When I moved to CH I leased a vehicle and I make monthly payments to a finance company. My understanding is that the car belongs to the garage where I got it, and therefore it's not mine to sell.

So, my questions are:

How do I get rid of the car? Do I return it to the garage and just hand them the key?
Do I have to call the company I make the payments to and give them some sort of notice?
How much leeway should I give to get the car deregistered from my name so that I can get my excess insurance premiums returned to me?

Are there any consequences to be aware of?

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I would sooner have you hate me for telling you the truth than adore me for telling you lies. - Pietro Aretino

We got rid of our leased car by getting in contact with the dealer who leased it to us. We simply told him we were leaving and wanted to get rid of the car. He just put it up for "sale" and basically said we were stuck with it unless someone else wanted to buy/lease the car. We were very lucky...within a few months someone was interested and we are now free and clear of the lease. Of course we lost our down payment...but it's ok having the peace of mind knowing we dont' have to pay the lease anymore! Hope this helps a bit!

The car belongs to the lease company which in some circumstances can be one and the same as the garage, sort of.

You can settle with the lease company and then be free to sell it, speak with the dealer about re-stocking it on your behalf or, on most occasions, transfer the lease to someone else with an admin fee on a mutually agreed basis.

thanks for the replies.

I called the finance company yesterday and they basically suggested the same options, e.g. to talk to the garage about buying the car back, or looking for a buyer myself (um... no).

So I'll pop in to the garage as the end-date gets nearer and see what we can work out. A consignment sale seems like something that could work out nicely if they're amenable.

As said elsewhere - you either settle the lease and then sell the car. Sell the car to a garage and then settle the lease. Or get a garage to sell for you - and then settle the lease.

If you PM me the new purchase price, deposit, interest rate, months, monthly payment and final payment - I can tell you (approximately) how much is due. If you include the details of the car I'll let you know the approx retail and trade in value.