Can you trade in a car with term left on the lease without paying any penalties?

Question

I'm assuming if you trade in for a more expensive car the dealership would have no problem with that.
What generally are the penalties/fees for breaking a lease?
Thanks for the help.

Answer 1

You'll take a bath on it whatever you do.

When you break a lease they recalculate the lease based upon the amount of time that you actually had the car and use the current FMV for the residual value. Then they credit you what you've already paid. That normally leaves you with a massive shortfall to pay.

If you trade for a more expensive vehicle they'll just hide the excess in the new lease, just as they do when you're upside down on a purchased trade-in. Whatever you do, you lose.