then buying is not necessarily economic. On the converse, low monthly payments are good for someone seeking only a brief 6-12 month fling with a car for a minimal outlay.

* For some reason, the majority of lease vehicles are black and have dark interiors. Good if that is the color combination one wants to assume.

* Assumption requires good credit. The lessor must approve the assumption and my sense from observing the listings is that a lot of people get turned down.

* Unless one is located in a large metro area, most of the listings are in far off places. Much like searching for a vintage Ferrari. So you may need to factor in airplane tickets to your cost.

Hope this helps.