Some Q&A before Taking over a Car Lease in Canada

One of our customers came up with a good set of questions we would like to share here (together with the corresponding answers) for everyone to better understand the process. Still, I would suggest you start with this article: Found a Lease Takeover.

1- Am I required to pay only the remaining months or am I going to be subjected to other hidden fees (Disregarding mileage and scratch damage)

There is a transfer fee applied by the dealership associated with the paperwork. Usually, it is negotiated between the parties.

Regarding the mileage, we ask our customers to specify the additional KM cost, and we also calculate the real allowance in the remaining term. Regarding scratch damage, it is always a good idea to take over a contract with Wear & Tear Coverage (https://www.leasecosts.ca/en/articles/lease-takeover-existing-damage-wear-tear-some-thoughts) or aks for a cash incentive that mitigates that risk.

2- Is it possible for the paperwork to be done in 2 different cities? 

Usually yes. Still, the contract is always managed through the dealership that initially "sold" the vehicle. You could potentially move to sign the paperwork and then drive the car back to wherever you live. Still, I would always suggest first contacting the dealer to make sure how it works, what is the respective sales tax, what they need from you...

3- Are your cars certified real ads, or are some of them bot made? 

All are submitted and published by our customers. Each one guarantees their accordance with our Privacy Policy and Terms & Conditions. Most of them are individuals, some other are dealerships, and some may be testing if there is a potential sale for their vehicle. Listings labeled as "Boombo" and "Vroum" are also submitted by users on those sites. We do not guarantee either the numbers, the quality or the veracity of the info. We just play the role of a Marketplace that helps classification, browsing, and filtering to make things easier for everyone.

4- Am I required to pay out the salvage amount, or am I going to be paying some part of it?

On all regular car leases, buying the vehicle at the Residual Value/Buyout is optional. If you want to keep the car, for sure, you will have to. Still, always verify with the dealership before signing everything. 

About the author

Jorge Diaz is a passionate car lover, winter driver & Software Engineer. For the last 10 years, he has built Online Solutions used by more than 5,000 companies across the globe. He founded LeaseCosts in 2016 with the purpose of simplifying and helping Canadians to better understand the complex market of car leasing in Canada. You can connect with him at Leantrepreneurship.com.

Jorge is also the author of Car Leasing Done Right: A Canadian Guide for Understanding & Optimizing Vehicle Leasing Costs, released on Nov. 5th, 2021. It is available at Amazon.ca