Third-party lease buyouts: which lenders allow them
A third-party lease buyout is when someone other than you, usually a dealer of another brand or a used-car retailer, pays off your lease directly to the leasing company and takes the car. As of September 2026, BMW, Honda, Acura and GM Financial refuse it and accept payoffs only from you or their own brand's dealers.
Lender rules, as of September 2026
Can an outside dealer buy out your lease?
Only you or an authorized BMW center can buy the car out.
Only the lessee or an authorized Honda or Acura dealer. The rule has been in place since July 2021.
Does not currently process lease purchases through non-GM dealerships.
Its lease pages say third-party dealerships may buy a leased Tesla.
Their pages still describe it. Reported, not confirmed by either lender, to stop on October 1, 2026.
Reported in April 2023: allowed if you request the payoff and share it. Not posted on its site, so confirm.
No published policy. Lessee reports say outside dealers can buy. Audi's payoff for them is often higher.
Also Volvo, Genesis, Nissan, INFINITI, Ford, Lincoln and Stellantis. Ask, and get the answer in writing.
Checked September 30, 2026. Rules change without notice, so confirm yours before you accept an outside offer. The full list is in the guide.
Key takeaways
Mercedes-Benz, Tesla, Toyota and Lexus have allowed outside dealers to buy, though Toyota and Lexus are reported, without confirmation from either lender, to stop on October 1, 2026, and many lenders publish no rule at all. If your lender blocks outside buyers, you can buy the car yourself and resell it, and in California finishing that resale within ten days of receiving the title keeps sales tax off your buyout.
Why lenders restrict third-party lease buyouts
The restrictions began in 2021, when a shortage of new cars pushed used-car prices well above many lease residuals. American Honda Finance announced in July 2021 that lessees could still buy their cars but otherwise had to return or trade them to a Honda or Acura dealer, citing parts supply problems, port congestion and demand for used cars. Other carmakers' finance companies set similar limits. For you, the effect is simple: fewer buyers can bid on your car, which matters most when it is worth more than the payoff.
Third-party lease buyout rules by lender, as of September 2026
Checked against each lender's own website on September 30, 2026, with news and lessee reports used only where a lender publishes nothing, and labeled as such. These rules change without notice, so confirm yours before you accept an outside offer.
BMW Financial Services: only you or an authorized BMW center can buy the car out. BMW says your payoff quote is meant for you and will not be honored if a third-party dealership sends it. See BMW lease end.
Honda and Acura (American Honda Finance): only the lessee or an authorized Honda or Acura dealer can buy the car, a rule in place since July 2021.
GM Financial (Chevrolet, Buick, GMC, Cadillac): does not currently process lease purchases through non-GM dealerships.
Toyota and Lexus Financial Services: their pages still describe assigning your purchase option to a third-party dealer, with you responsible for the lease until the lender receives the payoff and paperwork, including an odometer statement you sign. In mid-September 2026, dealers and lessee forums reported that both lenders will stop accepting third-party payoffs on October 1, 2026, leaving you and Toyota or Lexus dealers as the only buyers. Neither lender had published that change as of September 30, 2026, so ask before you sign. See Toyota lease end and Lexus lease end.
Mercedes-Benz Financial Services: after a California dealer's lawsuit settled, MBFS said, as reported in April 2023, that third-party dealers may buy its leased cars if you request the payoff from MBFS and share it with the buyer. MBFS does not post this policy on its own site, so confirm it for your account. See Mercedes-Benz lease end.
Audi Financial Services: publishes no third-party policy. The latest lessee reports (November 2024) say it accepts payoffs from outside dealers but quotes them a separate payoff that is often higher than an Audi dealer's, and it will not release the title in a private buyer's name. See Audi lease end.
Porsche Financial Services: publishes no policy. Lessee reports, most recently in May 2024, say any dealer can buy the car as a trade-in. See Porsche lease end.
Mazda Financial Services: if an outside dealer it has not authorized buys the car, you remain responsible for the lease until Mazda receives the payoff and paperwork.
Tesla: its lease pages say third-party dealerships may buy a leased Tesla.
Subaru Motors Finance, Jaguar and Land Rover (all serviced by Chase): will not accept a purchase from a third party such as a friend or relative. Their pages do not address dealers, so ask.
Volkswagen, Volvo, Hyundai, Kia, Genesis, Nissan, INFINITI, Ford, Lincoln and Stellantis: their public lease-end pages state no rule for outside dealers. Ask the lender, and get the answer in writing.
Used-car retailers keep their own lists of leasing companies they can pay off, so check a retailer's current list before you book an appraisal.
If your lender says no, in California
Buy it yourself, then resell within ten days. That removes the sales tax on your buyout.
Beforeyou pay
Line up the buyer
- Get a written offer first
- If tax would be collected at purchase, ask about a resale certificate
Paythe lender
Ask for registered mail
- Pay off the lease in your own name
- Ask for the title to be sent by registered mail
Titlethe day you receive it
The ten days start
- Registered mail puts the day you receive it on record
- Do not drive the car for personal use in between
10 daysfrom receiving the title
Finish the sale
- Sign the title over and complete the sale
- The DMV then collects use tax only from the next owner
- It charges two transfer fees, one for each change of owner
Miss the ten days, or use the car for yourself first, and you owe tax on your buyout price.
Payoff quotes: yours vs a dealer's
A payoff quote is the amount the lender needs to close the lease on a given date, and there can be more than one version:
Your payoff is the price for you to buy the car. BMW, for example, says its payoff is intended for the lessee.
A dealer payoff is what the lender charges a dealer that buys the car directly. Where a lender quotes dealers separately, the figure can differ from yours, and sales tax is handled differently when a dealer buys to resell.
The good-through date matters, because quotes expire. Stellantis Financial Services, for one, says its payoff quote is valid for 10 days.
Ask the lender for your payoff in writing and ask the buyer to show you the payoff it will send. If they differ, ask why before you sign.
How a third-party lease buyout works when it's allowed
Get written offers and confirm each buyer can pay off your lender.
Give the buyer what your lender requires, such as your account details or the payoff you requested.
Let the buyer inspect the car and confirm the offer in writing.
Sign the sale paperwork and an odometer statement.
The buyer pays the lender and pays you anything above the payoff.
Watch your lender account until it shows the lease closed, then stop automatic payments and move your insurance.
Until the lender has the money and the paperwork, the lease is still yours. In California, a dealer that takes your leased car as a trade-in must pay off the lease within 21 calendar days and cannot resell the car until it does.
If your lender blocks third-party lease buyouts
Sell or trade to a dealer of the same brand. Those dealers can still pay off the lease. Get offers from two or three of them.
Buy it yourself, then sell it. Pay off the lease in your own name, get the title, and sell to whoever pays most. See lease buyout for the purchase itself.
Keep it. If the offers are strong, the car may be worth more to you than to a dealer.
Return it only if the car has no lease equity. Returning a car worth more than its payoff hands that money to someone else.
Third-party lease buyouts in California: the ten-day rule
California's tax agency, the CDTFA, presumes that a lessee who buys the car and resells it within ten days bought it for resale, which removes the sales tax on the buyout. To use it:
Line up the buyer and a written offer before you pay.
Pay the lender and ask for the title to be sent by registered mail, so the day you receive it is on record. The ten days start that day.
If the lender or a dealer would collect sales tax on your purchase, ask whether it will accept a resale certificate that identifies the car by its VIN and states you are buying it to resell within ten days, as CDTFA's guidance describes.
Do not drive the car for personal use in between.
Sign the title over and complete the sale within ten days of receiving the title. The DMV then collects use tax only from the next owner, and it charges two transfer fees, one for each change of owner.
Miss the ten days, or use the car for yourself first, and you owe tax on your buyout price. A profit on the resale is also a capital gain in the IRS's eyes.
What to ask before you accept an outside offer
Lender: can a dealer of another brand, a used-car retailer or a private buyer pay off my lease, and is the answer in writing?
Lender: is a dealer's payoff different from mine, and how long is my quote good for?
Lender: can you send the title by registered mail if I buy the car?
Buyer: have you completed payoffs with my lender recently, when will you pay the lender, and how long is your offer good for?
How 021 helps
When your next car comes through 021, we can take care of the current lease as well. Most often a dealer in our network takes it in trade, including a dealer of your car's brand when your lender only accepts payoffs from its own dealers, and any equity can go toward the next car. We can also handle the return, a buyout or a lease transfer.
If you are replacing the car, 021 Auto Leasing, a California-licensed broker with more than 400 dealers in its network, gets several of them to quote the same new car and gives you one written quote with the payment, drive-off, term, miles, taxes, fees and 021's fee before you agree to anything. My lease is ending lays out your options first.
Before you accept an outside offer
Ask the lender and the buyer first.
Until the lender has the money and the paperwork, the lease is still yours.
- Lender: who may pay off my lease?A dealer of another brand, a used-car retailer or a private buyer. Get the answer in writing.
- Lender: is a dealer's payoff different?And how long is my quote good for?
- Lender: title by registered mail?Ask this if you may buy the car yourself.
- Buyer: paid off my lender recently?Ask when it will pay the lender and how long its offer is good for.
- Buyer: show me the payoff you will sendIf it differs from the payoff the lender gave you, ask why before you sign.
Common questions
Can I sell my leased car to CarMax or Carvana?
How does a third-party lease buyout work?
Does BMW allow third-party lease buyouts?
Does Toyota allow third-party lease buyouts?
Is buying out my lease to resell it worth it in California?
021 Auto Leasing is a licensed California autobroker (license #82402). All new cars arranged for sale are subject to price and availability from the selling franchised new car dealer.